Silly commuting racing

victor ludorum

cjcp wrote:

Taken by a folding bike and now this. You need to burn up the road on the way home tonight.

I must protest. :!: I wasn't 'taken' by a folder, I caught and took him but then couldn't drop him because he stuck to my rear wheel. We swapped a couple of times but I was in front when we parted ways.

cjcp

victor ludorum wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Taken by a folding bike and now this. You need to burn up the road on the way home tonight.

I must protest. :!: I wasn't 'taken' by a folder, I caught and took him but then couldn't drop him because he stuck to my rear wheel. We swapped a couple of times but I was in front when we parted ways.

I know, sorry. I just couldn't resist. Friday afternoon and what not.

James_London

Greg T wrote:

So in my two weeks of game playing I've lost 1.5 Kilos. 3lbs. I have ridden in for eight years and in that time have never lost weight like this......

You've obviously inadvertantly upgraded from riding in Active Recovery to something with a training effect. Be careful - your fitness will improve and you may be tempted to invest in better equipment, reducing your FCN and thereby opportunities for point scoring. Nip this in the bud. Get one of those nice pink streamered numbers with a basket immediately, banish razors from the house and you can keep racking up the points... Sweet ;-)

James_London

victor ludorum wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Taken by a folding bike and now this. You need to burn up the road on the way home tonight.

I must protest. :!: I wasn't 'taken' by a folder, I caught and took him but then couldn't drop him because he stuck to my rear wheel. We swapped a couple of times but I was in front when we parted ways.

You need to ensure you make a clean gap straight away to avoid this sort of thing happening. Without any outward signs of discomfort or leaving the saddle, as usual. Starting the manoeuvre at a cadence of 90rpm should allow you to make acceleration effortlessly. No, really! :-)

If prey is Australian in Silence-Lotto team kit this move is not recommended.

Greg T

James_London wrote:

manoeuvre .

I wish I could spell that.

If you had asked me if I was getting significant training value out of my rides prior to gaming I would have said yes.......

I'm now pushing out 70-80% MHR on the stretches.

I know this as










I've bought a bike computer inc HRM and cadence monitor....

We need to reconsider adjusters for 'puters as it does give an advantage and I realise now may well be an adjuster. (For all my "they don't count" perspectives previously)

Damn.

Just as well I put the 5 on my hump in non perm marker isn't it..

victor ludorum

I'm obviously touchy on it

The problem is, for the last few days I've only seen two other riders higher up the Food Chain than me, both of them were yesterday and I registered one draw and one loss.
(For some reason, i find beating scooters unsatisfying.) Last night I thought I might be game on with a fixie on the Euston Road, but we only really crossed paths in heavy traffic and that was all.

I don't claim to be a cycling god (I have hairy legs...) but the only time I ever seem to get overtaken (the singlie yesterday was a rare exception) is by RLJers when I'm waiting at traffic lights and, to be honest, scalping them is very unsatisfying. I don't buy into the whole RLJing is safer malarkey -they do it because they don't want to have to stop. When you catch them 50 yards down the road and overtake them (and you will because they are sooooo slow) it gets more frustrating than anything because chances are 50 yards further down you're going to have to stop for a red light and the tedious little pr*ck will RLJ again.

But then, perhaps I am just feeling down because its chucking it down in Cambridge and I left my rear mudguard at home this morning.

victor ludorum

James_London wrote:

You need to ensure you make a clean gap straight away to avoid this sort of thing happening. Without any outward signs of discomfort or leaving the saddle, as usual. Starting the manoeuvre at a cadence of 90rpm should allow you to make acceleration effortlessly. No, really! :-)

If prey is Australian in Silence-Lotto team kit this move is not recommended.

Ordinarily I would aim to beat and break away in one action, but on this occasion I have to admit I was checking out his bike (you don't see too many racing airnimals on the roads..)

Should Cadel ever be making his way down the Euston Road of a morning, I shall bear this in mind.

cjcp

Greg T - stop talking about the weather! It's now raining!

