Silly commuting racing

cjcp

TGOTB wrote:

cjcp wrote:

No. One wouldn't wear a t-shirt ike that under a jersey. This was just wrong. Either the t-shirt is worn over the bibs or you leave the bike in the office and take the train home.

I quite often wear a base layer (which is just a poncy T-shirt) under my bibs when it's cold, with a jersey on top. Have I transgressed some unwritten rule?!?

It wasn't cold yesterday, though. You wouldn't set off without the jersey, would you? You're spinning along thinking "Hmm, it's a bit chilly, and I can see my bib straps. Why's that?"

There was never a jersey to start with. *shudder*

cjcp

PoweredByIdris wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

cjcp wrote:

No. One wouldn't wear a t-shirt ike that under a jersey. This was just wrong. Either the t-shirt is worn over the bibs or you leave the bike in the office and take the train home.

I quite often wear a base layer (which is just a poncy T-shirt) under my bibs when it's cold, with a jersey on top. Have I transgressed some unwritten rule?!?

That's fine, as long as you don't remove the jersey unless it's to remove all of your kit post ride.

The only exception to this is if you have just won Paris-Roubaix.

There's a lot of rules....

tgotb

cjcp wrote:

You wouldn't set off without the jersey, would you? You're spinning along thinking "Hmm, it's a bit chilly, and I can see my bib straps. Why's that?"

I've set off without a helmet more than once, and wondered why the wind through my hair felt different. Once I was wearing a bobble hat, and had to be pulled off the course by a commissaire.

There again, I've also arrived at a TT race with one MTB shoe and one road shoe; maybe it's just me...

veronese68

cjcp wrote:

Bib shorts and a t-shirt.

With the t-shirt worn under the bib shorts.

This is definitely not ok.

You might be fast, but this doesn't make it ok.

Did you hear the conversation I had with my Mrs as we drove through the park this morning? She was asking about cycling attire and if people are judged on it, I said very much so by some and tried to explain it in terms she could relate to. Told her about the rules and how some adhered to them religiously and would laugh at those that didn't. She thought you wouldn't do that as you are a nice bloke.
But if it was a baggy cotton T shirt under bibs I agree with you.

cjcp

Veronese68 wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Bib shorts and a t-shirt.

With the t-shirt worn under the bib shorts.

This is definitely not ok.

You might be fast, but this doesn't make it ok.

Did you hear the conversation I had with my Mrs as we drove through the park this morning? She was asking about cycling attire and if people are judged on it, I said very much so by some and tried to explain it in terms she could relate to. Told her about the rules and how some adhered to them religiously and would laugh at those that didn't. She thought you wouldn't do that as you are a nice bloke.
But if it was a baggy cotton T shirt under bibs I agree with you.

Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhh, I totally laugh at and judge them

cjcp

TGOTB wrote:

cjcp wrote:

You wouldn't set off without the jersey, would you? You're spinning along thinking "Hmm, it's a bit chilly, and I can see my bib straps. Why's that?"

I've set off without a helmet more than once, and wondered why the wind through my hair felt different. Once I was wearing a bobble hat, and had to be pulled off the course by a commissaire.

There again, I've also arrived at a TT race with one MTB shoe and one road shoe; maybe it's just me...

You may need to introduce some ginseng and ginger into your diet.

tgotb

Veronese68 wrote:

Told her about the rules and how some adhered to them religiously and would laugh at those that didn't.

You should explain that you will also be laughed at for adhering to the rules too religiously. There's another set of unwritten rules that determine the correct level of adherence to the first set.

The correct level of adherence seems to be a function of riding speed, but it's quite a complex function. So some things, like Rapha kit, look more silly the slower you are, whereas something like replica Sky kit is fine on a really slow rider but gets sillier the faster you are (unless you actually ride for Sky). It's also a function of age: Sky kit is cool if you're 10, and that coolness increases with riding speed; by the time you're 16, the whole coolness function reverses.

mtb-idle

Amen to that brother

asprilla

TGOTB wrote:

I've set off without a helmet more than once, and wondered why the wind through my hair felt different.

My routine on leaving the driveway:

1. Brake lightly to check I've closed the caliper quick releases
2. Change front and rear gears to make sure everything works / batteries are charged
3. Tap head to make sure I'm wearing a helmet

All adopted through bitter experience.

poweredbyidris

Asprilla wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

I've set off without a helmet more than once, and wondered why the wind through my hair felt different.

