Silly commuting racing

gaz545

Saw someone today on Willier going down clapham south, riding like a complete tooser. weaving in and out of moving cars and jumping red lights. He was also wearing tights, a bit hot today for tights. even when i left at 7am it wasn't cold enough for anything but shorts.

We reached the open bus lane between stockwell and clapham. and i freewheeled past him at 30mph.

_________________________

An extension to lost in thoughts question.
What does this do to my multiplier?

lost_in_thought

Ooooh I nearly bought one of those Gaz.

itboffin

Some extra shocking drivers this morning, including the lorry that closed the door on me then immediately turned left..... go figure!?! which was instantly followed by WVM swinging out into the road on the wrong side, followed shortly afterwards by not one but two of those Keltbray (http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12710642) lorries running through a red at the Southwark bridge/street junction causing the on coming traffic to skid n swerve.

This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the ride to the office.

dhope

lost_in_thought wrote:

Ooooh I nearly bought one of those Gaz.

Same as Gaz and LiT's question...
What does this do to my FCN?

BentMikey

That looks great Gaz!

Not good for your FCN - riders with carradice saddlebags can be shockingly powerful. The type that like to sleep in bus shelters...

Wrath Rob

Good ride home including chatting to a guy on a white SS in the office car park only to find he's heading my way, it took me all the way to Lotts road to ditch him thanks to TL's. Also had a nice ride with a guy in a yellow shirt on a geared roadie (didn't see the make). He made me up my game and we took it in turns to share the effort.

There were some scalps but nothing consequential. Riding with mudguards on in this weather makes it like shooting fish in a barrel.

greg66_tri_v2.0

cjcp wrote:

Some good shadow boxing with a powerful looking Cannondale rider. Seen him before - asked me I needed help when I had a deflation.

Heard the clickety-clack of his rear hub behind during some filtering on Embankment.

This.

Heading up to the lights at Big Ben I came within an ace of being doored. In fact, I still don't know how I wasn't doored, because I was certain it was going to happed with about 1 foot left to go. I pulled over and went back to the passenger (now on the pavement) and gave them a bit of a talking to about using their mirrors. This chump was giggling - I think nervously - and saying that he was sorry and thought he'd hit me. I'm not quite sure how I managed not to go into complete gasket-blow, but I didn't. Weird.

So off we go into Pt Sq. The lights at the ped Xing by HoP are red, and I coast to them. A Cannondale and a Boardman come past, but still have to slow for the red. The lights change, and he Cannondale is off. The Boardman & I are level, with him to left looking diffidently at a gap in front of him. If I don't go now, Cannondale boy's off, so I stamp down, whip to the left, take the inside line past the car and set off after C-boy.

He's shifting on the run up to LBR, but I've closed him down and have the cross-hairs on him nicely. The roundabout is completely empty for us: I take the straight line across and he follows the left lane across. Mistake by him - I have a good 10 metres exiting the roundabout. Dig, dig, dig all the way until I can see the lights at VB and the traffic mean we'll be waiting for red.

Sit up, and freewheel towards the red lights, and after a couple of second C-boy comes flying by, still pummeling the pedals. Oh well. He takes a filter between L1 and L2 to get to the front; I wait about 6 back in the cycle lane.

Green, and he's off. I hack my way through the detritus, and get baulked by a car entering the DSC; have to cut right and go round it. Can't see C-boy yet, but the lights are red at the end of the DSC. I push hard along the DSC, hoping I'll hit the lights at pace as they change, but they stay red just too long. I roll up in between cars in L1 & L2 as the lights go green, and I spot C-boy waiting in L1 behind a transit. The transit eases away at a pace that allows us both to sit in behind it. I decide on a truce and break the ice by suggesting to him that maybe we should give the transit a push to move him along. He sort of smiles. A bit.

We split left and right and take the transit on both sides, and then take different lines through the traffic to the lights before the railway bridge (red again) and then we're off once more. This time he sees the red light at CB, and so I decide to give it some gas on the run up to the lights, just, well, to prove a point really.

Peel off at CB, and that's that. Would've been fun to have duelled in less traffic, and with more greens. I'll keep an eye out for this one in future.

stuaff

gaz545 wrote:

Saw someone today on Willier going down clapham south, riding like a complete tooser. weaving in and out of moving cars and jumping red lights. He was also wearing tights, a bit hot today for tights. even when i left at 7am it wasn't cold enough for anything but shorts.

We reached the open bus lane between stockwell and clapham. and i freewheeled past him at 30mph.

_________________________

An extension to lost in thoughts question.
What does this do to my multiplier?

Mmmm...Carradice. Nearly went for a saddlebag & bagman, but in the end saved a few bob and got an SQR Slim off eBay. Great bit of kit...
Edit: Spotted dhope's post after that. Snap!

cjcp

Greg66 wrote:

Peel off at CB, and that's that. Would've been fun to have duelled in less traffic, and with more greens. I'll keep an eye out for this one in future.

