Silly commuting racing

King Donut

cjcp wrote:

Bikequin wrote:

King Donut wrote:

BTW anyone else nearly fall down that pothole as you turn on to Putney Bridge from LRR? I swear you can actually see the Thames flowing underneath

Yea Putney Bridge is an utter joke - the problem is when they do come to fix it it'll mean shutting the bridge!! :shock:

Earlier today...

I wish the Thames looked that inviting.

Nearly time for the return leg... wonder what the chances are of getting away with the shades on all the way home.

Bikequin

Thats an improvement CJ but they've still got that bloody great chasm running down the middle!

cjcp

W1 wrote:

Lets hope drivers get fed up of sitting in a massive queue for hours and find another route - had to take to the shared path again which is hateful.

I'm impressed by your optimism . The mindset of these doughnuts, I mean, drivers, who sit in traffic jams day after day can't be changed. :?

Roastie

cjcp wrote:

W1 wrote:

Lets hope drivers get fed up of sitting in a massive queue for hours and find another route - had to take to the shared path again which is hateful.

I'm impressed by your optimism . The mindset of these doughnuts, I mean, drivers, who sit in traffic jams day after day can't be changed. :?

Having (temporarily) been relegated back to the seat behind the evil steering wheel, I am baffled how so many can think driving a car is the sensible first resort.

cjcp

King Donut wrote:

. wonder what the chances are of getting away with the shades on all the way home.

Patience, ol' boy; won't be long.

The Running Man

Lovely ride home Friday night : and a cracking ride on Sunday with the club complete with coffee and cake stop in Chipping Sodbury's finest.

My legs were really sore after a long week but 5 miles from CS one of the guys shot off the front and before I knew it another chap and I were off after him. The only drawback however was that the guy we were chasing and the chap who came with me are about 15 years younger than me, both training for the Etape and therefore consequently very fit and very strong.

So having decided to try and catch and stay with the breakaway I then realised I was going to look like a complete numpty if I didn't make it stick so while the two of them were quietly spinning away, whistling a merry tune I was having a coronary keeping up with the pair of them ... but we did drop everyone else

8) 8)

On the way back we came as a group of 6 with 2 youngsters in the group - one about 14 and the other maybe 15 and crikey were they terrific riders. Both of them kept up a steady pace of 20+ on the flat and had brilliant group skills and general road etiquette.

Came home via Lacock and up Bowden again. Averaged 16.8 for the whole ride and we were dawdling for bits of it so pretty pleased I'm beginning to find my legs.

MonkeyMonster

How was the swimming pool this morning chaps?

il_principe

F*cking miserable commute this am - soaked soaked and soaked. New overshoes duly ordered.

cjcp

That guy on the Brompton wrote:

Cool, they've fixed it!

They actually have!

Let's see how long the "fix" lasts.

That was a bit wet this morning. I brought a spare near-full set of kit with me.

DonDaddyD

I bought a pair of these in November.

Pro aerofoil overshoes

Not only do they not star zipped up they've ripped in several places and I've burnt a hole in the side of them where they meet my cranks.

Awful commute today, I used to like the novelty of riding in the rain but now I'm getting bored of the cold weather, pot holes and soak-me-right-through fine rain.

No scalps, I was more concerned with safety.

il_principe

DDD those are aero overshoes - not winter or waterproof ones and not really designed for situations where you're putting your feet down regularly. You want to invest in a decent pair of winter overshoes instead.

DonDaddyD

Il Principe wrote:

DDD those are aero overshoes - not winter or waterproof ones and not really designed for situations where you're putting your feet down regularly. You want to invest in a decent pair of winter overshoes instead.

They made me faster.

Investing in a new pair will happen in anticipation of winte '10/11

il_principe

DonDaddyD wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

DDD those are aero overshoes - not winter or waterproof ones and not really designed for situations where you're putting your feet down regularly. You want to invest in a decent pair of winter overshoes instead.

They made me faster.

Investing in a new pair will happen in anticipation of winte '10/11

You seen the forecast for this week....

DonDaddyD

Only what my iPhone tells me. To be honest I just go on a day by day basis and dress for the season.

I.e. right now its not raining by Chancery Lane tube.

stuaff

Il Principe wrote:

DDD those are aero overshoes - not winter or waterproof ones and not really designed for situations where you're putting your feet down regularly. You want to invest in a decent pair of winter overshoes instead.

+1. I got a pair of these last year. Pretty good, certainly value for money. Fine for a commute- they cope just nicely with heavy showers etc. Didn't manage to hold out the water on the November FNRttC, but then that was three hours of torrential downpours!

stuaff

DonDaddyD wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

DDD those are aero overshoes - not winter or waterproof ones and not really designed for situations where you're putting your feet down regularly. You want to invest in a decent pair of winter overshoes instead.

They made me faster.

Investing in a new pair will happen in anticipation of winte '10/11

You'll be slower if they soak up water

Clever Pun

Il Principe wrote:

F*cking miserable commute this am - soaked soaked and soaked. New overshoes duly ordered.

full waterproofs for me... dry as can be

Ohh goody it's snowing

rjsterry

Only pootled into Sutton to take the bike to Pearson's this morning and that was unpleasant enough. All these potholes are spewing gravel all over the road, making changes of direction (to avoid said potholes) really quite interesting. Also suffering from disintegrating overshoes as well.

Bleurggh!

jonginge

DonDaddyD wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

DDD those are aero overshoes - not winter or waterproof ones and not really designed for situations where you're putting your feet down regularly. You want to invest in a decent pair of winter overshoes instead.

They made me faster.

