Silly commuting racing

MonkeyMonster

yeah, I think I saw a bus pulling up beside it last night with a bunch of Japanese tourists ready for a tour...

amnezia

MonkeyMonster wrote:

If you get the blackfriars down ramp timed to not then hit the crappy red light at the bottom then it can give you a wonderful boost all the way past 2 sets of lights. Only once have i ever hit all green lights all the way to parly sq and that was just evil for my legs. Last night was quite fun chasing roadies and fixies who were up for some racing or rather not wanting me to take their scalp Just remembered I almost took some out last night by stopping for a red light, he skidded and put feet down to squeeze past me and jump onwards - twunt. Though where the feck that massive crack is from that you can caught by if overtaking other cyclists. Its massive.

meh, i don't race along the vic embankment on the way home, its just a warm up session for the vauxhall -> battersea bridge race

itboffin

rjsterry wrote:

If that's the crack I think you mean, I'd say it's more of a canyon. Does this suggest that this bit of the Embankment is falling into the Thames :shock:

Quite possibly after all that whole section of Embankment is reclaimed thames river.

DonDaddyD

Where is the Bolan Death Crash Bridge and why is it called that?

cjcp

DonDaddyD wrote:

Where is the Bolan Death Crash Bridge and why is it called that?

It's the bridge on Queen's Ride just before (outbound) the turning for Gypsy Lane. It's where Marc Bolan's car hit a tree.

cjcp

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

amnezia wrote:

Set a new commuting speed record of 35.6 mph this morning helped somewhat by rare tailwind down Wandsworth bridge road.

Excellent work!

+1. Tailwind or not, that's going some.

cjcp

Had some School Run SCR action this morning. I was riding one of these: http://www.trikidoo.co.uk/default.htm?g ... 4wodNHnJzg

It was laden with two kids, too. Pootling along and noticed a father and son combo (on separate bikes) approaching from the rear. Sneaky little devils looked as if they wanted to tuck in behind me, presumably before making their decisive move just before the school gates.

Well, I wasn't having any of it. Dropped a gear and upped the cadence. Did the job.

'Ave it!

MonkeyMonster

cjcp wrote:

Had some School Run SCR action this morning. I was riding one of these: http://www.trikidoo.co.uk/default.htm?g ... 4wodNHnJzg

It was laden with two kids, too. Pootling along and noticed a father and son combo (on separate bikes) approaching from the rear. Sneaky little devils looked as if they wanted to tuck in behind me, presumably before making their decisive move just before the school gates.

Well, I wasn't having any of it. Dropped a gear and upped the cadence. Did the job.

'Ave it!

I think a chapeau is in order there - showing the kids their dad is made of the strongest of stuff...

Makes you ponder whether there should be a father + kids challenge in the summer for the parents. The kidless will provide the laughing crowds Can G66 cope with coming 2nd...

cjcp

Just about to head off for the pick up, too. I'll have my eyes peeled...

Kieran_Burns

cjcp wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

amnezia wrote:

Set a new commuting speed record of 35.6 mph this morning helped somewhat by rare tailwind down Wandsworth bridge road.

Excellent work!

+1. Tailwind or not, that's going some.

Personal best for me is 32mph through the last village before mine on my previous commute.

Howevr, I fully intend to break the 40, 45 AND 50mph barriers on my new commute :shock: Before I do though I will have to CLIMB the damn' hill that allows this before I can fairly take advantage of its long and steep downhill run (if you come at it from one direction it's a much shorter and easier climb and then the devile's own descent. Alternately you can loop around it and avoid the hills altogether... this will be the default commute route

biondino

Clever Pun wrote:

That guy on the Brompton wrote:

Came in on the Brompton this morning; seems to be a magnet for drafting faries. Towed several hybrids, a fixie and a roadie most of the way along Embankment (self-activating dynamo whirring away happily) and then lost them at the lights just before Grosvenor Road when they jumped the red light en masse. By the time I caught them up I'd picked up another hybrid and a guy on a brand new Charge Plug.

I shook them all off with a big dose of MTFU along Millbank, but it was getting a bit ridiculous; I felt like the Pied Piper...

think about it though overtaking a brompton only puts you in their sights for a humiliating scalp loss

I don't think so. I'm mediocre at best and I've never in my life been scalped by a Brompton.

King Donut

MonkeyMonster wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Had some School Run SCR action this morning. I was riding one of these: http://www.trikidoo.co.uk/default.htm?g ... 4wodNHnJzg

It was laden with two kids, too. Pootling along and noticed a father and son combo (on separate bikes) approaching from the rear. Sneaky little devils looked as if they wanted to tuck in behind me, presumably before making their decisive move just before the school gates.

Well, I wasn't having any of it. Dropped a gear and upped the cadence. Did the job.

'Ave it!

I think a chapeau is in order there - showing the kids their dad is made of the strongest of stuff...

Makes you ponder whether there should be a father + kids challenge in the summer for the parents. The kidless will provide the laughing crowds Can G66 cope with coming 2nd...

Top work CJ!