No, it's stopped. All the same, stop it!

Happy riding, chaps. It's Taco Time.

cjcp

A few had a go on the way home. All failed. But there seemed to be less roadies this week generally.

chewa

Wahaaay!

Finally a victim. Coming out of Edinburgh- guy on a Planet X road bike no guards, v narrow tyres, Look pedals (that's surely worth a move up the chain).

He pulled in front of me at the lights (obviously thought the guy on the tourer was not worth being behind!). So as the lights changed my ipod went off (Vince Gill ) and I took off after him.

He obviously didn't know the sequence of lights as he slowed right up in front of me and I pulled past just as the lights changed. I then put the hammer down and took off, dropped him like a used hankie. But I'm not claiming that as it was down to light sequence.

He lost about 50 or 60 yds and was not catching.

However, at the next lights (a mile or so on) he caught me and sat in the asl box. Looked over - no nod- then got away first.

He pulled a bit of a lead but on a climb I could see I was catching him - took him before the top and blasted on. He never got back.

Still in the "game" frame of mind met my wife and, as we were cycling along chatting got passed by a guy on an MTB on a downhill. He came past very fast and quite close -so we took off after him and eventually caught and passed him on the climb up to the Forth Road Bridge.

He was below us in the FC but pride was at stake!

I was well in my comfort zone but Sandra was digging deep.

When we stopped she was still gasping for breath. I told her it didn't matter if she threw up, the important thing was that she got past.

I think I'm taking this WAY too seriously :twisted:

victor ludorum

cjcp wrote:

A few had a go on the way home. All failed. But there seemed to be less roadies this week generally.

Nesh, part-time roadies tend not to like wet weather. Wet metalwork and road markings can be a bit hairy on slicks at speed and, since going slowly would mean risking a loss to lower FCNs, they swap bikes or use public transport. As many roadies incline towards the aesthete, the thought of having to choose between mudguards or getting white Assos lycra wet and grimy gives them the vapours...

That said, coming home in wind and heavy rain around midnight last night I successfully laid down a thick layer of awesome.

The usually traffic clogged Kensington High St and Hammersmith Road was clear and free-flowing. the rain was coming down, the air was cold and the wind blustery. As I stood by the roadside to switch my lights on and join traffic, I was passed by a whole string of slicked hybrid types who were running red lights and, on one occasion playing chicken with fire engine (not answering an emergency).

Biding my time, I sprinted between lightsets so I wouldn't lose them but waited at the Earl's Court Rd lights and Holland Road. As I left the last set of lights at Kensington Olympia with the long clear stretch to Hammersmith beckoning, I pulled out my can opener and treated each and every one of the five RLJers to a portion of steaming hot whup-ass.

I slowed a little as I passed each one so that they could appreciate the clean lines of my bike, the superb poise of my spinning and the streetlights sparkling off the silver frames of the Rudy Projects pushed well back on my head. To cheer them in their humiliation I took the time to murmur something jovial like 'lovely night for it, eh?' or 'filthy weather this!' but pressing on before they could answer, so that their words were lost in the patter of the rain, leaving only bitter taste of the road grime splattered from my wheels and the salt sting of their tears.

I caught the lights just right as the road swept round to the flyover, leaving me to practise my tearduct breathing technique and leaving them at a junction that no half sane RLJer would risk, pondering on their late night encounter with greatness.

andrewgturnbull

victor ludorum wrote:

Wet metalwork and road markings can be a bit hairy on slicks at speed

Hi folks.

A wee point of order - slick tyres stick to the ground better than those with a tread pattern, as the tread just skirms around and leaves less rubber on the ground. What you probably meant is that skinny tyres with less overall bits of rubber touching the ground can be a bit hairy over the slippy bits.

I'm new to this thread - if I'm riding to work on my time trial bike, shaved legs and wearing my team kit... What handicap number do I start with?

