Silly commuting racing

cjcp

blu3cat wrote:

52x16 is my gear of choice on the commute. I have been known to lap RP for a couple of hours in that gear.

Clockwise or anti?

No fellow SCRers this morning, did manage to take a detour via RP, and added a lovely, damp lap and 10 extra miles to the commute. Great start to the morning.

I've been with him in both directions. It's not as depressing as it used to be. You get used to it.

jonginge

cjcp wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

Rich158 wrote:

I'm running 50x16, it's killing me :shock: :shock: :shock:

Think of the leg strength you're getting.

52x16 is my gear of choice on the commute. I have been known to lap RP for a couple of hours in that gear.

It's your only gear! The others don't work, do they?

They probably do work I just haven't checked this year

shoulder_of_orion

I was pootling in a bit this morning as I was feeling a bit shonky and had slept in an hour later than usual. However, an unholy alliance of green lights meant that I hit Embankment bang on average time (about 26mins in).

At the lights at Lupus street, I saw an exotic sight: bib tights, northwave top (no bag), banana in back pocket, bianchi carbon, aero bars. He went past me as he hit the lights as they turned green, but I followed him up to Chelsea bridge and game on!

He RLJs at Chelsea Bridge, which pissed me off as I do not often get such illustrious targets on my morning commute and I wanted a fair fight. So by the time the lights turn green, he's a good 50m ahead on the down ramp on the other side, he's on the aero bars going full guns. I am gaining on him and am maybe 20 yards behind by the time we hit the flat (and the brutal headwind). A bit further along the Chelsea Embankment he begins to eke out the gap again 22 yards, 24 yards - I tell myself this is because of his superior aero position into the headwind.

At this point we both blitz past a hybrid man we both doing at least 5mph faster than the hybrid, but as this happens the traffic thickens and we are forced into filter mode and we all come together at the lights at albert bridge. It remains a no score draw to Battersea bridge. My superior road craft and knowledge of the Battersea bridge junction and dangerous first corner into Cheyne Walk (I take the outside line where the motorbikes go) means that I am first into the clear air on Cheyne Walk.

Now I lay the power down, I'm on the drops don't look back. When I finally do look back as I approach Kings Road, they are going backwards. Bianchi man, followed a good distance behind by tenacious hybrid man.

Italian Carbon 0, Brash American Aluminium 1

King Donut

JonGinge wrote:

Ah, that's where everyone has gone: they're just less lazy than me. Left the house 20mins earlier than has been my wont of late and there they were: an entire peloton of roadies. Quite a few were on their carbon obviously pootling and quite probably racing this evening...

Exchanged incredulous glances with a chap on lo-pro TT machine with tri-spoke rear wheel when a dustbin man walked across the two moving lanes of traffic on embankment expecting everyone to stop. Nutter

It all clicks in to place…

Passed a huge peloton on Embankment this morning, seemingly being held up by a couple of slow starters at the front. Sure enough someone kicks off the front and flies past me - strawberry blonde locks flowing out the back of his helmet - only to be held up just after Waterloo Bridge underpass when a dustbin man walked across the two moving lanes of traffic on embankment expecting everyone to stop. I brake hard behind him and some guy on a silly bike with a plastic 3 spoke wheel, just managing to keep my balance and a touch of speed that gives me a good run in all the way to Blackfriars… somehow I’ve passed them both.

Legs bobbing with nervous anticipation of the challenge that I can feel breathing down my neck I refuse the chance of a warm down and carry a decent 30ish in to the tunnel. Suddenly all except the road ahead appears black; Cash’s deepset words are nothing but a distant whisper on my headphones; I’m starting to experience a floating sensation, when BAM!... I’m brought crashing back down to earth by the strawberry blonde terrorist as he rips past me for the second time in as many miles. I’m left blushing like a schoolgirl, lusting for the merest glance. But alas he just powers off down Upper Thames st and I double back for my office.

60 mins, 1 shower & a change of clothes later and I’m still sweating.

Shoulder of Lamb wrote:

… I am gaining on him and am maybe 20 yards behind by the time we hit the flat (and the brutal headwind). A bit further along the Chelsea Embankment he begins to eke out the gap again 22 yards, 24 yards - I tell myself this is because of his superior aero position into the headwind…

Top SCRing
But I have to point out… everyone knows there is no such thing as a westerly on the embankment in the morning

Roastie

Rich158 wrote:

Gazzaputt wrote:

Where do you start from Rich?

