Silly commuting racing

gaz545

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqSDEtwdxNw
A bit of racing from friday morning.

Kieran_Burns

gaz545 wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqSDEtwdxNw
A bit of racing from friday morning.

:shock:

gaz545

Kieran_Burns wrote:

gaz545 wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqSDEtwdxNw
A bit of racing from friday morning.

:shock:

Friday legs as well!

rjsterry

Good show, sir! I always find that bit is too chocker to race properly, the bit after Stockwell tube up to Oval and then up Kennington Road is where you can really open the taps IMO. Maybe I go through at the wrong time.

andy83

wow that looks so much fun. Im lucky if I have a race ever, never really had a full on race with roadie, always hybrid or mtb'ers that are no challenge. I just see them in my sights and make sure I overtake them. Might start going into town on days off at commute time just to have some racing

ah well I have lovely country lanes to cycle on

Bassjunkieuk

Got a bit of a surprise on Friday when the wife rang me (just after I'd put the bleeding phone away in the bag to go get changed, I don't know how she times it so well.......) saying she was at my mums and did I want to drop my bag off to go for a long ride!! Result me thinks :-)

The place I was working at was a mere mile from the parents place so a quick dash meant I was sans bag and had a pink ticket to go for a ride with a "see you in an hour!" at I left.

Having only had about 10 minutes to think of where to ride I started heading out for one place I knew I wanted to hit, Gravel Hill. Those [unfortunate] enough to be familiar with that lovely area of Croydon will probably know it's a great little road for getting some speed on.
After the brief little climb up Coombe Lane I arrived at the top to find myself behind a party of OAPs in a silver Ford Focus doing just shy of 30 in the single lane section at the top. I know this stretch of road is 40 and the downward pointing gradient doesn't last long into the duel carriageway section so I select a higher gear and tuck in behind them.
Once we pickup a second lane I pull out and apply the power....33 and I start to move up....36 and I'm level with the driver.....39 and I clear the front of the car! Keep it pinned there for a couple more seconds and do a quick shoulder check to confirm I'm clear to pull in front :twisted: YES!!! Another metal topped scalp :-) Kept it the fun side of 30 for the rest of the road as the gradient evened out and got a shocked look from the passenger of the first car that followed me round!

From there I followed some of my more well used roads before deciding to take a crack at CP stomping ground and try Beckenham Hill and the A21 towards Lewisham.....damn that stretch of road is quick!!

Got back home with 1hr 3 minutes ride time, 18 miles of the clock and only had 1 tw4t nearly kill me after deciding to indicate his intentions after he'd pulled away from a previously red light. Thankfully the spidey senses saved me from being left hooked.....

pst88

Riding home Friday, a shaved roadie caught me napping and nipped past me in traffic. I give chase for the next mile or so keeping pace but not really catching him. Then we get to a medium hill and he drops to his lowest gear to crawl up whilst I'm still powering along on my 70" fixed gear. Nail him up the hill but hit a red light at the top, light changes green just as he arrives so has a rolling start but I'm starting from a stand still. He nips past and rides off never to be seen again. Damn.

rjsterry

Phew! That was a close shave. about halfway between Tooting and Balham, I slowed for some lights and a chap on a women's BSO (at first glance, but subsequent looks revealed 700x25C slicks. Hmmmm) pulled up along side and set off first when the lights changed. He was wearing what appeared to be non-cycling shorts and trainers, so I didn't take much notice until he started to pull out a lead :shock: :oops:

I'd pulled him back by the lights at the start of the Drag Strip, where I noticed a blue and red cycling jersey and black & white, mesh backed gillet concealed under his rucksack. "That's suspicious", I think to myself. To cut a long story short, we take it in turns all the way to Kennington Road. He never managed to make anything stick, but I had to keep it lit all the way in today, My door-to-door time confirms this as I was just under the hour despite the head/crosswind, so I wasn't just having a bad day. I'm sure that wasn't his 'normal bike' - a case of disguising your FCN I think. Chapeau, sir, and morning, if your on here.

Citizen Smith

This morning I was coming down the Avenue across Clapham Common on my Paddington commute, spied a roadie in the distance with a yellow top with matching yellow bike and tyres. Took me a couple of mins to catch him up at the junction with Lavender Hill. He's on a Luciano Cyles branded TT frame - has "Ally Jackson" on the frame and the lithe look of a racing snake.

We descended Latchmere, up Battersea Bridge Road and over the bridge. Due to traffic, SCR is on hold. We cross Kings Road and I'm soft peddling so make my move in the middle cog no less. I think fair play...no scalp, he's in pootle mode. But what's this...we get to the next junction with Fulham Road and he RLJ's insecting a couple bikes travelling down the main road as he does so and then puts on some speed the other side.

Must have irked him perhaps?! :?

gaz545

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

After the brief little climb up Coombe Lane

You went straight past my house then.. a lovely climb that coombe lane is as well!!
What sort of time where you around there? and did you come straight down the A23?

Bassjunkieuk

gaz545 wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

After the brief little climb up Coombe Lane

You went straight past my house then.. a lovely climb that coombe lane is as well!!
What sort of time where you around there? and did you come straight down the A23?

I came at it from my parents house which is across the road from East Croydon Station - having ridden there from the coucil offices :-) Think I would have hit it around 18:00-18:15, didn't see any other quick cyclists tho ;-)

Coombe Lane is good fun and then you have a choice of Gravel Hill or Shirley Hill to come down :twisted:

cjcp

Bumped into (i.e was caught up by) JG this morning. First commute for over a week. Chain was knackered and jumping all over the place (now replaced at lunchtime), so had to stay in the 39. Didn't mind one bit with that headwind...

Kieran_Burns

Oh yes... the headwind. That nigh on killed me this morning. There's one bit that is utterly exposed on the run in:



uphill just after this and the road surface.... that tar spray stuff. It's like climbing hundreds of little hills one after the other.

It looks like a tailwind tonight - God I hope so. :?

Greg T

cjcp wrote:

Didn't mind one bit with that headwind...

Thought it was just me.....

Mrs T was out (alledgedly staying with a gentleman friend but I suspect some lesbian tryst) all evening so I got to indulge in man food.

Buffalo Wings with hot het sauce (very hot very het) and beer - broke the men's health seal in a massive way.

I thought my over feeding / drinking had diluted my awesome in a very big way this morning as I suffered like a fat Golden Retriever on the surface of the sun.

i had to have a word with myself at one point... That word was "weak".

rjsterry

What you need, gentlemen, is a chap on a BSO tearing away from you to bring you to your senses. I was so busy thinking, "feck, he's pulling away from me!" that I hardly noticed the headwind. Worked a treat.

W1

cjcp wrote:

Bumped into (i.e was caught up by) JG this morning. First commute for over a week. Chain was knackered and jumping all over the place (now replaced at lunchtime), so had to stay in the 39. Didn't mind one bit with that headwind...

The great joy for me last week was not the sun and warmer weather but the lack of wind. Best weekly average of the year so far.

rjsterry

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Oh yes... the headwind. That nigh on killed me this morning. There's one bit that is utterly exposed on the run in:



uphill just after this and the road surface.... that tar spray stuff. It's like climbing hundreds of little hills one after the other.

It looks like a tailwind tonight - God I hope so. :?

But you don't have any traffic lights, so no sympathy from me :P

rolf_f

Kieran_Burns wrote:

uphill just after this and the road surface....

Uphill?? There is no uphill 'just after this'. If only you knew!!!!

Kieran_Burns

Rolf F wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

uphill just after this and the road surface....

Uphill?? There is no uphill 'just after this'. If only you knew!!!!

your jealousy is so transparent :P

rjsterry

I know! I thought he said he was in Derbyshire, not the Fens. I can make out a slight hump in the distance, but barely what you would call a hill.

redvee

Enjoyed the ride in so much this morning I went back home for a second attempt. Got to work and realised I forgot my snack so pootled off home for it, another 2 miles compared to the 7.5 I rode in. Got that sorted then realised some batteries were flat in a vital meter, then went to change and found no boxers Bit of a cr@p start to the week for me. Couldn't go for the long ride home either as I had to sort a hotel out for a friend and had to grab my card for the reservation.

