Silly commuting racing

mtb-idle

Dinyull wrote:

Isn't it amazing how people can see the same 30 second clip so differently.

which is why VAR in football will never really solve anything

matt.j

To my shame, I inadvertently cut up an MTBer on the Tamsin Trail today, for which I apologised and was told I was a 'typical roadie'. I said in my experience MTBers are far worse choppers and as I then began overtaking him, he deliberately forced me off the trail, onto the grass. When I asked what he was doing, he said "I thought we were racing"....

Excellent - offroad SCR I thought and its not often someone comes to a gun fight with a pea shooter, so as any half decent roadie would, I enthusiastically accepted his challenge, resulting in a Strava top ten for me and a loss by 10 furlongs for my knobbly tyred friend

Best SCR in ages.....

kingstongraham

dekant wrote:

It's not actually a pavement where it switches from segregated road to looking like a pavement. It's supposed to be bikes only still with pedestrians routed on the other side of the fence next to the river.

Not well signed though, so that bit usually has people in it.

Indeed, the point is that if you make a cycle lane look like a pavement, people will walk on it, no matter what signs you put up. It's entirely predictable, so I don't know why it was done.

cjcp

Ryan_W wrote:

Thanks for the kiss CJ...

Do you reserve a table there every morning? :P

veronese68

cjcp wrote:

Ryan_W wrote:

Thanks for the kiss CJ...

Do you reserve a table there every morning? :P

Table for two next week?

smokey_bacon

Veronese68 wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Ryan_W wrote:

Thanks for the kiss CJ...

Do you reserve a table there every morning? :P

Table for two next week?

A room more like it

ryan_w-2

Smokey Bacon wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Ryan_W wrote:

Thanks for the kiss CJ...

Do you reserve a table there every morning? :P

Table for two next week?

A room more like it

I’ve got enough love for you all. Best coffee in SW London.

sgt.pepper

Thanks for the feedback on Portsmouth Road, I work in an urban design related field so it's always interesting to see how the theory plays out in reality. Most bike tracks are built for the less confident cyclists, rather than the higher speed ones such as us lot. I can't go too far into what was discussed as it was under Chatham House, but essentially it sounds like local designers are trying to retro-fit 'liveable' streets with an increasingly small pot of cash.

Puncture this morning on the commute, thankfully was a lovely day so didn't mind getting held up. Once fixed I got into a race with a bloody fast ebiker on the way in, thankfully kept him behind after passing though.

elbowloh

Sgt.Pepper wrote:

Thanks for the feedback on Portsmouth Road, I work in an urban design related field so it's always interesting to see how the theory plays out in reality. Most bike tracks are built for the less confident cyclists, rather than the higher speed ones such as us lot. I can't go too far into what was discussed as it was under Chatham House, but essentially it sounds like local designers are trying to retro-fit 'liveable' streets with an increasingly small pot of cash.

Puncture this morning on the commute, thankfully was a lovely day so didn't mind getting held up. Once fixed I got into a race with a bloody fast ebiker on the way in, thankfully kept him behind after passing though.

Yes, but isn't Kingston supposed to be a mini-Holland with an additional £30m of investment given to create cycling infrastructure?

smokey_bacon

Nothing really to report this morning except the glorious McLaren Senna being unloaded on Kingston Hill. That is one fine looking car.

rhodrich

Smokey Bacon wrote:

Nothing really to report this morning except the glorious McLaren Senna being unloaded on Kingston Hill. That is one fine looking car.

Ah - is that what it was? I just saw the covered car loader. You must have been slightly earlier than me.

rhodrich

Apparently, I rode in most of the way this morning with Asprilla. Having only met him once for about 30 seconds though, I didn't recognise him.....

anonymousblackfg

Nice enough ride, oddly not enough pace, granted I ran out of gearing at one point by can't work out just why so many were quicker than me, maybe it's just getting old.

smokey_bacon

Rhodrich wrote:

Smokey Bacon wrote:

Nothing really to report this morning except the glorious McLaren Senna being unloaded on Kingston Hill. That is one fine looking car.

Ah - is that what it was? I just saw the covered car loader. You must have been slightly earlier than me.

Yes, really nice deep blue with white highlights, would love to get my hands on one! I went through at about half 7ish i think.

cjcp

elbowloh wrote:

Sgt.Pepper wrote:

Thanks for the feedback on Portsmouth Road, I work in an urban design related field so it's always interesting to see how the theory plays out in reality. Most bike tracks are built for the less confident cyclists, rather than the higher speed ones such as us lot. I can't go too far into what was discussed as it was under Chatham House, but essentially it sounds like local designers are trying to retro-fit 'liveable' streets with an increasingly small pot of cash.

Puncture this morning on the commute, thankfully was a lovely day so didn't mind getting held up. Once fixed I got into a race with a bloody fast ebiker on the way in, thankfully kept him behind after passing 2though.

Yes, but isn't Kingston supposed to be a mini-Holland with an additional £30m of investment given to create cycling infrastructure?

I don't know what the budget is, but, yes, the idea is to build a mini-Holland. They've been digging up the area around the railway station, and have started work on another section about 200 yards away from there, where buses usually turn.

I don't know how it'll turn out, but they really need to make it easier for bikes to get across town, be it from the north (Richmond) side to the south (Thames Ditton/Portsmouth Road) side, and vice versa.

A huge challenge is making it easier/safer for kids to get to and from school on their bikes.

cjcp

Rode out to Sevenoaks on Friday night. Had planned to go further, but a combination of leaving later than planned, the traffic after London Bridge, Deptford, New Cross and Lewisham, and the never-ending bloody hills and undulations to Bromley and everywhere bloody else banjaxed all that.