Gravesend :shock: :shock:

Just across the river from where I (usually) work .

biondino

Roastie wrote:

Scalped badly tonight. By a Dynamo on a Trek and some hipster on a fancy fixie with green chain, rolled up jeans, etc.

cjcp wrote:

*I've been overtaken uphill in RP by someone on a fixed wearing the same gear.

Gentlemen, at the next Morpeth drinks I shall place two glasses, a bottle of single malt and a service revolver in the gents cubicle. I think you both know what to do.

the_hundredth_idiot

I cruised past a fairly solid-looking hybrid/MTB on the way to work this morning - MTB doing about 15mph, me doing a little more (FCN=6). Then I hit a hill, my speed drops and the MTB comes whizzing past me, guy's jacket flapping in the wind, still doing about 15 mph. I took him again on the flat and as I passed, had a sneaky peek at the fairly chunky rear hub and, yup, as you might have guessed, it was an electric bike.

With a bit of sneaky RLJing on his part, we did a bit of leap frogging for a while until we went our separate ways. I gave myself an excuse for the humiliation from an MTB as he had a motor (and RLJed) but I felt the burning, humiliating :oops: stares from pedestrians and other cyclists who hadn't spotted he was cheating. I thought it was a bit poor of the guy - he looked younger than me and perfectly fit and healthy - I thought electric bikes were for grannies.

So why are electric bikes an FCN of 14? If they can cruise quite happily at 15mph on the flat and uphill, surely that would at least put them somewhere between MTBs on nobblies and skinnies, no?

I demand a re-rating. :evil:

jonginge

King Donut wrote:

Legs bobbing with nervous anticipation of the challenge that I can feel breathing down my neck I refuse the chance of a warm down and carry a decent 30ish in to the tunnel. Suddenly all except the road ahead appears black; Cash’s deepset words are nothing but a distant whisper on my headphones; I’m starting to experience a floating sensation, when BAM!... I’m brought crashing back down to earth by the strawberry blonde terrorist as he rips past me for the second time in as many miles. I’m left blushing like a schoolgirl, lusting for the merest glance. But alas he just powers off down Upper Thames st and I double back for my office.

I hurt myself today. To see if I still feel. I focus on the pain. The only thing that's real...

Yay me*. You were going a pretty decent speed through the tunnel. Me, I use the tunnel as a last bit of speed training before turning north towards old street: not strictly SCR, definitely trying Got to ~34mph today at a spinny 130+ cadence


* you didn't see me wheezing like an asthmatic warthog on the east side of the tunnel

Rich158

Roastie wrote:

Rich158 wrote:

Gazzaputt wrote:

Where do you start from Rich?

Gravesend :shock: :shock:

Just across the river from where I (usually) work .

Oh you poor sod, if there's one place worse than Gravesend it's Tilbury :shock:

AyrshireBacon

biondino wrote:

Gentlemen, at the next Morpeth drinks I shall place two glasses, a bottle of single malt and a service revolver in the gents cubicle. I think you both know what to do.

Drink the whisky, hold up the bar-staff, steal the day's takings?

shoulder_of_orion

King Donut wrote:

Shoulder of Lamb wrote:

… I am gaining on him and am maybe 20 yards behind by the time we hit the flat (and the brutal headwind). A bit further along the Chelsea Embankment he begins to eke out the gap again 22 yards, 24 yards - I tell myself this is because of his superior aero position into the headwind…

Top SCRing
But I have to point out… everyone knows there is no such thing as a westerly on the embankment in the morning

Ah, an embankment wind connoisseur?

Yes normally you would be right, but actually since the begining of July I have been faced with a "sawesterly" most mornings. Which, on that bit of the embankment produces a cross/headwind which this morning was definitely more head than cross.

You probably haven't noticed as you are going in the opposite direction. I bet you notice in the evenings though?

I have a feeling that this weird sawesterly has been the cause of this strange unsummerly weather we have been having. Pulling in the nasties from the Atlantic rather than the heat from mainland europe...?

King Donut

Shoulder of Lamb wrote:

King Donut wrote:

Shoulder of Lamb wrote:

… I am gaining on him and am maybe 20 yards behind by the time we hit the flat (and the brutal headwind). A bit further along the Chelsea Embankment he begins to eke out the gap again 22 yards, 24 yards - I tell myself this is because of his superior aero position into the headwind…

Top SCRing
But I have to point out… everyone knows there is no such thing as a westerly on the embankment in the morning

Ah, an embankment wind connoisseur?

Yes normally you would be right, but actually since the begining of July I have been faced with a "sawesterly" most mornings. Which, on that bit of the embankment produces a cross/headwind which this morning was definitely more head than cross.

You probably haven't noticed as you are going in the opposite direction. I bet you notice in the evenings though?

I have a feeling that this weird sawesterly has been the cause of this strange unsummerly weather we have been having. Pulling in the nasties from the Atlantic rather than the heat from mainland europe...?

Of course. It's whipped up by the evening into a galeforce headwind

I think you're right about the useless weather. But there's probably some meteorologist on here who can tell us otherwise.

cjcp

King Donut wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

Ah, that's where everyone has gone: they're just less lazy than me. Left the house 20mins earlier than has been my wont of late and there they were: an entire peloton of roadies. Quite a few were on their carbon obviously pootling and quite probably racing this evening...

Exchanged incredulous glances with a chap on lo-pro TT machine with tri-spoke rear wheel when a dustbin man walked across the two moving lanes of traffic on embankment expecting everyone to stop. Nutter

It all clicks in to place…

Passed a huge peloton on Embankment this morning, seemingly being held up by a couple of slow starters at the front. Sure enough someone kicks off the front and flies past me - strawberry blonde locks flowing out the back of his helmet - only to be held up just after Waterloo Bridge underpass when a dustbin man walked across the two moving lanes of traffic on embankment expecting everyone to stop. I brake hard behind him and some guy on a silly bike with a plastic 3 spoke wheel, just managing to keep my balance and a touch of speed that gives me a good run in all the way to Blackfriars… somehow I’ve passed them both.

Legs bobbing with nervous anticipation of the challenge that I can feel breathing down my neck I refuse the chance of a warm down and carry a decent 30ish in to the tunnel. Suddenly all except the road ahead appears black; Cash’s deepset words are nothing but a distant whisper on my headphones; I’m starting to experience a floating sensation, when BAM!... I’m brought crashing back down to earth by the strawberry blonde terrorist as he rips past me for the second time in as many miles. I’m left blushing like a schoolgirl, lusting for the merest glance. But alas he just powers off down Upper Thames st and I double back for my office.

60 mins, 1 shower & a change of clothes later and I’m still sweating.

Shoulder of Lamb wrote:

… I am gaining on him and am maybe 20 yards behind by the time we hit the flat (and the brutal headwind). A bit further along the Chelsea Embankment he begins to eke out the gap again 22 yards, 24 yards - I tell myself this is because of his superior aero position into the headwind…

Top SCRing
But I have to point out… everyone knows there is no such thing as a westerly on the embankment in the morning

Quality reporting, sir.

cjcp

King Donut wrote:

But there's probably some meteorologist on here who can tell us otherwise.

This is where you're wrong.

It was established concusively on this forum last week that they can tell a fluffy, white cloud from a big, black, thundery one from 20 yards :P

Kieran_Burns

cjcp wrote:

King Donut wrote:

But there's probably some meteorologist on here who can tell us otherwise.

This is where you're wrong.

It was established concusively on this forum last week that they can tell a fluffy, white cloud from a big, black, thundery one from 20 yards :P

ummm... that would be CAN'T tell......



Oh, the hell of typoes.....

cjcp

Kieran_Burns wrote:

cjcp wrote:

King Donut wrote:

But there's probably some meteorologist on here who can tell us otherwise.

This is where you're wrong.

It was established concusively on this forum last week that they can tell a fluffy, white cloud from a big, black, thundery one from 20 yards :P

ummm... that would be CAN'T tell......



Oh, the hell of typoes.....

d'OH!

D'oh! :P

King Donut

JonGinge wrote:

I hurt myself today. To see if I still feel. I focus on the pain. The only thing that's real...

How apt.
See children, even Johnny Cash/Trent Reznor believed in the ancient philosophy of MTFU.

attica

So yesterday I managed my first commute on the bike in months, an awful admission I know, but work has successfully kept me away from the game for ages.

Nothing of note on the way in, but the homeward leg was fun, coming out of the city centre I rode straight over the top of a handy looking chap on a Tifosi roadbike, he was in full lycra and so equal with me on the food chain, I dropped him by quite a distance and then we started yoyoing, on the flat he was grinding out a bigger gear so gradually pulled closer to me, then on the hills I would drop him. This went on for about 5 miles until the outskirts of Long Ashton, he caught me having obviously put in a mammoth effort, gulping down air like a goldfish he overtook and promptly turned off (obvious pride at stake there) I felt charitable and gave him his scalp back although I'm not sure he deserved it as he definitely broke the "no obvious trying" rule.