I'm fairly sure this lad goes through RP. He doesn't seem to feel pain.

As for Rower Man on the LeMond, he's always in race mode. JG came across him last week. Mighty quick off the mark. I can reel him in over a stretch e.g. if you chase from DSC and carry through CB lights to AB. But he's got way enough to sit and draft. Which he does. If I pursue him, I'm never anything less than effin' knackered when our paths part - he comes from Barnes Common/Mortlake way; I turn left to Bolan Bridge.

gaz545

BentMikey wrote:

That looks great Gaz!

Not good for your FCN - riders with carradice saddlebags can be shockingly powerful. The type that like to sleep in bus shelters...

sssssssshhhhhhs i told you not to give away my secret.

rjsterry

VB to CB
Blue Ribble (is there any other colour?) with Quickstep shorts.
Chap on a (I think) red, white and black carbon Focus of some sort with matching-ish shorts and sleevless (triathlon?) kit.

Scalped.

Also saw a chap on a black Airnimal, though don't think he was CJ/JG's regular as he was dispatched with minimum fuss.

Balham Hill
White Principia with aero bars, black shorts with white & blue detail.

Scalped.

Mind you, I did pump up my tyres today, and oil my chain.

Caught napping leaving Mitcham by a 15 yr old on an old 10-speed in trackie bottoms :roll:
He wasn't dawdling either.

greg66_tri_v2.0

cjcp wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Peel off at CB, and that's that. Would've been fun to have duelled in less traffic, and with more greens. I'll keep an eye out for this one in future.

I'm fairly sure this lad goes through RP. He doesn't seem to feel pain.

As for Rower Man on the LeMond, he's always in race mode. JG came across him last week. Mighty quick off the mark. I can reel him in over a stretch e.g. if you chase from DSC and carry through CB lights to AB. But he's got way enough to sit and draft. Which he does. If I pursue him, I'm never anything less than effin' knackered when our paths part - he comes from Barnes Common/Mortlake way; I turn left to Bolan Bridge.

Hmm. Well, I'd usually back myself from a standing start, so maybe next time I see him I'll try that off the lights and see what happens...

I also need to devise a passing strategy,,, I have some ideas ...

jonginge

It all becomes clear: rjsterry=mc spandx

WesternWay

A lovely ride home last night. Busyish up Holloway Road but a few people to take and retake and then up the hill on Archway Road. First easy prey was a guy on a nice fixie, but then a whole gaggle of five or six on road bikes who just sort of fell behind. Lungs bursting by the top of the hill, but at least I was not the one scapled by a short fat man on a hybrid :-).

Little bit of action on the rest of the journey to Barnet, guy on a red and white specialized who was much quicker than me in traffic, and had a slight tendency to RLJ got away from me in traffic.

I was actually mighty pleased with myself; the hill used to be such a pain, and now I really quite look forward to it.

El Capitano

No scaps and no scapling this morning. I seemed to be the only rider out. Might be due to the overnight rain - roads wet and very slippery.

itboffin

Uh soaked

kona_matt

first scalp for weeks/months last night (my commute is pretty quiet). about 3 miles from home I spot some potential prey ahead just starting to climb a fairly short, sharp hill, he's out of the saddle and looks like a roadie in baggies (like me) so it's on! even though I was about to start winding down after hammering the previous 10 miles (ave speed >18mph which is fast for me) there's no way i can pass up this rare opportunity so i'm straight back onto the power towards the hill. hit it hard also out of the saddle but he's over the brow by now so it's all down to how he recovers back on the flat and whether i've got the legs to catch him.

as i get over the brow i see brake lights ahead so it's pretty clear he's pootling after his efforts on the hill so i dig deep and match the speed of the traffic closing in on him. as i get closer i can see he's on a bianchi with baggies as expected, he's mine! there's a gap in the approaching traffic so the queue start to overtake, i join them and breeze past him at 23mph and keep it above 20 for the next 1/2 mile or so. take a glance back to see if he's trying to stay with me but he's out of sight. 8)

ok, not the tales from the embankment sagas you're used to but that's about as good as it gets on my commute

UndercoverElephant

Nice little scalp this morning between Musselburgh and Joppa. I caught-up with a roadie sat at a red light, so I hung back as he had no idea I was there. He was in full, matching lycra and looked to be on his best bike. I was on the Orbea. Light turns green and he's out of the saddle, giving it everything he's got. He's *REALLY* going for it, or at least, that's how it looked.

I don't know why, because he did look the part, but his acceleration was pitiful. He was out of the saddle and giving it beans yet before we got right across the junction, I was alongside, travelling a good five mph faster than he, seated, on hoods, waving and saying, "Lovely morning, isn't it".

He couldn't take my wheel and by the time I turned off, about a mile later, he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Hope he didn't decide to throw his bike in the Forth. :twisted:

anton1r

Got scalped last night by a dude on a grey Carrera with hub gears. I tried to get my scalp back but he powered away from me up the Zoo hill being chased by another dude on a silver something or other who was already in front of me.