Cheers, Andy

ps If I'm racing an evening 10 after work I've been known to ride in with the full aero set up, disc wheels and pointy hat...

victor ludorum

andrewgturnbull wrote:

victor ludorum wrote:

Wet metalwork and road markings can be a bit hairy on slicks at speed

A wee point of order - slick tyres stick to the ground better than those with a tread pattern, as the tread just skirms around and leaves less rubber on the ground. What you probably meant is that skinny tyres with less overall bits of rubber touching the ground can be a bit hairy over the slippy bits.

You are, of course, correct. I tend to use skinny and slicks interchangeably, because I've never seen slicks that aren't skinny...

cjcp

andrewgturnbull wrote:

victor ludorum wrote:

Wet metalwork and road markings can be a bit hairy on slicks at speed

I'm new to this thread - if I'm riding to work on my time trial bike, shaved legs and wearing my team kit... What handicap number do I start with?

You displace scooters at the top of the food chain!

On the slick/treadpoint, does it also depend on the type of rubber i.e. some rubber feels a bit stickier than others? For example, the Conti Gator Skins compared to the Michelin Krylion Carbons?

cjcp

cjcp wrote:

andrewgturnbull wrote:

victor ludorum wrote:

Wet metalwork and road markings can be a bit hairy on slicks at speed

I'm new to this thread - if I'm riding to work on my time trial bike, shaved legs and wearing my team kit... What handicap number do I start with?

You displace scooters at the top of the food chain!

Andy - it also means that, if you pop up on Embankment kitted out as such, you'll be hunted down like a wild animal by a pack of voracious Gamers. :twisted:

snooks

I saw GOD on Friday, he rode a black stallion, and when he spoke to me he said "Nice weather!"

Riding back on Friday, headwind most of the way, absolutely spanked by the time I'd got through Putney. Until, in the distance I spotted a roadie in black, going at a nice speed...Target acquired, mind starts working, legs start pumping, muscles start burning, there's another point on the radar and I'm after it. Hunting him down with stealth and patients...Naaa I just stepped it up, until I was breathing like an express train and speeding along like an asthmatic rhino!

Arrived at the lights to turn right onto the South Circular he's just ahead, I'm close to cardiac arrest! I'm bike or two behind him, but I've caught him up, and low and behold his legs are lady smooth, smoother than glass, and slightly reflective. He's riding a Colagno. He looks the part, all black lycra and white leather mits, he's not small either, 6ft+. I feel I'm in the presence or a real racing roadie. Hardly breathing, he stands like an elegant Heron, panting like a dog on a hot day, I stand like an ostrich!

The lights go green, and we slowly move right to the next set of lights, A few hairy roadies and a hybrid join the pack, and speed up to the red lights...but there is no hurry they are red, my prey can wait, for I have a big fish to catch today...He knows the score and lets the others pass...as we arrive, the lights go green and we're away! Well everyone else is, I decide not to whizz up the inside of the car turning left, pull to the primary, and round the back of the car, hmm not quite as I planned, but the roadies and hybrid are legitimate prey, and 3 points later they were the starters to a epic main course, they hardly know they've been overtaken by a slicked up mtb, and when they realise it's too late for them, I'm off, after the silky legged roadie. I catch up and stay behind him for a while...OK guilty as charged, I was drafting him, but he was cutting a good speed, and I was still trying to catch my breath from chasing him down, so I had bit of a breather, I'm not proud, but I did what I had to do. By Mortlake (Yeah, I kinda hung on for longer than I should! ) I was feeling guilty about drafting for so long I thought is was about time to repay my debt, overtake him and leave him for dead :evil:

Like all my great plans, it started off well, pulled out pushed hard, but I was ahead, and really quite pleased (and amazed) that I had gone by, in a smooth safe move, without showing that I was trying, or breathing like a dirty phone call. I was past, I pushed a little harder, and that's when I feared I'd upset the gods, within seconds the sky went black, and the wind blew, with the wind, came rain, cold heavy rain, I pushed harder still, this scalp was mine, I was upsetting the food chain, pulling of a master victory, I put my head down, dug deep and pushed even harder through the wind and the rain. I was making history that night! I was doing it, I was away, he was left behind me in the distance licking his wounds, I'd done it, taken is scalp, he'll be crying for years afterward, overtaken by a 1994 green rust Marin, how gutted must he feel?

