Silly commuting racing

W1

Had a great run back last night and a great run in this morning. Even though it's colder I prefer northerly winds to killer headwinds along the Millbank Wind Tunnel.

Also caught up with a Ferrari that lives in my office car park. First saw him at Parl Sq. We passed eachother a few times along the emnakment until I left him for dead at Bank. He got in about 4 minutes after me....

Don't think that counts as a scalp though.

King Donut

Nearly got taken out by tall Canondale man last night as he came down the on-ramp just after Blackfriars tunnel.

By HoP I had a lead on him - admitedly with the help of some heavy traffic, although he filters like a mad man. He grabbed my wheel through parliament sq and was a bit close for comfort so I was happy to see him out filter me on Millbank.

Stuck with him along Embankment before I got held up by a grey/red Cervelo somewhere around Cheyne Walk.

Put the foot down to try and chase Canondale but he was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately this provoked the old boy on the Cervelo. Not what I needed but what could I do? He held good speed down NKR but we both got held up by a bottleneck on to Putney Bridge and SCR was off.

Clever Pun

sweet fa on the roads today... except water, a car overtook me went through a fu<king massive puddle and dumped a lakes worth of water over me

Roastie

I was very angry last night - everything seemed to be getting on my nerves, particularly other cyclists and their bad habits.

No particularly interesting encounters but, like CJ, the stretch from VB to AB felt great.

Matt the Tester

just calculated and im a FCN 3 not bad for a newbie!

DonDaddyD

New shoes, jacket, gloves, cleats, breaks and overshoes. It should have been momentus.

You know when you're the best rider in the peloton?

It's when all the other cyclist wait for you to go first once the lights go green. So pathetic was their ability to MTFU those beside me even gave way.

Heavy traffic through Clapham and absolutely nothing of any merit. Then getting to Stockwell tube, having caught up to the cyclists going through the light sequence ahead, (yeah I'm faster than light these days :roll: ) I found myself frustrated by the sheer levels hesitance from others. It got to the point where it became dangerous. So I went around them, around the one way bit found myself heading to Oval going with the cars, racing and then overtaking somewhat free flowing traffic as I once and yet again hit 30.4mph!*

With no iPod I was humming Skindred Day's like these to myself.

(Clever Pun, don't say their rubbish or I'll come stroke your chin gruff in a gay way... :shock: )

*I'm impressed at how I can hit this speed with n ever reducing amount of effort and am again wondering how fast can I really go on the Giant?

The Running Man

Why do the BBC weather ladies always lie through their teeth??

Generally dry with light showers??? I don't think so .....

Got about 400 yards from the office last night and the heavens opened. Got absolutely drenched. 4 lots of new traffic lights on either downhill or fast flat sections as well - grrrr

Still - did manage to roast an MTBer with slicks on through Melksham. Passed him like he was standing still and he sat up in surprise as I shot past cos he didn't even hear me coming til it was way too late

Car today as I have to shop with SWMBO ....

rjsterry

After bottling out on Monday on account of the weather :oops: (and regretting it as soon as I crammed myself onto the Northern Line - How bad does the weather have to get to be worse than the tube in rush hour?), and having an all-day conference yesterday (Historic buildings and Lycra aren't really a good combination) I pulled my self together this morning and set off into the rain.

Extra cozy in my DHB Merstons and matching Night Vision jacket an overshoes, but some scuba gear would have been useful: great lakes of surface water all the way up to Tooting. A late start meant heavy traffic and virtually no-one worth racing, and in any case the pull-levers-count-to-five braking I had + my paranoia of slippery manhole covers led to a fairly steady ride in.

One small bit of fun scalping a couple of RLJing hybrids on the rise up to Clapham Common whilst clearly sitting back and taking things easy .

Still no-one has admitted to shouting across to me at Oval lights last week. Come on who was it? Very unsettling being when someone seems to know who you are, but you don't know them. :?

Bassjunkieuk

Twas back up in town today due to an emergency change of plans last night!
My usual silly-steep-for-only-a-mile-from-the-house road was closed so I took a small diversion up the longer & gentler hill on the way out.
Nothing really of interest until I got towards Dulwich and found a fairly quick tourer rider. I overtook him (and another rider on a hybrid) coming away from a set of lights and set about pulling out what I thought was a decent lead only to find him a few yards back as I approached the roundabout ahead and did a safety shoulder check!

Gave a pavement hopping hybrid rider a nasty shock - she went on the pavement after the traffic got a bit "busy" and I guessed she'd drop down in front of me so covered the brakes but didn't hold back (practically riding alongside her!) to make a point about her pavement riding and lack of observation before rejoining the road - is that mean of me?

