Silly commuting racing

lost_in_thought

Oooh ooh I want to play! Anyone out to the west? Coming in on the uxbridge road?

I may well be joining the embankment peloton for a run in to Kensington from Wapping on friday AM...

Where do I come in the food chain? I'm on a fixed, no brand name anyone will have heard of, tend to wear yoga pants and a polo shirt, clipless shoes but they're shimano old man sandals so not uber-cool... and I shave my legs, but I am a girl so I think i'm allowed!!!

lost_in_thought

Oh and 2 pannier bags...

jedster

LiT,

welcome

Where do I come in the food chain? I'm on a fixed, no brand name anyone will have heard of, tend to wear yoga pants and a polo shirt, clipless shoes but they're shimano old man sandals so not uber-cool... and I shave my legs, but I am a girl so I think i'm allowed!!!

yoga pants? clipless sandals? I'm not sure if we've adequately considered these options.
Using my new (lazy) finger in the air calcutation method, I think you've watered down the fixie to about FCN 5. I reckon we'll know you when we see you - I'm guessing there aren't many riders answering your description!

J

Clever Pun

Greg T wrote:

2wheelzgood wrote:

Re meeting other Players- spoke cards anyone?

No

I'm a grown up.

Jaysus.

Not just me then... spoke card are wrong... a patch on your commuting bag would be an acceptable alternative

unless of course you have some spokey dokeys?

cjcp

lost_in_thought wrote:

Oooh ooh I want to play! Anyone out to the west? Coming in on the uxbridge road?

I may well be joining the embankment peloton for a run in to Kensington from Wapping on friday AM...

Where do I come in the food chain? I'm on a fixed, no brand name anyone will have heard of, tend to wear yoga pants and a polo shirt, clipless shoes but they're shimano old man sandals so not uber-cool... and I shave my legs, but I am a girl so I think i'm allowed!!!

I read "yoga pants" and nearly fell off my chair. And then I read you were a girl, so I've since recovered. A bit.

I think Victor Ludorum is out West.

lost_in_thought

So according to Greg T's original list:

Scooters
Single speed fixed hub
Single Speed
Roadies
Roadies with hairy legs
"Fast Hybrids"
MTBs on Skinnies
MTBs on Nobbies
Bromptons / collapsing bikes
MTB full sus on Nobbies
Shoppers
Shoppers wicker baskets
Electric bikes

I'm level with a hairy legged roadie... good... good... :twisted:

cjcp

jedster wrote:

LiT,

welcome

Where do I come in the food chain? I'm on a fixed, no brand name anyone will have heard of, tend to wear yoga pants and a polo shirt, clipless shoes but they're shimano old man sandals so not uber-cool... and I shave my legs, but I am a girl so I think i'm allowed!!!

yoga pants? clipless sandals? I'm not sure if we've adequately considered these options.
Using my new (lazy) finger in the air calcutation method, I think you've watered down the fixie to about FCN 5. I reckon we'll know you when we see you - I'm guessing there aren't many riders answering your description!

J

Oh, most definitely.

snooks

Greg T wrote:

2wheelzgood wrote:

Re meeting other Players- spoke cards anyone?

No

Agreed...maybe even a FCN penalty for anyone seen annoyingly clicking along

Greg T wrote:

I'm a grown up.

Hmmmmmm....Jury still out on this one!!!

Anyone would think you were a kiddie in a SS Sweet shop!! :P

2wheelzgood

:oops:







it doesn't make clicking noises like what you lot who are older than me used to do with your old bmx and raleighs to make em sound like motorbikes!

I am part of a group. people do like me really.

ride_whenever

"snooks2 wrote:

Agreed...maybe even a FCN penalty for anyone seen annoyingly clicking along

What about people with hope hubs?

snooks

lost_in_thought wrote:

So according to Greg T's original list:

Scooters
Single speed fixed hub
Single Speed
Roadies
Roadies with hairy legs
"Fast Hybrids"
MTBs on Skinnies
MTBs on Nobbies
Bromptons / collapsing bikes
MTB full sus on Nobbies
Shoppers
Shoppers wicker baskets
Electric bikes

I'm level with a hairy legged roadie... good... good... :twisted:

