Silly commuting racing

kingstonian

Yeah, I'm now WFH until at least 31st March so will be hitting the park every so often to keep the legs going.

cjcp

mattsaw said:

Overtaken in the park last night

By someone on an electric scooter

I was doing 22mph. He flew past, doing 30 at least

I wondered if it would slow on the hills so buried myself to stay in touch until Broomfield.

Nope, the only thing that slowed him up was having to overtake the cars on the left-hander.

Tall chap, shouldering a man bag?

There's a chap on an e-mtb who absolutely shifts. He was doing 25+ through Molesey, bound for Walton, last Wednesday evening.

I finally made the pass by the reservoir, but it helped that I was in a car.

My daughter asked me if I could go that fast.

"Obviously", I answered...

silverstreak

We have one day firm wide compulsory WFH this week so will be doing RP laps (and coffee!) early tomorrow. Plan to be in the rest of the week, but yes, definitely laps if have to WFH for longer.

mattsaw

cjcp said:

mattsaw said:

Overtaken in the park last night

By someone on an electric scooter

I was doing 22mph. He flew past, doing 30 at least

I wondered if it would slow on the hills so buried myself to stay in touch until Broomfield.

Nope, the only thing that slowed him up was having to overtake the cars on the left-hander.

Tall chap, shouldering a man bag?

There's a chap on an e-mtb who absolutely shifts. He was doing 25+ through Molesey, bound for Walton, last Wednesday evening.

I finally made the pass by the reservoir, but it helped that I was in a car.

My daughter asked me if I could go that fast.

"Obviously", I answered...

Yes, that sounds like the same guy.

Haven't seen him around since thankfully as my legs are still recovering.

Weird cycling in today, lots of cyclists, but seeming fewer cars overall. Our mews is like a ghost town.

Most agencies in our industry have seen the sense and are WFH already. I get the impression ours would still be commuting in and blissfully ignoring a zombie apocalypse developing outside.

Also reading in Spain that cyclists are banned now. I'm not sure I could cope with 3-4 weeks cooped-up at at home.

Maybe I should have invested in a turbo.

elbowloh

My company still hasn't adopted a policy on working from home apart from everyone taking their laptops home at the end of the day, just in case.

I work from home on Mondays and Fridays anyway, but it would be nice if they could decide something for everyone.

anonymousblackfg

Boom WFH till further notice email has landed, time to plan some laps.

arsey

Up for laps as well. 7am at the café?

azzurri78

Yes. Was aiming for Thursday but thats looking wet so will be at RP tomorrow. Collicci's by Roehampton Gate although I was aiming for 6:30 to hopefully have time for a coffee afterwards

tgotb

Maybe I'm being a boring old f*rt, but doesn't organising group rides rather defeat the object of the social distancing that has us all working from home in the first place?

Some local clubs have already suspended club rides for exactly this reason. I'll be doing laps of the park and other rides, but on my own.

itboffin

tgotb said:

Maybe I'm being a boring old f*rt, but doesn't organising group rides rather defeat the object of the social distancing that has us all working from home in the first place?

Some local clubs have already suspended club rides for exactly this reason. I'll be doing laps of the park and other rides, but on my own.

This is the latest from BC today

"Our recommendation to clubs is that no organised activity (including rides, training, coaching, events) should take place during this period, in line with government advice on social gatherings on non-essential travel

You can still go out on your bike – we just recommend that you follow the latest advice with regards to hygiene and social distancing"

martinc

I Resurrected my 3lap challenge at lunchtime. Went clockwise.. didnt show up on strava as a segment though. Will aim for sub 1hr by May.

silverstreak

Not tried the 3 lap challenge yet and now have the WFH edict. So seems like a good time to try. Is the aim to do it less than one hour? I’m 20-21 mins per lap for two at the moment (ACW) and may try 3 tomorrow. First time I’ll have had the time to do it - I don’t do much outside commute.

azzurri78

Yep on second thoughts and with the guidance on social distancing the cafe meet is canned and planning on solo riding. Good luck with your 3LC’s

monkimark

Looked like there were a lot of wfh corona commuters in the park this morning - not many rucksacks or panniers on display. Other than that, pretty quiet.

joe_totale-2

Anyone else find that the roads were busier than normal today? I commute from Lewisham to Croydon and there was a traffic jam stretching from Brockley that went past Forest Hill.

Apparently it's desperate panic buyers driving to supermarkets first thing to buy more loo roll.

Also I imagine that anyone who owns a car but usually uses public transport is now using their car.

smokey_bacon

monkimark said:

Looked like there were a lot of wfh corona commuters in the park this morning - not many rucksacks or panniers on display. Other than that, pretty quiet.

