Silly commuting racing

cjcp

MonkeyMonster wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

MonkeyMonster wrote:

Does anyone recognise a large stick insect on a fixie/ss that goes along HSK heading east in the morning in full lycra (dhb leggings I think)
He is TALL.

Might want to post that on the 6'4" Commuter Club thread......

I think cj and I have both clocked him coming back via embankment. Weird genetic crossbreed with a giraffe I'd say.

There's a chap on a Cannondale, who G66 compared to a giant arachnid iirc, but I think he heads over Putney Bridge. There are a number of freakishly tall people on bikes on the commute though. :P

cjcp

the other me wrote:

I wish you'd all stop saying how easy you were taking it this morning - I didn't pootle, I was awesome AND I would have been awesome even if everyone else wasn't pootling*

oh, and hi!


* may not be true

Howdy. Great post. I think you deserve this:

the other me

heh, why thank you

*prints, frames and sticks up on desk*

Bassjunkieuk

Or:

gbsahne001

10 mins, tick tock tick tock

rjsterry

Bobbins to Pootle Friday, I shall be giving it my best. Anyone heading down Kennington-Stockwell-Clapham-Balham-Tooting-Mitcham later on?

Bassjunkieuk

rjsterry wrote:

Bobbins to Pootle Friday, I shall be giving it my best. Anyone heading down Kennington-Stockwell-Clapham-Balham-Tooting-Mitcham later on?

If by later you mean hitting Stockwell in approx 25-30 minutes then yes.
Look out for the fast moving high-vis chap on a black road bike, there aren't many around on that strip from what I can tell :twisted:

rjsterry

I don't think I'll make that as I'm still in the office typing this. Maybe next time.

cjcp

Lovely pootle this evening. Left at 5.30. Came through RP on the way home for the first time in I don't know how long.

rjsterry

Oooh that was a vintage one! Was going to go via Kennington and Stockwell, but on a whim turned right at Blackfriars Bridge. First stretch of the Embankment was predictably clogged and the legs were telling my brain to "leave off; it's Friday evening". Pootled round the corner to PS and pulled up behind a couple of serious looking roadies, one in a blue Gill jacket.

As we pulled out of the square, the two roadies pulled away slightly, so brain said "right come on legs, let's have it", and held a small, non-drafting gap down to VB, where we also picked up a ninja roadie with mini aerobars. Brain says, "Hmmm, worth a try I think. FULL POWER!" As we set off into DSC, I maintained the small gap and then pushed on past the two roadies and then :shock: mini aerobars as well. Can't believe my luck and grit my teeth to try and hold on to my trophies.

Legs: This isn't funny! D'you lnow how far it is to Battersea Bridge?
Brain: MORE!!

Faded a bit towards the end, and mini aerobars reclaimed his scalp, but held the other two off until I arrived, gasping, at BB. Massive fun; I think I have the Embankment Bug.

Took it fairly easy after that, but not too easy and kept up with another 6' 4" Commuter over Clapham Common and down into Balham before traffic stopped play.

They've also finished the RAB at the south end of Battersea Bridge. It really is quite something, and all i could do to not add in a couple of laps.

Bassjunkieuk

rjsterry wrote:

I don't think I'll make that as I'm still in the office typing this. Maybe next time.

I was bearing down on something fast and on a red bike and thought I might have made it 2 for 2 but unfortunately he wasn't aboard a Giant......

Maybe another day then!

Felt a lot harder work this evening coming down the drag strip, although I seemed to get a second wind when I hit Streatham and seemed to cruise home with relative ease!

Dispatched a few roadies along the Drag Strip and came up with an idea for a new thread.......

cjcp

rjsterry wrote:

Faded a bit towards the end, and mini aerobars reclaimed his scalp, but held the other two off until I arrived, gasping, at BB. Massive fun; I think I have the Embankment Bug.

Good man.

Clever Pun

Arrrgh my legs.. gave em the Jens treatment

stairs will be tough tomorrow

redvee

I joined the pootle club too this morning after riding the 1st 1/2 mile which meant I hit the target miles for the week Took a 100ft climb in the space of 1/5 mile for fun. Managed to drop the ave. speed into single figures for the ride in :oops: The ride home was much more eventful, nearly got taken out by a bus :x Travelling along side by side, me in the bus lane, him beside me and the bus decides to veer left into the bus lane. No panic as he'll see me and allow me through, as he gets to 3 foot away from me and the kerb getting closer on the left qaction is needed so much thumping on the side of the bus and he pulls right and stops and asks me to stop hitting his bus :shock: After a quick conversation about the incident I closed the chat with 'One word, five letters, the first is S' which threw him big time. I had to explain the word I was looking for was sorry which I did get out of him which I thanked him for and rode off to find a black cab pulling over on a roundabout for a fare :shock:

