Silly commuting racing

R25 Flyer

Please tell me you have long arms and were sat on the back seat pedaling like a demon! Nice basket - really spacious

Bassjunkieuk

itboffin wrote:

Although strictly not commuting (school run) I could not resist, on the way to collect my daughter from school this afternoon I spied a lone old skool tourer about 100 yards ahead and push quite hard, game on...

Head down, bit between the teeth and legs spinning I quickly reel him in and slowed just enough for him to see my ride :shock:



Needless to say he was pretty shocked, especially so when I pulled away with considerably more speed, tee hee

LITT for fek sake man up, give the fixie a rest no point killing yourself, don't make me bring my trail-bike + girly shopper + basket into London :twisted:

First off, asides from the fact that that is a LADIES bike in that pic i hope you scalp your prey with the little one on the back :-) On a side note I do believe that is the same trailer bike I have! Mine love it when I speed over the grass and down bumps, haven't lost them off the back yet

Also I'm sure someone spotted a SS pulling a trailer at the weekend at the FW!

itboffin

biondino wrote:

ITB that would only count if you'd already collected your daughter...

Good point, so biondino how about this then, this morning I rode to Salisbury from my home which is about 23 miles with some reasonable hills on route, In the last 6 miles I could hear a car behind which then passed me on the straight, no way am I having that don't they know who I am

Click click click many stomp stomp stomps then a tuck and I'm right behind, a couple more hard turns of the cranks and I'm in front clocking a sweet 36.3MPH in the process. Only to be passed 30 secs later as the gradient increases but still great fun

I'm really beginning to enjoy this redundancy thing

Littigator

CJCP...your taunts will blow back on you my friend the next time I make you pace with me on the Embankment, this time I'll make you do all the talking

ITB, I hope for the sake of your daughters training that her ride is fixed wheel ?

lost_in_thought

itboffin wrote:

Although strictly not commuting (school run) I could not resist, on the way to collect my daughter from school this afternoon I spied a lone old skool tourer about 100 yards ahead and push quite hard, game on...

Head down, bit between the teeth and legs spinning I quickly reel him in and slowed just enough for him to see my ride :shock:



Needless to say he was pretty shocked, especially so when I pulled away with considerably more speed, tee hee

Chapeau!!

lost_in_thought

Littigator wrote:

ITB, I hope for the sake of your daughters training that her ride is fixed wheel ?

Imagine the RPM!

greg66_tri_v2.0

itboffin wrote:

Click click click many stomp stomp stomps then a tuck and I'm right behind, a couple more hard turns of the cranks and I'm in front clocking a sweet 36.3MPH in the process. Only to be passed 30 secs later as the gradient increases but still great fun

That is pretty good going. I'm impressed. Sounds from the tuck behind the car a bit like a youtube vid I saw once of the Gerolsteiner team doing sprint training. Two riders tucked in behind the team car on a long straight road 40mph, 6 inches off the bumper. Driver hits the horn and they peel round each side of the car going for the overtake, hold it alongside the car, then drop back in and behind.

Repeat ad vomitum.

One of these days I'm going to crack 60kmh on the flat. One day....

cjcp

Greg66 wrote:

One of these days I'm going to crack 60kmh on the flat. One day....

Please tell me you're joking, otherwise I may be forced to stand by my previous comments about being a complete girl. :twisted:

Littigator

cjcp wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

One of these days I'm going to crack 60kmh on the flat. One day....

Please tell me you're joking, otherwise I may be forced to stand by my previous comments about being a complete girl. :twisted:

I was doing some sprint training in Hyde Park the other and managed to hit 40mph...the funniest thing was a white van pulled alongside for a bit at one point and I expected the usual mouthful of s*** from them, but all I got was a thumbs up and "Bloody good effort mate"

cjcp

Littigator wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

One of these days I'm going to crack 60kmh on the flat. One day....

Please tell me you're joking, otherwise I may be forced to stand by my previous comments about being a complete girl. :twisted:

I was doing some sprint training in Hyde Park the other and managed to hit 40mph...the funniest thing was a white van pulled alongside for a bit at one point and I expected the usual mouthful of s*** from them, but all I got was a thumbs up and "Bloody good effort mate"

So, we're agreed then: Mr66 is in fact Mrs66.