My routine on leaving the driveway:

1. Brake lightly to check I've closed the caliper quick releases
2. Change front and rear gears to make sure everything works / batteries are charged
3. Tap head to make sure I'm wearing a helmet

All adopted through bitter experience.

...and still get to work to find I didn't pull my bibstraps over my shoulders

tgotb

Asprilla wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

I've set off without a helmet more than once, and wondered why the wind through my hair felt different.

My routine on leaving the driveway:

1. Brake lightly to check I've closed the caliper quick releases
2. Change front and rear gears to make sure everything works / batteries are charged
3. Tap head to make sure I'm wearing a helmet

All adopted through bitter experience.

Mine:
1. Turn on Garmin, wait for it to boot, carefully run through power meter calibration, check heart rate monitor working correctly and displaying a plausible number. Switch to "commuting" screen.
2. Wheel bike to pavement and check for traffic - confirms eyes working and glasses not too filthy
3. Jump onto bike CX-style - good practice, and confirms saddle is properly attached
4. Clip in - confirms wearing correct shoes
5. Accelerate hard down road, out of saddle, changing gears - confirms gears working, cleats not too worn
6. Little hop over speed bumps - confirms quick releases properly done up
7. Corner hard at end of road - confirms tyres fully inflated
8. Glance behind to check pannier attached - I normally leave this until the last mile or so

I don't explicitly check my brakes, on the grounds that there are 2 of them and if the pads are worn I'll find out anyway. If one stops working completely, I'll take it quite easy in traffic whilst getting annoyed about hydraulics. After about a week or so I'll remember to get around to bleeding it, which won't work. After another week or so of trying to figure out what the problem is this time, I'll remember that worn pads can also cause poor braking and change them.
On one occasion I ran out of spare pads, which was really annoying and not at all like me as I tend to keep lots of spares everywhere. I ordered several sets, and when they arrived I decided to put a spare set in the "spare tube, chainlink and multitool" bag in the bottom of my pannier. Of course, on unzipping this bag the first thing I saw was the shiny set of spare brake pads I'd put in there a year previously...

wolfsbane2k

TGOTB wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

I've set off without a helmet more than once, and wondered why the wind through my hair felt different.

My routine on leaving the driveway:

1. Brake lightly to check I've closed the caliper quick releases
2. Change front and rear gears to make sure everything works / batteries are charged
3. Tap head to make sure I'm wearing a helmet

All adopted through bitter experience.

Mine:
1. Turn on Garmin, wait for it to boot, carefully run through power meter calibration, check heart rate monitor working correctly and displaying a plausible number. Switch to "commuting" screen.
2. Wheel bike to pavement and check for traffic - confirms eyes working and glasses not too filthy
3. Jump onto bike CX-style - good practice, and confirms saddle is properly attached
4. Clip in - confirms wearing correct shoes
5. Accelerate hard down road, out of saddle, changing gears - confirms gears working, cleats not too worn
6. Little hop over speed bumps - confirms quick releases properly done up
7. Corner hard at end of road - confirms tyres fully inflated
8. Glance behind to check pannier attached - I normally leave this until the last mile or so

I don't explicitly check my brakes, on the grounds that there are 2 of them and if the pads are worn I'll find out anyway. If one stops working completely, I'll take it quite easy in traffic whilst getting annoyed about hydraulics. After about a week or so I'll remember to get around to bleeding it, which won't work. After another week or so of trying to figure out what the problem is this time, I'll remember that worn pads can also cause poor braking and change them.
On one occasion I ran out of spare pads, which was really annoying and not at all like me as I tend to keep lots of spares everywhere. I ordered several sets, and when they arrived I decided to put a spare set in the "spare tube, chainlink and multitool" bag in the bottom of my pannier. Of course, on unzipping this bag the first thing I saw was the shiny set of spare brake pads I'd put in there a year previously...

:shock: :roll:
You had me there. I almost replied with "What's wrong with just get on and ride.."

Definatley the pannier bit though - don't bother checking until you've arrived at your destination.

veronese68

TGOTB wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

Told her about the rules and how some adhered to them religiously and would laugh at those that didn't.

You should explain that you will also be laughed at for adhering to the rules too religiously. There's another set of unwritten rules that determine the correct level of adherence to the first set.

