Silly commuting racing

notsoblue

Asprilla wrote:

Proper brown trousers moment this morning; coming down Hampton Court Road towards Kingston, in the cycle lane and doing about 37kph when a van parked on the right (but facing the same way as me) decides that he wants to turn into one of the driveways on my side of the road.

I slammed the anchors on and a combination of him seeing me at the last minute and me holding it together enough to go up the drop kerb he was aiming for avoided a nasty inccident.

Can you guess what his first words were when he wound down the window?

"Sorry mate, I didn't see you?" or "You don't pay road tax"

Stelvio_W

cjcp wrote:

I had no option but to pootle this morning. Nothing in the tank whatsoever. I put a little dig in on Millbank to see how the legs felt and the answer was "not very good. please stop." So, back to pootling. Fortunately, a chap on a blue Ribble seemed to have the same idea and showed some mercy.

Came across some absolutely c0ck-end of a HGV driver, who thought it was acceptable not to stop at the junction after the B'friars Tunnel. We exchanged some pleasantries and blew him a couple of kisses.

That was me on the Ribble. Good day to you. Left a lot later than usual today, hence the reason why I think its the first time I have seen you. I have a friend who is a wheeler and met you guys for lunch before the Marmotte. Im planning on joining when I pull my finger out and get sorted.

Indeed the legs felt empty this morning. Combination of a weeks commuting, quite a few evening runs and a couple of sessions at Tooting lido. Tonight is going to be slow.

MonkeyMonster

Asprilla wrote:

Can you guess what his first words were when he wound down the window?

Nice bike...
Can I nip to M&S to get you some clean pants...
Those koolstops work really well don't they...

jds_1981

notsoblue wrote:

So really, going hell for leather on a commute only gets you to the front of the commuter bunch faster. But in the end, surely, thats all that really matters?

Not so sure now, but when I first moved to London and commuted I was sure that depending on time of commute the lights had different timings. After about 08:15 it was a lot more stop start while earlier they tended to let you flow through more easily.

cjcp

Stelvio_W wrote:

cjcp wrote:

I had no option but to pootle this morning. Nothing in the tank whatsoever. I put a little dig in on Millbank to see how the legs felt and the answer was "not very good. please stop." So, back to pootling. Fortunately, a chap on a blue Ribble seemed to have the same idea and showed some mercy.

Came across some absolutely c0ck-end of a HGV driver, who thought it was acceptable not to stop at the junction after the B'friars Tunnel. We exchanged some pleasantries and blew him a couple of kisses.

That was me on the Ribble. Good day to you. Left a lot later than usual today, hence the reason why I think its the first time I have seen you. I have a friend who is a wheeler and met you guys for lunch before the Marmotte. Im planning on joining when I pull my finger out and get sorted.

Indeed the legs felt empty this morning. Combination of a weeks commuting, quite a few evening runs and a couple of sessions at Tooting lido. Tonight is going to be slow.

Good day to you, too, sir. Didn't recognise you in the lycra - no hanging kebab in sight either! Yeah, not sure I've seen you before. I've seen Quickstep shorts, but can't necessarily match them to a Ribble.

And thank you for having no legs this morning.

@Asprilla - close one!

asprilla

notsoblue wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

Proper brown trousers moment this morning; coming down Hampton Court Road towards Kingston, in the cycle lane and doing about 37kph when a van parked on the right (but facing the same way as me) decides that he wants to turn into one of the driveways on my side of the road.

I slammed the anchors on and a combination of him seeing me at the last minute and me holding it together enough to go up the drop kerb he was aiming for avoided a nasty inccident.

Can you guess what his first words were when he wound down the window?

"Sorry mate, I didn't see you"

You win a cookie!

@MM Koolstops are oldskool, swissstops are where it's at.

rjsterry

Semi-fresh legs this morning, which were wasted, as nobody even vaguely tried it on. Shame. Did have a bit of fun keeping up with a taxi along DSC.

DonDaddyD

I had nothing yesterday on the return leg home. Nothing.

I drafted a guy on a black langster all the way to the flyover by Bow where my elastic snapped.

Then I drafted a guy on a Trek too the city until he turned off somewhere. Then on the way home I found a droplet of thunder and laid 23mph from Elephant&Castle to Oval.