The traffic out to New Cross ain't at all fun. Makes Embankment look like a walk in the park.

Kudos if you commute in from Bromley every day. How the hell do you cope with all that????

I managed a meagre 26 miles before hopping on a train. I rode down Star Hill, saw the vast expanse of green countryside between me and where I needed to go, thought "Sod that!", and jumped on the train at Sevenoaks.

That 26 miles felt a lot further than the 33 and 40 miles I'd ridden the previous two evenings. I just can't work out if it was the hills or the nervous energy I'd burned riding through SE London traffic.

asprilla

Rhodrich wrote:

Apparently, I rode in most of the way this morning with Asprilla. Having only met him once for about 30 seconds though, I didn't recognise him.....

You'd hear me before you saw me as my BB needs replacing. I overtook you on the way up Bolan Bridge and then you came back through traffic before PB.

After that you had a long tail of draftees until you caught the amber Batersea Bridge and i didnt.

I think you should invest in a vintage cycle helmet; a modern one just doest go with the look.

rhodrich

Asprilla wrote:

Rhodrich wrote:

Apparently, I rode in most of the way this morning with Asprilla. Having only met him once for about 30 seconds though, I didn't recognise him.....

You'd hear me before you saw me as my BB needs replacing. I overtook you on the way up Bolan Bridge and then you came back through traffic before PB.

After that you had a long tail of draftees until you caught the amber Batersea Bridge and i didnt.

I think you should invest in a vintage cycle helmet; a modern one just doest go with the look.

Ah- you should have said hello!

Yes - a 'sausage' bike helmet is definitely on my purchase radar.

asprilla

Rhodrich wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

Rhodrich wrote:

Apparently, I rode in most of the way this morning with Asprilla. Having only met him once for about 30 seconds though, I didn't recognise him.....

You'd hear me before you saw me as my BB needs replacing. I overtook you on the way up Bolan Bridge and then you came back through traffic before PB.

After that you had a long tail of draftees until you caught the amber Batersea Bridge and i didnt.

I think you should invest in a vintage cycle helmet; a modern one just doest go with the look.

Ah- you should have said hello!

Yes - a 'sausage' bike helmet is definitely on my purchase radar.

I was too busy getting stuck in traffic to be within 20m of you most of the time. Was also getting distracted by the black track bike with front disc brake that was on your wheel through Putney (chap in Norwegian jersey) as I really liked it. It cause stirings in my wallet.

veronese68

Rhodrich wrote:

Yes - a 'sausage' bike helmet is definitely on my purchase radar.

I saw a modern version of that recently, didn't look as bad as it sounds. Can't remember where it was though, probably in the Eroica shop in Gaiole which would make it rather expensive.

Has Asprilla started commuting to work in a wet suit yet? That would make him easy to identify.

rhodrich

Veronese68 wrote:

Rhodrich wrote:

Yes - a 'sausage' bike helmet is definitely on my purchase radar.

I saw a modern version of that recently, didn't look as bad as it sounds. Can't remember where it was though, probably in the Eroica shop in Gaiole which would make it rather expensive.

This?



https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/London-Fixed-G ... 0005.m1851

It would be great, were it not for the visor that the original ones never had.

EDIT: have just bought one of these....



Job done....

asprilla

My work here is done.

veronese68

Rhodrich wrote:

This?

Eurgh, no. That looks awful with the peak. No, it was similar to the one you've ordered in shape but the construction was modern style of a plastic skin over polystyrene with a bit of foam on the inside. Couldn't find a picture after a very brief search.

elbowloh

Eeewwww.

the brown one with the peak is fugley. Did they employ a designer or just curled out a "prototype" in the lav one day and thought "eureka!"?

njee20

Specialized Airnet?

cjcp

Merlin's beard! What is that???

sgt.pepper

Another ebike race this morning. After passing I had to keep an uncomfortable level of effort on cold legs to keep ahead, but managed it. Also passed a guy with zero road sense weaving around the two lane road - really dicing with death over here with the appalling driving standards.

asprilla

Veronese68 wrote:

Has Asprilla started commuting to work in a wet suit yet? That would make him easy to identify.

Far too warm, even for swimming in one. Was 24.7c in the water for London Triathlon on the 4th / 5th of this month. If the mercury hits 25c then wetsuits are banned prompting absolute panic from the organisers that the vast majority of competitors wouldn't actually be able to swim 1500m without one.

Obviously I need to sort something out as you and I managed to ride past each other in Hampton Wick this morning without noticing.

dhope

Asprilla wrote:

Far too warm, even for swimming in one. Was 24.7c in the water for London Triathlon on the 4th / 5th of this month. If the mercury hits 25c then wetsuits are banned prompting absolute panic from the organisers that the vast majority of competitors wouldn't actually be able to swim 1500m without one.

Was a clubmate with the thermometer. They decided it was going to measure below 25 because having everyone panicking and wearing tow floats would have been carnage.

asprilla

dhope wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

Far too warm, even for swimming in one. Was 24.7c in the water for London Triathlon on the 4th / 5th of this month. If the mercury hits 25c then wetsuits are banned prompting absolute panic from the organisers that the vast majority of competitors wouldn't actually be able to swim 1500m without one.

Was a clubmate with the thermometer. They decided it was going to measure below 25 because having everyone panicking and wearing tow floats would have been carnage.

That tow float email caused outrage.

I know a few members of my club sacked it off when that came out as they didn't was to swim with one or swim with a load of other folks all pulling them. Not to mention the indignation of the organisers deciding to change the ITU rule book.