Then I noticed it. Just to my right. The bottom of a wheel, his wheel, the wheel of god himself. No matter how much I had tried (without out showing it, but believe me I had tried) He was coming right back at me. Ahead the lights changed to red, but I knew it was too late. I'd failed. This slightly overweight David had fought Goliath, and Goliath had kick my big hairy rse!

He pulled along side and said "nice weather!" Trying not to breath, I said "yeah, lovely" with a smile, I took a sip from my camelbak, and tried my hardest to do an impression of a statue. Unfortunately unlike statues, I need air to survive, and at that point my body needed more that it was getting, I tried in vain to do the "I'm not breathing" breathing thing, but it was too little, too late. Luckily by the time I made a gasp for air the lights had gone green and I might just have got away with it

So after that, I drafted him into Richmond and down into Twickenham, and said cheers when I left.....

That's the last time I try to scalp someone 6 places higher than me on the food chain! Unless I see a scooter!

garryac

Brixton road.
Friday.
Me – a crumpled heap in the bus lane, break lever snapped front wheel Pringle shaped knee bloodied.
Rewind.....

Me.., beard, folding hybrid, bar bag, panniers, baggy shorts, (not sure where that puts me, although I am whipet thin and race cross..so the above may be a stealthy cheat mode...), scything past all comers... just trashed a smooth roadie and two fixies...head down charging down the bus lane....White van decides to turn left across me ....whack...the rest as they say, is history....Oooops!

hucking_fell

Its very hard to get past anyone when you're on a downhill bike .
Last month, before consciously playing the game, I could have got past a slicked upped mtb but his chain was skipping about on a slight uphill. It then fell off and almost threw him off his bike. 'Cos I'm a nice chap ( and I usually push up that hill when there's no one about to see me) I stopped and helped him get his chain unstuck. Also explained how to index his gears.
Don't think I'll take the game too seriously just now. Looking forward to getting a bike better suited to commuting though .

cjcp

Not a good start to the week.

Stinking cold, chest a bit tight as a result and absolutely no gas in the tank. Now back on my commuter with 25mm tyres and no front mech so I'm in the big ring permanently now. Not a problem, but could have done with the 39 going up a hill in Richmond Park. Wheezing a bit and then notice I'm being slipstreamed by a chap out training. He overtakes me (without saying "thank you").

Then there's a tit for tat with a mtb on Emabankment (he was in a tri team kit and had , I think, but a mtb is still a mtb), which I finally drop somewhere, but he could well have turned off, so who knows?

Off to buy some Vitamin C. And some Red Bull for the journey home.

Citizen Smith

I think I'm going slightly bananas. Even when not riding at the weekends, I cannot switch off. I'm assessing FCNs everywhere whether or not they are being ridden!

A useful analogy is like Neo in the Matrix, instead of seeing the world in that green code, all I see is bloody FCNs. I've got so adept at point blank assessment of FCNs (including adjustors), it is second nature.

Still it means I pool all my faculties and resources into the game and the all important 'not trying' appearance.

Bassjunkieuk

SiHughes wrote:

I think I'm going slightly bananas. Even when not riding at the weekends, I cannot switch off. I'm assessing FCNs everywhere whether or not they are being ridden!

A useful analogy is like Neo in the Matrix, instead of seeing the world in that green code, all I see is bloody FCNs. I've got so adept at point blank assessment of FCNs (including adjustors), it is second nature.

Still it means I pool all my faculties and resources into the game and the all important 'not trying' appearance.

I know what you mean, I've now just started trying to tune into those above me (FCN 6 and above), I'm just basically on the lookout for shaved roadies, SS and scooters! Had a bit of an overload yesterday as I was out on a charity ride (so not technically commuting so not sure if it counts!) so had hundreds of others riders to assess! In the end I just used a basic team kit on road bikes as the only proper "targets". Having said this is wasn't meant to be a race and the bulk of riders where out with clubs or friends so no real challenges. This didn't stop me going for it tho!

