Silly commuting racing

rjsterry

I thought there was a bit more competition this evening. If only that trailer hadn't got in the way... Good fun all the same.

Bassjunkieuk

18:50!! And there I was thinking that I'd missed some of the other SCRer's as I'd come through a bit late leaving work @ 18:00 and hitting LBR at 18:10ish :-)

I'm starting to enjoy DSC, the cars seem to give the cyclist plenty of room which allows for collecting of multiple scalps - as I was heading through last night I started getting flashbacks to my Killer Instinct days with it's combo system with bright flashing numbers racing upwards as I pass big chunks of riders.

Last nights top contender was a chap on a red Specialized (iirc), got past him and he appeared to put up a chase (in that "i'm not trying" style......) but I eventually got a jump on him when he either turned off or got royally stuck in traffic as I filtered round the opposite side of a van to him.

Tried Lotts Road for the first time last night, had a bit of a "moment" with the barrier when I thought I was going to get whacked on the oggin - as it was first time through I didn't know how my space I had on the left side :-) Seems to save about 0.5 a mile on the NKR/Wandsworth Bridge Road route that I normally take but did give me a couple of token scalps.

MonkeyMonster

Small bit of SCR going round RP last night. IP were you out in black? Picked up a few roadie scalps and chased a few to keep the avg up. I was mildly entertained when a car overtakes me driving over one of those 20 symbols on the floor as I am doing 21...

Oh - and I finally managed to properly use a tyre to death - will take a pic on the weekend of the bulging and baldness

Bikequin

Back in for some SCR action for the first time in almost a month as for various reasons I haven’t been able to commute on the bike. The first few miles my legs seemed to be suffering from last night’s curry but as I came up past Richmond park It all seemed to click quite nicely and was able to keep a decent pace up all the way over Putney bridge and down the NKR – lots of scalps this morning but nothing I’m particularly proud of, maybe it was the nice sunshine but no-one seemed to be putting any effort in this morning.

rjsterry

Bit sore this morning after the first day back on the Giant in 3 weeks and acting as JG's lead out man last night (pffft, as if). Had to pop into the bank on Moorgate first thing, so went straight on at the Kennington Road turning, and up to E&C, then round to London Bridge. Bit more competition round that way than Kennington Road, but the traffic was a bit heavier as well. Had to keep a good pace to avoid losing my scalp.

HeatherG

@ Greg66
At the moment I'm being a total wuss and mainly sticking to the number 3 cycle route, then it's up to Southwark, over Blackfriars (hate that bit the most), Smithfields Market, up St Johns Rd to Islington. I've done the main route past Stockwell and Oval and it's way too hectic for me first thing in the morning!
Managed to get some really good speed up this morning and made it to work in record time, with plenty of time before my meeting to chow down on a nice bacon sarnie!

rjsterry

HeatherG wrote:

@ Greg66
At the moment I'm being a total wuss and mainly sticking to the number 3 cycle route, then it's up to Southwark, over Blackfriars (hate that bit the most), Smithfields Market, up St Johns Rd to Islington. I've done the main route past Stockwell and Oval and it's way too hectic for me first thing in the morning!
Managed to get some really good speed up this morning and made it to work in record time, with plenty of time before my meeting to chow down on a nice bacon sarnie!

The more you do it, the more comfortable you'll get in heavy traffic. Sounds like you have a similar route to me

Bassjunkieuk

Managed to find a chap I'd scalped on the way home on this mornings ride in! Can be a small world sometimes when you find the same rider :-) He was aboard a rather nice looking Willier and I picked him up heading down past Tooting Bec towards Trinity Road. Had to hang back a bit until I had enough space to pass but after that he pretty much spent the whole ride looking at my backpack :-D Caught up coming up WBR once we'd crossed the river but turned off on NKR as he certainly didn't go as far along as me.

Dispatched a whole mini-peloton away from the Battersea (?) Bridge lights. Picked out a guy on a Boardman Team Carbon and duly scalped him and kept it pinned in the mid 20's for pretty much the whole stretch. He at least did seem to learn a lesson as he pulled up behind me at the next set of lights, unlike the ginger, bearded twerp on the hybrid who went round and plonked himself right in front of me :evil: Gave him "The Look" as I moved round him after about 4-5 pedal turns.....

Arrived at VB lights and was joined again by Boardman chappie and the hybrid rider but they also brought along a rather tall skinhead chap on a red/white Cervelo Soloist :-D It was a close call at the Morpeth split and getting rather hurty by the time I passed Millbank Tower. I managed to keep the lead until we slowed for traffic at LBR where we parted ways.

Clever Pun

legs were a mess this morning no real action but I get get to scalp a guy wearing the US Postal team tour outfit while looking at my nails (riding one handed)...

The tour scalping season is nearly on us

ketsbaia

Nothing again. OKR is like a barren tundra laid waste by my marauding Mongolian hordes.

