Silly commuting racing

itboffin

Ah forgot to add I run a compact on the CX but never ever use it on the commute, until tonight that is, blimey 20+ miles spinning on a 34t really hurts well if you want to move forwards faster than say 8mph that is

UndercoverElephant

Last night I was going along a path along the shore of a very deep lake, the headwind was absolutely killing me. I was unable to get above 8 mph it was so strong. Every now and then, a crosswind would come along and blow me sharply towards the water, perilously close at points.

I was battling the wind as well as I could, and up behind me came a bearded bloke on an orange Brompton. He didn't seem to be at all affected by the wind. He overtook me, so I started to claw him back. At this point he flung his arms up in victory and turned off at a play park, ran up onto the climbing frame and started jeering me.

Then I woke up, sweating and with the covers wrapped round my legs. I appear to have had my first SCR related nightmare. :oops: Given that he turned off just after passing, did I loose my scalp or what?

MonkeyMonster

Fecking pedestrian crossing robbed me of 2 shaved roadie scalps this morning Had out accelerated and stayed ahead almost all the way from parliament to blackfriars...

The other 2 I still kept though

Booooooo!

pst88

How does a Garmin strapped to your handlebars affect your FCN? I think having a Garmin expresses a clear dedication to cycling above that of having a mere speedo on the bike and as such should carry a -1 adjustment. Got beaten by a hairy roadie with lycra, aero bars and Garmin this morning. He was higher in the food chain but he still had to resort to RLJing to get away.

Roastie

Yo Monkey: Was it you on the black Cannondale hardtail who drafted me along DSC and then attacked on the run to Chelsea Bridge?

As for this morning, I had a fun (and knackering) run up though Borough High St and over London Bridge scalping a roadie on a Ribble winter bike. Happy days. Still missed the train tho' - blame the headwind.

MonkeyMonster

Nah, I pop down onto embankment at parliament sq on way in from hyde park corner via const hill and then birdcage. Plus its battleship grey not black

Gazzaputt

Wilier bike, Look jersey and socks, Waterloo Bridge about 8.15am?

Wallace1492

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Last night I was going along a path along the shore of a very deep lake..........Then I woke up,

Were you dreaming in English? Or do you have a lot of LAKES in West Lothian?

MonkeyMonster

West Lothian is posher than east - more incomers from "The South"...

I come from Dalkeith.

Roastie

MonkeyMonster wrote:

Nah, I pop down onto embankment at parliament sq on way in from hyde park corner via const hill and then birdcage. Plus its battleship grey not black

OK, 'cos this dude was fairly quick and seemed on a mission to scalp me so I wondered ...

MonkeyMonster

Don't worry - your time will come

Though someone had been at my legs last night siphoning some gas. Luckily the cheeky banana I scoffed before setting off gave me something for embankment and blackfriars.

UndercoverElephant

Wallace1492 wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Last night I was going along a path along the shore of a very deep lake..........Then I woke up,

Were you dreaming in English? Or do you have a lot of LAKES in West Lothian?

I am English, from Middlesbrough originally. And I live in EAST Lothian. It's great, I think Scotland gets weirder the further west you go.

UndercoverElephant

MonkeyMonster wrote:

West Lothian is posher than east

What an absurd statement! Let's see, Bathgate, Livingston and Broxburn, vs. Haddington, Gullane and North Berwick.

MonkeyMonster

Fishing success!

UndercoverElephant

MonkeyMonster wrote:

Fishing success!

:evil:

MonkeyMonster

Haddington had/has a really good chip shop. Gullane beach is very nice too.

UndercoverElephant

MonkeyMonster wrote:

Haddington had/has a really good chip shop. Gullane beach is very nice too.

Most of the beaches in East Lothian are pretty good, we live in Longniddry, most mornings, me and my Greyhound have the beach to ourselves. When we moved up, we were perilously close to moving to Livingston though. Like you say, it's where most of the incomers settle. Dodged a bullet there!