Yeah, I was one of them. I was surprised by the amount of big-ish groups that were out. It was like a Saturday morning on a Wednesday.

silverstreak

Looks like everyone had the same idea to head to RP. Busy, busy, busy this morning. Managed to get a couple of laps in before the traffic built up and coffee became just too tempting. A shade under 40 minutes. So that third lap will be a tight affair...

monkimark

joe_totale-2 said:

Anyone else find that the roads were busier than normal today? I commute from Lewisham to Croydon and there was a traffic jam stretching from Brockley that went past Forest Hill.

It's strange on my commute - the traffic is very quiet out in the sticks but then as you get into London it gets pretty heavy and in places it's probably busier than usual.
I guess anybody with a long commute is just wfh but people who want/need to be in work but normally get the tube have switched to the car,.

tgotb

monkimark said:

It's strange on my commute - the traffic is very quiet out in the sticks but then as you get into London it gets pretty heavy and in places it's probably busier than usual.
I guess anybody with a long commute is just wfh but people who want/need to be in work but normally get the tube have switched to the car,.

We're mostly working from home now, but if we *have* to be in the office, advice is to avoid public transport and drive or take a taxi, then claim the cost on expenses.

kingstonian

My experience in the park this morning was one of too much traffic to put a decent 3 lap time down. Admittedly I left home 30 mins later than I had originally planned, so may aim to crawl out of bed earlier next time.

joe_totale-2

Roads pretty quiet on my way home yesterday afternoon, could be a good time to grab some PR's...

Still pretty busy this morning mind, I imagine once the schools are closed next week and we may be in lockdown things will be a lot quieter.

wolfsbane2k

Self isolate mode, so not even a faux cycle commute
Rollers are cheap - so tempted to get a set to at least get the legs going!

They're not that hard are they... ?

kingstonian

wolfsbane2k said:

Self isolate mode, so not even a faux cycle commute
Rollers are cheap - so tempted to get a set to at least get the legs going!

They're not that hard are they... ?

All I'll say is make sure your first couple of rides are done in a doorway so it is nice and easy to grab hold of something if/when you have a wobble

tgotb

wolfsbane2k said:

They're not that hard are they... ?

To begin with, set them up in a narrow corridor or doorway. Stick the bike in a hard-ish gear before you start, and look straight ahead. Seems to take most people 5 or 10 mins to get the hang of it.

Know that if you do fall off, it's more like toppling over after failing to unclip at the traffic lights than crashing at speed; it's unlikely to cause anything more than embarassment unless you land on the dog, Ming vase, wood burning stove etc.

Zwift on rollers is very much an advanced technique; first time I tried it was fine until I got to a corner, at which point I steered the bike straight off the side of the rollers.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

wolfsbane2k said:

Self isolate mode, so not even a faux cycle commute
Rollers are cheap - so tempted to get a set to at least get the legs going!

They're not that hard are they... ?

Don't you live somewhere a bit east of me in SO18, somewhere between Porchester and Havant?

How much of of the rough Upham/ South Harting/ Hawkley triangle of the South Downs have you explored on a bike, especially your newer nice disc road bike?

If your lungs feel ok and you aren't needed at home, why not do a few very gentle loops of exploration? I'm happy to suggest a few roads/lanes to use north of the Botley/ Deanlane End line if it's of any use.

Self-isolating here too due to partner's contnuous cough and she has been told to self-isolate, but while I'm feeling quite woolly-headed and a bit fatigued, I'm not coughing... Tempted to head out for a gentle solo ride before it will stop being a sensible option at all.

silverstreak

Inspired by the government advice that getting out to exercise is a good thing, self-isolated or not, headed to RP again today with my other half. Much less busy, colder, but still an ace place to be. If they close it, and we’re not allowed out any more, against my better judgment I’ll be getting on a turbo indoors and joining the legions on Zwift.

hopkinb

Did a fauxmute of 3 laps of RP over lunchtime. Did it in exactly an hour. They'd better not shut the park, that's how I intend to stay sane.

asprilla

Remember those of you getting rollers that we dont want to be burdening the NHS now.....

rick_chasey

Lads, I am back commuting on the bike!

My own shoebox of a house is unbearable to work in with a 16 month old as she cannot understand why I don't want to play with her so just tantrums constantly.

As a result, I am cycling to the other side of Cambridge to sit in a basically quarantined room at my parents', who have the space.

I am less fit than when CJ first encountered me in RP all those years ago (though at least I am pushing 79 inches, not 70), but the main priority is not to arrive breathing heavily over everything.

All in all about 15 minutes but woah, gotta say, I do miss it....

silverstreak

Managed to squeeze in another couple of (solo) pre WFH laps of RP today before the hordes arrived. This could get addictive. Still 40 minutes - need the wind to drop (or to get fitter) to have a realistic chance of doing sub one hour for three.