Silly commuting racing

cjcp

There was something oddly refreshing about it. Didn't make it any less drier, but refreshing nonetheless.

EDIT: saw a roadie go down on the freshly painted red lines tonight. He was ok, but careful all.

gb155

ohhh almost forgot, As im cycling up the large hill one mile from home I hot a ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH from 2 pavement pirates (chavs) I love this country lol

flamite

cjcp wrote:

There was something oddly refreshing about it. Didn't make it any less drier, but refreshing nonetheless.

EDIT: saw a roadie go down on the freshly painted red lines tonight. He was ok, but careful all.

by battersea bridge just before 7? that was me, bloody red lines were uber slippery.. got nice cuts on leg and arms now,

cheers for stopping to ask if i was ok!!

cjcp

flamite wrote:

cjcp wrote:

There was something oddly refreshing about it. Didn't make it any less drier, but refreshing nonetheless.

EDIT: saw a roadie go down on the freshly painted red lines tonight. He was ok, but careful all.

by battersea bridge just before 7? that was me, bloody red lines were uber slippery.. got nice cuts on leg and arms now,

cheers for stopping to ask if i was ok!!

Yep, that's the place. Didn't get a completely clear view of what happened, but it seemed to happen in front of a car. :shock: The red lines are fcukers. :x Why can't they paint the sodding pavements red? Glad you're ok.

cjcp

gb155 wrote:

ohhh almost forgot, As im cycling up the large hill one mile from home I hot a ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH from 2 pavement pirates (chavs) I love this country lol

Are we the only country in the world with chavs?

flamite

cjcp wrote:

flamite wrote:

cjcp wrote:

There was something oddly refreshing about it. Didn't make it any less drier, but refreshing nonetheless.

EDIT: saw a roadie go down on the freshly painted red lines tonight. He was ok, but careful all.

by battersea bridge just before 7? that was me, bloody red lines were uber slippery.. got nice cuts on leg and arms now,

cheers for stopping to ask if i was ok!!

Yep, that's the place. Didn't get a completely clear view of what happened, but it seemed to happen in front of a car. :shock: The red lines are fcukers. :x Why can't they paint the sodding pavements red? Glad you're ok.

Cheers don't know what happened either but felt back wheel just go from underneath me, quite frightening ESP when I landed on my arse in the mid of road... Think the back wheel is buckled, ouch

Irony is I managed whole icy season with no fcuk ups... Bloody slicks

cjcp

Btw, how the hell can you ride with bare legs from the knees down? :shock:

flamite

MTFU, were you never forced to run cross country in this weather, kinda get used to it...

gert_lush

ever have one of those days when it almost goes very wrong! This morning 2 seperate cars failed to see me and pulled out on me despite being lit up like an xmas tree with a bright yellow jacket. Then on the way home in the peeing rain i went down a rather large hill and my sometime dubious in the wet brakes became utter useless in the wet brakes and i almost soiled myself when the traffic ahead starting slowing and i had been pulling the levers back against the bars for about minute already, and couldn't get the bike below 22mph!!! fortunately the traffic sped up and the road flattened out.....As soon as i got home i adjusted my brakes :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:
lesson to myself, don't be so lax with bike maintenance and adjust brakes more than twice every 3000miles :oops: :oops: :oops:

DiggingDeeper

Evening All,

It appeared my weeks ski cross training did not stand me in good stead! I like understatement and perverse humour CJ but I couldn't bring myself to describe tonights ride as refreshing. God it was miserable, headwind and no brakes, just miserable.

A roadie come tourer chap and myself had some sensible to and fro tonight, given better weather I think he would have given me a hard time. I was pleased to hear of his cold feet just before we parted - not just me who has'nt sorted that one out yet.

I was seriously thinking about the Specialised Fixed X bike recently talked about on this or another thread, never have been a fan of fixed wheel but tonight the lack of braking was really getting to me.

To the chap that crashed tonight - glad your ok - the car being 18" away would have been distrubing.

Better post this before her indoors finds me plotting another bike.

cjcp

DiggingDeeper wrote:

Evening All,

It appeared my weeks ski cross training did not stand me in good stead! I like understatement and perverse humour CJ but I couldn't bring myself to describe tonights ride as refreshing.