Thanks Ms DDD for my 14oz steak and half of hers to replenish The Power Awesome because today:

I roared mighty the Heavens rage!

I've lost the ability to lay a blunderbus of speed down on each crank but that didn't stop me finding 30mph on Clapham Road.

A solid 20mph from Aldgate to ilford saw me ride my fastest commute yet!!!![/quote]

HamishD

notsoblue wrote:

So really, going hell for leather on a commute only gets you to the front of the commuter bunch faster.

Yep.

notsoblue wrote:

But in the end, surely, thats all that really matters?

Yep

Wrath Rob

cjcp wrote:

Wrath Rob wrote:

I wasn't really in the mood this morning hence the slow overtake. I have to say I've not been in love with cycle commuting all of this week. No idea why but the thought of riding home tonight was depressing I need my commuting mojo back!

Pootle in and just enjoy it. And think of how skanky tubes and trains are when it's warm.

That was exactly my plan for this morning. Until I got scalped by a knobbly tyred MTB 30 seconds after leaving my front door. So I had to put that right. I did try and enjoy the ride more, the tail wind definitely helped with that one, as did whipping past a peleton of roadies near Temple, although I was drafting a dump truck so it doesn't really count.

Hopefully the wind will ease tonight and I can enjoy the ride home before 2 days being spoilt at the parents-in-law.

Headhuunter

Had a good ride in this morn, through Deptford and along Evelybn Rd, Lower Rd and Jamaica Rd. As usual pased the hordes of nodders and was cruising along and mid to high speed when a guy in greenwich Triton shorts shot by followed by a guy I had passed a bit before on a Boardman carbon bike.

I gave chase and our little peleton hurtled through SE London. Great fun! Eventually lost the guy on the Boardman and then the Triton guy almost got himself killed by shooting through a red light and almost colliding with a cyclist and car turning right from the opposite direction. The cyclist gave him a proper dressing down, swearing and yelling at him. Triton guy are you on here? That was a close shave! Shame as it ended our little 20+mph chase into central London, you seemed to lose your mojo after that and I didn't see you again...

asprilla

Wrath Rob wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Wrath Rob wrote:

I wasn't really in the mood this morning hence the slow overtake. I have to say I've not been in love with cycle commuting all of this week. No idea why but the thought of riding home tonight was depressing I need my commuting mojo back!

Pootle in and just enjoy it. And think of how skanky tubes and trains are when it's warm.

That was exactly my plan for this morning. Until I got scalped by a knobbly tyred MTB 30 seconds after leaving my front door. So I had to put that right. I did try and enjoy the ride more, the tail wind definitely helped with that one, as did whipping past a peloton of roadies near Temple, although I was drafting a dump truck so it doesn't really count.

Hopefully the wind will ease tonight and I can enjoy the ride home before 2 days being spoilt at the parents-in-law.

Easing from a 15mph tailwind to a 17mph headwind.

I was hating this wind, but then I realised that this is the first week in a while when I feel like I've lost weight. Resistance training.

Also chapeau to the chap on the Focus who I travelled from URR to the end of PB with this morning. You know the game and you weren't letting me take the lead from the lights. Traffic didn't allow us to really wind up, but it was nice to find someone else who wasn't pootling.

blu3cat

cast your mind back to Tuesday evening, (cue 70s style shimmery type fade).

travellilng along Fulham Palace Road, having scalped and then had the scalp retaken back by a very nippy woman on a silver specialized.

A truce is declared and we are both travelling along at the same speed as the traffic (about 22 - 25 mph), when a tw*t pulls out from a Right hand side street straight into where we were riding. He was even on the phone. :evil:

The woman who is now in front and myself swerved towards the gutter to avoid being taken out by the utter gimp, overtake him and turn my head turns in disbelief for 2 seconds. Turn back and traffic I was part of has stopped.

Didn't stand a chance to stop in time, clipped the boot of the car in front, over the boot, now nursing a dislocation of the shoulder, a written off front wheel and a knackered saddle.

Pah, still look on the bright side, opportunity to get a new saddle, am thinking Selle San Marco SKN. Anyone got one? Rate it?

cjcp

Bugger. What did the driver of the stationary car say?

Don't know that saddle, I'm afraid.

blu3cat

cjcp wrote:

Bugger. What did the driver of the stationary car say?