Bit further ahead and traffic is snarled up due to what appeared to be a prang between a bus and car, I rode past easily a dozen people at the bus stop waiting patiently for a bus that simply wasn't going to arrive, trying not to look to smug of course ;-D

Picked up a quick looking chap on a red/white Specialized in Camberwell and kept him firmly in my wake through to E&C before we parted ways.

Traffic was all snarled up there and again over Waterloo Bridge, I'm thinking the rain brought out the ejits as usual! Also seemed to bring out a few lovely ladies in tight lycra and mini skirts so it's not all bad Needless to say tho my SCR vein kicked in and I duly past them.....

One last thing I saw my first bit of SCR on telly last night, whilst watching Holby City (stop laughing!) Elliot was on a Brompton and got overtaken by a lycra'd up roadie...you then saw the fire in his eyes as he spun his chubby legs to try and catch him! Think I startled the wife with my yells of "Go on MTFU and catch him!" :-D

Bassjunkieuk

rjsterry wrote:

After bottling out on Monday on account of the weather :oops: (and regretting it as soon as I crammed myself onto the Northern Line - How bad does the weather have to get to be worse than the tube in rush hour?),

I was also on the Northern Line on Monday, thought it not best to ride in and get soaking when I have an exam to sit!! It really did remind me why I love my bike for getting around, even soaking wet on the bike is preferable to be sandwiched into one of those metal tubes!

cjcp

King Donut wrote:

Nearly got taken out by tall Canondale man last night as he came down the on-ramp just after Blackfriars tunnel.

By HoP I had a lead on him - admitedly with the help of some heavy traffic, although he filters like a mad man. He grabbed my wheel through parliament sq and was a bit close for comfort so I was happy to see him out filter me on Millbank.

He tailed me yesterday morning too, and whizzed through the red lights by the Tate. I had dropped him like a hot coal, but I managed to stop. :twisted: He's likely to get short shrift from me if he tries to tail me again.

redvee

Clever Pun wrote:

a car overtook me went through a fu<king massive puddle and dumped a lakes worth of water over me

I believe that can be classed as assault, it is if you do the same to a ped on the pavement. Admittedly it will be hard to prove unless you have witnesses etc.

Bassjunkieuk

Bit damp this evening?
I thought I had got away with a slightly wet ar$e after leaving work @ 17:30 and finding the torrential showers I had spied out yonder office window not less then 10 minutes ago had ceased!

Just my fecking luck then that it's already resumed as I head south from Kentish Town bound for a large diversion to cross Waterloo Bridge (me and my in-decisiveness!)

Owing to rather worn brakes (going to be changing the front set in a while!) and the horrendous weather meaning I was practically blind I was on a self enforced pootle, a fact re-enforced by my lowly 14mph average once I got home!

Having said this it was an thoroughly enjoyable ride, despite the soaking wetness! I was feeling pretty pleased with myself havingI climbed Denmark Hill in the 73" gear and must have then felt like I'd had JG's legs grafted onto my body as I made fairly short work of College Road/Fountain Drive once I'd cleared Dulwich heading towards Palace :-D I can only assume the lack of proper SCRing had left a bit extra in the tanks to help with the gradients ;-)

Rather scary descent of Grange Road finished the ride off with some burning forearms as I rode the brakes for the top section and then grabbed another handful to make my turn once I reached the bottom. In hindsight I should have listened to my gut instinct and swallowed a couple of extra miles to avoid the descent but then that's not really in the spirit of MTFU! Besides I wanted the hills!

Kit has all been put through the quick wash and spun, just need to hope I can get the coat dry enough to wear tomorrow.

itboffin

Foggy this morning until 9-10 ish then the rain started and it's still going!

I've spent the day in the garden preparing the arch :shock: I could only find one hamster and two fish

Clever Pun

redvee wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

a car overtook me went through a fu<king massive puddle and dumped a lakes worth of water over me

I believe that can be classed as assault, it is if you do the same to a ped on the pavement. Admittedly it will be hard to prove unless you have witnesses etc.

I know what you're saying, but they did nothing untoward, there was just a lot of water everywhere and I copped it

cjcp

Lovely weather, what?

The rain had stopped by the time I reached Queen's Ride. A chap with tri-bars had RLJed - again - and was ahead of me going into Queen's Ride. The hammer went down and that was that. Back of the net.

rjsterry

Not a lot of rain on the home leg - the moon even came out when I got home , but plenty lying around on the roads already. By the time I got to Mitcham Common, the water was right across the road, and well over the bottom of my wheel rims. As with this morning, the lack of braking ability and extra traffic meant taking it very steady for most of the route.