I lost count of how many riders I overtook, but most where so far below me in the FCN it just didn't feel fair! I do have to admit to getting scalped twice, once by someone in my own FCN who was just keeping up a much faster pace, that my legs just couldn't do after the 45 miles they'd already done! The second an older gentlemen in full team kit who took me on the last hill of the day. I managed to claw him back but he then proceeded to RLJ when we hit Hove.......

victor ludorum

garryac wrote:

Brixton road.
Friday.
Me – a crumpled heap in the bus lane, break lever snapped front wheel Pringle shaped knee bloodied.
Rewind.....

Me.., beard, folding hybrid, bar bag, panniers, baggy shorts, (not sure where that puts me, although I am whipet thin and race cross..so the above may be a stealthy cheat mode...), scything past all comers... just trashed a smooth roadie and two fixies...head down charging down the bus lane....White van decides to turn left across me ....whack...the rest as they say, is history....Oooops!

Ouch!

Hope you're okay. Remember though, we aren't racing and winning at all costs. Dying is a very unsatisfactory way to end a commute. (and also leads to the loss of all points acquired during the journey... )

It sounds like t*t in the van was at fault (and I hope you got his number and are going to report it to the police - don't forget if you're injured that it is important to have them documented by a doctor) but the head down charging sounds suspiciously like, to an onlooker, you would have appeared to be trying as you took those scalps which, although still technically a win, is considered unbecoming in a gentleman and player.

Race safe.

woodford2barbican

Bagged myself a smooth roadie in Gerolsteiner Kit last night who was out for a training ride......how many points is that? Must be times two since he had no luggage?

greg66_tri_v2.0

Bagged three - count 'em - uno, dos, tres - scooters coming off the lights at Vauxhall this morning. All three pulled away ahead of me, then I reeled them in, taking the third just before the Tate.

Also bagged a hairy roadie in full T-Mob kit yesterday. Twice. Once there and one past Big Ben. He was a Spawn of Satan RLJ'er - hence the opportunity for the double tap.

I might need a lie down now.

ChrisLS

...no one out there this morning...lone break, no pack...

victor ludorum

Not a sausage...

I only encountered a couple of nobbly tyred MTBSOs at Holland Park, since I was approaching from behind I didn't even have to overtake them, I just kept gently spinning until the attrition of the (slight) incline slowed them down to the pace of street furniture.

I did get a nod from a smooth roadie going the other way, he obviously couldn't see my hairy legs...

My biggest problem today has been the internal combustion engine. I was skimming along the bus lane on the Uxbridge Road when a van stopped in traffic decided he would use the precise moment I was passing to swerve out into me (illegally entering the bus lane...) without indicating. After an exchange of pleasantries he chased after me, overtook me with inches to spare and then slammed his anchors on, evidently in the hope I'd ride into the back of him. Discretion being the better part of valour, I let him continue on with a cheery wave and a few probing questions about his immediate ancestry.

Barely two minutes later some prepubescent pillock in a Ford Ka (with the back windows panelled in delivery van stylee (what's the point, what could it carry?) crept up to join me in the ASL, slowly edging his way in front of/through me for the left turn up in front. Every time I edged forward or slighty to the left (I could have rested my right pedal on his bumper) the hairgelled berk moved into the gap.

At Shepherd's Bush Green a bus deliberately pulled four feet to his left in order to block the cycle lane while I was running along it (there was no space in front of him and he wasn't doing it to clear an obstacle on his right), then 200 yards further down a delvery van roared out of a driveway between buildings (not a side road) scattering peds left, right and onto the road(!!) before coming to a stop completely blocking the lane I was in.

As I joined the bottom of Holland Park Avenue, I overtook an open-topped tour bus standing at the bus stop. Not skimming along the side, I was in primary position in the lane. At exactly the moment I drew parallel with his front right wheel, he put his foot down and swung out (no indicating!!) leaving me to scoot out across the next lane and rodeo in the rough ground next to the concrete divider. Then he moved the approximately 12 feet separating him from the queue of stopped traffic I was approaching. By this point I was so jaded I didn't even bother shouting out.

