Silly commuting racing

roger_merriman

oh yes some of my fastest rides have been, when wet cold and seriously hacked off.

UnworthyPapaLazaru

I had nothing in my legs today UNTIL some plonker taking risks jumped in front while waiting at the lights. I gave him a start, waitied for some open road, then dropped him. The legs were suddenly better again. So, yip, he annoyed me and he energy came back again! It works.

cjcp

Oh yes. It's amazaing what reserves you can call upon when somebody riles you.

cjcp

gb155 wrote:

First scalp in a long time today, 1. because there really are not that many people out when im out and 2. at my size its hard to overtake anyone lol, It felt great though, However upon hitting a set of traffic lights he over took me by RLJ'ing, Still a scalp ?

The wind of the way home was a killer, Im am on 262 Miles now (9 weeks)

Hope we all had a safe one today.

Gamers - the above query has slipped through the net today amidst talk of wine and Greg T's ramblings.

GB - yes; his scalp is yours. However, as a result of him RLJing, you now own his soul too.

cjcp

beseku wrote:

Does it count as a scalp if you continually cruise past someone, only for them to catch you at the lights?

Some guy this morning kept pushing past me at every light on Clapham Rd, only for me to breeze past between them.

Same here too. Scalped.

Coriander

jashburnham wrote:

Coriander wrote:

jashburnham wrote:

Greg T wrote:

I'm off - Shepherds pie for my Tea and big glass of thick Aussie Shiraz - Bonus!

GT

I have a bottle of rather excellent Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc chilling in the fridge at the mo - looking forward to cracking into that this evening along with a plate of...


... fish fingers and beans (I'm re-discovering my childhood)

You don't deserve that wine - baked beans and a Sauvignon Blanc? I despair...

Well actually you do have a point, I'm going to settle for a rather more ordinary Peter Lehmann Barossa Riesling instead!

Have to say, I admired your choice of SB, just deplored the drinking of it with the harsh tomato sauce from baked beans. But I do think you could find a better Riesling.

girv73

m0scs wrote:

Anyone else found this. Bad Mood = Fast Ride?

Bad mood or scares give me a definite speed boost, I find!

Cycling in one day with a friend who was definitely fitter & faster than me. He was riding well within himself and I was kinda pushing it a bit to keep the pace. Suddenly - ninja car ATTACK! and I crash off (nothing serious) ...skip to the end... for the remainder of the journey my friend is struggling to keep up with me!

Greg T

No No No Young Paduans.

Riding in a bad mood is very bad ju ju. A climber dude (climbers are notorious for their Earth Vibe, karma, California el Capitane inspired, holistic groove, zen state mindfullness philosphy) once said to me that if there was a cloud in the sky or a cloud in your heart you should stay off the mountain..

Now obviously we don't need to follow the "cloud in the sky" bit quite so slavishly as sudden alpine weather changes rarely blizzard the Lower Richmond Road however I think the "cloud in your heart" bit (despite being wetter than a haddock's bath mat) holds true.

You need to have your head on or things will go bad on you. When the red mist descends you invite the dark side in and then your concentration bubble is burst and you make decisons that you wouldn't make if you were calm......

Sure you might be laying down a mighty ryhthm but what have you given up to get it?

There have been nights (always nights) when my head is just not in the right place to manage the job of cycling home and I've taken the cattle wagon back.

lost_in_thought

Now I don't know if it was the pie, the new brakes or the new half-link chain, but my god I flew in this morning.

If I'd only realised that the computer fitting kit doesn't come with a magnet I'd know how fast!

There was an older dude (probably early 40's) on a condor fixie, which seem to be quite teh 'in' thing on the Uxbridge road these days, waiting at the lights, he did that thing I can't do because of my panniers where you lift the rear end and spin your cranks round.

That wasn't going to save him.

From the lights I stayed seated and pushed like blazes, stuck behind a woman in a Land Rover - come on! She pulled into the open road, still not fast enough so I overtook her. I shall add the roof of her land rover to my scalp collection.

And I powered off into the distance, stopped at the lights and looked behind me, and there he is, struggling along. Ha!

But I didn't actually overtake him, so is that a scalp?

Wrath Rob

:?: I'm confused. Did he start behind you? Either way, if he was above you in the food chain that's a scalp

snooks

lost_in_thought wrote:

And I powered off into the distance, stopped at the lights and looked behind me, and there he is, struggling along. Ha!

But I didn't actually overtake him, so is that a scalp?

Scalp!

Why? two words "struggling along" you took him, he had no reply, you left him gasping for breath, wheezing like an asthmatic rhinoceros with a chest infection..his aging hair is now a tassel for your handlebars

lost_in_thought

Wrath Rob wrote:

:?: I'm confused. Did he start behind you? Either way, if he was above you in the food chain that's a scalp

We started level, at the lights, went at the same time but I went faster!