As I think has been commented on before, 'breathable' jackets - at least my Altura Night Vision - don't so much keep you dry as just a warmer kind of wet. It could actually have done with being a bit colder this evening, as the Merstons + L/S jersey + jacket meant I probably had a trail of steam wafting behind me for the last few miles.

Virtually nothing on the SCR front at that time of night - I really must leave the office earlier. Also almost got taken out by some 'kwit in an Isuzu Trooper who couldn't possibly wait the 5 seconds for the car in front to pull away and swung left in front of me. Clue: the mirrors are not for checking your hair!

:evil:

The RLJing ninja roadie in civvies, who I had been reeling in up Clapham High Street used this incident to get some distance on me onto Clapham Common. One barely visible red LED at the back will not make people see you, anywhere, let alone on the Common: plank! Anyway completed the reel-in and passed only for the traffic to start playing silly buggers, and our friend the ninja to execute some pretty suicidal filtering given that he was virtually invisible. Still out-dragged him at the lights at the far corner of the Common .

The Running Man

Slightly varied trip in this morning. Car had to go in for some new front tyres especially as I've got 5 or 6 meetings over the next 2 weeks spread all over the country (which is going to knacker any thoughts of the 1000 in Dec). So drove up to Lyneham to the garage with the bike in the back and then rode in from there to Chippenham and the A4 to Bath.

Must have been really lucky because it was reasonably dry all the way in though the wind was getting up a bit.

Day off tomorrow so we're going down to Cardiff and while SWMBO is with her folks I'll probably have a go at Caerphilly Mountain again. Can't wait!!

Bassjunkieuk

Bit hairy on the way out this morning, mainly my fault as I was coming down the hill near the start possibly a bit quicker then was safe for the conditions.
Had the brakes covered and saw a car edge out of a side road on my left, knowing they wheren't going to spot me I started braking and locked up the rear and started skidding!!!!
Thankfully I managed to remain upright and avoided the car and was rather thankful I'd fitted the new front brakes last night (probably the reason I was a little over enthusiastic coming down the hill ;-))

Quick hybrid rider in Dulwich who yelled at a car that pulled out in front of us. He then proceeded to ignore a ped approaching a zebra crossing and RLJ'd towards E&C - utter tw4t after a good first impression!

One thing I have noticed over the last few days, an abundance of female riders and not just hyrbid riders, I'm talking about ones on SS and road bikes! Always a good way to brighten up the ride in ;-)

rjsterry

Day off tomorrow so we're going down to Cardiff and while SWMBO is with her folks I'll probably have a go at Caerphilly Mountain again. Can't wait!!

I used to ride my old 10-speed up Caerphilly Mountain when I was a student in Cardiff. Even more fun coming back down again Fond memories indeed.

I also have a very strong memory of a near-death experience when someone pulled out of a side turning in front of me when I was coming down the big swooping bend at over 40. :shock: :shock:
I can still remember the horrible slow-motion bit. Thankfully I managed to swerve round her, but I had to pull over to the side once I'd slowed down and calm myself down.

SCR was a bit less aquatic this morning. Not much about, but I did repeatedly scalp an RLJing guy on a Boardman Team around Oval/Kennington. Definitely counts as although we were similarly attired he didn't have 'guards on like me.

Roastie

Goodness, am I feeling lazy tonight. Guess now is as good as any time to go splashy in the puddles! :?

MonkeyMonster

Roastie wrote:

Goodness, am I feeling lazy tonight. Guess now is as good as any time to go splashy in the puddles! :?

Pub - stop at the morpeth for a healing pint!

Roastie

MonkeyMonster wrote:

Roastie wrote:

Goodness, am I feeling lazy tonight. Guess now is as good as any time to go splashy in the puddles! :?

Pub - stop at the morpeth for a healing pint!

Urg. Saw that one too late...

Roastie

Cool ride home. I was feeling lazy but met with a dude on a lovely Kona SS MTB. With traffic he got ahead through Cannon St, but I caught up with him again at Blackfriars & chased him along the Embankment.

He got a big lead in filtering, but as things opened up, I laid it hard and caught and passed him before Big Ben. With the lights we rolled through PS - it was fun because at each light he'd shoot off like a rocket. Usually I take off very hard, but TBH The Pig had tempered my enjoyment of rapid accelerations so I've become lazy. This was a reminder that one can't be complacent in Teh Game.