rolf_f

Actually had a decent race for once. Had to get the 07:10 to Newcastle on Thursday so, to save time, reverted to my old short route for one morning. As I joined the main road, someone was cycling past the junction. I nearly powered straight past but as he was near the top of a climb, gave him benefit for a few yards til I knew he was slower than me and I breezed past. Only for him to take advantage of narrower, bigger wheels and pass me on the way downhill to the Rdy Rdbt (thats Leeds SCS slang for Rodley Roundabout). I then caught him on the next slight climb which meant I had to power down all the way to the big climb to ensure I lost him properly before a long descent. On my way up, a quick shoulder check showed I'd gained at least half a minute. Get to the lights at the bottom and get through just as they are turning red but I get caught at KTRL (Kirkstall Road Lights). I shoulder check again, he comes up the hill, passes me on the right, pedals through the ped crossings, across the outbound lane and on down Kirkstall road. Thus, officially, he disqualifies himself.

The next section is a slight downhill so I struggle to make up the ground but he lets himself get boxed in between a lorry and a parked car and I'm able to pass him before Kirkstall viaduct. I power on and don't shoulder check again until I reach WLTS (Wellington Street) - he's nowhere to be seen.

A shame - he was a worthy opponent (and there are few of those in Leeds) but for being an ungentlemanly cheater!!!.....

cjcp

How come you have so little SCR action if you're in Leeds?

rolf_f

cjcp wrote:

How come you have so little SCR action if you're in Leeds?

Not many people about and the few I see I usually dispatch without much fight

And if I'm not doing the beating, very occasionally I'll get a taste of my own medicine and someone will waft past on one of the few road bikes to be seen around here at a pace I can't hope to match on my MTB. Just not enough people cycling in Leeds; something to do with the hills :?

cjcp

Hmm, hills, eh? So much for the "southern softies" thing.

rolf_f

cjcp wrote:

Hmm, hills, eh? So much for the "southern softies" thing.

Not sure about that - if there were hills in London, I doubt this forum would even exist :twisted:

But yes - the excuse 'I can't cycle to work because of the hills' is a bit feeble!

rjsterry

I think you'll find there are plenty of hills in Bristol, and there appears to be a healthy SCR scene there [looks into distance wistfully] Ahh, Park Street, St Michael's Hill, Down Valley Road, I do miss them up here in London [/looks into distance wistfully].

redvee

rjsterry wrote:

I think you'll find there are plenty of hills in Bristol, and there appears to be a healthy SCR scene there [looks into distance wistfully] Ahh, Park Street, St Michael's Hill,
Down Valley Road, I do miss them up here in London [/looks into distance wistfully].

Bridge Valley Road is out of bounds for the next 8 weeks as they are pulling one of the walls down before it falls down. Going to be fun for the tinbox commuters when that kicks in next week.

rolf_f

rjsterry wrote:

I think you'll find there are plenty of hills in Bristol, and there appears to be a healthy SCR scene there [looks into distance wistfully] Ahh, Park Street, St Michael's Hill, Down Valley Road, I do miss them up here in London [/looks into distance wistfully].

True - but maybe Bristol has made more efforts to encourage cycling which Leeds hasn't really done so far. Lots of potential influences - eg maybe Leeds traffic is less of a problem so there is less incentive to cycle. Who knows?!

rjsterry

Rolf F wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

I think you'll find there are plenty of hills in Bristol, and there appears to be a healthy SCR scene there [looks into distance wistfully] Ahh, Park Street, St Michael's Hill, Down Valley Road, I do miss them up here in London [/looks into distance wistfully].

True - but maybe Bristol has made more efforts to encourage cycling which Leeds hasn't really done so far. Lots of potential influences - eg maybe Leeds traffic is less of a problem so there is less incentive to cycle. Who knows?!

Good point. The daft traffic/overcrowded PT in London makes it a no-brainer to cycle (still plenty who don't though :roll: ).

Mithras

Had my first ride into work yesterday since 29th Jan due to my knee injury. Decided I would pootle 15 1/2 miles in at about 13 or 14 mph as I didn't want to over excerpt the knee. Anyway Some bloke on a battered old Claud Butler in a wooly hat wearing tights under his baggies came past me at about 18 mph with a cheery "Morning". I could see he was stomping a big gear... and knew he wouldn't hold that pace...Well I fought and won my personal battle and only picked up my speed to about 17mph. Thinking he'll be out of sight soon and I'll ease off. Oh no the inconsiderate buxton the blue cat spindle whorl only turned onto King Street a 3 mile long Roman road. I could see his bright yellow jacket 400 yards off in the distance.....You GIT my speed went up to 20mph and now my knee hurts......Your fault whoever you are ya bully, picking on a defenceless fixed gear roadie with a dickie knee...I'm gonna teach you a lesson you won't forget next time..... :twisted:

There, I feel better it's always nice to blame somebody else for my own foolishness!

The Running Man

After my cockeyed start to Sunday (see SC Stats) I had a cracking ride. Set off up towards Lyneham and caught the tail end of the club Hilly time trial which was good fun. There were all these blokes on full on racers, disc wheels and aerodynamic heads ....

I got a few odd looks from a couple of blokes I stuck with for a few miles like I had no business being there .... they were probably right

Climbed up to Brinkworth and then got my head down into the wind and pushed across to Wttn Basset. Climbed up Salthrop Hill, dropped down into Wroughton, back up Brimble Hill into Chisledon, straight over to Marlborough, up Milk Hill and then a long drag from Alton Barnes over to Devizes and home.

Loads of riders out - all predictably going the opposite direction......

No action at all this morning on the way in and even with a bit of a tailwind today was hard, and I've a big week planned - uh oh ......

:? :? :?

Clever Pun

In RP yesterday there was a guy on a full on Cervelo TT bike, I think I could have walked faster than that guy... disgraceful

that usual feeling as I set of this morning leg ache.. it soon wears off. Not much action till I get into town and then I drop a carbon condor biarchi quite pleasingly
I lose count on the jamiaca way as there's quite a few out there, just casually spin away and drop numerous tryers. A lady on a bianchi stayed with me for a while leaving everyone else for dead but I just turned the screw a little more and she lost my wheel... good

DonDaddyD

Who or what cosmic force invented wind? Abstract or not show yourself so I can punch you in the face and you can see how it feels.

15-16-17mph today. I wanted to, I'm trying to control my speed for Sunday's Sportive. But it wasn't made any fun with the wind hammering down on me. At that speed it's not so much a problem as a headwind but as soon as the crosswinds cometh it all gets a little more interesting like a punch in the kidneys.

Still scalped a SS Genesis on Kennington road. Had to wind the bike to above 20 to do it, but that's well within my range these days.

Yesterday at Richmond Park on Karen. Oh my god! It was so good I could barely handle it. With the 120mm stem she's climbing suberly. I've never had so much control going up hill before and I've got to the point that the comfort, sprinting, climbing, descending and simple riding is so effing nice that all the short comings are to do with me and only me. To have that much confidence and belife in your bike is special.

White bar tape wrapped around the Newton bars and Deda stem, she's f*cking nice to look at. This Morning, beside my bed I just laid there watching her intently, looking at every detail, every curve. The sun beamed through my window and grazed her woven skin. I turned to my girlfriend and said "she looks beautiful doesn't she?"

What a bike.

I think this might just be the year I come alive and ride ride ride....

Robstar24

very little SCR to be had on my commute in from herts this morning, one lady on a hybrid but she doesn't count, some dude on a fixie took me on edgware road, but i reckon he was going a little fast for what is quite a dodgy road (talking of which, i saw a scooter mount the pavement to get round the traffic jam near the A40 flyover, who said cyclists were the threat to pedestrians hey?)

all in all a good weekend of cycling though: out with the club saturday, and on sunday i had the pleasure of having a chap sit on my wheel for a few miles between high wycombe and gerrards cross taking advantage of my 35 kph, and the great satisfaction of seeing him unable to hang on when the road went up one of those small inclines where staying on the big ring and powering on is doable. Not a scalp as such but rather enjoyable all the same.

rjsterry

A side effect of those ear-warmer/headband thingies is that you can't hear the wind noise, so the only evidence of this morning's headwind was the fact that I struggled to get over 20, plus noticing it on this morning's weather forecast. That, and the fact that although I was going slowly, so was everybody else, so not much in the way of SCR. This evening should be good though.

Very pleased with my new overshoes as well (see other thread) - only one pair of ordinary socks, and toasty feet all the way in. Don't begrudge the slight overspend at all.

@DDD: will you and Karen be sharing the sofa tonight then, or does your girlfriend (the human being as opposed to the one with wheels) understand/tolerate you?

greg66_tri_v2.0

Ye Gods, I *hated* it this morning. I was cold before I left the house, and I stayed cold the whole way in, despite having gone out armed in (almost) full winter kit. Staying cold seemed to rob me of all fluidity. Oh, and the fecking wind robbed me of all that I remember "speed" being. Every fecking flag I saw was standing to attention, pointing in the direction I'd just come from. Bleedin' miserable.

*and* some utter tw@t between Pt Sq and Viccy Embankment pulled a ridiculous slow moving overtake on a bus pulling out that resulted in him getting an airhorn from the bus, and giving a mouthful of verbals in response. Completely his fault - cocking the bus driver around on purpose, as far as I could see. Thanks for giving us cyclists a good name, tw@t.

DonDaddyD wrote:

White bar tape wrapped around the Newton bars and Deda stem, she's f*cking nice to look at. This Morning, beside my bed I just laid there watching her intently, looking at every detail, every curve. The sun beamed through my window and grazed her woven skin. I turned to my girlfriend and said "she looks beautiful doesn't she?"

Yeah, now I'm curious.

How's that gonna work out for you in the long run?