As for the father + kids challenge, internet legend has it that G66's offspring are all middle aged so I think he's at a slight disadvantage

Clever Pun

biondino wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

That guy on the Brompton wrote:

Came in on the Brompton this morning; seems to be a magnet for drafting faries. Towed several hybrids, a fixie and a roadie most of the way along Embankment (self-activating dynamo whirring away happily) and then lost them at the lights just before Grosvenor Road when they jumped the red light en masse. By the time I caught them up I'd picked up another hybrid and a guy on a brand new Charge Plug.

I shook them all off with a big dose of MTFU along Millbank, but it was getting a bit ridiculous; I felt like the Pied Piper...

think about it though overtaking a brompton only puts you in their sights for a humiliating scalp loss

I don't think so. I'm mediocre at best and I've never in my life been scalped by a Brompton.

never ridden past me, tgotb or the chick on the pink brommie have you...

itboffin

I drove my car 145 miles came home wrote lots of emails, lots of conf calls, more emails and a couple of docs. pouring with rain the whole time yuk!

Didn't even do one mile today, although I have just cleaned the bike removing the chain for a deep cleaning and inspected, a few tinnes then bed I think.

redvee

itboffin wrote:

Didn't even do one mile today

+1, slightly different reason to yours though. The forst thing I heard this morning was my phone ringing and a colleague asking if I'd overslept, 2 hours after I normally escape from the duvet :oops: No chance of the 25 min ride to work, walked the mile to work with 2 slices of toast in my hand and a lack of Tetleys tea in my body, very bad start to the day

Bassjunkieuk

MonkeyMonster wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Had some School Run SCR action this morning. I was riding one of these: http://www.trikidoo.co.uk/default.htm?g ... 4wodNHnJzg

It was laden with two kids, too. Pootling along and noticed a father and son combo (on separate bikes) approaching from the rear. Sneaky little devils looked as if they wanted to tuck in behind me, presumably before making their decisive move just before the school gates.

Well, I wasn't having any of it. Dropped a gear and upped the cadence. Did the job.

'Ave it!

I think a chapeau is in order there - showing the kids their dad is made of the strongest of stuff...

Makes you ponder whether there should be a father + kids challenge in the summer for the parents. The kidless will provide the laughing crowds Can G66 cope with coming 2nd...

I could hire out children for those wishing to participate ;-) Also do we have weight categories for the kids? I mean come summer I'd have a choice of 6 to accompany me but I don't think Mrs BJUK will be the slightest bit impressed if I strap a 1 or 2 month old into a bike trailer

Homeward commute was a struggle last night. I think my fitness is still a bit lacking and I my legs felt like cr4p on the hills. Did see a rather amusing RLJing technique from some pillock on a Brompton on the run down towards London Bridge - at each light he'd dismount, jog/walk accross the junction then remount about halfway accross. Presumably he must think as he's not riding its not RLJing!
Still it provided me and the chap on a SCR 2.0 (same year as mine) a little chuckle

Speaking of the chap on the SCR 2.0 he actually ended up pretty much following me all the way through Camberwell and Dulwich. Not sure if he carried on upto Crystal Palace as there wheren't anymore lights to let him catch me up.

rjsterry

Took the Embankment down as far as Battersea Bridge last night and it was a great success. Got a clean run down the ramp at Blackfriars an managed to avoid tumbling down that canyon(very un-23C-friendly), which was a good start. P. Sq. was taken with caution due to unfamiliarity with the layout in the dark, but once the road opened up I had a really good blast down past Millbank. Even got my first bona fide DSC scalp - another roadie splashing through the rain. He only caught up with me as I eased off for Battersea Bridge.


The extra few miles this week (110 by the time i was home) then started to take their toll, and i took it fairly easy up to C. Common and then down to Tooting. By the time I got to Hackbridge I was really pootling (barely 16mph :oops:). The PF then intervened and I decided to walk the rest as I was only less than a mile from home. Bit of a shame, but I've had so many near misses recently, it was only a matter of time.

So knackered by the time I got home, I fell asleep on the sofa in front of Wossy after half a bottle of Speckled Hen.

cjcp

rjsterry wrote:

Took the Embankment down as far as Battersea Bridge last night and it was a great success.

jonginge

rjsterry wrote:

MonkeyMonster wrote:

If you get the blackfriars down ramp timed to not then hit the crappy red light at the bottom then it can give you a wonderful boost all the way past 2 sets of lights. Only once have i ever hit all green lights all the way to parly sq and that was just evil for my legs. Last night was quite fun chasing roadies and fixies who were up for some racing or rather not wanting me to take their scalp Just remembered I almost took some out last night by stopping for a red light, he skidded and put feet down to squeeze past me and jump onwards - twunt. Though where the feck that massive crack is from that you can caught by if overtaking other cyclists. Its massive.

