Silly commuting racing

DonDaddyD

Have you ever "murdered a road"?

I arrive at Kennington Road frustrated at the near gridlocked traffic that led to this open strip of tarmac. It's as clear as the link suggests and I'm joined at the light by a number of cyclists, roadies to be exact. A large number of them taking advantage of the weather a few with bikes and kit so new it exuded their youthful enthusiasm for the unspoken game we play.

As I waited for the lights I thought to myself "I don't want to see another cyclist ahead of me". I kept saying it over and over. Exciting myself, its been a while since I've been surrounded by that many bicycles in such glorious weather.

Green.

Mother-fecking BAM I get from here to here and I'm touching 29.7mph. It takes a while for ever a car to catch me.

Despite the ridiculous traffic that one moment was worth it.

rjsterry wrote:

Gaaagggghh! Absolutely appalling traffic from Mitcham Coomon all the way up to Clapham Common, so a late start turned into a disaster, with endless wheeling past stationary traffic. :evil: :evil:

What was it all about today, I left my house Wimbledon around 8.40am got to Balham around 9am and it was awful.

Bikequin

Duplicate Post.

Bikequin

The traffic around Balham and Clapham was probably caused by the Northern Line being shut all morning south of Kennington. One of the girls I work with said it took her 2 hours to get in from Balham today - I very smugly told her I'd cycled in.

Was such a nice ride in this morning - sunshine, good temperature and no bloody rain! No SCR to talk of so had to make do with racing the scooters down the KR.

Looking forward to riding home tonight already.

Bassjunkieuk

Bikequin wrote:

The traffic around Balham and Clapham was probably caused by the Northern Line being shut all morning south of Kennington. One of the girls I work with said it took her 2 hours to get in from Balham today - I very smugly told her I'd cycled in.

Don't you love not having to rely on PT :-)

gbsahne001

Chasing a roadie last night; he overtook me on a flat dual carriageway but I easily caught up with him as the staight started to go uphill.

I was then coasting on his tail for the next mile; see the panic on his face as he notices I'm still behind him.

Would have been a good race but whilst he was looking back to see where I was, he crashes into another cyclist and I whizz past.

benno68

It felt like I did a pb home last night, gave it all I had for 16 miles, shame I forgot my stopwatch.

After 15 months of commuting, I can finally claim an undisputed scalp this morning, a roadie, looked like a Ti frame but I didn't hang around to take a good look.

At the time I was late for work and I bet he was warming up for a 100 miler - still I reckon it was a scalp fare and square.

itboffin

I did the non commute this morning WFH

It such a nice day that I just had to get out there and spin the legs, stripped the old steel down to be as light as possible, did 5 mins on the turbo to get some heat going, then donning the lightest of layers I headed out, blasted the first 10 miles of my normals commute with only one or two small patches of ice left, it's could out but beautiful

Turned around at the 10 mile point drop into the 39t and engaged pootle mode, arh bliss! stopped to look at a red kite, then two ferret looking creatures and finally some alpacas, top mornings work I think

For this evenings non commute I think I'll try out the new MTB on my winter commute, Burbage, Wolfhall, Bedwyns, Hungerford and back 8)

will3

Actually saw another cyclist this morning (they're rare as rocking horse shit out of town, and to find one worthy of scalping is like finding rocking horse shit with hen's teeth in it)
Was just about to pull the trigger when I noticed I'd been attacked by the PF.
Fixed the tube and gave chase, but never saw him again.

I woz robbed,, robbed I tell you!

mtb-idle

weather was great yesterday, sneaked out of work early and almost got home in the light too but this morning I was on fire! you know when you are watching Le tour and they say 'such and such a rider has reported he has 'good legs' today? Well that was me.

Started out with a duel with a new chap on my route from North Cheam all the way to South Wimbledon. that warmed me up nicely for the tooting, Balham, clapham, Kennington dragstrip and i was going past everyone.

I dont bother keeping score but i was definitely 'up' today.

Yeah, the northern line and the Jubilee line was chaos this morning. Loads of office workers walking along the road in a central london direction.

I too am smug when the office chat revolves around delayed trains etc. Nope, I arrived under pedal power today, no hold ups for me!

On other matters, i took the plunge last week and bought a GoPro HD camera last week. I considered wearing it in for the commute this morning but for some reason didnt.

With the continuing good weather i will sort something out in the next few days and take some footage in glorious 270 degree wide angle lens HD quality!

Here's a little video sample from my MTB'ing activity at the weekend (sorry is that a swear word around here?)

This is a still of me riding off the same drop, you can see the GoPro on my chest:

DonDaddyD

MTB-Idle wrote:

Started out with a duel with a new chap on my route from North Cheam all the way to South Wimbledon. that warmed me up nicely for the tooting, Balham, clapham, Keenington dragstrip and i was going past everyone.

You're on my commute, what bike are you on? ever done battle with a black guy on a red Giant SCR 3 road bike?

OldSkoolKona

MTB-Idle wrote:

Here's a little video sample from my MTB'ing activity at the weekend (sorry is that a swear word around here?)

Cooollll very nice. Where abouts is it if you don't mind me asking?

Now what you need to be able to do is somehow get a bit of offroad action like that into your commute :-)

Bassjunkieuk

DonDaddyD wrote:

MTB-Idle wrote:

Started out with a duel with a new chap on my route from North Cheam all the way to South Wimbledon. that warmed me up nicely for the tooting, Balham, clapham, Keenington dragstrip and i was going past everyone.

You're on my commute, what bike are you on? ever scalped a black guy on a red Giant SCR 3 road bike?

Fixed that for you ;-)

Great vid MTB-Idle, that drop off looked good fun :-D

mtb-idle

DonDaddyD wrote:

You're on my commute, what bike are you on? ever done battle with a black guy on a red Giant SCR 3 road bike?

this is me in warmer climes/times but you get the idea



I will keep an eye out for red Giants

DonDaddyD

MTB-Idle wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

You're on my commute, what bike are you on? ever done battle with a black guy on a red Giant SCR 3 road bike?

this is me in warmer climes/times but you get the idea



I will keep an eye out for red Giants

I fancy your bike.

:shock:

itboffin

Watch out idle that's code :shock: :P

mtb-idle

OldSkoolKona wrote:

Cooollll very nice. Where abouts is it if you don't mind me asking?

Now what you need to be able to do is somehow get a bit of offroad action like that into your commute :-)

Cheers OSK. It's a place known as 'Judges Seat' in Winterfold Woods on the Surrey Hills.

About the only action like that i get on the commute is rolling off kerbs although i was following a bit too close to a car last night and so got very little notice of a massive pot hole on Tower Bridge Road that appeared right in front of me. Two feet wide and about four inches deep.

Just about managed to do a swerve/bunny hop to avoid the worst of it but still felt the rims ding against the road but luckily the Spesh Armadillo tyres took the brunt of it and no damage done.

DonDaddyD

I will be on my way home in about 20mins.

You have been warned.

il_principe

MTB-Idle wrote:

OldSkoolKona wrote:

Cooollll very nice. Where abouts is it if you don't mind me asking?

Now what you need to be able to do is somehow get a bit of offroad action like that into your commute :-)

Cheers OSK. It's a place known as 'Judges Seat' in Winterfold Woods on the Surrey Hills.

Pfft you MTB'ers, always seen cycling down the Surrey Hills, never up. :P

will3

DonDaddyD wrote:

I will be on my way home in about 20mins.

You have been warned.

Crikey that's moving a bit fast, one minute he fancies "your bike" the next he's saying he'll be home in 20 minutes, put the kettle on/..............

mtb-idle

Hahahaaaaaaa!

Another great commute home this evening. I dont know where my energy came from today. Was really flying without really trying (nope it wasn't a tailwind) and going past other riders with ease.

Pulled away from Stockwell lights heading south and left all others behind. Then got caught behind a bus at that strange pub with a spaceman on the roof and saw riders i had passed already hopping onto the pavement and up the inside so i filtered round on the outside and gave it the beans as soon as i was back in the inside bus lane.

Hit about 23mph going up that climb to the bottom of Clapham High Street and re-passed them all, lights were green at the top, straight through carrying my speed and up the high street and never saw them again.

Oh and Don, the Bianchi isn't quite that bright anymore after the hard winter miles. Need to get the hosepipe out at the weekend (and no ITBoffin, that's not code either! )

cjcp

Fun, fun, fun tonight!

Chapeau to the chap on the nice, black Condor who passed me on the slope down the other side of Bolan Crash Bridge. I passed him on Queen's Ride and, when I naively slowed up going up the hill, he must have kept going in pursuit, so fair play to him. That'll learn me.

Retch

Wow - spring has sprung and there are bikes on the road again!

Not much going though, a quick guy on a SS down Millbank was pretty nifty though. Special self-kudos-horn-blowing for 33mph through Blackfriars. Like a fat Cav I was today.

cjcp

What are you riding, Retch? Sounds like you go my way.

Retch

cjcp wrote:

What are you riding, Retch? Sounds like you go my way.

SW11 - Canary Wharf on a blue pinnacle. Tend to be leaving home about 6.45 - 7.00.

Not tomorrow though, meetings elsewhere.

rjsterry

Took the Embankment again tonight and once past PS, it was good fun again. Not quite as fast as last night, but no 4x4s this time. Scalped 4 or 5 other roadies between Lambeth and Battersea Bridges, including a fully kitted out Dynamo, but unfortunately only the Dynamo chap seemed interested in making a go of it. He was on my tail as I eased u to turn off for Battersea. Not much more after that aside from seeing my first couple of other cyclists south of Tooting for ages. Mumbled, "Evening" through my mask, but I'm not sure if it was intelligable.

Headwind doesn't look good for tomorrow, but still dry.

cjcp

Retch wrote:

cjcp wrote:

What are you riding, Retch? Sounds like you go my way.

SW11 - Canary Wharf on a blue pinnacle. Tend to be leaving home about 6.45 - 7.00.

Not tomorrow though, meetings elsewhere.

Hmm, yeah, no chance of me seeing you in the morning then. I'm barely out of bed by then!

Bikequin

Theres always someone quicker - coming past Clapham South tonight a roadie on a red specialised filtered past me and then got off the lights a bit quicker than I did. I thought to myself I'm not having this and got out of the saddle and overtook again coming down the hill into Balham - as we're getting to the bottom I check my shoulder and see I've got someone on my tail - thinking it must be the same roadie I give it some more coming back up the hill towards Balham station. Then as we have to slow for the slow for the cars ahead I get a better look and see that it was not said roadie but another guy on a SS (guess he must have been behind me at the lights). As we're coming up Balham high-street he filters down the right of a car and gets ahead of it whilst I'm stuck more on the left of the road behind it. This little gap allows him to hit the lights at Balham tube on amber and I have to wait at the red.

In truth that was probably a good thing as I was in for some serious pain - and a good pasting by the SSer on the other side of the lights. I'll be on the look out for him again and definitely after getting my scalp back.

cjcp

Bikequin wrote:

Theres always someone quicker

You're not wrong.

In the last two weeks, I think I reported that a big lad on a Trek passed me on Putney Bridge (westbound). This was after he'd caught me on the NKR. I saw him this morning and again this evening, when I finally got a look at his bib shorts. They said "BNP Paribas Real Estate" at the back, but "LEJOG 2009" down the leg. "There we are then", I thought.

Googled it and found this:

http://saddlesore.weebly.com/

MonkeyMonster

I forgot how bad the roads got after 8.30...

Slept in and boy I regretted it, the twunt taxis and more lorries than you shake a cat at. Is it just me or have more mopeds over the last few months got slowly more bold in using asl's and bike lanes and embedding themselves in filtering as to block cyclists.

Almost got taken out by a non looking lady on a situp just swing over the road - she was lucky I was in primary and in the way of traffic as I prepared to turn right. She then just swung straight over forced two people to get off their bikes and got in the way of peds while then rljing...

Frankly awesome display of skills.

However I was on my bike however much my legs didn't have any monkey juice in them so really its all good. Note to others - its a little too cold for just a ss jersey... 8)

ps - morning all!

The Running Man

I've felt like I've been gradually losing speed over the last few months : I've put it down to the slightly heavier mileage, winter weather etc and wondered if I'd ever find my legs again.

I had a long day in the office yesterday and really mashed my way home into another bloomin headwind and almost decided to have my day off today : thank the Lord I changed my mind.

Zipped in this morning,. Average back up to 17.8 rolling time and that was with a few hold ups over the bridge in Lacock, past the schools in Corsham & Box, and then negotiating the traffic down London Road.

It'll all surely go t*ts up tonight but it was just nice to feel the fire again ...

8) 8) 8)