/disappointed

Citizen Smith

As it was sunny yesterday, decided to cycle the full distance back from Reading to Tooting (normally take the train to Paddington). Had done it once before in the other direction so did most of route from memory and a glance at google maps every now and then. Route is here (48 miles): http://bit.ly/cETDT7

Got quite tired towards the end and a chap on a blue Pinarello caught be napping just after Hampton Court. Managed to stay with him all the way into Richmond Park and even up Dark Hill but after that he pushed on and was out of sight.

At least kept my scalp intact whilst in the park which is not so bad after 35+ miles!

Bassjunkieuk

Citizen Smith wrote:

As it was sunny yesterday, decided to cycle the full distance back from Reading to Tooting (normally take the train to Paddington). Had done it once before in the other direction so did most of route from memory and a glance at google maps every now and then. Route is here (48 miles): http://bit.ly/cETDT7

Got quite tired towards the end and a chap on a blue Pinarello caught be napping just after Hampton Court. Managed to stay with him all the way into Richmond Park and even up Dark Hill but after that he pushed on and was out of sight.

At least kept my scalp intact whilst in the park which so bad after 30+ miles!

That is some top quality mileage CS :-) Looks like TeamSCR are easily going to crack 2.5K miles for the week!

asprilla

Citizen Smith wrote:

Route is here (48 miles): http://bit.ly/cETDT7

How come you turn off the A3050 between Walton on Thames and Molesey? I know it's a 40 limit for about 2k but it's a much better road surface than going the back roads. It's a bit of a wind tunnel, but the back roads aren't much better.

rjsterry

@Citizen Smith: Kept 'em peeled for a red rucksack and helmet last night but didn't spot you. Would have been about the same time as the previous night, or perhaps 5 minutes earlier.

They've sort-of finished resurfacing Franciscan Road now, so this makes a very good alternative to running the gauntlet down the A24 with all the parked cars. Hardly a soul about.

Citizen Smith

Asprilla wrote:

How come you turn off the A3050 between Walton on Thames and Molesey? I know it's a 40 limit for about 2k but it's a much better road surface than going the back roads. It's a bit of a wind tunnel, but the back roads aren't much better.

Yeah, last time I stuck to the A3050 but it was rush hour and just felt a bit too exposed with some big artics going past close so decided to go the back roads. Didn't mind too much as I was curious to see what places like Walton, Molesey & Hampton Wick were like as potential home move options....

asprilla

Fair enough. Nice places to live, though I am a little biased You might also want to try going over the river at Walton and approaching Hampton Court on the north bank. I came home that way last night and Sunbury looks nice, although the traffic going the other way was terrible.

I'm generally on the A3050 between 7.30-8 in a morning and 6-630 in an evening. It's not too bad actually and the only problem Ive really had is with a black cab driver when I had to move around a pot hole. There are lots of tipper trucks coming in and out of the aggregate quarry between the reservoirs but they are very well behaved and give plenty of room. They know you are going to go past them again when you get to the bridge.

EKE_38BPM

@WesternWay I used to commute to Elephant & Castle but this was just a training ride.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Battersea (?) Bridge

Easy to remember which is which:

Battersea Bridge is closest to Chelsea Harbour.
Chelsea Bridge is closest to Battersea Power Station.

Simples

Wrath Rob

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Tried Lotts Road for the first time last night, had a bit of a "moment" with the barrier when I thought I was going to get whacked on the oggin - as it was first time through I didn't know how my space I had on the left side :-) Seems to save about 0.5 a mile on the NKR/Wandsworth Bridge Road route that I normally take but did give me a couple of token scalps.

That's my normal route, though its the least favourite part of my ride. The road surface after Imperial Wharf is shocking, forcing cyclists into the middle of the road

DonDaddyD

I was outridden this morning by a guy on an SCR 3 no less. He was in full lycra and had a pannier.

The shame.


Yesterdays commute was biblical though... yeah doesn't negate the fact that I didn't get scalped but couldn't catch someone....

The shame.

Bassjunkieuk

DonDaddyD wrote:

I was outridden this morning by a guy on an SCR 3 no less. He was in full lycra and had a pannier.

The shame.


Yesterdays commute was biblical though... yeah doesn't negate the fact that I didn't get scalped but couldn't catch someone....

The shame.

Was it the same model as your one? I always quite enjoy it when I find someone on an almost identical bike (my wheels got upgraded!) - I narrowly missed a chap on a 08' SCR 3.0 last night as he turned off down one of the blasted cycle lanes on Trinity Road :evil:

Bassjunkieuk

Greg66 wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Battersea (?) Bridge

Easy to remember which is which:

Battersea Bridge is closest to Chelsea Harbour.
Chelsea Bridge is closest to Battersea Power Station.