First ride on my puny (then again I don't commute on a billiard table) 44:16 which is an upgrade from the old (way too spinny) 42:16, my SS is now part BMX :shock:

cjcp

All very quiet SCR action-wise tonight. Where'd everyone go?

Haaallllooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Is there anyone there?

Aidy

I had one, just after the Manor House lights, moving away from Finsbury Park.

I normally take this section a bit easy; I always get caught at the next set of lights.
But today some guy on what looked like quite a nice, retro steel road bike (hub gears, flats, didn't get much else) zoomed past me. Challenge on.

Sped up, moved properly into the next lane to overtake, and sailed past him. And for a glorious first, the lights stayed green!

Didn't see him again, scalp intact.

blu3cat

I also only had one scalp, although I am happy to return it to the chap.

Sitting at lights on Fulham Palace road, at the junction with Lillie road.

Lights go green, and the chap on the roadie is halfway across the first lane of the left hand side turn, when out of nowhere, a complete tw*t on a 50 cc L plated moped comes up at full pelt on the outside and without indicating swings his moped straight across the path of the chap in front missing him by inches. :shock: I think he was quite shaken (even though he siad he was fine) and took it easy after that. Seems a little cruel to count the easy scalp.

Also had some dragging wannabe on a specialized hybrid. Cruised past him fairly easily, and next thing I know he has put of a spurt of speed and sits on my wheel for about 5 mins, making no attempt to return the compliment. A quick "get yer own air" and then a gentle slow down just so I could retake his scalp and leave him missing my wheels.

Bassjunkieuk

Back on a proper commute for the rest of the week so I don't have to deal with the piggin mess that is Croydon town centre, the road works that have narrowed a usually 3 lane section down to one along with some dodgy light phasing make the first stint a right pain........but where you have pain you also get some gains :-D

In this case it is the stretch of road just across the junction and past the roadworks, usually along here I'm either drafting a bus or trying to avoid being taken out by the various boy racers but today it was COMPLETELY clear, nothing like having 2 lanes all to yourself to wind up some big gears and have a blast

Had an even quicker section ahead tho as I pulled away from another set of lights, the speed seemed to be coming deceptively easily (NO tailwind.........I'm sure......). It became apparent that I was really tooling along as no cars had passed me yet, a quick glance down and my Cateye is reading 28mph :-D A give an extra kick and see the magical 30 and hold it for as long as my legs will allow! Get to the railway bridge and only allow myself to drop one gear at the back and stomp up that (all 50m of it!) and arrive home in a sweaty mess......not bad considering i'd only done 2 miles!!

gb155

My awesomeness shone through yesterday morning when I passed one of those hybrid people 26.7 mph into a nasty head wind, he held onto my back wheel for a mile and a half, After that I was pulling away, I think im enjoying myself at the moment

Kieran_Burns

gb155 wrote:

My awesomeness shone through yesterday morning when I passed one of those hybrid people 26.7 mph into a nasty head wind, he held onto my back wheel for a mile and a half, After that I was pulling away, I think im enjoying myself at the moment

I finally bloody sussed it.

GB155 is Wiggo in a fat suit. Has anyone met him? Is there a suspicious looking zip hidden down the back?

I swear at some point, he's going to come clean and unzip himself. Lying b*st*rd.



(mind you, you have to wonder at the muscle mass that must have built up - you really ARE doing a wiggo in that your power to weight ratio is shifting massively, It's no bloody wonder you're so quick now. Well that or you ARE a lying sod )

Kieran_Burns

Oh, and zero cyclists this morning - well there was one guy with calves like flaming... calves. The bottom part of his legs looked like they would go "moo" given half a chance - they were HUGE.

Still went straight past him though 8)

cjcp

King Donut wrote:

.. I’m brought crashing back down to earth by the strawberry blonde terrorist as he rips past me for the second time in as many miles. I’m left blushing like a schoolgirl, lusting for the merest glance. But alas he just powers off down Upper Thames st and I double back for my office.

Hehe. Same thing happened to me this morning.

Hooked up with JonGinge on Chelsea Embankment and pootled in until Temple-ish, where we picked up a bit of speed. Picked up a couple of riders just before the tunnel and with me being painfully slow off the lights, a roadie and a mtb went past, with one roadie on my rear, JG behind him. And then he's off like a startled gazelle, with four other riders left thinking, "My bike doesn't do that." He wasn't caught.

Then a moment of pure comedy. A ped listening away to his iPod, carrying his morning coffee, walks right in front of a guy on a Brommie, who's ringing his bell furiously. They collide. Coffee spilt over the ped. Oh dear, what a pity, never mind.

Bassjunkieuk

OMFG, what a ride this morning! As some others have noticed it appears setting off earlier means more cyclists around and this certainly rang true this morning.
The first person to succumb was a chap on a celeste Bianchi in Streatham. Fair play to him he did seem to be on my tail from when I past him to the point where we split about 3/4 mile later (which I'm sure he RLJ'd) but he never managed to get back ahead!

On the run down from Tooting Bec to Waitrose I claimed the scalp of a chap on a SS and then another once I'm on the drag up the small incline past the petrol station :-)

Coming past the common this morning was wonderful, the fair weather had brought out all the lurvly joggers so I found myself having to juggle watching traffic with admiring the "scenery" ;-) A red light at the end of the common brings me to a halt and I spot my next 2 victims. Both are proceeding at a rather rapid pace and appear to be on SS, once I'm clipped in I start reeling them in and once the traffic permits I'm passed. It was along here that I found what could have been a very fun chap to toy with. He was aboard a white/blue Trek with aero bars and was shifting. I got past him but his insistence on RLJ - which included going round the wrong side of the traffic island by Stockwell tube and using the ped crossing bit to get ahead meant he was proving more difficult to re-scalp.
He turned up South Lambeth Road and I managed to reel him back in before the 1st crossroad lights but they changed as we got closer and he went literally flying through, barely even slowing :shock: He was doing a solid 23-24mph which made the original scalping a bit of an "effort" and made closing down the gap after a light change almost impossible.

Up and over Vauxhall Bridge I arrive at the north side and line up by a chap on roadie with aero bars (not the same Trek) and proceed to drop him away from the lights and dont see him again. Arrive at work "glowing" and check the Cateye.........19.1mph moving average :shock: Not only a new PB for this site but a best average speed for any commute!

jonginge

cjcp wrote:

King Donut wrote:

.. I’m brought crashing back down to earth by the strawberry blonde terrorist as he rips past me for the second time in as many miles. I’m left blushing like a schoolgirl, lusting for the merest glance. But alas he just powers off down Upper Thames st and I double back for my office.

Hehe. Same thing happened to me this morning.

Hooked up with JonGinge on Chelsea Embankment and pootled in until Temple-ish, where we picked up a bit of speed. Picked up a couple of riders just before the tunnel and with me being painfully slow off the lights, a roadie and a mtb went past, with one roadie on my rear, JG behind him. And then he's off like a startled gazelle, with four other riders left thinking, "My bike doesn't do that." He wasn't caught.

Then a moment of pure comedy. A ped listening away to his iPod, carrying his morning coffee, walks right in front of a guy on a Brommie, who's ringing his bell furiously. They collide. Coffee spilt over the ped. Oh dear, what a pity, never mind.

Was enjoyable. I'm kinda trying to pootle a bit at the moment due to a dodgy right knee that I've had for a week or so (ramped up intensity but did no stretching: doh). The problem is pootling reserves a load of energy for sprints up millbank and through blackfriars tunnel and that I just can't resist, especially if there's a triathlete using a mahoosive gear to overtake

UndercoverElephant

Had a fun ride in this morning. Chatted with the only other roadie I've met on my commute for a bit and basically rode together for about nine miles. I think he was in a more SCR place than I was, because every time I overtook him to take a turn at the front, he'd desperately try to claw me back. Perhaps I should have put in some extra effort and dropped him, but I kinda know him, and I think he was having enough of a battle as it was.

Last night I was just being mean, I came up behind a hybrid in a headwind, he was struggling at about 13 mph, I went past at 26 on the flat, then accelerated up to 29 for the next half a mile. I remember roadies doing that to me when I first started; it's quite funny being the Daddy in that situation.

Bassjunkieuk

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Last night I was just being mean, I came up behind a hybrid in a headwind, he was struggling at about 13 mph, I went past at 26 on the flat, then accelerated up to 29 for the next half a mile. I remember roadies doing that to me when I first started; it's quite funny being the Daddy in that situation.

I don't think that's being mean, I think it's doing them a service. When they get overtaken so easily by someone on a road bike they must be asking themselves why they chose a hybrid in the first place instead of a road bike which would be the perfect choice for a road based commute ;-)