So anyways, through Millbank we pick up two geared roadies and a FG/SSer. A mini peleton forms, I'm happy at this stage to watch - too early to make a move. The ped crossing by the Tate is red so we all stop, cue a quick wind back up to speed. FG/SSer seems on a mission to drop us and appears to be giving it large. I'm getting frustrated because there is a cab to our right and I can't get by. Cab clears, and I wind it up and pull the group up to the VB lights.

After complimenting Kona rider on his ride, another drag race ensues. Kona rider gets off very quickly - catching me napping. I have to work hard to get back in touch - which I do. Then decide to lay it on. Approaching the CB lights I slow, no-one passes, but soon I notice a tell-tale blue of LED behind me. I'm guessing Kona stayed on my wheel, the rest were blown away.

I turn off to ride through Battersea Park - not keen on the traffic to AB - Kona follows. He sets a nice pace through the park and I'm happy to follow. Turns out he rides virtually the exact same route as me. Weird.

Thanks for the ride, Kona dude! See you again soon.

redvee

The LR Discovery that gave me close attention on Tuesday gave me the same today I think, not sure it's the same one but there can't be many LR Discoveries on that part of the A4 at that time of the morning, might try and find out which way he goes and have a word. Had a horn beeped at me cause I was 'too far' from the curb in the drivers opinion. Sod riding in the gutter/on the double yellows and all the crap that goes with it.

Bassjunkieuk

Nice dry ride home this evening! Consequently the SCR action was back in full swing :-)
Unfortunately it seems most of the worthy looking competition do insist on ignoring
those "silly" red lights that appear all over London :-(

Overtook a chap on a Giant SCR 2.0 coming through Camberwell (after narrowly avoiding a bendy bus with some frankly silly undertaking........) Think he ended up following me all the way to the start of my final hill climb towards Crystal Palace where I picked up another quick looking roadie at the previous cross-roads. They must have both turned off to avoid the hill I was heading up as I climbed it solo as usual. Stuck to Fountain Drive for a change and timed it perfectly to get to the top with no traffic approaching from my right on the roundabout so didn't have to stop!

On my last descent tho I had a rather alarming knocking noise coming from the rear wheel :-( Pulled over but couldn't see anything trapped in the wheel so carried on down trying to avoid using the read brake Got down safely with minimal rear braking and got a look at the wheel about 1 1/2 hour ago and found I had a small nick in the rim in line with the wear indicator? This was in turn catching the brake block each time it past and causing the odd noise! Took a flat blade screwdriver to it and manged to remove/flatten out the offending nick but have no bl00dy idea how it got there as the wheel didn't make the noise as I pulled up at the lights BEFORE the hill.....

Another exam tomorrow and if the BBC have got the weather correct I should be cycling in so will have to exercise some zen like discipline to not arrive in a sweaty mess, London Bridge is going to be a true test tomorrow as I ignore every fibre in my body and ride over it at a "normal" pace.......;-)

rjsterry

Ditto to your first paragraph BJUK. On my fairly late homeward leg, I only seem to come across either slow hybrids and MTBs or fairly quick lunatic kamikaze roadies and SSers who seem to ignore all road markings, RLs and other road users? There's a certain amount of fun in repeatedly passing the same RLJing, pavement-hopping nutters to make the point, but it's nowhere near as satisfying as some proper SCR.

I met another of these tonight coming into Clapham: :roll: fast hybrid with decent lights at least, but not averse to skipping onto the pavement now and then. I let him get out a bit of a lead every time the traffic built up or we hit some lights to make it a bit more of a challenge to zip past before getting to the next lights/heavy traffic.

Stupid thing of the day: thought my shoes felt a bit loose on the way in this morning. Went to put them on again this evening only to realise that I'd taken the insoles out to dry them last night and not put them back in. :oops: The cleat bolts had started to dig into my feet by the time I got home.

Anyone see the bit of nonsense 'research' on the BBC news this morning about how 'dangerous' cycle commuting is? The usual scare story with no detailed examination of what the statistics actually said. :roll:

itboffin

Man that was a tough ride home, ice everywhere the flat felt like climbing Everest BUT the moon is out and there was no wind at all, so apart from my appalling lack of fitness what a wonderful night

Cycling eh! how much fun is that 8)

redvee

The gritters were out in Brizzle last night, better safe than sorry I guess.

MonkeyMonster

Am in "The Suit" today so no biking for me, lovely weather though

and no, not 'just' the birthday suit... :roll: