Silly commuting racing

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  • blu3cat
    blu3cat Posts: 1,016
    Finally felt fit enough to try some scalps this morning, new bike but 3 weeks out - thought I'd try my luck, but oh the traffic, and about 90% of the people on my ride in were weaving all over the road at 5 mph, tongues hanging out mashing the gears with a cadence of about 3 Maybe this evening........
    "Bed is for sleepy people.
    Let's get a kebab and go to a disco."

    FCN = 3 - 5
    Colnago World Cup 2
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    While you're there with your crazy maths skills, how can I work out the circumference of an ellipse? I need new P-clips, my pannier rack is wobbly.

    There are two methods.

    First, take a reasonably sized towel, and soak it in cold water. Wrap it tightly around your head, then study this.

    The second is to use a tape measure. :D
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    Greg66 wrote:
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    While you're there with your crazy maths skills, how can I work out the circumference of an ellipse? I need new P-clips, my pannier rack is wobbly.

    There are two methods.

    First, take a reasonably sized towel, and soak it in cold water. Wrap it tightly around your head, then study this.

    The second is to use a tape measure. :D

    Jesus christ... :shock:

    I thought there might be a nice simple way involving taking an average of the 2 diameters and treating it like a circle...

    Tape measure it is then! :D
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • Bassjunkieuk
    Bassjunkieuk Posts: 4,232
    Amazing ride this morning! Even tho I was on my short commute I managed to bag 1 1/2 scalps - I shall explain........

    Dropped the eldest off at school and start heading back out towards to main road only to spot a fully lycra'd up roadie whip past aboard an Orbea :shock: Not the usual BSO that I spot of a morning so I do my best to "not run" to my usual start off point a few yards up the road (railing outside school......) thankfully there are road works so the traffic is fairly light and I have a look down the road to spot my launch opportunity, all the while Orbea boy is getting a bigger lead. I spot a whole in the traffic, that is also filled with a roadie!!!! I jump on, clip in and push off thinking "Christ! Stuck between a rock and a hard place :-)"

    Bearing in mind I'm just setting off I wind the speed straight up into the 20's as I can just make out the Orbea in the distance and know I have a roadie chasing at my coat tails behind me :-) Lights ahead go red and the roadie catches me up.........bu99er......as they change I lay down some extra awesome to ensure I'm off ahead and start trying to again eat into the lead the Orbea has. 200 yards down the road I'm still going strong, Orbea rider is getting closer and I can't even see the roadie who was behind me - assume he's turned off to follow the sissy cycle route :-)

    Catch up with Orbea guy at the next lights and drop him at a junction a bit further ahead, but I think that was more due to my filtering for the lane I needed ahead - still happy tho as he had a very good lead on me when I boarded and I hadn't even had a chance to warm the engines!

    Taking an extended ride home today so I can stretch the legs a bit more :-)
    Who's the daddy?
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  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    will3 wrote:
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    If this continues I'm going to start having words to people who travel at 4mph but plant themselves in front of me at lights. :x

    Please ask what is going through their minds when they do this. It confuses the fk out of me.

    Yeah, me too. And it's very irritating.
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • biondino
    biondino Posts: 5,990
    Observations this morning: women cyclists might be more susceptible to fatal lorry accidents than men because (and this is a generalisation but bear with me):

    - when they see a gap, they just keep sailing along towards it; male riders are more likely to size it up, and ride more assertively until they're through, even the bad ones.

    - male riders are often faster, putting themselves in a dangerous position for a shorter amount of time

    - the faster and more aggressive actions of male riders are more visible to other road users, including lorry drivers.

    Two riders today performed suicidal undertakes - one was a bloke but he fitted the above points perfectly. Should I say something? The woman undertook a bus then promptly rode up onto the pavement so I didn't even have the chance.

    In other news, electric bikes - they're implacable. Even if they only cruise at 15mph, they keep cruising at 15mph come hell or high water, so at the traffic lights, they're always there. Not that the guy was riding badly, but he was unshakeoffable, like a biting insect!
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • blu3cat
    blu3cat Posts: 1,016
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    will3 wrote:
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    If this continues I'm going to start having words to people who travel at 4mph but plant themselves in front of me at lights. :x

    Please ask what is going through their minds when they do this. It confuses the fk out of me.

    Yeah, me too. And it's very irritating.

    Probably a 4mph wind.....

    And then of course you overtake them almost immediately, only for it to happen at the next lights / crossing.
    "Bed is for sleepy people.
    Let's get a kebab and go to a disco."

    FCN = 3 - 5
    Colnago World Cup 2
  • biondino
    biondino Posts: 5,990
    In other news, thanks loads to linsen and attica - the bottom-bracket-grinding noise I thought might be terminal was completely cured by, uh, cleaning my drivetrain, which my lovely friends did for me on the weekend. Saved me a trip to the LBS!
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    biondino wrote:
    In other news, thanks loads to linsen and attica - the bottom-bracket-grinding noise I thought might be terminal was completely cured by, uh, cleaning my drivetrain, which my lovely friends did for me on the weekend. Saved me a trip to the LBS!

    Tut tut Blondie, keep things clean!
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    biondino wrote:
    Observations this morning: women cyclists might be more susceptible to fatal lorry accidents than men because (and this is a generalisation but bear with me):

    - when they see a gap, they just keep sailing along towards it; male riders are more likely to size it up, and ride more assertively until they're through, even the bad ones.

    Is that because they have inferior brains?

    As illustrated here? :wink:

    You really are such a misogynist, BD. I don't know who you get away with it. :D
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    I watched a guy scoot down an insanely narrow gap between two buses today... muppet. Can see Blondie's point, for some of that...

    Another minor irritation from today - and I'm going to struggle to explain this clearly but bear with me...

    Dual carriageway, 2 buses in different lanes, surrounded by other traffic. Traffic in the RH lane comes to a halt. Due to its size, and the narrowing ofthe road, the RH lane bus is encroaching on the LH lane. LH lane traffic is behind a bus, which will not be able to get past the RH lane bus.

    So LH lane bus pulls up to the back of RH lane bus, perfectly fair, but pulls so close to it that there's about 10cm of space between the 2 buses. Because there's 2 buses, and a raised traffic island, there's no space to go round them, so cyclists are stuck.

    Now why on earth could LH lane bus not have left a foot or two of space between its front bumper and RH lane bus' rear bumper? That would have allowed cyclists into the empty lane in front of LH lane bus, and not inconvenienced the bus itself at all...

    Am I making any sense? Or am I perfectly illustrating Greg's point above?
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • Bassjunkieuk
    Bassjunkieuk Posts: 4,232
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    I watched a guy scoot down an insanely narrow gap between two buses today... muppet. Can see Blondie's point, for some of that...

    Another minor irritation from today - and I'm going to struggle to explain this clearly but bear with me...

    Dual carriageway, 2 buses in different lanes, surrounded by other traffic. Traffic in the RH lane comes to a halt. Due to its size, and the narrowing ofthe road, the RH lane bus is encroaching on the LH lane. LH lane traffic is behind a bus, which will not be able to get past the RH lane bus.

    So LH lane bus pulls up to the back of RH lane bus, perfectly fair, but pulls so close to it that there's about 10cm of space between the 2 buses. Because there's 2 buses, and a raised traffic island, there's no space to go round them, so cyclists are stuck.

    Now why on earth could LH lane bus not have left a foot or two of space between its front bumper and RH lane bus' rear bumper? That would have allowed cyclists into the empty lane in front of LH lane bus, and not inconvenienced the bus itself at all...

    Am I making any sense? Or am I perfectly illustrating Greg's point above?

    I think I get the jist of what your saying LiT, basically bus driver 2 is a complete d!ck for not leaving enough space for cyclist to go through, I see occasionally on some of the busier sections of my commute, was worse in Brixton through the High Street and to some degree in Camberwell, but I normally find it can be with any vehicles. If your not going to move any futher down the road does waiting 2" behind the car in front really make that much difference? It also creates a large hazard as you then get a back-up of cyclist......just people being inconsiderate a$$hats that don't look beyond the end of their bonnet.
    Who's the daddy?
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    Giant SCR 3.0 - FCN 5
  • edhornby
    edhornby Posts: 1,780
    edited June 2009
    biondino wrote:
    In other news, electric bikes - they're implacable. Even if they only cruise at 15mph, they keep cruising at 15mph come hell or high water, so at the traffic lights, they're always there. Not that the guy was riding badly, but he was unshakeoffable, like a biting insect!

    15mph ????

    MTFU

    :)

    Apologies Biondino, I'm in a pumped up mood today because I scalped a moped !

    he went passed me via rolling start through some lights that I was stopped at, I buried myself and managed to get onto his wheel and when he hesitated I took him (fully spinned out...) and managed to hold the speed until the lights near hydes brewery let me through and changed on him
    "I get paid to make other people suffer on my wheel, how good is that"
    --Jens Voight
  • prawny
    prawny Posts: 5,440
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    I watched a guy scoot down an insanely narrow gap between two buses today... muppet. Can see Blondie's point, for some of that...

    Another minor irritation from today - and I'm going to struggle to explain this clearly but bear with me...

    Dual carriageway, 2 buses in different lanes, surrounded by other traffic. Traffic in the RH lane comes to a halt. Due to its size, and the narrowing ofthe road, the RH lane bus is encroaching on the LH lane. LH lane traffic is behind a bus, which will not be able to get past the RH lane bus.

    So LH lane bus pulls up to the back of RH lane bus, perfectly fair, but pulls so close to it that there's about 10cm of space between the 2 buses. Because there's 2 buses, and a raised traffic island, there's no space to go round them, so cyclists are stuck.

    Now why on earth could LH lane bus not have left a foot or two of space between its front bumper and RH lane bus' rear bumper? That would have allowed cyclists into the empty lane in front of LH lane bus, and not inconvenienced the bus itself at all...

    Am I making any sense? Or am I perfectly illustrating Greg's point above?

    I get ya, that happens all the time in town, usually on my way home, they do it on purpose bus drivers hate you, didn't you know?

    I nearly got splattered by a bus driver yesterday, all through the city, no probs, down the main chester road - fine, get out to the country whoosh! I was doing 20 in a 30 over a blind crest with solid white lines, I caught up with him about 500m later and when I rode past he was playing with his phone! Tool! I was going to have a go at him but he looked like flavio briatore and I thought that was punishment enough :P
    Saracen Tenet 3 - 2015 - Dead - Replaced with a Hack Frame
    Voodoo Bizango - 2014 - Dead - Hit by a car
    Vitus Sentier VRS - 2017
  • Jay dubbleU
    Jay dubbleU Posts: 3,159
    Really wierd start to today - having had a visit from the PF yesterday I changed the tube at lunchtime and rode home - no problems - this morning tyre was flat as a flat thing - checked the tube, pumped it up, ran it through a bowl of water - nothing, not a bubble in sight - pumped it up again put it back on the bike and rode in - just checked it again and it's fine - only thing i can think is that I didn't screw the valve closed properly ?
  • biondino
    biondino Posts: 5,990
    edhornby wrote:
    biondino wrote:
    In other news, electric bikes - they're implacable. Even if they only cruise at 15mph, they keep cruising at 15mph come hell or high water, so at the traffic lights, they're always there. Not that the guy was riding badly, but he was unshakeoffable, like a biting insect!

    15mph ????

    MTFU

    :)

    Apologies Biondino, I'm in a pumped up mood today because I scalped a moped !

    Hah! Point taken. I guess what I mean is that they seem immune to having to slow down, and can speed up nice and quickly and easily, so dropping them in traffic is really hard. On the open road, of course, I'd leave them for dust - or ask them to up it to 30 and help me enjoy a quick spot of keirin...
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    edhornby wrote:
    biondino wrote:
    In other news, electric bikes - they're implacable. Even if they only cruise at 15mph, they keep cruising at 15mph come hell or high water, so at the traffic lights, they're always there. Not that the guy was riding badly, but he was unshakeoffable, like a biting insect!

    15mph ????

    MTFU

    :)

    Ah you beat me to it!
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    Il Principe wrote:
    edhornby wrote:
    biondino wrote:
    In other news, electric bikes - they're implacable. Even if they only cruise at 15mph, they keep cruising at 15mph come hell or high water, so at the traffic lights, they're always there. Not that the guy was riding badly, but he was unshakeoffable, like a biting insect!

    15mph ????

    MTFU

    :)

    Ah you beat me to it!

    tortoise and hare, tortoise and hare...
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • biondino
    biondino Posts: 5,990
    Like any of you fibbing fcukers *legitimately* average better than 15mph (real time) during your commutes...
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • jonginge
    jonginge Posts: 5,945
    biondino wrote:
    Like any of you fibbing fcukers *legitimately* average better than 15mph (real time) during your commutes...
    Yes. 11.3mi in 42mins is an average day. The last mile really drags the average down. Quite a bit slower the last couple of days ;)

    Edit: that's the way in. PB for the way home is 34:45
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    JonGinge wrote:
    biondino wrote:
    Like any of you fibbing fcukers *legitimately* average better than 15mph (real time) during your commutes...
    Yes. 11.3mi in 42mins is an average day. The last mile really drags the average down. Quite a bit slower the last couple of days ;)

