On Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 8:02:17 PM UTC-4, Tom BravoMike wrote:
Dave, if I understand it correctly, he passed over your glider from behind.
He was passing because he flew faster. So if you "instinctively pushed the
stick forward", you actually accelerated, while obviously losing some height.
Do you remember what happened with the distance between the two of you?
I'm asking because I was in a similar situation (it was done intentionally
'for fun' by the other pilot - we spoke on the ground and he apologized for
his dangerous stunt), and it was scary exactly because I couldn't get away
from him. I guess opening the airbrakes would have been a better solution,
but it all happened in a second and there was no time to think what was best.

Spoilers would be better, except it takes another second to move your hand...
Pushing the stick forward raised the tail which could have made things worse.
He passed ahead as higher performance and wingloading allowed faster cruise
while still arriving high enough at the area with lift.

Be careful out there,
Best Regards, Dave

PS: The incident in Vermont required evasive action but not so close!