Silly commuting racing

Clever Pun

CXXC wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Lovely ride home last night.. I do envy you country commuters. Went over biggin hill going south for the first time damn that's a steep descent freewheeling at 44 feathering the brakes is pretty invigorating

biggin hill heading south is one helluva descent!! i was glad i didn't have to come back that way

I've done it once, I wont be doing it again by choice unles I'm in training for the alps...

greg66_tri_v2.0

Clever Pun wrote:

CXXC wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Lovely ride home last night.. I do envy you country commuters. Went over biggin hill going south for the first time damn that's a steep descent freewheeling at 44 feathering the brakes is pretty invigorating

biggin hill heading south is one helluva descent!! i was glad i didn't have to come back that way

I've done it once, I wont be doing it again by choice unles I'm in training for the alps...

Is this the hill that takes you down into Westerham village?

I once sat with a learner driver driving up that hill. Managed to avoid a down shift and then labour the engine so badly he stalled. Tricky hill start from there. Esp with a queue behind you...

Clever Pun

Greg66 wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

CXXC wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Lovely ride home last night.. I do envy you country commuters. Went over biggin hill going south for the first time damn that's a steep descent freewheeling at 44 feathering the brakes is pretty invigorating

biggin hill heading south is one helluva descent!! i was glad i didn't have to come back that way

I've done it once, I wont be doing it again by choice unles I'm in training for the alps...

Is this the hill that takes you down into Westerham village?

I once sat with a learner driver driving up that hill. Managed to avoid a down shift and then labour the engine so badly he stalled. Tricky hill start from there. Esp with a queue behind you...

yup that's the one... when I went up it going north (by mistake I might add) I thought the prelude to the main hill was a false flat, having seen it again yesterday it isn't.

lost_in_thought

I don't know where exactly it is, but the lanes between biggin hill airfield and the croydon hilton look like they'd be awesome for cycling on. Hilly, though.

gaz545

lost_in_thought wrote:

I don't know where exactly it is, but the lanes between biggin hill airfield and the croydon hilton look like they'd be awesome for cycling on. Hilly, though.

riddlesdown, selsdon and farleigh. Great places to hill train in south london. Some awesome decents.

Bassjunkieuk

gaz545 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

I don't know where exactly it is, but the lanes between biggin hill airfield and the croydon hilton look like they'd be awesome for cycling on. Hilly, though.

riddlesdown, selsdon and farleigh. Great places to hill train in south london. Some awesome decents.

Yep! Done a few of them and will most likely need to hit them again at some point......does remind me I need to try and arrange a social ride as I need to get a long ride (or 2....) in between now and mid June!

CP - Which part of Biggin Hill do you go down? Sorry if it's a silly question but it's one of the routes I've looked at having a crack at and I'm hoping I might get some "me" time on the upcoming bank holiday to go hurt myself, really need to get out on the bike as I've been off it for 3 days due to training and won't be cycle commuting all next week either.......

cjcp

Greg T wrote:

At the northern foot of the Col De Putney Bridge this morning as I was trackstanding for the lights looking magnificent when a monster on a fixed gear came alongside - he looked big and fit next to me...

It was on.

Off we went leaving a smokescreen of awesome behind us, billowing like a great cloud of broken dreams and hearts in our wake. He led off - just south of trying obviously - baiting the trap to see if I'd bite.

Of course I bit

By Parsons Green I made a move - through I went - just north of trying but looking non plussed I think...

Lights and dicing saw us see sawing until we reached the embankment.....

He was off and upped his game - laying down the soundtrack to the Trainspotting as he went - you know the thumpy ones - 1/2 mile before Chelsea Hospital I decided to do my turn. Quick life saver out I go. Bit windy outside the shadow of his mahoosive quads...

Ba Da Boom.

I'm leading off and giving it rooty toot....

Now then - you start to work out that you are working outside your envelope when funny muscles start to hurt. The ones wrapping across the front of my calves were burning and my spit was turning to acid.

The climb up to the lights after Chelsea were green and we shot them rapiddoooo.

All lights green through to Vauxhall...

By this time I'm hanging out big time and a host of vikings are shouting at me inside my head.

He is behind me but as yet is declining to put me out of my misery and have a turn at the front. Big Boys rules I suppose if you want to lead off you got to cut the wind...