Latest info is on the Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17813152777 and now looks like this after 60 odd pages of tweeking :
FOOD CHAIN NUMBERS:
1. Scooters
2. Roadies with shaved legs - like girls *
3. Proper rapid Single speed (real men, messengers, tarty shiny fixies) *
4. Roadies with hairy legs - like men *
5. Faux Single Speeds (fakengers, dirty/functional bikes, silly egg beater gear) *
6. Touring Bikes (Mud Guards) *
7. "Fast Hybrids" *
8. MTBs on Skinnies *
9. MTBs on Nobbies
10. Bromptons / collapsing bikes
11. MTB full sus on Nobbies
12. Shoppers
13. Shoppers wicker baskets
14. Electric bikes
* Pedal Adjustment +1
• ONLY FCN 2-4 gain points for overtaking the same FCN and Higher Chainers

and there is a hand FCN Calculator thanks to Fury here http://www.citrusskies.co.uk/fcn

Hope that clears things up....oh and bieing a girl you get to shave yer legs for free, but seeing you ride fixed I doubt this will come into the equation

snooks

ride_whenever wrote:

snooks wrote:

Agreed...maybe even a FCN penalty for anyone seen annoyingly clicking along

What about people with hope hubs?

Hope YES - Shouldn't be clicking if yer riding properly should they??

Spokey card thingies as used around the era of the Red Hand Gang...NO!!!!!!! :evil:

ride_whenever

Aaah but how better to grind your oppenent psychologically than coasting noisily...

lost_in_thought

Groovy... So I'm a faux single speed, that sounds very fair, I do have panniers.

What's a fakenger?

Do I get more points if I overtakegeared bikes uphill? And if they're men? I think the psychological damage of being overtaken uphill by a girl on a fixie with pannier bags and her work clothes on would be worth my having to wash my work clothes more regularly...

:twisted:

lost_in_thought

On citrus skies I come up as 7...

ride_whenever

You should definitely get more points if you make them cry.

cjcp

lost_in_thought wrote:

Groovy... So I'm a faux single speed, that sounds very fair, I do have panniers.

What's a fakenger?

Do I get more points if I overtakegeared bikes uphill? And if they're men? I think the psychological damage of being overtaken uphill by a girl on a fixie with pannier bags and her work clothes on would be worth my having to wash my work clothes more regularly...

:twisted:

I would simply have to stop all forms of cycling.

victor ludorum

Attica wrote:

- it's then that I realise he is playing the game, just not very well at all.

Mark you well, everybody...

Here are the words of a true warrior!

Qapla'

attica

Mmmm...

A girl on a fixie, a rare breed indeed. Why aren't there more of you?
How many inches are you riding?

stop that sniggering at the back you lot

2wheelzgood

Attica. tixie chicks. search for it. I doubt you'd be riding with them though.. although if you volunteer as a polo judge. I'm rambling I have no idea how bike polo even works.. against the laws of sense and physics on a fixed if you ask me.

victor ludorum

Greg T wrote:

Bretheren I throw myself on the mercy of the order, I ask forgiveness

Bourbon "Let life be short; else shame will be too long."

Henry V.

This morning is relatively uneventful, had a chat with a beardy roadie about my bike - he's considering "dabbling". Collected a couple more roadies.....

Then


Hang on I need to take a moment







At the last lights before Tower Hill I ease by a shaven headed guy on a hybrid and build up some crank speed.

Hubris is a muddy funster.

I discount the hybrid as I'm going to cane the hill, down on the drops, stood up and leveraging hard.

I think you know where I'm going here

The mistake I make is not really getting my crank spinning before I hit the hill so as a consequence I'm out of my top notes band and whilst I wouldn't say I'm struggling I've gone up there faster. I'm working a biggish gear hard however - no - excuses.

So did the Hybrid....

Richard II - 'Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings.'

(Richard II)

You may have overstretched your ring, and now you are bent all out of shape...

snooks

lost_in_thought wrote:

On citrus skies I come up as 7...

Sounds about right...it's yer non-cycling clothes and your stealthy clippy sandals that do it

If you were to get into some lycra (no, I'm not being suggestive ) loose the panniers in favor of a back pack and get some new shoes (show me a girly that doesn't want new shoes!!! ) and you'll be up there with the hairy roadies.

lost_in_thought

Snicker snicker @ Attica!!! :P

I have no idea, I bought the thing as a track bike off t'interweb and have been riding it as it arrived plus a brake and the panniers since then...

But... but I like my panniers... and my sandals! I do occasionally wear the cycling shorts though. Mostly, however, I do so because I'm wearing a skirt on my way to an evening out or a meeting and I need some shorts under said skirt.

So can I be a 7? Pleeeeeeease?

attica

victor ludorum wrote:

Attica wrote:

- it's then that I realise he is playing the game, just not very well at all.

Mark you well, everybody...

Here are the words of a true warrior!

Qapla'

Victor, you go and post something nice about me whilst I'm off concocting innuendo.