I didn't start behind him, you see...

And Score! another scalp for my quilt... I might have to start on some matching curtains... my bed is only so big... :twisted:

Clever Pun

snooks wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

And I powered off into the distance, stopped at the lights and looked behind me, and there he is, struggling along. Ha!

But I didn't actually overtake him, so is that a scalp?

Scalp!

Why? two words "struggling along" you took him, he had no reply, you left him gasping for breath, wheezing like an asthmatic rhinoceros with a chest infection..his aging hair is now a tassel for your handlebars

I don't think so tbh... there was no open road showing of boss... that's a scalp, filtering past someone and staying ahead ain't a scalp or is taking off faster from the lights sure you're faster but where's the proper humiliation? in situations like that I'll let them get up to speed then crush their spirit by taking them with ease

on my way home I took my resident fixie again on the flat. He filtered ahead of me at the lights and I let him go up the hill in front of me I noticed his small ring and that he seemed to have a couple of inches on me but I had the better of him due to my faster pumping*

*this paragraph was inspired by GregT

Absolutely nothing on the road this morning

Greg T

Clever Pun wrote:

there was no open road showing of boss... that's a scalp, filtering past someone and staying ahead ain't a scalp or is taking off faster from the lights sure you're faster but where's the proper humiliation?


Absolutely nothing on the road this morning

CP Two things, top level smut based posting, I thought you could have capitalised on LiT's "Me bed is only so big" wide open goal but good inch based punning....

The point about the open road bossing is also key.......

For myself I like to hang back and wait until the road conditions allow a mano a mano gladiatorial struggle, or preferably a smacking a six year old full in the face and nicking his sweets type struggle.

This lead to me getting involved in a four man meat powered juggernaut last night (a pace line you smutsters out there) giving it rooty toot with honours even the length of the Chelsea embankment.

I think the head wind last night pushed the less keen off the roads last and they aren't up for it this morning - it was very quiet.

lost_in_thought

Greg T wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

there was no open road showing of boss... that's a scalp, filtering past someone and staying ahead ain't a scalp or is taking off faster from the lights sure you're faster but where's the proper humiliation?


Absolutely nothing on the road this morning

The point about the open road bossing is also key.......

I agree, I prefer to really humiliate people where possible, to be honest this guy was so kitted up i at least thought he'd give me a run for my money... we did pull away from the lights level, and I put the hammer down then was surprised he didn't stay with me!

No filtering involved. I wouldn't try to claim a scalp from that - apart from anyhting I'm always choosing the wrong lane/side!

Clever Pun

Greg T wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

there was no open road showing of boss... that's a scalp, filtering past someone and staying ahead ain't a scalp or is taking off faster from the lights sure you're faster but where's the proper humiliation?


Absolutely nothing on the road this morning

CP Two things, top level smut based posting, I thought you could have capitalised on LiT's "Me bed is only so big" wide open goal but good inch based punning....

I had considered going down that route, but I'd have taken the line crossed it and done something unmentionable before wiping it on the curtains...

that's why I left that one alone

biondino

jashburnham wrote:

itboffin wrote:

PS. Cheap stuff all round really http://www.totalcycling.com

Kerist - they're already selling SuperRecord at a discount, WANT!

http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/search.php

Anyone want a half-price De Rosa frame? Always thought they were classier than Pinarellos (ducks)...

http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/p ... index.html

Wrath Rob

Greg T wrote:

This lead to me getting involved in a four man meat powered juggernaut last night (a pace line you smutsters out there) giving it rooty toot with honours even the length of the Chelsea embankment.

I had something similar last night with a fixie and a very keen hybrid. We managed to ditch the hybrid and it was honours even between me and the fixie as we both had a go into the wind, so I'm classing that as a scalp! I failed to ram home my victory as the traffic was bad so I took to the shared path to avoid filtering through a traffic jam. He stayed in the traffic and that was the last I saw of him

Greg T

Wrath Rob wrote:

Greg T wrote:

This lead to me getting involved in a four man meat powered juggernaut last night (a pace line you smutsters out there) giving it rooty toot with honours even the length of the Chelsea embankment.

I had something similar last night with a fixie and a very keen hybrid. We managed to ditch the hybrid and it was honours even between me and the fixie as we both had a go into the wind, so I'm classing that as a scalp! I failed to ram home my victory as the traffic was bad so I took to the shared path to avoid filtering through a traffic jam. He stayed in the traffic and that was the last I saw of him

Was the fixie a nine foot racing snake on a ribble with a blue top....?