The Vauxhall lights turn green just as I round the corner - experience tells me you can't rush the lights if they are green when they come into sight so I wind straight down to get my war face on for when I stop at the lights - panting like a newly landed salmon is not victory.

We both stop.

He comes Alongside

"Good Going" he says...

"I was waiting for you to take a turn.." Say I sucking air in through my hair folicles.

"I was trying to keep up" - he's a liar - but generous with it

Green Lights - he's off like a Ram Jet powered Panzer pulling me along in his wake like a toy duck behind the QE2.... I lose him in traffic at Parliament Sq - shame he was going my way.

So then Big Aussie SS dude with a baby blue tatty top - you are proper quick and a gentleman. Chapeau.

This is quality.

Lights green all the VB? Welcome to The Hurt Box.

itboffin

vorsprung wrote:

The Running Man wrote:

What a 2 days!!

Whoever's legs I've got they don't half work a treat!!

Flew home last night

It's called a "tailwind"
You have not suddenly become Fabian Cancellara

I wouldn't bet on that one

itboffin

lost_in_thought wrote:

MadammeMarie wrote:

I rule!!!

http://www.vimeo.com/11279614

Nice! Next time, go round the little kerb, it's as good as saying 'I know you're all too slow for me' :twisted:

Also, it's a bit tight in there isn't it? Stoopid little cycle lanes.

Did you see how those lycra lout cycling almost run over the peds? bleeding cyclist want stringing up the lot of em!

cjcp

Saw a classic on the NKR last night.

Cyclist A rides across the zebra crossing.

Cyclist B heading up the NKR in the direction of the KR, and doesn't stop at the zebra crossing.

A and B's paths cross just near the pavement. Crash, bang, wallop, at least one body into the air.

Both got up asking if the other was ok. How neither of them (on the surface) hurt themselves was remarkable.

itboffin

This seems like a good place to prop this question.

So i'm looking for a 'local" club of the cycling kind, for long walks in the park, dinner and possibly more, a quick search on the BC club finder reveals many within a reasonable distance but OH NO!

WTF is up with orange / white or orange / brown club kit?

I ask you orange, I don't even think Castelli have any orange kit, FFS!

I'm a so shallow that I wouldn't join a club just because of the colour of the kit...?

Too bloody right matey.

salsajake

What do you get for passing a motorised wheelchair? By which I don't mean anything normal, I mean an actual NHS style wheelchair, with some kind of 2 stroke engine attached. Guy was out on a rural road, sitting in the middle of the lane, happily buzzing along, surely illegaly?

2 weeks ago I caught and passed 3 roadies on a single descent from about 1/4 of a mile back where they turned onto "my" road at the top of the hill. They were freewheeling, I was going hell for leather. Does that count? It should do, serves them right for being poosies.

Wrath Rob

Greg, nice write up.

And yes, I think I need to get "I got the power" playing in my head for the ride home. My quads are still aching from the ride in. I had a nice run in with a guy in blue lycra team strip on a Bianchi SS, I was out front most of the way until he anticipated some lights better than me on Embankment and slipped through and led down the Blackfriars underpass. With the lights red I held back, no point shooting your load just to brake for the Red Lady.

Lights went green and he's out of the saddle giving it some. I match his pace, the both of us blowing past a BSO as we dive into the mouth of the tunnel. His acceleration tails off but I keep going and pass him , holding the pace until I can see the red lights at Southwark Bridge. No chance to check the gap I go left up to Canon street and he carrys on. Honours even? Maybe not but I can't claim it as a true scalp. Maybe next time :P

The only other rider of note was a guy on a Scott (Addict?) again in team strip who was quick but slower than me and the guy on the SS; he was also a RLJ muppet who couldn't MTFU to being scalped. Shame on you!

cjcp

@Wrath Rob - the Scott rider. In HTC kit, no helmet, but possibly a beanie?

Citizen Smith

@ Greg T - nice work squire, missed your extended reports.

Clever Pun

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

CP - Which part of Biggin Hill do you go down? Sorry if it's a silly question but it's one of the routes I've looked at having a crack at and I'm hoping I might get some "me" time on the upcoming bank holiday to go hurt myself, really need to get out on the bike as I've been off it for 3 days due to training and won't be cycle commuting all next week either.......