The correct level of adherence seems to be a function of riding speed, but it's quite a complex function. So some things, like Rapha kit, look more silly the slower you are, whereas something like replica Sky kit is fine on a really slow rider but gets sillier the faster you are (unless you actually ride for Sky). It's also a function of age: Sky kit is cool if you're 10, and that coolness increases with riding speed; by the time you're 16, the whole coolness function reverses.

I was boring myself by that point and had given up. The conversation did start as a result of a bloke with only the one piece of Rapha and the rest all mismatched after pointing and laughing at a guy clad head to toe in Rapha the other day. The Mrs did compliment a nice ti bike with tan walls, I think this gives me justification to buy a nice ti bike with tan walls.

asprilla

Veronese68 wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

Told her about the rules and how some adhered to them religiously and would laugh at those that didn't.

You should explain that you will also be laughed at for adhering to the rules too religiously. There's another set of unwritten rules that determine the correct level of adherence to the first set.

The correct level of adherence seems to be a function of riding speed, but it's quite a complex function. So some things, like Rapha kit, look more silly the slower you are, whereas something like replica Sky kit is fine on a really slow rider but gets sillier the faster you are (unless you actually ride for Sky). It's also a function of age: Sky kit is cool if you're 10, and that coolness increases with riding speed; by the time you're 16, the whole coolness function reverses.

I was boring myself by that point and had given up. The conversation did start as a result of a bloke with only the one piece of Rapha and the rest all mismatched after pointing and laughing at a guy clad head to toe in Rapha the other day. The Mrs did compliment a nice ti bike with tan walls, I think this gives me justification to buy a nice ti bike with tan walls.

I currently have ones of these sitting in Dolan's warehouse while my order is 'processed'.

https://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-titan ... meset.html

Tan wall tubeless tires are proving more difficult to locate, but will still probably arrive sooner.

kingstonian

Well that headwind was a right hassle

roger_merriman

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

I've set off without a helmet more than once, and wondered why the wind through my hair felt different.

My routine on leaving the driveway:

1. Brake lightly to check I've closed the caliper quick releases
2. Change front and rear gears to make sure everything works / batteries are charged
3. Tap head to make sure I'm wearing a helmet

All adopted through bitter experience.

Mine:
1. Turn on Garmin, wait for it to boot, carefully run through power meter calibration, check heart rate monitor working correctly and displaying a plausible number. Switch to "commuting" screen.
2. Wheel bike to pavement and check for traffic - confirms eyes working and glasses not too filthy
3. Jump onto bike CX-style - good practice, and confirms saddle is properly attached
4. Clip in - confirms wearing correct shoes
5. Accelerate hard down road, out of saddle, changing gears - confirms gears working, cleats not too worn
6. Little hop over speed bumps - confirms quick releases properly done up
7. Corner hard at end of road - confirms tyres fully inflated
8. Glance behind to check pannier attached - I normally leave this until the last mile or so

I don't explicitly check my brakes, on the grounds that there are 2 of them and if the pads are worn I'll find out anyway. If one stops working completely, I'll take it quite easy in traffic whilst getting annoyed about hydraulics. After about a week or so I'll remember to get around to bleeding it, which won't work. After another week or so of trying to figure out what the problem is this time, I'll remember that worn pads can also cause poor braking and change them.
On one occasion I ran out of spare pads, which was really annoying and not at all like me as I tend to keep lots of spares everywhere. I ordered several sets, and when they arrived I decided to put a spare set in the "spare tube, chainlink and multitool" bag in the bottom of my pannier. Of course, on unzipping this bag the first thing I saw was the shiny set of spare brake pads I'd put in there a year previously...

:shock: :roll:
You had me there. I almost replied with "What's wrong with just get on and ride.."

Definatley the pannier bit though - don't bother checking until you've arrived at your destination.

About the only things I check is panniers or more likely that I’ve.

1) locked the house and have house key.
2) picked up the man bag with iPad and what not.

I run lights all time so fit main light a Exposure Strada, and turn on, and turn on/fit the Garmin. Though generally turn it on as I’m packing the panniers, at which point I as long as I’m sure I’ve not forgotten anything I go. The bike is used daily so generally only needs to be cleaned/oiled occasionally.

asprilla

So, Kingston Gate, what's that all about?

I love the fact its closed without warning and the signs say 'Advanced Notice'. Chaos.

rhodrich

Asprilla wrote:

So, Kingston Gate, what's that all about?

I love the fact its closed without warning and the signs say 'Advanced Notice'. Chaos.