Did a handsome stranger on a Paddy Wagon take point 300M + of the Lambeth Bridge Junction, do you ride a Specialised jobby with red wheels?

Feltup

Where are all the cyclists in Berkshire? Didn't see a single one this morning. Not only am I not getting a game, I am getting lonely Then the wind didn't play ball and was on my shoulder before becoming a full on bike stopping headwind. Rubbish commute! The only plus side is that my Fenix L2D arrived this morning and initial impressions indicate I might be able to see the road on the way home tonight - BONUS!

Clever Pun

Feltup wrote:

Where are all the cyclists in Berkshire? Didn't see a single one this morning. Not only am I not getting a game, I am getting lonely Then the wind didn't play ball and was on my shoulder before becoming a full on bike stopping headwind. Rubbish commute! The only plus side is that my Fenix L2D arrived this morning and initial impressions indicate I might be able to see the road on the way home tonight - BONUS!

whenever you think like that... remember being on public transport

Feltup

Public transport :shock: OK that snapped me out of it!

girv73

Greg T wrote:

I think the head wind last night pushed the less keen off the roads last and they aren't up for it this morning - it was very quiet.

Very quiet in Belfast too, probably because today was our first proper winter's day - cold, stiff wind, bit of rain (note to self: need full finger gloves). Mine was the only steed in the bike sheds this morning too.

All I had were two guys on supermarket special MTBs, in jeans, with carrier bags hanging off the bars. One of them was really trying, bless, RLJing and standing up etc. Warped past on the big ring anyway, just like nicking sweets off a six year old (probably).

biondino

My lighter full-fingered gloves don't have grippy bits on the fingertips, which seems a bit silly as my hands now slip whenever I try to change gear. It's annoying, Briko, sort it out.

Kieran_Burns

Damn you SCR thread!

Damn you to hell i say!!! :evil:

I'm TRYING to bimble into work from the train so I'm not all hot and sweaty and some podgy git on a MTB tried to pass me.

Two gears higher and 30 seconds later i was a 1/4 mile away. Damn it, I was sweating like a pig by the time I got to the office! :roll:

Citizen Smith

Biondino & other late starters...I recognise the benefits of an extra couple of hours in the sack as the next man but it makes such a difference doing your morning commute after 9am....

I've done so a couple of times recently and it radically changes your commute conditions.

- Loads more traffic.

- More dozy pedestrians to step out in front of you without looking.

- And it's lonely out there. Ok...so there was heavy motorised traffic on Embankment when I got there at 9.30 but in terms of cyclists, it was like 28 days Later.

Still leaving later today, meant I missed the brief shower and savoured the Autumnal sunshine. Did get smacked in the face by one or two rather large leaves though! :shock:

biondino

Si you're not wrong, but then I regard cyclists as the biggest potential danger to me when I'm riding so I don't really mind (though I still get a frisson when I approach a big gaggle of them waiting to set off froma traffic light on a good open road).

Not sure about loads more traffic, though - surely there's more in the rush hour?

Littigator

ok ok one word today...howling wind! sh*t

ok, two words...terrible howling wind a*se

three words...today's almighty howling wind oh b*llocks

wanders off muttering distractedly

lost_in_thought

Littigator wrote:

ok ok one word today...howling wind! sh*t

ok, two words...terrible howling wind a*se

three words...today's almighty howling wind oh b*llocks

wanders off muttering distractedly

Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two chief weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency.... Our three chief weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our four...no...

Amongst our weaponry...are such diverse elements as fear, surprise....

I'll come in again.

* giggling to myself... I love that sketch....*

EDIT: Actually, it semi works for SCR... fear, surprise.... ruthless (pedalling) efficiency...

cjcp

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Damn you SCR thread!

Damn you to hell i say!!! :evil:

I'm TRYING to bimble into work from the train so I'm not all hot and sweaty and some podgy git on a MTB tried to pass me.

Two gears higher and 30 seconds later i was a 1/4 mile away. Damn it, I was sweating like a pig by the time I got to the office! :roll:

Had the same problem this morning. Have been easing back lately due to the weather and road conditions and thus measuring my efforts.

Had the mother of all rain storms, so put the heavy duty rain/winter jacket on. Had forgotten how warm this made me, so another reason to ease back as I didn't have enough water in the bottle to replace the amount of fluids I was losing.

All going well, then a roadie in team kit passes me.

Next thing I know, I've upgraded from DefCon 4 to 3 and I'm operating a zone defense system, before overtaking in Blackfriars Tunnel.*

*I have to say though, that it's S.O.P. to leg it through that tunnel in order to keep up with the flow of traffic as much as possible.