Don't know that saddle, I'm afraid.

people in the stationary car were lovely, considering they just had a 100kg missile hit the back of their car.

Car who nearly hit me in the first instance drove off. What a ****

asprilla

I've got that saddle on my fixed. Not really ridden it in the summer, but it saw me though the winter with no complaints. Comfortable perch, but then I've never really found one that I find uncomfortable.

georgee

Asprilla wrote:

I wasn't planning on meeting up and I stopped on Priory Lane to talk to a chap who had just ended up on someone's bonnet. I didn't see it but he called out when someone coming the otherway turned across me. They left me a smidgen more space than the previous person had left him.

He was ok. But his front wheel was a very odd shape but just about rideable.

I think that was one of the KW guys, he's now obviously worried his carbon frame is totalled. full story on their forum.

I was scalped at the lights in barnes by a mate who I had a good battle with 2 nights earlier today, he put the power down expecting me to chase, sadly I had to pootle left into Barnes as I was on my way to the doc's to try and finally get my chest sorted. I wonder at what point he looked around to realise I had dissapeared, still, he dropped all other is the process.

MonkeyMonster

Wrath Rob wrote:

although I was drafting a dump truck so it doesn't really count.

Nothing in the rule book against that

edit: sorry to hear that blu!

rjsterry

Indeed, if the other roadies had been paying attention, they'd have been grabbing a tow as well.

King Donut

@MM & CJ, thanks for last night's runout. Definitely wouldn't have got round that lap without you! Nice to have some company and motivation. Thankful of the enforced rest day today.

@blu3cat sorry to hear that. Hope you and the bike heal.

cjcp

Am looking out the window. All I see is headwind.

MonkeyMonster

cjcp wrote:

Am looking out the window. All I see is headwind.

Those legs of yours aint looking forward to the "Pootle" home then

cjcp

Very definitely not.

rjsterry

Not even for an Achy Friday Legs Special?

I quite fancy a fight with the southwesterlies this evening. I'll be heading through nearer to 7 this evening if anyone wants a tow.

cjcp

rjsterry wrote:

Not even for an Achy Friday Legs Special?

I quite fancy a fight with the southwesterlies this evening. I'll be heading through nearer to 7 this evening if anyone wants a tow.

And definitely not for that!

I'll be heading through earlier. About 6.15, I guess.

Wrath Rob

rjsterry wrote:

Indeed, if the other roadies had been paying attention, they'd have been grabbing a tow as well.

The truck was doing 30 in the outside lane. Anyone who was in the cycle lane who would have managed to get across and onto the back of the truck should be a pro rider!

BTW, what is it with those Kappagh (sp?) trucks? Normally they use the inside lane and accelerate nice and smoothly allowing an easy tow yet providing an easy way to get around them if required. The 2 I've come across this week have both been making a bee-line for the outside lane, forcing everyone else to undertake them as they wind up to 30+. I might have to go back to drafting taxi's.

Looking out of the window here, the wind's whipping the tree tops nicely. Drafting Fairies to the rear!

UndercoverElephant

What a tailwind! Had nobody to race worthy of calling themselves a roadie, so I raced the clock. New PB, 32.03 for 12.5 miles *and* I got stopped at at least half of the lights on my commute (five times then ). Half an hour and a shower later and I'm still sweating buckets. At least I've stopped feeling sick, though.

Mr Plum

No SCR to mention today apart from a couple of guys on nice classic racers looking like they were edging retirement age, I couldn't stop myself from smashing past at 25 though.

Almost crashed into the back of a car as I was perving on a jaw droppingly fit girl running in a skin tight 3/4 triathlon suit towards the top of town.

That's about as exciting as it gets around here.

jds_1981

Excellent cycle back. Was getting a good start on few other riders then being caught at lights. Eventually got to a set of lights with a large group of riders already stopped. Pulled in to their right and a few more people came along.
Lights change and I'm a bit slow getting away (silly spds). So is the moped to my right so I pootle into his slipstream. We shoot past everyone and as he slows for the second set of speed bumps I take his scalp & leave him for dust.

redvee

Mr Plum wrote:

Almost crashed into the back of a car as I was perving on a jaw droppingly fit girl running in a skin tight 3/4 triathlon suit

Guilty of above but without the near-miss but did get caught out by the focus of my attention when she looked around :oops: Sunglasses saved my skin though