Silly commuting racing

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  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Cruff wrote:
    TGOTB wrote:
    Cruff wrote:
    Kingstonian wrote:
    TGOTB wrote:
    Riding from Pen Ponds towards Ham last night I spotted a guy ahead who was clearly going for it. I'm normally quite restrained when it comes to SCR, but I had plenty left in the legs after a pootly commute, and this guy was all over his bike like Djamolidine Abdoujaparov trying to ride a pursuit.

    When I caught him he was probably doing 26mph, still out of the saddle, clearly with no idea there was anyone else around. As I cruised past on the opposite side of the road at 30mph, in the saddle (natch), he stopped pedalling, slumped back onto his saddle, and I heard the words "Jesus Christ"...


    Glad someone else also takes the approach that an overtake in the saddle is worth bonus points. I also like to make sure I'm also nonchalantly perusing the scenery around me while cruising past, just to rub it in.
    Bonus points for sitting up to take a drink as you pass

    Extra, extra bonus points for doing it no-handed
    I disagree. Trying too hard to look nonchalant is still trying too hard, and obviously so. Just ride past as if they weren't there and continue into the distance at the same speed.
    iPete (erstwhile poster here) had that down to a fine art. Generally when he went past me going up Broomfield like I was standing still...

    You'll be pleased to know that he's still in that form... and is now doing that in CX.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • cruff
    cruff Posts: 1,518
    That doesn't surprise me. Is he doing it fixed? :D
    Fat chopper. Some racing. Some testing. Some crashing.
    Specialising in Git Daaahns and Cafs. Norvern Munkey/Transplanted Laaandoner.
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Cruff wrote:
    That doesn't surprise me. Is he doing it fixed? :D
    I'll tell you tomorrow.
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,334
    Hope all goes well tomorrow, I'll be thinking of you as I drive up and down the M40.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • anonymousblackfg
    anonymousblackfg Posts: 2,029
    Reverse Sex Panthered it on Thursday, an utter treat. The only annoyance was a guy I wanted to shake just rolled up next to me at the next set of lights...

    Commuted mid morning today, I forget how come 10am CS7 is a free for all of terrible parking and it's quite depressing how little utility cycling there is going on through zones 5 - 2.
    If I know you, and I like you, you can borrow my bike box for £30 a week. PM for details.
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    TGOTB wrote:
    Cruff wrote:
    That doesn't surprise me. Is he doing it fixed? :D
    I'll tell you tomorrow.

    The commute? I think so. Didn't see the CX race; I think he damaged his frame in a race last week.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • drhaggis
    drhaggis Posts: 1,150
    anonymousblackfg wrote:
    Reverse Sex Panthered it on Thursday, an utter treat. The only annoyance was a guy I wanted to shake just rolled up next to me at the next set of lights...

    Everytime I read this, I can't shake off my mind a vivid image of londoners cycling in leather rather than lycra...
  • smokey_bacon
    smokey_bacon Posts: 1,639
    Dark, wet and dirty.....exactly how I like my commutes to be. Not a lot of people out and about so had most of Chelsea embankment to myself.
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    Need to change my brake blocks tonight; descending Broomfield I managed to get my speed down to 30kph despite pulling the levers as hard as I could. Taking it steady on the way home.
    Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
    Race - Fuji Norcom Straight
    Sun - Cervelo R3
    Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX
  • anonymousblackfg
    anonymousblackfg Posts: 2,029
    I quite enjoyed that, spotted some Rapha clad douche on a stork and cosmics at Clapham High Street, then realised it was a mate (guy on the white condor fixie with a big caradice) and slowed for a chat, he knew he was deserving of abuse given bike chat but figure his stork doesn't get ridden and he needed an excuse to clean it.

    All smugness removed by realising my dry pants in my bag had actually got damp.
    If I know you, and I like you, you can borrow my bike box for £30 a week. PM for details.
  • hopkinb
    hopkinb Posts: 7,129
    Asprilla wrote:
    Need to change my brake blocks tonight; descending Broomfield I managed to get my speed down to 30kph despite pulling the levers as hard as I could. Taking it steady on the way home.
    :shock: :shock: :shock:
    You could have done better by putting a foot down!
  • hopkinb
    hopkinb Posts: 7,129
    Dry top half. Wet bottom half.
    Found a massive stash of old FT's on someone's desk, so shoes are well stuffed. I am not at all confident that my bibs will be dry by sometime.
    I think my mudguards are under 4 tons of rubble in the back garden. :roll:
  • jacemano
    jacemano Posts: 18
    Soooo I got into a WET SCR this morning on CS7, neither of us had mudguards and so it very much spurred me on to put the hammer down. Worth it to not get water in my face, even though I arrived to work soaked anyway.