That's what I was hoping for last night - I could see the potential for some 52x11 action, but no dice. Perhaps I should leave work at 1am or something :shock:

If that's the crack I think you mean, I'd say it's more of a canyon. Does this suggest that this bit of the Embankment is falling into the Thames :shock:

It's actually an art installation. Twas last seen in the turbine hall of the Tate Modern

itboffin

Arh!!! damn campy RH shifter refuses to downshift one gear at a time, it's all or nothing :evil:

tomorrows commute is going to be torture, still at least I can shift the front now and who doesn't love it when your chain randomly dives off, makes descents way more interesting in the dark

Help me obi wan you're my only hope

UndercoverElephant

Short commutes are a completely different fish, aren't they? The very lovely Mrs. Elephant's car needed an MOT today, so I popped my bike in the back and cut my commute down to a piffling two and a half miles.

Got on the bike, wearing office clothes and started charging along Seafield Road, scalping two roadies and a tourer. Mmmmm.... scalps for breakfast. I would have probably scalped at least one of them along that distance normally, but doing the whole length of that strip at full-on sprint speed is quite new.

rjsterry

Bleurgh!

Rotten weather this morning, especially as I spent two hours yesterday cleaning my bike for the umpteenth time this winter (finished in the dark and ended up levaing ine box of tools out all night in the rain by mistake :roll: ). Due to a laundry coordination issue, I had no cold weather gear for my legs this morning, so had to make do with shorts and leg warmers. I am blaming my lack of oomph this morning on the consequent chilly legs :oops:

Looked like I might have a bit of fun with a Dynamo roadie on an unusual Specialized. Left the second set of lights after Clapham just ahead of him, expecting him to ease past, but didn't see him again. Certainly not a scalp as I didn't catch-and-pass. Shame.

@ BJUK: M (aka Mrs RJS) says, "6 children! :shock: chapeau Mrs BJUK!"

itboffin

Ouch this mornings commute hurt, my legs are very stiff after sat. I really should have popped out a couple of miles yesterday

did take a scalp 15 miles in which was nice but to be honest I'd much rather have pootled and enjoyed the scenery, MTFU and knocked 6 mins of this years PB, still only able to shift down, spin city!

Bassjunkieuk

rjsterry wrote:

@ BJUK: M (aka Mrs RJS) says, "6 children! :shock: chapeau Mrs BJUK!"

Cheers! No.6 is due July time but it is good fun! Was having great fun at my parents yesterday with them playing around on the bikes - I can safely say that my parents NEVER got out planks of wood and bricks and encouraged us to ride over them, nor could my dad bunny hop a bike :-D

Would have to agree tho the commute this morning was rather blergh, coming in via the A24 through Balham to Stockwell today it was just boring. I think I scalped just about everything on 2 wheels coming past Clapham Common before spotting a chap on a uni-cycle waiting at a traffic island at the northern edge :-) He wasn't heading my way though

Also seemed to had some very localised rainfall that was *just* over Vauxhall Bridge! I'm sure it had stopped by the time I past the Morpeth.......very weird!

Robstar24

found my 22 mile commute from rickmansworth to victoria was just the tonic after yesterday's 85 mile reliability ride.

Bassjunkieuk

Robstar24 wrote:

found my 22 mile commute from rickmansworth to victoria was just the tonic after yesterday's 85 mile reliability ride.

:shock: :shock: CHAPEAU SIR :-)

rolf_f

On a new, longer route today. Started reeling in a roadie on a climb. Caught up with him at the traffic lights on the hill top but he road through them. Started reeling him in (on the downhill - oh, the shame of it, he narrow tyre racer, me fat mtb'd) only for him to rlj again. Caught and passed him easily shortly after. Silly Commuter Turkey Shooting here......

The Running Man

Just posted on Ride Reports but been out of the game due mostly to having cracked a bone in my hip after hitting the ice a couple of weeks ago. OK (ish) now though.... sort of ....

Did 60+ on Sunday and had a proper race with a guy that flashed past me going up Hackpen Hill. I was admittedly pootling but he went past me at a rate of knotts. I was sitting down and he was out of the saddle working hard so once he was 20-30 yards in front of me the red mist came up and I thought sod it and took off.

I got into a really strong fast rhythm and caught him on the descent the other side of the hill and hammered past at about 45mph which was enormously satisfying

I sat up honour restored and we stuck together all the way up to Marlborough. He was from the Swindon club and had a broad Irish accent and was in fairness pretty quick.

Then had another bit of SCR outside Hungerford with a chap from Newbury on a red Allez. I saw him about 500-600 yards ahead of me as I came through Little Bedwyn and got another really good rhythm going and closed really quickly. I caught him outside Great Bedwyn and then eased up and chatted all the way up to the top of Savernake.

Really enjoyed the company and the little bit of competition helped make the miles disappear, though I was pleased to be on my own again going back through Burbage, Pewsey and Devizes.

itboffin

The Running Man I ride all those places, how come I never see another cyclist?

Do you really exist?

The Running Man

Do I really exist ..... interesting philosophical question.

I ride therefore I am ....

I did scare the crap out of a lady on a silver mountain bike riding with her chap coming out of Bedwyn on Sunday which doesn't really count as a scalp

All I said was "Hello" and she jumped about a foot in the air and then laughing said "How emabarassing" as we swept past.
Made me laugh anyway ...