Silly commuting racing

Littigator

Saw it.... are you going on the tweed ride? Come along...join us!

Clever Pun

Littigator wrote:

Saw it.... are you going on the tweed ride? Come along...join us!

I don't own tweed surprisingly, I'll have a look at it. Looks like a laugh... but I have not a stitch to wear

Oh yes I nearly came a cropper on some ice this morning as I was walking across the patio to my bike shed... what would have hurt

Littigator

Love it...the black ice gets you whilst you are walking to retrieve your bike

As for the tweed...beg borrow or steal some

Clever Pun

Littigator wrote:

Love it...the black ice gets you whilst you are walking to retrieve your bike

As for the tweed...beg borrow or steal some

from my friends???? might have a look in a charity shop this weekend. if I do go.. a beer beforehand?

I'm off to a burns night that evening for some proper whisky business

Littigator

I'm doing the charity shop run for sure if that doesn't come good then I'll try up Camden Market.

Definitely beers beforehand as well, a couple of guys have already suggested it.

Clever Pun

Littigator wrote:

I'm doing the charity shop run for sure if that doesn't come good then I'll try up Camden Market.

Definitely beers beforehand as well, a couple of guys have already suggested it.

don't know if I'm willing to try that hard

Coriander

What are you two talking about?

Clever Pun

Coriander wrote:

What are you two talking about?

The tweed run.. a load of fixed gear bikes in central london with riders all looking very very stupid

greg66_tri_v2.0

cjcp wrote:

jashburnham wrote:

Oh and @ Greg66, an Endo is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoppie

Yep, one of them things. Except picture 4 is where things differ...

@ Feltup & Litts -

Ohh. You *definitely* don't want to be practising those in traffic. I would have thought that's completely obvious...

cjcp

Clever Pun wrote:

Coriander wrote:

What are you two talking about?

The tweed run.. a load of fixed gear bikes in central london with riders all looking very very stupid

This confirms my view that fixers are very odd people. :P

lost_in_thought

Oooooh I have tweed!

I want to play... Anyone got a small reciprocating saw? I'm sure I'm all healed up :twisted:

cjcp

Greg66 wrote:

cjcp wrote:

jashburnham wrote:

Oh and @ Greg66, an Endo is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoppie

Yep, one of them things. Except picture 4 is where things differ...

@ Feltup & Litts -

Ohh. You *definitely* don't want to be practising those in traffic. I would have thought that's completely obvious...

Yeah, you'd think that, wouldn't you? :P

rb1956

cjcp wrote:

:shock: What? He actually gave in? Outrageous. You can't surrender like that. I think that's a scalp. You say "each time" though - did he re-take you on other parts?

No, there were two riders, and each did the same thing! Well, actually the first guy looked behind, pulled over and stopped in a controlled manner, but I suspect that the second just blew up because he stopped dead in front of me without looking until I shouted at him to get out of the way. Of course it was at just about the worst place for me to pass without getting crushed by traffic, but luckily I got a decent car-driver :shock: who gave me room rather than squeezing me into the armco in the usual manner.

Littigator

lost_in_thought wrote:

Oooooh I have tweed!

I want to play... Anyone got a small reciprocating saw? I'm sure I'm all healed up :twisted:

I knew you would have. I was thinking of asking if you had some I could borrow but will have a rummage in some shops instead. I'd hate to borrow some proper stuff then fall off and tear it.

The ride is on 24th Jan, details here...

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread14596.html

Will you have your cast off by then?

DiggingDeeper

Hmm......this tweed business

The Doff of The Cap award for most civilised behaviour on the day

Is the chapeau award about to be replaced by a 'Doff' by them as that can't work gears?

Does SCR support the carry of alcohol whilst riding? Hip flasks were mentioned

lost_in_thought

Littigator wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Oooooh I have tweed!

I want to play... Anyone got a small reciprocating saw? I'm sure I'm all healed up :twisted:

I knew you would have. I was thinking of asking if you had some I could borrow but will have a rummage in some shops instead. I'd hate to borrow some proper stuff then fall off and tear it.

The ride is on 24th Jan, details here...

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread14596.html

Will you have your cast off by then?

I'm dearly hoping to have it replaced by a removable air cast on tuesday... which would theoretically enable me to partake in some recuperative cycling... strictly recuperative, of course... no racing at all... it'll be tricky...

Whether or not that will include riding my fg remains to be seen, don't want to tear the effing thing again!

I'll play it by ear...

Littigator

well we can always reduce your GI to ease up on your leg if necessary.

As for the pace of the day approx 25ks around London I'm assuming a fairly cruisy speed.

Bassjunkieuk

Well my time of SJSR (Jury Service) racing has come to an end as I found out this afternoon my services are no longer required next week which means I'll be back on Commute riding next week!

Due to partaking in jury service it has been quieter then normal as 10 o'clock starts and finishing mid afternoon means I miss most of the "normal" commute floatsam :-(

Having said this I have found a couple of rather intent MTBer's this week, including some loon on a Specialized with droopy tri-bars today (they point down at about 45 degree.........I suspect they are un-used!) He came flying past at a set of lights just off Blackfriars Bridge and kept chomping at the bit at every opportunity - he always had a rolling start as I'd blitz him to the next set of lights :twisted:

Even my slight route variation to avoid the HUGE section of Brixton that has been shut as one of those silly victorian water mains has burst didn't bring any scalps, a nice Klein roadie this afternoon but he RLJ'd 3 times and I lost him, fecking t055er!

Mrs_Ragbrutty

Right. Am fixed. Broken bones are not quite so broken anymore. Kerbs do a lot of damage I've found, as do *** car drivers who can't see, don't look etc.

Racing, I'm getting to thinking that I'm always going to lose, I appear to be at the top of the food chain and the only way is down. I shall not shave, I shall wear my baggies and plead on behalf of my knackered knees.
BTW Are we allowed to race tractors and milk floats as well?

Bassjunkieuk

Welcome Mrs R :-)

Tractors and milkfloats can be claimed as scalps in a pinch, a milkfloat was once claimed to be a S.O.D - Scalp of the Day - a few hundred pages back, but I assume you already knew that as you MUST have read the past 500 pages
The general consensus I believe is that once targets become quite rarefied we have to "race" whatever we can :-)

greg66_tri_v2.0

Mrs_Ragbrutty wrote:

Racing, I'm getting to thinking that I'm always going to lose, I appear to be at the top of the food chain and the only way is down. I shall not shave, I shall wear my baggies and plead on behalf of my knackered knees.
BTW Are we allowed to race tractors and milk floats as well?

No sandbagging and no special pleading. Your role at the top of the food chain is to stay there and remind all around you why you're there

Take no prisoners. Roadies, women, children, scooters. Let them all taste the bitter bile of defeat at your hands :twisted:

R34PER

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Tractors and milkfloats can be claimed as scalps in a pinch, a milkfloat was once claimed to be a S.O.D - Scalp of the Day - a few hundred pages back,...................
The general consensus I believe is that once targets become quite rarefied we have to "race" whatever we can :-)

IIRC when i tried to cash in my tractor scalps the jury stayed out and never returned, i had to work bloody hard for them too, especially on a mtb with knobbleys, flats and panniers :shock: i am now claiming them as ultimate scalps. the one was an epic battle too with two fast descents and a tricky climb. the noise of the engine growing louder really spurs you on though before the final climb i couldnt even see him so i eased off slightly but when it came into ear shot, how i kicked up the pace

also scalped a fast hybrid today. he made a rookie error. when i first noticed him he was on the pavement and i was gaining fast but i know pavements make them inactive, he did a quick shoulder check and jumped onto the road... foolish boy. now active i blasted past and continued making a monster gap until i hit traffic. he eventually caught up, RLJ'd and dodged between the cars in the opposite lane to mount the pavement again. i was almost at my exit so i figured there was no point in another chase then he shot off up a one way the wrong way! :roll:

attica

R34PER wrote:

IIRC when i tried to cash in my tractor scalps the jury stayed out and never returned, i had to work bloody hard for them too, especially on a mtb with knobbleys, flats and panniers :shock

I think you can definitely claim those scalps, Tractors move at speeds of at least 20mph I'd say, faster ones more like 30, to take one and keep it behind you on a hill with that FCN deserves respect, chapeau sir.

gtvlusso

Hey Attica, Can I get a scalp for a Ferrari?! Whats the consensus? No, it was not Ronaldo's "re-shaped" one.

I followed it through the luverly Brizzle traffic up to the lights at Greyfriars in town - to be honest, it was an older Ferrari - maybe a 308 GTB or something - anyhow, it sounded rough! So, I get to the lights where it is waiting (old, grey haired guy driving, MILF in passenger seat) - I filter by the thing and sit just to it's right in the cycle box. Rather than unclipping, I lean against a post on the pavement to steady myself - swing the cranks to my preferred start leg, my right. The guy has the engine slightly over revved, so, he is clearly gonna go for it - As that light hits amber, I jam my right leg down and pound like a m*therf*cker - bike swinging about under me, click, click click through the gears - quick look under my left arm reveals that I have indeed left the ferrari standing - however, he very soon catches, but as he does there is an almighty grinding noise - I check over my shoulder again (as he is now next to me) - smoke is pissing out of the back of the Ferrari - He has to stop...I carry on with a wry smile on my face.

I would like to think that he completely lunched the clutch to catch me off the lights - however, it is more likely that the car was a dog to begin with......

I am off to find a milk float now!

Bassjunkieuk

hehe! well done gtvl! On the subject of Mr R's re-shaped model was anyone on here upset? I think the worse thing is that he could walk away! I'm sure where he crashed would have had a low speed limit and he certainly wasn't doing 30 to write a car off like that!
Still he only need work for another fortnight to get another :x

attica

Aww, that's the equivalent of scalping someone who is in the middle of a cardiac arrest, doesn't stop it being quite funny though.

I refer you to the rule about FCN being a guide and that your conscience will know if it's a scalp or not.

Reminds me of Clarkson returning from the "Bristol to Reading in a cheap Italian supercar" run with the bits of his engine in a bucket.
(Anybody else notice that May left Bristol in completely the wrong direction?)

biondino

Not commuting, and definitely not racing, but I did a 27-miler on my own this morning in -5 degrees, just a loop through Middlesex and back to my house. Man my toes got cold!

Here's the route:



And here's a pic of me wearing my woollen ear-warmers I was given for Xmas (which worked flawlessly and gave me toasty ears the whole journey)

linsen

Well done for getting out, Blondie - looks like a fab ride (btw is that a mean and moody look - very impressive )

I went out for a bit on the MTB this morning, with my new SPD pedals, and took it very easy on the tracks we went on - I have no intention of being the next SCR girlie to have enforced time off two wheels - I have got into the habit of eating so much now if I stop riding I will inflate in minutes!

DiggingDeeper

About Getting Out.........................Trying to answer several threads (2009 resolutions, DDD love of cycling etc) but shoved in here under some spurious relevance which I'll make up!

This is mostly for DDD as I said I would get back to him on the subject of my legitimate racing earlier today. Given that you lot like comparing thighs (euphamism for comparing distances/speeds etc) here's the gory truth.

100 mile a week commuting has seen speed and fitness grow recently, scalping being easier mostly, not many pretenders to the throne on my route............so time to benchmark ones ability in the real world of racing. North Chingfords SCR representative steps forward at Hog Hill today for cat4 race. (note TCS is South Chingord/Highams Park representative)

The first thing that alarms is the complete lack of traffic lights (so no excuses here about RLJers and more importantly, no rests

Cutting to the chase......and I was chasing

Got lapped, finished 3rd last, 45 mins @ 17.5 mph average, 13.? miles

NOT last, boy was that a relief. I appeared to have reasonable flat speed, but the 1 in 10 hill was murder and did for me, 12 or so times up that swine was a real killer.

What conclusions can I draw and put forward for examination by the internet SCR panel.

The obvious ones first:
[1] You'r too fat
[2] You'r too slow
[3]Find a better way to occupy your Saturday

Being slightly more scientific
[1] Commuter cycling, even 24 mile a day only makes you commuter fit
[2] Drafting on track = good, drafting on commute = bad
[3] If legitimate racing is what you want to do, one needs to put in some savage mileage over and above the commute :shock:

DDD - you mention about doing something similar.....................There is no point in me giving you my experiences, you do need to have a go if you really want to establish yourself in the pecking order.

However, if like most people and it really doesn't matter and you just want to stick to the commute as that is fun enough, that's good too.

My ego got a dent today, but as Fu Manchu said (for the older members that one) I will return.

Off to stand in front of mirror and shout MTFU at ones self.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend..............................

itboffin

biondino wrote:

Not commuting, and definitely not racing, but I did a 27-miler on my own this morning in -5 degrees, just a loop through Middlesex and back to my house. Man my toes got cold!

Here's the route:



And here's a pic of me wearing my woollen ear-warmers I was given for Xmas (which worked flawlessly and gave me toasty ears the whole journey)

I hope you've adjusted your FCN to take into account the beard.