A warrior - maybe, a lecherous git - most definitely, and now I've scared Lost in Thought off.

Apologies to all, I will reign in my testosterone in future (except when I'm playing the Game obv)

Greg T

Attica wrote:

I will reign in my testosterone in future

What are you going to rain your testosterone in and how's your aim?

cjcp

2wheelzgood wrote:

CJCP, defo a moral and points victory for you. What FCN are you? Surely even "non players" (we all know the game plays you so everyone is playing- they just aren#t conscious of it..yet! :twisted: ) know if they are using you to make their ride (life) easier and I'm sure feel shame that they didn't dig deep and man up to the bike (ego) they are showing the world.
Next time you use the velodrome individual sprint tactical where you slow down to a trackstand and see if they come past, then put the hammer down.
This way not only do you expose their laziness and blatant thievery of energy (remember the positive accumulation thereof when gaining on an "adversaryt"?) but are able to display your masterclass in a way that rudely awakens them to The Game!
:twisted:

I don't do trackstands. They nearly always end in tears for me. I nearly had to resort to one on the Muur-Kappelmuur last year, but decided that it was better to risk the wrath of fellow cyclists through a full on charge through the crowd than look like a prize goon for falling sideways.

I actually did ease up, but he showed no interest in overtaking, so kept up a reaosnable pace because I didn't want to be scalped by those fixie types or feisty mtbers.

lost_in_thought

Nope, not scared off... still here!

There must be other girls in the game though, or is this a boys club??

victor ludorum

cjcp wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Oooh ooh I want to play! Anyone out to the west? Coming in on the uxbridge road?

I may well be joining the embankment peloton for a run in to Kensington from Wapping on friday AM...

Where do I come in the food chain? I'm on a fixed, no brand name anyone will have heard of, tend to wear yoga pants and a polo shirt, clipless shoes but they're shimano old man sandals so not uber-cool... and I shave my legs, but I am a girl so I think i'm allowed!!!

I read "yoga pants" and nearly fell off my chair. And then I read you were a girl, so I've since recovered. A bit.

I think Victor Ludorum is out West.

Speak of the devil and he appears... :twisted:

My usual route is: Uxbridge Road -> Shepherd's Bush Green and Roundabout -> Holland Park Avenue -> Notting HIl-> Bayswater Rd -> Sussex Gardens -> Marylebone Rd / Euston Rd -> King's Cross for Cambridge.

I'm on a canary yellow, lime green and celeste bianchi road bike with matching fizik saddle (yes... I know) and am usually in posey kit.

Times vary...

I'm always happy to find some worthy competition...

I had to dash up to Ealing yesterday (am about to complete on a house purchase so I'm not in work much just now...) and spotted a lycra clad lass on a metallic pink Surly go past while I was unlocking my bike to go home. The trip, in fact riding full-stop recently, has been a bit of a dry hole Game-wise so I was eager to give chase, but I had a few minutes to make up. Being a well behaved sort, every time I stopped at the lights I could feel her slipping further away, but just as I got to the downhill section through Acton High St, I spotted her. I began to build up my speed so I could impress (ahem...) her with my elegant spinning technique (cough...) high speed derring-do (cough cough...) and hairy legged manliness (cough hack splutter...) when she only bloody pulled up and stopped outside the Morrisons! Once again, fate vomits on my eiderdown.

I had to run down to Wandsworth this morning. Absolutely nothing. One muppet on a battered tourer in his work clothes who RLJed, under cut and generally made and arse of himself, and nowt else...

lost_in_thought

Excellent! I'll keep an eye out for you. Sadly, however, as you're heading to cambridge and I'm only heading to kensington, our time of day may not match... I don't usually leave home until 8am...

I'm Ealing Broadway (join it just before a406 junction) -> uxbridge road -> shebu roundabout -> hang a right to holland road-> high street ken.

And I'm on a grey fixed, 2 panniers, no fancy gear! Very long hair, usually in a ponytail. Not the girl on the surly...

victor ludorum

lost_in_thought wrote:

Nope, not scared off... still here!

There must be other girls in the game though, or is this a boys club??

It definitely isn't a boy's only club, all are welcome.

In fact, as we discovered recently, GB track star Victoria Pendleton plays when she's out shopping on her panniered hybrid hack... We'd invite her to be patron, but we're afraid, quite sensibly, that she'd laugh herself sick. (and that's more than Greg T's hybrid battered manhood (and over stretched ring) could take...)

The first time I ever realised I was playing The Game was against a girl. Although that was in the bad old days of, now banned, unlicensed back street speed filtering in traffic matches. Happy days!