Clever Pun

I saw a courier in the distance and I thought yey, single of a fixie in the bank... came up on him and the selfish git had gears on a bullhorned bike...damn

was contemplating how 'exactly my missus gets sore while riding a bike and was thinking how to help while coasting along and some little upstart hybrid and panniers takes me fair and square... not happy, needless to say I'm back in he game and my mind is rehoned to getting points back... I drop a gear and leave him for dead feeling ashamed and ripping his points away from him.

victor ludorum

Clever Pun wrote:

was contemplating how 'exactly my missus gets sore while riding a bike and was thinking how to help while coasting along and some little upstart hybrid and panniers takes me fair and square...

Good. Thinking thoughts like that in a public place. There might have been children about. You ought to be on a register...

I thought it was going to be another dead loss yesterday. For two thirds of my journey I only encountered one other cyclist and that was a guy on an SS racer who shot up behind me while I was contemplating how Mrs Clever Pun gets sore while riding a bike ( ). I managed to drop a cog and keep with him without any difficulty, but then noticed that his bike frame was wrapped with yellow and black tape bearing the words 'What a C**t!', so I decided to cede to the better man.

Beyond that, I actually managed a brace of hairy roadies, including one who was obviously playing The Game, but didn't know the rules. When I've I had to stop at a red, rolling through them just as/before they change while I'm standing still does not constitute a win. I think I took him about four times that way.

Also, if anyone knows a tallish tennis/squash player with a shaven head, a penchant for yellow vests and a crappy blue mtb/rust heap, please tell them that chatting on a mobile phone whilst undertaking moving buses less than two feet from the curb and shouting 'Woah, woah, come on, come on!' at me while you skim past me J-ing the RL I'm stopped at, is really stupid.

cjcp

Some form finally beginning to return. A scooter on last night's commute, and two scooters (one of which had cut me up off Parliament Square - "Use your mirrors, woman!!!") and one roadie in full club kit on the way in this morning.

Greg T

BROTHERS!

God has sent me a sign.......

I've been out of town for a couple of days so today was the first day back on the bike.

I fully expected to be completely rested and recovered but it's a funny old game isn't it - I felt knackered. Any end up - I'm coming through Putney on Lower Richmond Road when -
BAZAM!

There it was - a sign from God punishing me for my Sin of Pride......

A dude on a Singlie

Baggy Shorts

Flourescent Green Tyres

Full Face Helmet

He was slower than bunch of Thick Dyslexic kids smacked out of their heads on Red Bull with a mega crossword book. Proper Pashley shopper slow.

I did the decent thing and dropped him in a Sehr Schwer Gear turning my crank at 5 rpm....

But what did it mean?

I came to my belief that God was telling me that the FCNs of singlies needs to be adjusted.... I know we have brothers who have made this point before and they have not been listened to. God has had enough of this and has sent me this abomination to make me realise my error.

I've had my road to Putney Moment....

I was cogitating on this on the embankment when who should appear alongside me but Evel Kneivel again...

As has been said this guy is topping out at 15 mph so he is well off my "keep my nose clean and out of trouble" cruising speed - he must be RLJing like mad....

So to recap

Singlie, Flourescent Green Tyres, baggies, full face helmet, slow - really slow, serial RLJer............

When the lights changed I put down so much juice that my chain now hangs off my crank like wet spaghetti.

God told me this.

We should drop the Fixed wheel / free wheel demarcation between Singlies as you just can't tell when you are playing - not easily enough.

Instead we should have "Fast Singlie" and "Faux Singlie" - the judgement between them should be up to the individual gamer....

"Faux Singles" should be demoted to below Hairy Roadies in the food chain and mocked a bit....

"Fast Singlies" should stay where they are between the two flavours of Roadie.....

Now whilst this is the word of God I think we can have some debate on this......





I