If I were you I'd loop using A232-A233(Biggin Hill)-A25 then back on either the A23 or A24(few more miles)

if you do the A25 westerly it's an easier way than if you reverse it and hit biggin hill after the A25 it's much more challenging. I think you'd like the hard way... do it, it's dead easy navigational wise so you wont waste much time, the roads are all pretty good and not that busy barring A23/A24

Retch

Why is every other bike on the road this week brand spanking new?

A bastarding quick guy on an SS, dressed all in black, took me apart on the Highway. I'll cite traffic issues as my official excuse, but we both know the truth.

Still. Got my revenge on many many hybrids, silly foldy things, and sub-par roadies once the legs woke up.

Even got a massive grin out of a copper with a speed gun coming out of Blackfriars Tunnel. 29mph officer, honest

Harry182

deleted - accidently posted in the wrong forum. Too many tabs open.

Roastie

Back home early (for a change) what else to do other than head out just for the fun of it. And now my head is raw and scalpless!

Simply put, 55x24 SS is basically asking for trouble. In my defence, the ratio was intended for a bit of SS 'cross rather than SCR, but it was humbling.

jonginge

MTFU embankment!

Left earlier than normal and boy was it busy. Plenty of roadies in pro or club kit. No-one seemed to want to play, though. There was one chap in a Festina jersey. SCR a deux vitesses indeed: me and everyone else :?

Oh, chaps, if you're gonna wear club or sponsor's jerseys then don't RLJ. That means you Mr Reading CC shorts with the saddle too low. And you Mr full kit BNP Paribas

cjcp

Greg66 wrote:

cjcp wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BRv9wGf5pk

That is all.

Glad someone has.

I need a 16.5 tooth sprocket. Who sells those?

I just can't seem to stay on top of the 16 at the moment. Damned hard work. But in the 17 it's just too easy.

I had this problem recently. Very frustrating. I've opted to spin the easier gear.

Roastie

JonGinge wrote:

Oh, chaps, if you're gonna wear club or sponsor's jerseys then don't RLJ. That means you Mr Reading CC shorts with the saddle too low. And you Mr full kit BNP Paribas

We must have been in the same vicinity this evening - I was playing with this self same bunch at one point before being left behind spinning like an idiot.

cjcp

Had a tri-chap take a tow through DSC tonight up to CB. No thanks for the tow. Hmm, you're welcome. Goes early at the lights, along with a chap on a Bianchi.

Catch. And despatch. Bye, bye.

amnezia

I truly sucked this evening, a nasty cold and some serious mechanical issues put pay to any kind of SCR. In fact a guy on a MTB with knobblies and a CHILD SEAT was easily keeping pace with me. I might get the train in tomorrow.

cjcp

amnezia wrote:

I might get the train in tomorrow.

Go wash your mouth out now.

Clever Pun

jesus wept I was tired, One guy with a bromley bike co top and a tourer completly had me in his pocket, he was fast and I had no energy... I managed to stay with him just. After a while I couldn't see him at all my filtering had out stripped him... given his jersey I was expecting him to be heading the same way as me.

about 6 miles later 'm at the top of Bromley hill and he flies past me... (he must have taken a really protracted route)

good effort that man.

After that I was waiting at the lights and my arms were shaking...not good

stupid stats

cjcp

itboffin

@CP i feel your pain I had nothing tonight, nothing

Foolishly i've agreed to laps of Regents tomorrow evening, that should be interesting, now WTF did I put my carbon socks? :?

Zachariah

To the guy in the bib and high-vis jacket with a backpack who I passed on York Place, then who zoomed away in the wrong lane to beat the lights, next time fight me like a man!

jonginge

Roastie wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

Oh, chaps, if you're gonna wear club or sponsor's jerseys then don't RLJ. That means you Mr Reading CC shorts with the saddle too low. And you Mr full kit BNP Paribas

We must have been in the same vicinity this evening - I was playing with this self same bunch at one point before being left behind spinning like an idiot.

Between HoP and NKR? I was also spinning madly. Was on the Pearson

Oh and before I forget: a fellow SCRer and I shared an incredulous chuckle when, whilst stopped at the lights at the end of the NKR chicane, a mopedder got off and wheeled his steed through the junction, a full 50yards. Saved him about 5 seconds :shock: :shock: