Silly commuting racing

london-red

Veronese68 wrote:

hopkinb wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

frogonabike wrote:

Maybe use a moderately weak loctite when fitting your new bolts?

Get one of these H³, you could get a Shimano one but your SRAM chainset might sulk.

I bought double hex bolts, like what was on the set already. Did I do badly?

No, use like for like. Hopefully all will be good. If not give me a shout and I may be able to help.

Or Go the whole hog and buy yourself a 1x

hopkinb

My bits and pieces arrived. All fine, except it's all still fooked. Spider is bent, big ring is bent. Nothing is true.
New chainset ordered.
Balls. I'd better stop eating.

smokey_bacon

hopkinb wrote:

My bits and pieces arrived. All fine, except it's all still fooked. Spider is bent, big ring is bent. Nothing is true.
New chainset ordered.
Balls. I'd better stop eating.

Wow! you properly destroyed that! too much power obvs!

Been a crazy couple of rides. Last night I saw one and very nearly two accidents. Hope to guy down on Victoria Embankment is ok and a guy in Richmond Park nearly get taken out by a herd of deer! This morning was Cat 6 wacky races again. You can tell the temps have started to edge up abit because all the "racers" were out chopping to their hearts content!

anonymousblackfg

I did similar on my fixie using a 9sp chainring, it peeled the crank spider back like a banana peel, the crank was campag so I assume made of cheese anyway. I went and bought a Strongliight 1"1/8 track ring after that...

I think you just have to be glad the shrapnel didn't take out the any of the Ti frame tubes in the process. Also count yourself as lucky that you havn't bought a power metre then a DA outer ring and then find you need £25 specific torx head bolts that no one except the french seemed to stock.

PT for me today but last night I turned it up to 11 to escape the competition up past Oval, after slowing for a Jihadison Lee pulling up the volume went again only to find a fixie guy spinning on my outside, so after a quick comment to him I pressed on and then, boom, what felt like some sort of organ failure with my lungs feeling like i'd just cleaned them out with bleach as fixie guy pressed on and eventually the wave of Rapha douchebags cruised on past. Gentle spinning took me all the way to Wimbledon before my body felt normal again.

Gallywomack

Rare Strava home last night, going to start up again for a while (if I remember) as I 'need' to get a handle on roughly what speed I'm doing on my SS for a given effort at different points in the commute. (It's obviously vital I have this information, because reasons...)

Had a small taste of the sort of thing that made me give up Strava in the first place. Because I was recording, I gave it a decent effort up Coniston Rd (parallel back street version of Bromley Hill) and was fairly done in at the top. Rolled round the corner to home, got my phone out all eager to see how I'd done, and found it had given up recording somewhere north of Catford, thus rendering my big effort completely worthless. Fair ruined my evening it did, especially as I'd apparently gone deep enough at my current rubbish fitness level to make me feel decidedly knackered for the rest of the evening :x

Was also fairly disappointed with my average speed of 14.something MPH, but it was a fairly stop start commute. Ah well...

smokey_bacon

Gallywomack wrote:

Was also fairly disappointed with my average speed of 14.something MPH, but it was a fairly stop start commute. Ah well...

I get this all the time. No matter the effort I cant seem to post more than 14.5mph av on the way home!

sgt.pepper

Moron decided to stop completely in front of me for no reason as we were coming down the steepest part of my commute on a narrow path. Thankfully I had plenty of space stop in time but the guy behind me almost wiped me out and had to dive onto the road - felt him clip my shoulder. Thankfully there weren't any cars on the road that second or one of us would have been toast. Gave him a stern 'you might not want to stop there' and continued after making sure the guy behind me was alright. Heard them having a laugh about it behind me at the lights, but I was fuming.

Ridiculous.

https://www.google.com/maps/@-41.242149 ... 312!8i6656

martinc

1st full commute of the year after totally losing my mojo since chest infection over New Years. Very pleasant too... sunny in RP and no sign of ice. Still on knobblies from CX sportive at weekend, surprisingly only a couple of minutes slower than pre-Xmas. No point trying to SCR though, I'm not CJ.

smokey_bacon

Clipped along at a fair rate this morning with lots of lights in my favour and a decent small group all taking turns. Got mobile bike mechanics in my office today so slung the bike in for a service and new shiny bits. Looking forward to the ride home!

rower63

I've been enjoying the unseasonal spell of dry bright weather the last few days, and have even brought out the Ridley, receiving many compliments.

An amusing incident last night at Blackfriars on the way home. There's a set of lights just after the end of the Blackfriars underpass, direction towards Westminster, which >>50% cyclists ignore. Last night as I arrived at them they were red, and at the front was a formation of 4 Police motorbikes. I duly stopped as I always do, so did two or three other riders, but the next rider just swerved round us all and sailed through the red. I looked around at the Police and raised my eyebrows, whereupon one of them accelerated down to catch the perp. He was getting a good talking to as we all went past.

One may or may not be a serial RLJer, but either way cruising past a Police diamond-4 at red is plain stupid :roll:

veronese68

rower63 wrote:

One may or may not be a serial RLJer, but either way cruising past a Police diamond-4 at red is plain stupid :roll:

You'd think when jumping a red light using all your powers of observation would be helpful.
Bit fresh this morning but very nice riding through the park. Tiniest bit of SCR type behaviour. As I got to Apex Corner I spotted a colleague ahead. He's 20 years younger than me and quite fit. Couldn't let him stay ahead but I only had a few hundred yards. Dug deep and managed to catch him with a little over a hundred yards to go. As I was gaining he looked over his shoulder and accelerated a little but I managed to catch up. Glanced across and managed a nonchalant good morning. Trying to skin breathe whilst we were locking our bikes up was a struggle to say the least.

frogonabike

I do like the term skin breathe. Really describes the feeling well

asprilla

Not working this week as I start a new job on Monday so I took advantage of the weather to recce the new route on the nice bike.

Hard work given my hiatus. Still, new location will cut my commute by an hour a day.

Gallywomack

Got away early this evening. What a splendid evening, it was like cycling home on a warm July evening under an endless sky of limpid blue and gold. Crossing Waterloo Bridge, pedals spinning at about 200rpm - having thought somebody looked like they might be trying to overtake me from the lights - I felt a sweet langour wash over my furiously rotating limbs and turned off for the gently meandering byways of Q1. Wise decision, as I pootled my way through a South-East London made resplendent in the late afternoon sun and returned home revitalised and in the mood for love.

rhodrich

-2C in Richmond Park this morning, but a most beautiful sunrise through the mist. Very difficult to judge clothing choice at the moment, so I'm just going with bib shorts, long sleeve jersey, and no base layer. What could possibly go wrong? Brrrrr!

No SCR - roads were fairly quiet. I guess it's WFH Friday for lots of people.

anonymousblackfg

Back on the bike after 3 days of train w4nkering, top morning for it though I could have done with the winter cap.

Great to see some douche watching TV in her lap driving through DT, me pointing it out to her loudly wasn't appreciated by the meat head in the merc behind her.

mtb-idle

does anyone on here commute via CS7 on a nice looking British racing green steel frame with an old style rack and bag up front?

rower63

I had a late morning this morning owing to having to meet a tradesman to fit a new central heating controller.

So by the time I got to any SCR zones, the roads were mostly devoid of cyclists. There were one of two, however, and one in particular. Along Victoria Embankment I was approaching a biggish guy on an Allez-style bike, wearing jeans with big phone- and key-bulges, trainers, big rucksack and baggy sweatshirt, and D-lock hanging from handlebars. Clearly someone I just had to go past and leave behind.

Coming up behind him I was doing perhaps 22-23mph, he 17-18mph. But as soon as I passed him he latched on, and had the distinct look about him of someone who wouldn't let such things as red lights trouble him (subsequently confirmed). So I didn't want him anywhere near my wheel.

He was strong enough that I couldn't drop him by gently accelerating, especially into what seemed to be a headwind. So I had to resort to letting him get ahead, easy enough when he was running reds, accelerating hard whilst behind him and going past at 27-28mph. This happened maybe 3-4 times, worked every time, but denied me the totally easy ride I'd promised myself.

matt.j

rower63 wrote:

I had a late morning this morning owing to having to meet a tradesman to fit a new central heating controller.

So by the time I got to any SCR zones, the roads were mostly devoid of cyclists. There were one of two, however, and one in particular. Along Victoria Embankment I was approaching a biggish guy on an Allez-style bike, wearing jeans with big phone- and key-bulges, trainers, big rucksack and baggy sweatshirt, and D-lock hanging from handlebars. Clearly someone I just had to go past and leave behind.

Coming up behind him I was doing perhaps 22-23mph, he 17-18mph. But as soon as I passed him he latched on, and had the distinct look about him of someone who wouldn't let such things as red lights trouble him (subsequently confirmed). So I didn't want him anywhere near my wheel.

He was strong enough that I couldn't drop him by gently accelerating, especially into what seemed to be a headwind. So I had to resort to letting him get ahead, easy enough when he was running reds, accelerating hard whilst behind him and going past at 27-28mph. This happened maybe 3-4 times, worked every time, but denied me the totally easy ride I'd promised myself.

I was inspired to bring my summer bike back out this week on account of Rowers Ridley news.

I had a late start this morning. Nearly lost the ends of my fingers to the cold in Bushy Park, but it didn’t spoil my ride.

I was contemplating stopping at Westminster to ask the Leavers whether they’ve got the bottle to go to Dagenham and wave their placards outside the Ford factory. But they were nowhere to be seen?!!

Maybe leave means they’ve left?

veronese68

Matt.J wrote:

I had a late start this morning. Nearly lost the ends of my fingers to the cold in Bushy Park, but it didn’t spoil my ride.

It was -4.3G as I went through there this morning, freezing fog was definitely freezing. No SCR on the way in, but a fairly quick bloke on a Trek with no lights tonight. I was chasing a set of pedal reflectors, caught him at the gate and he rode off along the pavement, caught and passed him by riding in the road like a grown up.

cookeeemonster

Matt.J wrote:

rower63 wrote:

I had a late morning this morning owing to having to meet a tradesman to fit a new central heating controller.

So by the time I got to any SCR zones, the roads were mostly devoid of cyclists. There were one of two, however, and one in particular. Along Victoria Embankment I was approaching a biggish guy on an Allez-style bike, wearing jeans with big phone- and key-bulges, trainers, big rucksack and baggy sweatshirt, and D-lock hanging from handlebars. Clearly someone I just had to go past and leave behind.

Coming up behind him I was doing perhaps 22-23mph, he 17-18mph. But as soon as I passed him he latched on, and had the distinct look about him of someone who wouldn't let such things as red lights trouble him (subsequently confirmed). So I didn't want him anywhere near my wheel.

He was strong enough that I couldn't drop him by gently accelerating, especially into what seemed to be a headwind. So I had to resort to letting him get ahead, easy enough when he was running reds, accelerating hard whilst behind him and going past at 27-28mph. This happened maybe 3-4 times, worked every time, but denied me the totally easy ride I'd promised myself.

I was inspired to bring my summer bike back out this week on account of Rowers Ridley news.

I had a late start this morning. Nearly lost the ends of my fingers to the cold in Bushy Park, but it didn’t spoil my ride.

I was contemplating stopping at Westminster to ask the Leavers whether they’ve got the bottle to go to Dagenham and wave their placards outside the Ford factory. But they were nowhere to be seen?!!

Maybe leave means they’ve left?

I know someone who works at the Ford plant at Dagenham...they voted leave by a big margin....

anonymousblackfg

Good ride home on Friday crossing paths with Rower a few times but he was clearly pootling, I had a constant sense that at any moment on Queens Ride or Priory lane that an orange and Ti coloured flash may scream past.

This morning I got abuse from someone at Oval who sat on my right and drift across me when I was choosing not to head into bike lane Ark style, oddly he couldn't be bother to shout at me again for his sh1t road positioning when he came across me at some more lights.

Gallywomack

Got told "You're in the wrong lane, mate" by a bloke in a Smart car who took exception to me filtering through the middle on the OKR and twattishly sped up rather than letting me into the gap that had been in front of him before his pointless acceleration. Naturally his attempts to obstruct me lasted all of three seconds before he reached the next queue. Was quite pleased with my reasoned response of "Fuck off, mate" as I filtered away. Not doing much for cyclist-driver relations but hey ho.

Other than that, a pleasant enough ride in, good to have the SW wind back, all felt right with the world again.

smokey_bacon

Eventful ride home last night. Got a slow puncture and in quick succession rode over a crack in the road which dinged the rim slightly. Ended up walking the half mile or so home chuntering to myself because I couldn't be arsed changing the tube!

kingstongraham

Can tell it's half term as my only near-ish misses were with a cyclist (going for a gap that was the definition of "not there"), and a runner.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Chillier than I expected in Southampton just before 0700, arrived at work with numb hands, due to only wearing my Dafeet etouch gloves rather than my Aldi lobster pair.

Quite nice now in the sun, but cool in the shadows.

rhodrich

Broke a spoke in my back wheel on the way in, leaving it surprisingly wibbly wobbly. That's spoke number 4 on that wheel. Full rebuild necessary. New spokes ordered, but not looking forward to the ride home. Very quiet on the roads otherwise.

anonymousblackfg

Nice quiet roads and some good beatable competition but I was haunted by almost getting myself run over.

I join a slip road to the A3 before joining a leaving lane that takes you over the A3 towards Raynes Park. As I join it's two lanes, the widest part is 3 lanes and the bridge I need get across is 2 lanes. Shoulder check, while in the inside lane, one car a fair way back so move into the middle lane to join the bridge. Van beeps and shoots past my inside from behind doing about 50 as i'm almost finished moving across lanes. Where he came from I just don't know? I can't work out whether I just fully missed seeing him or he came off the A3 and tried to rejoin for which he needed the inside lane.

kingstongraham

anonymousblackfg wrote:

Nice quiet roads and some good beatable competition but I was haunted by almost getting myself run over.

I join a slip road to the A3 before joining a leaving lane that takes you over the A3 towards Raynes Park. As I join it's two lanes, the widest part is 3 lanes and the bridge I need get across is 2 lanes. Shoulder check, while in the inside lane, one car a fair way back so move into the middle lane to join the bridge. Van beeps and shoots past my inside from behind doing about 50 as i'm almost finished moving across lanes. Where he came from I just don't know? I can't work out whether I just fully missed seeing him or he came off the A3 and tried to rejoin for which he needed the inside lane.

That could be it - though I can't imagine why someone would do that unless they were going to the driving range.

amrushton

grumpy man on my commute. Doesn't live far away from me but he'll catch me up and go past and that's it. He stays there until the red light then he heaves a large gear and off we go until the point the road tilts upwards and I go past him. He likes weaving between cars so I leave him to it but generally it resolves back into him leading and me just sitting behind him