Jay dubbleU

How can a headwind on the way to work be a headwind on the way home ? Explain please

redvee

Jay dubbleU wrote:

How can a headwind on the way to work be a headwind on the way home ? Explain please

Cause you're riding your bike, thats why. No scientific, meterological mumbo jumbo needed. Bikeride = headwind, simples.

cjcp

Not a good commute. Gears jumping all over the place. Had to stop a few times to check the cassette, the cables and undo/re-tighten the chainset just in case. Think the cassette is shot. Have replaced the rear wheel with a spare (which has a 10spd), so am hoping the re-tuning will work. Not confident because that cassette is old, too.

rjsterry

cjcp wrote:

Not a good commute. Gears jumping all over the place. Had to stop a few times to check the cassette, the cables and undo/re-tighten the chainset just in case. Think the cassette is shot. Have replaced the rear wheel with a spare (which has a 10spd), so am hoping the re-tuning will work. Not confident because that cassette is old, too.

Shame about your mechanical problems as it was a good evening for the homeward run with a tailwind down the Embankment (at least as far as Chelsea Bridge). Even tried a sat up, one-handed pass of another roadie (does a face mask vs non cycling clothes make him scalpable?). Good fun anyway + pushed 32mph on Millbank I really am enjoying the Embankment once I get past P Sq. The Drag Strip would have been fun as well, but the traffic was very heavy, so had to pootle. Also saw a chap at Tooting Broadway with an amazingly long reach quill stem on his road bike - must have been 160mm or more. Nice blue and white steel frame as well, but didn't catch the name.

itboffin

cjcp wrote:

Not a good commute. Gears jumping all over the place. Had to stop a few times to check the cassette, the cables and undo/re-tighten the chainset just in case. Think the cassette is shot. Have replaced the rear wheel with a spare (which has a 10spd), so am hoping the re-tuning will work. Not confident because that cassette is old, too.

+1

Every time I even tried to put power down skip!

Edit: 2 x KMC 10 speed chains and a Miche 10 speed cassette £55 delivered from Ribble

Bassjunkieuk

No SCR action for me last night, just a chap on a tourer who was barely moving forwards on Addiscombe Road, the only thing that made that pass tricky was not getting my tyres jammed in the tram tracks :-)

Then it was headwind city which annoyingly seemed to do a full 90 degree turn as I turned at the roundabout so it was blowing in my face once again despite me changing direction!!

After that I seemed to have the d!ckhead magnet activated today as I had some to$$pot pull out on me from a side road as I was coming up South Norwood Hill - he'd got to the giveway line, stopped then pulled out as I was about 2 yards away! Admittedly I was tanking along but I still had to brake! Cue much 2 finger gesturing from me and then I watch him turn left without using those helpful little orange lights so I show my appreciation for his lack of driving skills with another 1 finger salute and then find myself being tooted!

That car comes round with no apparent reason for having tooted me except the fact that I was maybe 3 foot from the kerb so I give him the finger too and the car then pulled over..... :shock: I carry on riding as I get alongside the window is down and the shaved monkey in a suit inside says "Wot's your problem?" and then asks if we want to pull over?
At this point the car behind us toots us and drives off up the road a bit slower but as I'm now at the steeper part of the hill I take it easy and let him disappear down a side road (again no indicators used, the driver instructors around here have a lot to answer for......)

gbsahne001

In the tin box today got to do some tinkering with it at work.

Have to go for a run tonight to make up for it though.

MonkeyMonster

Nice ride in. Shame about the evil headwind. Constitution hill wasn't so lovely

Oh - is there a hand gesture for thanks for the tow? Nice big windbreak on last bit of embankment on a fixie black cannon with drops, I shouted thanks for tow but think some of it got lost - he was looking at me weird and and when I saluted even more weirdly...

If he's in here it wasn't for long but nice to have - cheers!

The Running Man

So the plan was to have a gentle pootle home last night because my legs are f*cked.

I avoid the dual carriageway and start pottering through Batheaston village and then a rider pulls alongside and of all the nights to meet one of the guys from CW and he's a strong rider and he wants to go up Kingsdown and he wants to race a lorry into Attworth ......

I was absolutely cream crackered by the time I got home.

So this morning I was determined to enjoy that pootle that never happened last night and then I felt the tailwind and it all turned to rat sh*t again.....

Quickest time of the year so far for the 21 commute.

Definitely having a night off tonight ... maybe ....