In fairness, the 'Advanced Notice' signs were up late last week too. No idea what it's all about though!

asprilla

Rhodrich wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

So, Kingston Gate, what's that all about?

I love the fact its closed without warning and the signs say 'Advanced Notice'. Chaos.

In fairness, the 'Advanced Notice' signs were up late last week too. No idea what it's all about though!

I didn't see them on Thursday and Surrey works from home on Fridays.

Looked in the park news letter and it's a two week closure to allow works on the road outside the park.

tgotb

Asprilla wrote:

So, Kingston Gate, what's that all about?

I love the fact its closed without warning and the signs say 'Advanced Notice'. Chaos.

I read about this a couple of weeks ago, and I don't even go that way. Can't remember where though, was online somewhere...

mattsaw

They posted in the FB group last week.
It was cross posted into the RP Cyclists group on there.

What with the Portsmouth Road cycle lane, the Kingston Gate and Hammersmith bridge closure I just need some emergency to befall Priory lane and I'll have an almost entirely traffic free commute.

tgotb

Mattsaw wrote:

What with the Portsmouth Road cycle lane, the Kingston Gate and Hammersmith bridge closure I just need some emergency to befall Priory lane and I'll have an almost entirely traffic free commute.

Won't work. We already know that road closures on Priory Lane just shift the traffic onto the pavement...

kingstongraham

Asprilla wrote:

Rhodrich wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

So, Kingston Gate, what's that all about?

I love the fact its closed without warning and the signs say 'Advanced Notice'. Chaos.

In fairness, the 'Advanced Notice' signs were up late last week too. No idea what it's all about though!

I didn't see them on Thursday and Surrey works from home on Fridays.

Looked in the park news letter and it's a two week closure to allow works on the road outside the park.

I saw the signs at the entry to the park at Roehampton gate, Kingston gate and Ham gate last week. Only rode Thursday/Friday, so don't know if they were up before then.

monkimark

I saw the signs about Kingston gate the week before last, didn't cycle in last week so couldn't say if they were still up.
I assume that it's just the road gate that's shut and you can still get through the pedestrian gate?

asprilla

Yeah, ped gate is still open. There was a queue at 8am.

Clearly I'm blind and we have had plenty of notice. Obvs if I were driving to work I would have been one of the many performing an angry u-turn and firing off a missive to the council.

frogonabike

Did my first ever setting off without a helmet this morning... someone here mentioned it the other day and I wondered how. Turns out too much fun over the weekend is how.

Not a bad ride in after a quick trip back home. I have also broken my own rule recently and thought I'd try a bit of music even though I hate seeing people with headphones in. Turns out it's really very fun and gets you PB's. More than my fairly expensive wheel upgrade did :idea:

inbike

Trekz headphones are a good option if you still want to hear things around you.

The warranty service is fine, too. Mine were just replaced foc after 1.9 years when they stopped working.

veronese68

Asprilla wrote:

Yeah, ped gate is still open. There was a queue at 8am.

Clearly I'm blind and we have had plenty of notice. Obvs if I were driving to work I would have been one of the many performing an angry u-turn and firing off a missive to the council.

This combined with the roadworks around St Margarets may give me the perfect excuse not to give the Mrs a lift in on Wednesday, might manage 5 days on the bike then. I hope she doesn't suggest alternative routes.
Nothing noteworthy on my commute in other than I now have the biggest saddlepack in the world having ditched the back pack, much more comfortable. Oh, hang on, there was a trier in Bushy Park. I slowed rather than pass him due to a dog off the lead by the path. He heard me, looked round and accelerated. I still passed him and he hung on for a short while. I suppose that counts as competition, nearest I ever get at any rate.

kingstongraham

frogonabike wrote:

I have also broken my own rule recently and thought I'd try a bit of music even though I hate seeing people with headphones in. Turns out it's really very fun and gets you PB's. More than my fairly expensive wheel upgrade did :idea:

Likewise, but the reverse - if I play happy pop songs it just makes me less stressed in traffic. However I also got hit by a car, so I've stopped with the headphones in case I could have been more alert.

tgotb

12-year-old daughter got back from a lap of the park about an hour ago:
"Dad, I think there's some sort of competition going on; there are loads of people riding around Richmond Park on really expensive bikes with deep-section carbon wheels."
"Believe it or not, that's just what it's like in the Summer. Flash bikes, but sadly not always the legs to match."
"Oh, I know, I overtook loads of them."