Never been to the chippy in Haddington, there's a good Indian there though.

cjcp

Somehow retained my scalp this morning despite the legs feeling very leaden. Not much about either.

commuterconvert

Yesterday I surprised myself on brixton road by passing a shaved, black and white lycra'd up matching colours colnago rider probably around 36-7Kmh or so, not slow, but maybe slightly faster than average for that stretch The problem was that he was obviously ired by this and pulled back out to overtake me, we were neck and neck for a while then a bus started to pull out ahead of me, cue me having to brake & him taking the opportunity to swerve dangerously millimeters in front of me. At the lights with Camberwell New Road I was preparing to remonstrate, when, shock horror, he RLJ'd. I was making progress back toward him along Kennington Road but he RLJ'd again.

Really, you should reconsider riding about in that sort of kit at that sort of time you need to RLJ & perform dangerous manoevres in order to stay ahead of guys on skinny MTB's with rackpack.

Clever Pun

off the bike today and probably tomorrow rolled my anklelast night and I can barely walk more than 10 meters, cycling's easier..

MonkeyMonster

ouch... restorative pint(s) friday then?

itboffin

Couldn't give a damn this morning (afternoon) just pootle like a 5 yr old across Waterloo bridge not a care in the world, game what game

Bassjunkieuk

By heck twas a bit windy on the way home this evening! When I left the office I was thinking what lovely weather it was completely forgetting that the surrounding buildings offer some shelter :-(
I hit the main carriageway carrying a fair turn of speed on the drops - it's a bus lane with great visibility so you know you can nail it - and nearly got blown over!!!
Didn't get held up at the lights ahead and did some rather stupid over/undertaking of a couple of buses and then BHAM!!! It felt like I'd hit a wall as a huge gust of wind takes a rather large chunk of speed out of me. I glance back and the rider who I'd spotted earlier looked to be going backwards in this rather nasty headwind....

MonkeyMonster

had a well nicer ride home this evening - cheers to the whipcord roadie who allowed me to draft him most of the bottom half of embankment. Some nasty car tailbacks though. 17 mph avg

Roastie

Odd to be riding home in the dark following a bluish pool of LED light tonight.

It was a long day and I was knackered. First got picked on by a dude on a Sirrus, so upped my tempo. Then a dude on a tourer. I was going to let him go, on the excuse that he is lower FCN so the scalp doesn't count.

But then I thought that if I am honest with myself, I am a bit of an FCN hustler, so I upped the pace again and reclaimed my scalp.

Next up was a dude on a Condor Squadra in RC kit. Clout. I don't think he was really trying, but hells bells - if he had an ounce of self respect he really should have tried!

blu3cat

What is it with the weather, yesterday's rain and today's wind?

I am of course convinced that the possibility of a slight tailwind had little to do with me finally getting a moped scalp on Fulham Palace Road. Wahoo.

itboffin

Although i'm now in my new winter can't be arsed mode I did however see red when a BSO passed me at the lights just outside my office, I then proceeded to nail it all the way to Waterloo dressed in Jean, Shirt & Fleecy NON cycling jacket in erm 10mins

Must try harder not to race, repeat 100x I must not race :roll:

cjcp

Hmmm. Not expecting much on the way home. Last commute of the week too.

itboffin

Forecast is sub double digits until after 10am tomorrow brrrr

Although I might just do my first commute on the TT or I might lay in bed for an extra hour and take the car............... it was murder tonight what with the luxury leather seats with plush lumber support perfect aircon and the ever present heat seats, god I'm loving this

Was there a headwind tonight? can say I noticed

cjcp

Saw one other road bike on the way home tonight - a SSer (on a Langster) on Embankment. Like dwarves, had the potential to be dangerous over short distances, but looked to be taking it easy. Like me, obviously. :P (I was, actually.)

Had a pop at the speed record on the slope off Chelsea Bridge, but only managed what felt like a pedestrian 34.6mph. I blame the heavy load in my backpack. Perfect conditions for it too. Ho hum.