Simples

Now you see it's logic like this that I love :-) My defense is I'm still new to this Embankment malarky and don't ever cross the bridges directly so have no idea which is which :-)

@Wrath Bob - I think I'm gonna stick to NKR->WBR, as you said the road surface is rather poor!

rjsterry

Very early homeward leg today, as I had a meeting in Fulham at 3pm. Took the Embankment all the way, and even at that time, the last leg before the swing round to NKR was stacked with traffic. No other cyclists about unfortunately.

After the meeting, I headed over Wandsworth Bridge and up Trinity Road to pick up my usual route. Don't know if it was the heat or the little one keeping me up last night, but I experienced something approaching a bonk. Crawled home in the lowest gears.

I have deduced that riding a folder uses quite different muscles from a standard road bike - must be the more upright position and lack of cleats.

Bassjunkieuk

Sweet jaysus that was a fun ride home! Lined up at VB lights I had plenty of prey around including a chap aboard a Pinarello FP2 :-) The wind seemed to be in our favour as I could feel a cool breeze on the back of my arms. This is gonna be a fecking flyer :-)

This was confirmed as 25mph rolled up and was maintained with relative ease. Didn't see those cyclist until we got to Chelsea Bridge where I waited patiently behind the car at the head of the queue in the middle lane. The one to my right was indicating to go over the bridge and I could see some nodders ahead so there was no point squeezing through. This didn't stop pretty much all the roadies that I'd left for dead squeezing past and inching forward. Schoolboy error there chaps :-D

Lights go green and I start to wind it up.........they are all jostling for position as I maintain primary and take the stragglers..........they start dropping back in line but I'm still accelerating and go for a higher gear..........the chain moves over and an extra boast of speed kicks in :twisted: I look down as I pass the guys at the front......35 :shock: I keep it pinned as after pulling a stunt like that I just can't afford to blow up!! Kept a clean bill of health until the traffic on NKR forced a suspension of play.

rjsterry

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

The wind seemed to be in our favour as I could feel a cool breeze on the back of my arms.

Pffft. Must have cooled down a bit then cause it was like an oven at 4pm. Not a breath of wind, and with the face mask on, I was cooking. I'm not really a warm weather person - 20˚ is plenty warm enough for me.

Bassjunkieuk

rjsterry wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

The wind seemed to be in our favour as I could feel a cool breeze on the back of my arms.

Pffft. Must have cooled down a bit then cause it was like an oven at 4pm. Not a breath of wind, and with the face mask on, I was cooking. I'm not really a warm weather person - 20˚ is plenty warm enough for me.

I think it felt cool as it was blowing on my sweat :-)

gaz545

Been taking it easily recently due to a cold. And yesterday when i had a FCN of 2 due to no baggage and a team garmin jersey, i was riding with a work colleague for the first time to show him the way to clapham, he was dog slow.

But this morning i saw a guy on an A2B Metro electric bike, he just filtered past me in traffic and going up park lane with me. He had a good lead of around 200m by the time i was free of the traffic and i still had a bus in front of me. used the bus to my advantage to easily get to 20 and then just wound it up the rest of park lane, easy pass at 30mph.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH8nUk4-uBI
What do i get for taking a bendy bus?

rjsterry

Very pleasant rude in this morning: traffic still seems to be fairly quiet, despite half-term being over. On a whim I turned off left at Stockwell and headed down to VB for a blast up Millbamk, passed several other bikes, but no scalps. P. Square was as clogged as usual, but the Embankment was fairly clear. Spoilt it all slightly by trying a different route around the back of St Paul's, which was not a good idea - massive traffic jam due to road works, so jumped off and walked up to Barbican, before re-mounting.

@Greg66: was that you going under Charring Cross station at about 9.15 this morning? Black & red courier bag, blue lycra, red helmet, black Cervelo. Would have been up for a bit of a race along the Embankment (always willing to embarrass myself), but the traffic was just a bit too dense as we both seemed to be free-wheeling a fair bit.

Bassjunkieuk

rjsterry wrote:

@Greg66: was that you going under Charring Cross station at about 9.15 this morning? Black & red courier bag, blue lycra, red helmet, black Cervelo. Would have been up for a bit of a race along the Embankment (always willing to embarrass myself), but the traffic was just a bit too dense as we both seemed to be free-wheeling a fair bit.

As it wasn't matching I'd bet no ;-)

rjsterry

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

@Greg66: was that you going under Charring Cross station at about 9.15 this morning? Black & red courier bag, blue lycra, red helmet, black Cervelo. Would have been up for a bit of a race along the Embankment (always willing to embarrass myself), but the traffic was just a bit too dense as we both seemed to be free-wheeling a fair bit.

As it wasn't matching I'd bet no ;-)

Well the shorts and jersey matched, and the bag and helmet matched. Plus, there was a bit of red on the jersey. I keep getting caught out by people's avatar's. I've said it before, but even though I know that they aren't actually portraits, I start to think of them as such, and then get surprised when the person doesn't look like their avatar. Stupid, but true.

EDIT: just for the record, I don't ride dressed as a penguin.