I was pleased to hear of his cold feet just before we parted - not just me who has'nt sorted that one out yet.

Saw a courier this morning with plastic bags over his feet/under his shoes. Have you also tried old sport socks over the shoes, but underneath overshoes?

gb155

cjcp wrote:

Btw, how the hell can you ride with bare legs from the knees down? :shock:

MTFU 8) :P

gb155

cjcp wrote:

gb155 wrote:

ohhh almost forgot, As im cycling up the large hill one mile from home I hot a ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH from 2 pavement pirates (chavs) I love this country lol

Are we the only country in the world with chavs?

Fair point, They were Pirate Chavs though

DiggingDeeper

cjcp wrote:

Saw a courier this morning with plastic bags over his feet/under his shoes. Have you also tried old sport socks over the shoes, but underneath overshoes?

The plastic bag idea ran through my mind during the convesation with soaking cold roadie chap at the time. One of my mates suggested this the other day as we were discussing a joint purchase of neoprene footwear on Wiggle (they didn't have my size as there was a bit of winter rush on at the time)- he has used this bag technique many a time in his rough northern youthage. I even mentioned it to the chap behind the counter at Evans the other day, they didn't have my size either - he was quite in favour of the bags!

I guess the etiquette is to cut the plastic to match the shoe line rather than have the bag riding up your leg held in place with some trouser clips - the high riders would stop the leakage that the cut down bags would not prevent. Your stealth capability would be severely impaired though with all that flapping plastic. Your potential scalp would hear you miles away! Do Rapha sell their goods in plastic bags or some china clay paper nonsense? Surely Rapha bags would be only +1 as opposed to Tesco flappers at +3

Better get back onto Wiggle I guess

lost_in_thought

Careful with that plastic bag thing, if you're on the bike for any length of time it will not have a good effect on your feet. I was talked into doing that on a DofE expedition, and had the worst blisters I've ever seen as well as that odd thick white dead skin thing you get from spending too long in water. Ewwww.

In other, less icky news, I saw one of my regular scalpees, rapha guy, out and about this morning, and managed to keep up with him! Not wheel-sucking, no, but about 4 bike lengths behind.

Hurrah!

I do know he's a little slow, and used to be scalped regularly, but I'm encouraged! Also, nobody overtook me this morning...

Hurrah again!

Feltup

Steady!

I think you need to put a sticker or a note on your handlebars reminding yourself that you are still in rehab.

edit: might sound like your father but I feel slightly (very very slightly) responsible for your injury

lost_in_thought

But but but but it didn't hurt! And I was in a spinny gear! Well, I think I was. I might go down and count some teeth.

It'll be fine...

And you know I was joking, right? Mind you if you psychically maim me again there'll be hell to pay...

Feltup

If we do both end up on the Dunwich Dynamo and somehow both of us are together at the bottom of the last big hill and you were then to physically start to drop me on that hill I might have to psychically give you brake rub

Clever Pun

last night I catch up with 2 roadies in the pi$$ing rain we hit some traffic and I bide my time one of the guys makes the right decision and gets away from us, the road then opens up and I drop the 2nd rider like a stone... I catch teh other guy and take him smoothly on a lovely big arching corner... would have been pretty to watch... nothing else on the road except soggy plebs

Pretty quiet this morning (but I was running 30 mins late) 2 slow roadies duly dispatched... glad it wasn't hammering it down again but the wind was pretty tough

jedster

ah yes, soggy feet.

Last night I was doning the provincial leg of my commute, in the dark, in driving rain. There's a section of road that is prone to standing water. As the road was clear (of traffic not water!) I moved to the middle (taking advantage of the camber) and stood on my pedals at 3 and 9 oclock (I see another fixie drawback here!). The damn puddle was nearly up to my bottom bracket. Just had enough speed to get me through it.

My winter footwear is shimano MTB boots (neoprene/goretex) and I was wearing roubaix bib tights. Even so my calves got an icy shower and I realised, as the water ran down into my boots, that I forgot to pull the bottom of the tights OVER the neoprene cuffs.

Guess what happened this morning?

er, yeah, doh!

J

jedster

oh forgot. On the bright side, I got to the puddle a little before a white van which was coming the other way. I raised my hand to try to pursuade him to wait for me to clear it (about 20 yards). And you know what? He did!

If he'd come though at the same time it would have looked like I'd swam to work.

J

biondino

Yesterday I completely forgot I even owned overshoes. Ah well - the wetsuit effect does give you some protection from the cold, I guess.

lost_in_thought

I have come to the conclusion that overshoes are never really waterproof.

I found a pair of old overshoes, that waterproof trouser fabric, come all the way up to my knees, pretty serious things.

My shoes were still wet when I got home last night. Not as wet as they were when I got to work yesterday, I grant you, but wet nonetheless.

Clever Pun

lost_in_thought wrote:

I have come to the conclusion that overshoes are never really waterproof.

I found a pair of old overshoes, that waterproof trouser fabric, come all the way up to my knees, pretty serious things.

My shoes were still wet when I got home last night. Not as wet as they were when I got to work yesterday, I grant you, but wet nonetheless.

Get winter shoes... dooo eeett

iain_j

I can honestly say I've never had wet feet even in torrential rain and waterlogged roads, as long as I've got overshoes and mudguards on. I used to take the guards off at the start of summer but didn't bother last year cos summer was wetter than winter.

My commute is getting annoying. Route 1 is no-go because of roadworks at a right bottleneck of a junction and the traffic's been known to back up for over a mile. Route 2 has been ok but more and more drivers are realising they can avoid #1's traffic by going along #2 so this morning I had the same mile-long queue. Only other option would be to go the 'scenic way' which is nice but would involve getting out of bed earlier, which with current levels of job motivation, isn't likely - it's over 8 weeks since I was told I've got my new job and they'll be in touch with the start date...

linsen

I want to treat myself to some proper road shoes but then I get to thinking about what cleats and therefore pedals and I lose courage and give up again.

Please will someone just boss me about and tell me what to get? I have never had trouble clipping in and I'm very confident on a bike, so I am confident I woudl get used to anything.

Rode HOTA in crappy MTB SPD shoes and I was fine, but just like when I raised my saddle a little, I know that small changes can make big differences

lost_in_thought

Clever Pun wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

I have come to the conclusion that overshoes are never really waterproof.

I found a pair of old overshoes, that waterproof trouser fabric, come all the way up to my knees, pretty serious things.

My shoes were still wet when I got home last night. Not as wet as they were when I got to work yesterday, I grant you, but wet nonetheless.

Get winter shoes... dooo eeett

*assumes rubbish arnie accent*

Eef i could find zem I vould!

Clever Pun

lost_in_thought wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

I have come to the conclusion that overshoes are never really waterproof.

I found a pair of old overshoes, that waterproof trouser fabric, come all the way up to my knees, pretty serious things.

My shoes were still wet when I got home last night. Not as wet as they were when I got to work yesterday, I grant you, but wet nonetheless.

Get winter shoes... dooo eeett

*assumes rubbish arnie accent*

Eef i could find zem I vould!

http://www.sbrsports.com/1011/378-250195

lost_in_thought

Clever Pun wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

I have come to the conclusion that overshoes are never really waterproof.

I found a pair of old overshoes, that waterproof trouser fabric, come all the way up to my knees, pretty serious things.

My shoes were still wet when I got home last night. Not as wet as they were when I got to work yesterday, I grant you, but wet nonetheless.

Get winter shoes... dooo eeett

*assumes rubbish arnie accent*

Eef i could find zem I vould!

http://www.sbrsports.com/1011/378-250195

Woop! Those are the MTB ones, right? And the Fahrenheit ones are the road ones?

don_don

linsen wrote:

I want to treat myself to some proper road shoes but then I get to thinking about what cleats and therefore pedals and I lose courage and give up again.

Please will someone just boss me about and tell me what to get? I have never had trouble clipping in and I'm very confident on a bike, so I am confident I woudl get used to anything.

Rode HOTA in crappy MTB SPD shoes and I was fine, but just like when I raised my saddle a little, I know that small changes can make big differences

Start with some basic Look or Shimano SPD - SL's (105 or Ultegra level). If you need lots of float due to dodgy knees, try Speedplay XS's

Get on with it