    I am glad its still warm though, the weather isn't really a bother
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,334
    Was planning on riding in today so mudguards were fitted and overshoes out of the cupboard last night. Mrs wasn't well so asked me to drive in and pick up her laptop, wouldn't fit in my backpack and the lad has the bike with a rack on it at uni so I had to drive in. Decided to take the old Mini the lad uses. Failed to collect CJ as I pulled out of the end of my road so just waved, probably just as well as he might have damaged the car and it's only little. Still got wet as I had to drive with the window open to keep the screen clear. It's all part of the character of old cars I keep telling myself. Also need to fix the headlights I discovered weren't working.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    hopkinb wrote:
    Asprilla wrote:
    Need to change my brake blocks tonight; descending Broomfield I managed to get my speed down to 30kph despite pulling the levers as hard as I could. Taking it steady on the way home.
    :shock: :shock: :shock:
    You could have done better by putting a foot down!

    Yeah. An inability to lock the back wheel isn't great. Whilst I don't really want to lock the back wheel I'd like to have the choice if I want to.
    Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
    Race - Fuji Norcom Straight
    Sun - Cervelo R3
    Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Lovely odour of overflowing sewer coming from the Thames last night...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,334
    Had to come in early and forgot Bushy Park has the cull on at the moment so had to ride around the outside, no competition as the water seems to have kept people off their bikes. Plenty of close passes, the worst of which from a tool on a motorbike. Caught him at a set of lights and indicated that he was way too close whilst not appearing angry, he looked suitably contrite and left me loads of room after that.
    Got to work and had the biggest battle of my commute, the zip had burst on one of my overshoes. Finally got it off but was an absolute sweaty mess by that point. The worst part of that is that it's happened before, I can easily repair it with a loop of thread when I get home. I'm bound to forget and have to battle the overshoe again the next time.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • smokey_bacon
    smokey_bacon Posts: 1,639
    Got lucky last night and this morning by dodging the rain. Embankment was mostly underwater last night which caused chaos. Put abit of effort in on the new malden bike lane and came away with my first ever strava pot....i'm off for a bacon sarnie to celebrate.
  • rower63
    rower63 Posts: 1,991
    TGOTB wrote:
    Lovely odour of overflowing sewer coming from the Thames last night...
    yes it was f*cking disgusting ... really strong all the way from Blackfriars to Victoria

    Also this morning a monster spill of diesel mostly on the cycle lane it seemed all the way from Chelsea to Lambeth. Didn't see anyone down but undoubtedly there will have been some "off"s
    Dolan Titanium ADX 2016
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    Bottecchia/Campagnolo 1990
    Carrera Parva Hybrid 2016
    Hoy Sa Calobra 002 2014 [off duty]
    Storck Absolutist 2011 [off duty]
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  • hopkinb
    hopkinb Posts: 7,129
    No evidence that nodders are soluble in water yet, still loads of them about.

    Cleaned and oiled my chain last night for the first time since 11 August following yesterday's soaking. Now it's all easy shifty-shifty and no squeaky-creaky. Couldn't find my chain stretch tester thing, but I expect I need to bin the whole lot and change ready for winter. The spares are waiting ready in the box.
  • anonymousblackfg
    anonymousblackfg Posts: 2,029
    Smokey Bacon wrote:
    Got lucky last night and this morning by dodging the rain. Embankment was mostly underwater last night which caused chaos. Put abit of effort in on the new malden bike lane and came away with my first ever strava pot....i'm off for a bacon sarnie to celebrate.

    Off to check strava for whether my KOM is intact... [EDIT] It seems Strava must no longer tell you when someone has taken your KOM, am down to third but the guy who is second is using it as a training loop and can only grind out a marginally better time than I did in a strong headwind and having to dodge around people learning to rollerblade... time for a proper effort.