I believe the current scores between Mr Hub gear and myself to be 1-1, i've only seen him once before.

asprilla

I got scalped last night on the way though the park; I was chasing down a guy on a BMC wearing a Foska Wallace & Grommit jersey who nearly took me out last week with a wild manouver around the speed bumps on Bolan Death Bridge.

I'd already overtaken him three times when he jumped the lights onto Priory Lane. Seemed like an eternity for the light to change and I was off after the rabbit. He must have been cruising pretty well because I didn't see him down PL and only spotted him again when he turned left to go to White Lodge. I went after him, breezed past going substantially quicker whilst breathing though my skin, metabolising pure smugness right up until the point a guy on what looked like a Spesh Tarmac crusised past me two seconds later whilst, it appeared to me, reading The Times and drinking a cup of tea. I chased and I chased, but he was like Monkey whistling up a cloud and I exploded badly (but not badly enough to allow W&G to come back). I had to take a breather and the Tarmac build up a lead of about 400m. I wound it up again, but I couldn't pull him back in again.

Hope I meet him again, he made me work very hard indeed.

lost_in_thought

Wet wet wet!

I really like riding in the rain. Don't ask me why. Unfortunately I forgot I had left my convertible in the 'drive' with the top down, and it's rather damp. Muppet.

The rain really thinned out the cyclists on my route this morning, wusses the lot of them. I did manage to blast past an hilarious bloke just after HSK - he was on a SS/FG, white, with track-style bars, and as he accelerated he was moving his whole torso up and down! It was really funny to watch - like a kid on a BMX!

Anyhow, once I'd stopped laughing at him I thought I really ought to assert my superiority.

So I did.

:twisted:

MonkeyMonster

lost_in_thought wrote:

Anyhow, once I'd stopped laughing at him I thought I really ought to assert my superiority.

So I did.

:twisted:

Good work LiT


edit: does anyone head parliament bridge towards london bridge/borough area? Need to end up on union st and given google maps has all the roads in a borked/have closed state - wondering what the actual state of play is there... New job next week!

Wrath Rob

MM, I've done Lambeth Bridge before instead of Westminster. Go over the RB on the south side then head down Lambeth Road. You can turn left up Hercules Road, which is shockingly surfaced or head down to the cross roads and turn left up Kennington Road.

Either way, at the bigger crossroads, go up Baylis Road and you're then into Union St. Job done

MonkeyMonster

Wrath Rob wrote:

MM, I've done Lambeth Bridge before instead of Westminster. Go over the RB on the south side then head down Lambeth Road. You can turn left up Hercules Road, which is shockingly surfaced or head down to the cross roads and turn left up Kennington Road.

Either way, at the bigger crossroads, go up Baylis Road and you're then into Union St. Job done

Ahh, nice idea - hadn't thought of that because it will mean total re-adjustment to going to race track instead of hyde park and constitution hill... But looks good actually. Going for lambeth road then the minor bit of it - borough road then up southwark bridge road up. Nice - cheers for that!

rjsterry

<slaps forehead>

I almost forgot: scalped a scooter this morning at VB lights. Properly cocked up my clip-in, giving him a couple of metres head start, then pulled up level, realised he wasn't accelerating any more so pushed on past. Most satisfying, even though all the other (presumably more powerful scooters) whizzed by. Vic Embankment seemed to be quite fast this morning as well, although there was no-one around to race. Must have been a tailwind.

UndercoverElephant

I'm off to France during the TdF and I've just found out that the camp-site hires out Dutch bikes. We all know how many extra roadies there are on the road at this time. I reckon the local roadie wannabes may just get introduced to SCR in the harshest possible way! :twisted:

cyclopsbiker

anyone else get caught up in the traffic jams from Tower Bridge Rd, jamaica rd, rotherhithe roundabout (several motorbikes had been waiting at the barrier to the tunnel which was down for 15 minutes when I passed around 5.45), traffic heading to greenwich was clear but heading towards the roundabout was backed up to greenwich.....other half got home a short while ago and said its still carnage out there.....

anyone know what happened?

asprilla

Scalped a recumbent on the way home tonight, twice. First time I've seen one in the flesh, so it felt good.

nich

cyclopsbiker wrote:

anyone else get caught up in the traffic jams from Tower Bridge Rd, jamaica rd, rotherhithe roundabout (several motorbikes had been waiting at the barrier to the tunnel which was down for 15 minutes when I passed around 5.45), traffic heading to greenwich was clear but heading towards the roundabout was backed up to greenwich.....other half got home a short while ago and said its still carnage out there.....

anyone know what happened?

Yep me, although once on the roundabout all was fine (I headed south). Thought it would be quite fun filtering through stationary traffic, but it was proper gridlocked so walked some of it.

Due to a broken down car - http://www.londontraffic.org/

rjsterry

Passed my first proper Credit Lyonnaise yellow jersey this evening, and just a few hundred yards from home. He was pootling at under 15mph though, so hardly a proper scalp.