    Edit: that's the way in. PB for the way home is 34:45

    Sorry Blondie I tend to average 17mph on my Willesden - Borough run (according to Garmin)
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    Il Principe wrote:
    JonGinge wrote:
    biondino wrote:
    Like any of you fibbing fcukers *legitimately* average better than 15mph (real time) during your commutes...
    Yes. 11.3mi in 42mins is an average day. The last mile really drags the average down. Quite a bit slower the last couple of days ;)

    Edit: that's the way in. PB for the way home is 34:45

    Sorry Blondie I tend to average 17mph on my Willesden - Borough run (according to Garmin)

    With auto-pause/resume on or not?

    I need to work out my average speed... and how to get my cateye back into mph.
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • jonginge
    jonginge Posts: 5,945
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    Il Principe wrote:
    JonGinge wrote:
    biondino wrote:
    Like any of you fibbing fcukers *legitimately* average better than 15mph (real time) during your commutes...
    Yes. 11.3mi in 42mins is an average day. The last mile really drags the average down. Quite a bit slower the last couple of days ;)

    Edit: that's the way in. PB for the way home is 34:45

    Sorry Blondie I tend to average 17mph on my Willesden - Borough run (according to Garmin)

    With auto-pause/resume on or not?

    I need to work out my average speed... and how to get my cateye back into mph.
    Door to door time. I laugh in the face of auto-pause. Aha-ha-ha
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • risi
    risi Posts: 231
    Yes, too. 12.66 miles in around 42 mins also. PB (home direction) 39:10.

    But there's a lot of country stuff so not much stopping.
    Specialized Allez
    Trek 6500
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    Il Principe wrote:
    JonGinge wrote:
    biondino wrote:
    Like any of you fibbing fcukers *legitimately* average better than 15mph (real time) during your commutes...
    Yes. 11.3mi in 42mins is an average day. The last mile really drags the average down. Quite a bit slower the last couple of days ;)

    Edit: that's the way in. PB for the way home is 34:45

    Sorry Blondie I tend to average 17mph on my Willesden - Borough run (according to Garmin)

    With auto-pause/resume on or not?

    I need to work out my average speed... and how to get my cateye back into mph.

    :oops: You've got me there, auto pause is always on. Av speed would be fricking terrible otherwise as I don't RLJ...

    ...perhaps that's a valid excuse for RLJ?
  • shoulder_of_orion
    shoulder_of_orion Posts: 529
    JonGinge wrote:
    biondino wrote:
    Like any of you fibbing fcukers *legitimately* average better than 15mph (real time) during your commutes...
    Yes. 11.3mi in 42mins is an average day. The last mile really drags the average down. Quite a bit slower the last couple of days ;)

    Edit: that's the way in. PB for the way home is 34:45

    I was wondering what a respectable time was for a London commute. Mine is an almost identical distance, yesterday I did a roundtrip PB in 78mins flat, mainly because of a scorching home leg, almost a minute off my PB at a shade over 36mins - which is an average of about 19mph... I do not stop the clock when I am stopped.

    If the lights work in your favour it makes a massive difference.
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    BUSTED! :P :D
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • UndercoverElephant
    UndercoverElephant Posts: 5,796
    Ahem, I managed 12 miles in 42 minutes last night. Nearly 17 mph. On my £40, nobbly-tyred BSO. Oh, and there was a headwind.
    Sun - Rain - Snow
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    Well - I tend to do the 14 miles in 50 ish minutes doorstep to doorstep and have a personal best of 45 minutes...
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Shoulder of Orion wrote:
    JonGinge wrote:
    biondino wrote:
    Like any of you fibbing fcukers *legitimately* average better than 15mph (real time) during your commutes...
    Yes. 11.3mi in 42mins is an average day. The last mile really drags the average down. Quite a bit slower the last couple of days ;)

    Edit: that's the way in. PB for the way home is 34:45

    I was wondering what a respectable time was for a London commute. Mine is an almost identical distance, yesterday I did a roundtrip PB in 78mins flat, mainly because of a scorching home leg, almost a minute off my PB at a shade over 36mins - which is an average of about 19mph... I do not stop the clock when I am stopped.

    If the lights work in your favour it makes a massive difference.

    God knows, it is so route/light dependant - hit every green with light traffic and a tailwind and you're gonna see a huge difference over red lights, snarlups and headwinds

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