    Agreed on the solubility of those nodders, they just keep bloody coming back.
    If I know you, and I like you, you can borrow my bike box for £30 a week. PM for details.
  • W1
    W1 Posts: 2,636
    rower63 wrote:
    TGOTB wrote:
    Lovely odour of overflowing sewer coming from the Thames last night...
    yes it was f*cking disgusting ... really strong all the way from Blackfriars to Victoria

    Also this morning a monster spill of diesel mostly on the cycle lane it seemed all the way from Chelsea to Lambeth. Didn't see anyone down but undoubtedly there will have been some "off"s

    There were a couple of people with bikes standing around the junction just after Chelsea Bridge (Eastbound) warning about the ice rink, so I think some riders had come to grief. Certainly felt very twitchy along there. How can a driver not notice a massive slick like that - they must be getting about 2MPG!

    Visit from the fairy last night just to add to the joy of all the other stinking filth coming off the Thames!
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    Did I see CJ fixing a puncture in the park this morning? He appeared to have hiked half a mile into the bush to fix it. Either he was embarrassed or it was CX run practice.
    Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
    Race - Fuji Norcom Straight
    Sun - Cervelo R3
    Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Asprilla wrote:
    Did I see CJ fixing a puncture in the park this morning? He appeared to have hiked half a mile into the bush to fix it. Either he was embarrassed or it was CX run practice.

    You did.

    The front was going flat just before the path on the left leading off to the cafe, so I decided to wander to the seating area to prop the bike up.

    That smell last night was a bit rough, and wondered if there were any... er... bits on the road and finding their way into the spray, or if it was just the odour.

    Tetanus shots anyone?
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    cjcp wrote:
    That smell last night was a bit rough, and wondered if there were any... er... bits on the road and finding their way into the spray, or if it was just the odour.
    Hopefully not - the blurb for the new super sewer seems to suggest the existing sewer built into the Embankment has insufficient capacity during a rainstorm (because a lot of London's storm drains also empty into the sewer), so it overflows into the river.

    I'm hoping all the water in our basement car park had made its way in from above via external leaks, but fear the drains may have been working backwards...

    Why can't the council keep the storm drains along Embankment clear? Surely it can't be *that* hard?!?
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,273
    think I chose the right week to be off the bike with a cold.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,334
    KingstonGraham wrote:
    think I chose the right week to be off the bike with a cold.
    It's been a good week to be on the bike for my route of Kingston to Hanworth, traffic has been pretty abysmal and it's about to get worse Roadworks starting at this end tomorrow, next week work is starting on Kingston Bridge.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    KingstonGraham wrote:
    think I chose the right week to be off the bike with a cold.
    I don't mind it (apart from the smell on Tuesday); it's been consistently warm, and windy enough to give a bit of a workout on the way home without being a slog.
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • thiscocks
    thiscocks Posts: 549
    TGOTB wrote:
    Kingstonian wrote:
    Glad someone else also takes the approach that an overtake in the saddle is worth bonus points. I also like to make sure I'm also nonchalantly perusing the scenery around me while cruising past, just to rub it in.
    I hardly ever get out of the saddle; only exceptions are race starts, practice race starts, and if I manage to get myself in the wrong gear. It's undignified, tiring, and defeats the object of choosing a sedentary sport.

    Bowls or golf are sedentary sports, not cycling.
  • hopkinb
    hopkinb Posts: 7,129
    thiscocks wrote:
    TGOTB wrote:
    Kingstonian wrote:
    Glad someone else also takes the approach that an overtake in the saddle is worth bonus points. I also like to make sure I'm also nonchalantly perusing the scenery around me while cruising past, just to rub it in.
    I hardly ever get out of the saddle; only exceptions are race starts, practice race starts, and if I manage to get myself in the wrong gear. It's undignified, tiring, and defeats the object of choosing a sedentary sport.

    Bowls or golf are sedentary sports, not cycling.

    sedentary

    /ˈsɛd(ə)nt(ə)ri/

    def: (of a position) sitting; seated.


    Neither golf, nor bowls are played whilst seated.

    Cycling, at least the way I do it, is carried out whilst seated.

    :wink:

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