Investing in a new pair will happen in anticipation of winte '10/11

This smacks of trying. Surely there should be some sort of FCN adjustment

Citizen Smith

JonGinge wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

DDD those are aero overshoes - not winter or waterproof ones and not really designed for situations where you're putting your feet down regularly. You want to invest in a decent pair of winter overshoes instead.

They made me faster.

Investing in a new pair will happen in anticipation of winte '10/11

This smacks of trying. Surely there should be some sort of FCN adjustment

Seconded. Like I know the Castelli scorpions on my matching overshoes and gloves make me go faster.

Analogous to a rude boy and his SR Nova with Dodge Viper style stripes down the centre of the car.

Bassjunkieuk

rjsterry wrote:

Only pootled into Sutton to take the bike to Pearson's this morning and that was unpleasant enough. All these potholes are spewing gravel all over the road, making changes of direction (to avoid said potholes) really quite interesting. Also suffering from disintegrating overshoes as well.

Bleurggh!

Seems Sutton have taken a leaf out of Croydon's book then, the bus lane crater that I mentioned had been repaired the other week............now returned to it's former crater like glory with loads of small stones all over the bus lane!! Made even worse by the fact that as this is solely a bus (and taxi) lane with an extraordinarily long sequence on the lights the road seems to have formed noticeable groves on each side and has a nice black oily path down the middle from the exhaust pipes blow :-(

redvee

Been riding the same route for the last week or so now and the distances are varying. OK 0.01-0.02 mile difference I can understand but today my ride was another 0.2 mile :? Bit wet in Brizzle today and one thumb was cold and the other wasn't :?

Clever Pun

Wasa riding with a guy on a white genesis flyer was pretty quick I passed him before the bottom of Bromley hill where I kept the pressure on I only looked back when I got to the top I couldn't see him at all. felt good.

Better yet I hit 40.5 riding fixed on 48X16.. yes

jonginge

Clever Pun wrote:

Better yet I hit 40.5 riding fixed on 48X16.. yes

Chapeau, sir. Just over 160rpm. Spinny.

Heading west was rather enjoyable this evening. Until, that is, I hit a pothole at about 25mph. I'm pretty sure said hole was not there last Thursday. Anyway, the result was a pinch flat and a bit of swearing. Thanks to the riders (chap in SiS kit, who I've seen in RP, and a chap on a Trek) who asked if I was OK.

cjcp

JonGinge wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Better yet I hit 40.5 riding fixed on 48X16.. yes

Chapeau, sir. Just over 160rpm. Spinny.

Heading west was rather enjoyable this evening. Until, that is, I hit a pothole at about 25mph. I'm pretty sure said hole was not there last Thursday. Anyway, the result was a pinch flat and a bit of swearing. Thanks to the riders (chap in SiS kit, who I've seen in RP, and a chap on a Trek) who asked if I was OK.

Bugger, but, on the bright side, you didn't have an off. Where was the pothole?

jonginge

cjcp wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Better yet I hit 40.5 riding fixed on 48X16.. yes

Chapeau, sir. Just over 160rpm. Spinny.

Heading west was rather enjoyable this evening. Until, that is, I hit a pothole at about 25mph. I'm pretty sure said hole was not there last Thursday. Anyway, the result was a pinch flat and a bit of swearing. Thanks to the riders (chap in SiS kit, who I've seen in RP, and a chap on a Trek) who asked if I was OK.

Bugger, but, on the bright side, you didn't have an off. Where was the pothole?

The hot air from my vituperative utterings gave sufficient lift for balance correction to be effected*

Pothole was on the LRR on the north side of Barnes common. Road surface has always been dodgy along there but a mahoosive, tree-shaded, hole has opened up and I hit it square-on. The bomb-proof aksiums still look fine

* or something like that

The Running Man

Wasn't expecting to be able to ride in today as it was forecast to be hosing it down and maybe even snowing again. So what a lovely surprise to find it was only drizzling and a touch above freezing

Got blocked on both of the big descents though. Hammering down Bowden into Lacock but the traffic was coming over the stone bridge towards me so had slam the anchors on and lost all my momentum.

Belting down Box Hill and sweep round into the bottom of the village and yep - just as I'm getting ready to swing up to the right the school crossing guard walks out into the middle of the road and plants her yellow stick in the air and I leave another half inch of Michelin Pro on the A4.

Have to leave early in the car tonight to take our cats to the vets for their injections but at least I got into 4 figures this morning ...

Clever Pun

JonGinge wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Better yet I hit 40.5 riding fixed on 48X16.. yes

Chapeau, sir. Just over 160rpm. Spinny.

Heading west was rather enjoyable this evening. Until, that is, I hit a pothole at about 25mph. I'm pretty sure said hole was not there last Thursday. Anyway, the result was a pinch flat and a bit of swearing. Thanks to the riders (chap in SiS kit, who I've seen in RP, and a chap on a Trek) who asked if I was OK.

kin right it was spinny

well, be glad you didn't face plant... look at it that way

W1

To the tw*t on the red ridgeback on the Embankment - once the whole peleton has had to overtake you five times as you barge to the front at each set of lights, get the hint. You're slow and no-one wants to have to pass you again and again and again. Just wait inline and don't make yourself look like a mobile chicane muppet.

And to the chap on the blue and black Giant roadie. I could almost guarantee you would be the sort of rider who would run up the inside of a moving truck at a junction, having watched you scoot behind a reversing lorry when it was doing a three point turn. It's great to be right.

il_principe

I pushed the SS so hard on Embankment this AM I though I was gonna puke, felt very very sick for the final mile. Still, I creamed the same roadie twice thanks to red lights.