Littigator

cjcp wrote:

Littigator wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

One of these days I'm going to crack 60kmh on the flat. One day....

Please tell me you're joking, otherwise I may be forced to stand by my previous comments about being a complete girl. :twisted:

I was doing some sprint training in Hyde Park the other and managed to hit 40mph...the funniest thing was a white van pulled alongside for a bit at one point and I expected the usual mouthful of s*** from them, but all I got was a thumbs up and "Bloody good effort mate"

So, we're agreed then: Mr66 is in fact Mrs66.

Oh c'mon don't be too mean on him...it must be hard to accelerate to a decent speed when your wrist is as limp as a two week old daffodil

itboffin

read it and weep Mrs66 http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=323283 - pah so been there and done that

greg66_tri_v2.0

itboffin wrote:

read it and weep Mrs66 http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=323283 - pah so been there and done that

Well unless my horn-rimmed glasses deceive me, doesn't the red line suggest you were going downhill when you hit top speed? :?

greg66_tri_v2.0

Littigator wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

One of these days I'm going to crack 60kmh on the flat. One day....

Please tell me you're joking, otherwise I may be forced to stand by my previous comments about being a complete girl. :twisted:

I was doing some sprint training in Hyde Park the other and managed to hit 40mph...the funniest thing was a white van pulled alongside for a bit at one point and I expected the usual mouthful of s*** from them, but all I got was a thumbs up and "Bloody good effort mate"

Ahem.

I hardly think doing something during sprint training counts, conceding as it does a willingness (a) to train and (b) to try.

I'm talking about this speed whilst commuting, with the rules of The Game engaged, not trying, staying seated, on the hoods, whistling, waving at passers by etc...

And stop ganging up on me, you bitches

biondino

Greg, mate, you're backpedalling and you don't even have a coaster brake...

(though itboffin is disqualified - far too much downhill in that map to guarantee he did it on the flat!)

itboffin

You wish that section is flat as a pancake and I was in no way training I was on the way to the pub for lunch to help get rid of a killer hangover, that fact that I almost puked an organ when I arrived and did not stop sweating for half an hour or more, followed by several minutes of student style "the whites" proves this was no training run.

I wish I could call that a hilly run, I live in the Marlborough/Pewsey downs that road is a flat as I get :?

We always punish those we love xxx

Bassjunkieuk

I had a terrible battle on my way home this evening. As I came to my small sprint section by Streatham station I spied a female roadie at the lights across the road that come down from Tooting.

Knowing the phasing of the lights and having one of the clearest runs at the hill I'd had all week (we better then yesterday.......) so I (to quote G66) "laid down some thick strips of armageddon" for no apparent reason really except for the fact that it's as close to a hill as I get and the fact that I enjoy speeding :twisted: It can be a bit risky down here as there are normally peds crossing, but it does have a bus lane so I have some room to play with!

I pulled up at the next light's buzzing from the sprint. About 10 seconds later who should pull up alongside me? The girly roadie from back up the road!
As we pulled of I let her go first (I'm a gent like that........) and settled behind her.......the lights ahead where red so there was nothing to be gained from blasting past and besides I was debating wheather I should overtake as I was quite enjoying the view :-D
Now this is where the battle lies.......do I let my hetrosexual male side rule and sit behind her "getting a breather" or do I let my inner child win and blast past ripping the scalp from her lovely lycra clad body??

I can confess that the inner child won......once the lights changed and we where in the vast expanse of bus lane I pulled round and put the hammer down. The lights ahead stayed green and in a masculine display of power (ahem) I blasted down the road at a speed I wish I could have mustered yesterday as I might have actually caught rapha condor man! Topped out at just over 31MPH before I started winding down.

Also had my first sighting of a fellow SCR, spotted Mr Ashburnham on his SS turning onto Vauxhall Bridge Road! He was heading the opposite way to me so didn't spot me.

Mettan

I had a strange one with a "commuter" this morning - usual early morning 35 mile training ride - had 25 miles in the legs, taking a breather/eating and dawdling at 13mph approx, when a "commuter" on a Road bike comes past closely at 17-18 mph approx - so I accelerate and sit on his wheel thinking "this should be easy" ....... - feeling good after 20 seconds or so on his wheel I decide to pass him and set off up to around 22-24 mph (all on the flat) - reasonable surface, feeling good, so I stayed at 22-24 mph for approx 1.5 - 2 miles - at that point I thought "that should have done it", I turned around and he's about 250-350 metres behind - wasn't pleased at all, thought he'd of wilted. Pleasingly though, there was a 300-350 metre "hill" up ahead at about 7-8 % and sure enough that finished him off. Didn't see him again. At a guess, I'd say he'd been giving it his all to vaguely stay in sight on the flat (and he was almost certainly on fresh legs). And then unfortunately for him, it went uphill. That appeared to be the last straw. Strange all the same though, for a "commuter". It was good effort though.

spasypaddy

i just joined the group on facebook, been in the game for 2 weeks now and loving it

Just worked out im FCN 3, not many people for me to get points on. Not enjoying being towards the top of the chain but i ride like i deserve to be there

attica

Coriander wrote:

Where's Mr Attica this week - has he been eaten alive after his Cheddar Challenge sportive thread in the Sportives section? His comments didn't go down well.

... and I'm back in the room.

Honestly, what I thought was a bit of cheeky banter turned into a game of Attica Slapdown.
Sorry I've been AWOL, but work has gone mentalist and I've only had time to focus on the one thread.
Been off the bike for the commute for nearly a week now, tapering last week and recovering yesterday and today - I had cramps like you wouldn't believe on the sportive and my legs still hurt.
Back in the fray tomorrow though, I hope there'll be somebody out with a lower fcn so I can get me some scalpage.

Thanks for thinking of me Cori, so much friendlier over here.

Bassjunkieuk

Quick update as it's a bit manic at work (for a change!)
Had a fun tussle with a Langster rider coming down Tulse Hill/Efra Road towards Brixton this morning. He had a rolling start from the lights at the top but I knew I could take him as his SS wasn't going to be a match for much of the smaller teeth on my cassette, especially once I banged it on the 52 cog up front!

He caught up with me at the next set of lights but I held him off until we joined the high street, where he promptly RLJ (after I nearly had a scooter reverse into me!) and I didn't see him after that.

DonDaddyD

What front cassette do you normally have it on? The only time I get out of the 52 cog is when I'm going up hill, which is arguably never (except Denmark hill on the way to work).

Should I be using the middle cog more?

Does this account for my lack of everything cycling?

girv73

Oh the game has me in its exquisite grasp alright.

The legs were feeling less than stupendous this morning so I was thinking "I'll just take it easy today, have a pootle in".

There's a steep downhill at the start of my ride. I did a PB of 40.4mph on it this morning, chasing a BMW down the hill. This got me a bit pumped.

Then I catch up to a guy on a slicked MTB doing around 20mph at an oddly high cadence. I follow for a while (not drafting!) and soon any last remaining thoughts of pootling are gone; I wait until we're in the cycle lane where it's safe, then pull out and pass with a cheery "Mornin'!" and a tip of the water bottle that I'm casually sipping from as I spin up to 25+mph ... and AWAY! I awarded myself a bonus style point for that one.

But now I and I'm paranoid that he's gonna catch me - from the cadence I guessed he was on the middle ring, so he's got plenty more gears and looked fairly fit. So I keep the head down and maintain 20+ all the way down to the city and never saw him again.

Now I'm knackered and close to work so I turn the power back down to pootle and even have a little hum to myself as I cruise along on the middle ring feeling pleased with myself. Suddenly, in a fit of karmic balancing, the universe throws a different guy on a fast hybrid at me who blasts past and doesn't even look at me never mind say hello or anything. Right, I'm not having that, that's just rude.

He's fit, with scary, lumpy calves and I know that over distance he'll have me no bother, but I'm determined to keep up with him at least on the sprints between lights, and I do. When he looked round at the first set of lights, I was sitting idly just behind him off the pedals like I'd been there for half an hour already. The look of genuine surprise on his face was priceless! He managed a "Hey" in greeting at that point - I think I'd won some respec'. Luckily he couldn't see the heaving wreck that was the real me

A couple more sprints together and he went off in another direction and I finally got to explode and limp into work. The legs are like jelly now and I'm gonna pay for it on the climb on the way home.

But I wasn't racing, just playing the game

lost_in_thought

Morning all!

So, it seems that September is the month when all the cool kids are back on the road in Ealing/Acton/Shebu...

Got out of my house this morning, did my usual routine of checking I've actually attached the pannier properly and that I've shut the door, then turn round to go, and someone zips past me! Blimey! Right then....

Got to the end of the road, he turns right with enthusiasm, then immediately left. Aha! Your scalp is mine.... Admittedly, probably not a real scalp as although there was no traffic there are speed bumps in the road which probably negates the open road thing, but he wasn't slowing for them, so the tyres onthe bowery took a pounding as I took the bumps at pace and flew past him.

Then on to the Uxbridge road, a crazy fool comes up behin me then RLJs across the north circular... BAD IDEA. Luckily for him he makes it across then turns off.

So I'm off again, not giving it 110% I admit, until I see a gaggle up in the distance. Pull up to them, a couple of fast hybrids with the mid-life-crisis men on them, bright red, sweating like inappropriate similes. Soon dispatch them, they keep RLJing in order to try and regain the upper hand, but they know it's over. And then up front, a roadie.

He looked like an advertisement for how full-body lycra can look bad on really skinny people too, helmet, glasses, etc.

Thought 'right, I need to make sure this is a proper one'. So hang behind, being careful not to draft, just waiting, waiting for the bus lane to appear. And it does. Not a huge surprise. Oh no! Bus!

Being the good soul I am, I let him go ahead around the bus, hang back until he's up to speed again, then ENGAGE and I'm off, 100% scalp, open road, no obatacles. Ha!

But it doesn't end there... I carry on my merry way, the filtering pain in the bum that is shebu, on down to HSK - wave at the guy who recently bought a bowery from Pearsons and was always faster than me on the roadie he used to have, then onto HSK

Pootle along to the lights, stop, and go at the trundling pace of the ladies in front - few more lights and there he is again! The roadie!

Despite all the filtering, I'm pleased he was so far behind. Perhaps I broke his spirit.

cjcp

Attica wrote:

Coriander wrote:

Where's Mr Attica this week - has he been eaten alive after his Cheddar Challenge sportive thread in the Sportives section? His comments didn't go down well.

... and I'm back in the room.

Honestly, what I thought was a bit of cheeky banter turned into a game of Attica Slapdown.
Sorry I've been AWOL, but work has gone mentalist and I've only had time to focus on the one thread.
Been off the bike for the commute for nearly a week now, tapering last week and recovering yesterday and today - I had cramps like you wouldn't believe on the sportive and my legs still hurt.
Back in the fray tomorrow though, I hope there'll be somebody out with a lower fcn so I can get me some scalpage.

Thanks for thinking of me Cori, so much friendlier over here.

Attica - I have some sympathy for your point actually. I meant to post something yesterday along the lines of there's a difference between those who can't do anything and are trying all they can to hang on and those who can but won't. If it is a "sportif", the attitude of the latter type of rider is hardly "sporting", particularly when that a rider of that type will not pull you if you go through a bad patch. So, whilst you can take element of pleasure from pulling a group of riders, there's a quid pro quo and it's only fair that they do their bit. After all, they are only there because you've pulled them and they have to do their bit. I had a similar experience at Highclere in June and the Dragon Ride last year on the bit across the Beacons.

Good to have you back, ol' boy.

I was on good form last night. An RLJing, pavement hopping roadie jumped the pedestrian crossing at Lambeth Bridge. He then dodged his way round the roundabout, when I had to stop again. He was overtaking a load of mtbers and going for it. Game on.

Down the slope, ease by the gaggle of mtbers and I'm at 28mph and closing fast. I ramp it up to 32mph and he's yesterday's news. He then performs his usual tricks and turns off at Chelsea Birdge. :roll:

This morning, the drafting began as soon as I entered the Park, picking up somebody on a training run. So slowed down and let him by. Then came across this shaved roadie. He drafted for a bit, but was easily riding within himself. He went by in traffic a couple of times and looked like he would have kicked my a*rse sixty ways to Sunday if he'd put the hammer down at any point.

Bassjunkieuk

DonDaddyD wrote:

What front cassette do you normally have it on? The only time I get out of the 52 cog is when I'm going up hill, which is arguably never (except Denmark hill on the way to work).

Should I be using the middle cog more?

Does this account for my lack of everything cycling?

I think this is down to personal preference. I tend to use the middle ring for most riding. i switch to the big ring for sprinting or downhill and the small ring for longer or steeper climbs depeding on how my legs feel!

If I had a double I might tend to stick in the big ring but I've just got so used to using the mid ring as it gives me the options for extra speed or climbing power!

beseku

Terribly frustrating commute this morning ...

I posted here last Monday, happy in my purchase of a brand new Specialized Allez Sport on the Evans Ride2Work thingy. Well last night on the way home the front derailleur stopped shifting, so I was stuck with the slow, small wheel. I called Evans up saying I would bring it in today, (The Cut store is on my way, about 6 miles in of a total of 8).

This morning, I lost the smallest four gears of nine at the back, meaning I was left with 5 miles in climbing gears only. Whats the FCN modifier for that?

I'm a bit concerned as it looks like the front derailleur has been chewing at the large gear, as some of the teeth look a bit grotty! Wheeled the bike into Evans and was told by the slowest sales clerk ever - 'We'll call you if we need to replace any parts and charge you'. Will you feck - its a week old and done less than 100 miles!.

To top it all off, I had to sit on the slowest bus ever the rest of the way in.

beseku

Oh and apologies for any butchering of bike part terminology in the previous post - I know not what I am talking about.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Some people.... I dunno.

Uneventful ride in this morning til I get to the Vauxhall Bridge lights. They change as I arrive, and we all pull away. Maybe 4 cyclists ahead of me.

I move up to second or third wheel and we've crossed the junction. I'm sitting just outside the line of the rider ahead of me, and overlapping his wheel as I'm about to pass him.

The Jag behind me gives me a short blast of his horn. Now he's got absolutely nowhere to go - the r/hand lane is full of moving traffic, and there's a taxi ahead of me/us about 12 feet away from my front wheel. So I do what I always do in these circs - ignore him and carry on.

Except that within seconds he's had enough of me and rolls up to give me a little tap on the foot with the nearside corner of his front bumper. We're doing somewhere between 40 & 45 kmh at this point (I didn't have time to check the computer - sorry) so a little nudge from a car was, well, not exactly appreciated.

So I move to plan B: give him the finger, move out into the middle of the lane and slow down. The taxi in front is shiny and the Jag behind has his headlights on, so I can see where I need to be to put myself right between his headlights.

He waits for a half gap in the right lane and goes past - and in 70m is stuck in the queue outside Millbank Tower in the left hand lane.

I roll alongside his window and stop. He looks like he was thinking about trying to block the gap between the lanes but thought better of it. He winds down his window - a bit - and we have a frank exchange of views.

He's an oldish guy - late 50s - with a eastern Mediterranean accent. Grey hair in a ponytail. All the side windows of this (quite nice black XJR) are blacked out. II point out to him the prospect of prison for dangerous driving, and how that is likely to mean that he'll be sodomised on a daily basis, which perhaps he'd quite like. He tells me that if I try that again he'll "put me under the wheels". I respond with scepticism.

At which point, having cleared the air, we go our separate ways. Well, actually, he stays stuck in queue and I ride off.

When I get to work I'm told there was a (nother) bike under a lorry in Paddington this morning.

As the sergeant used to say in Hill Street Blues: "Let's be careful out there." So say we all.

PS: oddly, I feel very calm about this. Much more so than some of the near misses I've had. Weird.

el_presidente

did you get his reg number Greg?

To avoid confusion, the cyclist under the lorry was in Holborn (unless there is another one in Paddington)