Silly commuting racing

cjcp

Asprilla wrote:

cjcp wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

PB for my commute home tonight, 26 miles with average of 18mph, despite all the traffic. Hells yeah 8) Spotted a couple forumites too. Good times!

Good skilz. A good advert for buying a new bike. Hurrah!

Couple of drafting fairies tonight. @Asprilla - one of them was our friend on the Colnago.

God, not seen him for ages. I thought he was in hibernation, but obviously he was just hiding behind your back wheel.....

He jumped from back wheel to back wheel. Dropped him in the traffic on Bolan DC Bridge.

asprilla

cjcp wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

cjcp wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

PB for my commute home tonight, 26 miles with average of 18mph, despite all the traffic. Hells yeah 8) Spotted a couple forumites too. Good times!

Good skilz. A good advert for buying a new bike. Hurrah!

Couple of drafting fairies tonight. @Asprilla - one of them was our friend on the Colnago.

God, not seen him for ages. I thought he was in hibernation, but obviously he was just hiding behind your back wheel.....

He jumped from back wheel to back wheel. Dropped him in the traffic on Bolan DC Bridge.

The slightest incline and he just vanishes; he's not improved there then!

cjcp

davis wrote:

cjcp wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Traffic was better, but, to the chaps on my wheel along Embankment, you both need front lights.

Sounds like they'd found one :-)

Indeed. Was there a "thank you"? Was there bollo...

Wordwatching by Mr Alex Horne perchance?

I thought I should reel in my language.

itboffin

Phew!! a tad breezy tonight, need a bit of a lay down :?

london_scottish

no scalps as such apart from the usual motley crew along the OKR but had a good tussle with a bloke on a boardman between bexley and lewisham. Swapped places mainly due to filtering. Then there was a fast guy on a white Specilaized and another on a silver painted frame (lost him as he went through a couple of red lights, tsk tsk ) down the OKR but again only filtering and cheating were the deciding factor. Average speed was more than 17mph so can't complain.

MonkeyMonster

Much fun this morning, nice and cool too. Chapeau to the dual pannier dude on the ?saracen? who could lay down some serious speed. Roadie who did jsut out accelerate me (left foot no clipping in) if you slow right down again you're gonna lose your scalp again...
Lets get some etiquet please gents. No pushing right to the front please especially when you then almost cause a crash by being a bellend.

Thank you to the nice van who gave me the space to overtake 2 other cyclists (I did signal thanks)

Lovely morning.

asprilla

Left home at 6.45 this morning with the intention of pootling in for spin class.

Caught up with a chap in the park and I only realised how windy it was when he and I were changing places on the way up queens road. Saw a swift chap I bump into accasionally on Queens Ride on an older Trek, he held my wheel over Bolan Death Bridge and over took at the roundabout with LRR, filtering right when I filtered left. I latched onto his wheel until he jumped one of the ped xings but I caught him again approaching Putney Bridge where he was weaving around behind a Dynamower and giving the BMW behind him a mare (rider kept going left and the car would pull forward to overtake only for him to come back right without warning. Dynamo was straight as an arrow in primary).

From then on was quiet and journey time was 54mins rather than the 65 I was aiming for.

Spin was cancelled.

Gazzaputt

london_scottish wrote:

no scalps as such apart from the usual motley crew along the OKR but had a good tussle with a bloke on a boardman between bexley and lewisham. Swapped places mainly due to filtering. Then there was a fast guy on a white Specilaized and another on a silver painted frame (lost him as he went through a couple of red lights, tsk tsk ) down the OKR but again only filtering and cheating were the deciding factor. Average speed was more than 17mph so can't complain.

In all my years cycling from Bexley into London I only ever met a few other real fast people to ride with one being Rich158(?) from here.

Used to meet a guy at Lee who rode a Condor Moda with SRAM Red who was great to ride with.

I now go from Bexley to Charlton and never meet anyone for a proper ride in and a chat

rjsterry

Fantastic ride last night: a fast blast down DSC was topped off with a beautiful view over Chelsea Bridge - the sky graduated from deepest blue down to a thin strip of rust on the horizon, with a crescent moon shining through the illuminated suspension cables. Kept the speed up down QTR and up to Clapham, in fact all the way home with that tailwind. The only fly in the ointment was a halfwit who pulled out of a side turn in front of me when I was steaming down Green Wrythe Lane at about 27 - he got to see my lookwhereyouref***inggoing face.

This morning was lovely as well despite the headwind. Bit of fun on Millbank, and a bit of a tussle with someone on a silver Boardman roadie, grey/green baggies, black rucksack with flouro stripe, red/white lid and Spesh shoes - seems familiar, but couldn't place it. Anyway, the traffic on Vic. Emb. meant we couldn't really set to.

Lastly, morning JG - don't know if you saw my wave as you turned off City Road.

jonginge

rjsterry wrote:

Lastly, morning JG - don't know if you saw my wave as you turned off City Road.

I did. Howdy!

Ah, that felt good. Actually, no, it felt awful but was good to be back on the bike after a week off. My legs have stopped working in the interim, though.

Actually managed to smile and wave at LL when we passed thins morning. It may be a first

cjcp

Last night was great.

The RLJing numpty on the Giant appeared at PS. He no catch me along Millbank. He no catch me along DSC either. He crept at the lights at CB. I passed him off the slope. The Mini Cooper stayed with me, but, yet again, not RLJing man. 'Ave it, sunshine.

Then exchanged places with two roadies along the LRR and Queen's Ride before leaving them in traffic on Bolan Bridge.

Brief chat with a chap on a lovely carbon Dolan I've spoken to in RP before.

Thankfully, this morning was more sedate.

ketsbaia

Last night's pootle home turned into a fairly interesting tussle with a longish-haired guy on a Ribble who was just ahead of me coming round the BAR. He put in a dig as we came on to the OKR and must have heard the squeaking of my badly lubed drivechain because he upped the effort again. A quick flick of the awesome switch saw me catch and overtake, though, but differing lines taken to filter through the traffic meant he carried a slight lead into the stretch before Dunton Road.

Red lights at Tesco and we catch our breath invisibly; he's disguising his discomfort better than I am, but from there on in, I'm first to every set of lights until I guess he disappears down PPR.

I don't remember anyone challenging this morning, although with the wind and remnants of my chesty cough, I thought I'd have been handing my scalp out to anyone who asked.

Citizen Smith

Last night was real quick....the gods of the Tailwind (BassJunkie TM) were looking kindly down upon me.

Launched a salvo through the DSC westbound....love taking people a such a significant speed differential especially when they are at the front of the pack.

There was a fairly quick chap on a red/yellow Canondale but took him in the approach to CB.

Also managed a respectable 27mph up to Balham traffic lights pacing a scooter who was on my right shoulder. Tidy.

This morning legs were feeling good again...perhaps a marginal tailwind from the other direction?

Only competition was a chap on classic Blue Ribble and newish looking pannier on the back who came past as I was pulling away from Cleverton Street lights in the DSC. Hung back till we got to VB lights. Technically I should hanger left here but decide to see what he's got.

Wait a short while and then lights go green and he's off in primary. He's got some good speed up but I'm gaining so I put coal in the thighs so to speak and dive past.

Gave it some beans past the Tate and I'm up to 28mph past Millbank. I'm blowing a little bit by the time I get to LB so thankful I'm heading left here scalp intact.

Ian.B

JonGinge wrote:

My legs have stopped working in the interim, though.

It didn't look that way along by Millbank tower!

jonginge

Ian.B wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

My legs have stopped working in the interim, though.

It didn't look that way along by Millbank tower!

Heh heh. When the store of beans is limited you have to choose your battlegrounds*. I arrived late at the VB green light so had an entire peloton stretching out before me. It would have been rude not to try to get past by lambeth rbt

The rest of the ride was pretty low-key, though

Edit: Ian, I did wonder if you were there but the bike didn't look right for you and I was concentrating too hard on the traffic to take a look as I went past.


* I love the smell of mixed metaphor in the morning

rjsterry

I think JG's "not working" would still be a good effort for most of us.

Bassjunkieuk

NIce ride home last night. The bag weighed a ton but I still had good fun. Bit of an "anomally" after Clapham Common when a chap on a hybrid came past at about 24-25mph. Couldn't quite get him back before he peeled off by Clapham South. Well done sir that was some impressive speed :-)

Pulled up at the turn by Waitrose and put my arm up to indicate my turn. Chap pulls up behind me and I glance back and he says he also going that way. Should be fun as he looks quick on his Willier :-D He did come past just as the rise was levelling out but I managed to retake him by Tooting Common and can only assume he turned off as he had vanished by the time I got to the lights for the one-way mess that heads towards Streatham.

Wrath Rob

This mornings ride summarised:

Roadie wearing a Festina team jersey: Scalped 3 times
Roadie head to toe in black lycra on CAAD 8: Scalped twice
Roadie in baggies who was surprisingly quick: Scalped once

Number of shouts at motorists: 0
Number of shouts at cyclists: 1, to the CAAD 8 rider above.

The shouting was when, despite being scalped, he pushed past at Embankment, sat in front and to the right of me then as the lights went green wobbled straight across my front wheel and almost took me out. I mean, why did he have to do that? He knew he was slower than me, even if he didn't like the fact. Numpty

cjcp

@Citizen Smith - good to see you tonight and thanks for saying hello - apologies for lack of any recognition on my face :oops: . Good luck with the move.

ketsbaia

What was it with the wind tonight? Straight into the face all the way along Camberwell New Road and over Denmark Hill, no respite all the way through Dulwich and a real PITA on the lower reaches of College Road.

Then as soon as I head down towards Sydenham Hill, it's coming the other way, i.e. straight into the mush. This carried on all the way down to Goose Green, then again along East Dulwich Road and Evelina Road.

If I hadn't felt like sod's law was operating, I'd have turned round and had another crack at College Hill.

itboffin

i'm exceptional pleased to have made it home alive this evening, that should explain how my commute was tonight.

and unclench

Harveytile

Nothing like a headwind and lead legs to make the ride in less than enjoyable but I’ve just clocked up 5000 commuting miles (5004 to be precise) this very morning.

Proper chuffed. The year’s target is 6000 so a nice cushy November and December ahead... 8)

itboffin

Harveytile wrote:

Nothing like a headwind and lead legs to make the ride in less than enjoyable but I’ve just clocked up 5000 commuting miles (5004 to be precise) this very morning.

Proper chuffed. The year’s target is 6000 so a nice cushy November and December ahead... 8)

Chapeau

lost_in_thought

Ugh. Tell me there was a headwind this morning? Somebody?

And I was on the fixie rather than the Maxima... And I have the makings of a bad-ass cold.

Hello slow day!

Butterd2

Yep there was a head wind, coming in from the South East.....

dhope

I see I may have to start leaving at 7am every morning, roads far clearer and faster people on bikes. Slightly brown moment when a cab and lorry got a bit silly with me just behind, but saw it coming and was hovering on the brakes.

Fast gent on a SS Roadrat and a very polite (hand signals everywhere) but slightly manic and unpredictable filterer. Having been to the gym as well now I could be lagging a little by this evening.

Butterd2

dhope wrote:

I see I may have to start leaving at 7am every morning, roads far clearer and faster people on bikes. Slightly brown moment when a cab and lorry got a bit silly with me just behind, but saw it coming and was hovering on the brakes.

Fast gent on a SS Roadrat and a very polite (hand signals everywhere) but slightly manic and unpredictable filterer. Having been to the gym as well now I could be lagging a little by this evening.

Don't think it's likely we will meet in the near future then, my alarm doesn't go off til 7:15, you must be through Rotherhithe by then.

PS thanks for the SCR ranking tip yesterday, got 4 road bikes this morning who I would not previously have considered legit scalps. Sweet.

dhope

Butterd2 wrote:

dhope wrote:

I see I may have to start leaving at 7am every morning, roads far clearer and faster people on bikes. Slightly brown moment when a cab and lorry got a bit silly with me just behind, but saw it coming and was hovering on the brakes.

Fast gent on a SS Roadrat and a very polite (hand signals everywhere) but slightly manic and unpredictable filterer. Having been to the gym as well now I could be lagging a little by this evening.

Don't think it's likely we will meet in the near future then, my alarm doesn't go off til 7:15, you must be through Rotherhithe by then.

PS thanks for the SCR ranking tip yesterday, got 4 road bikes this morning who I would not previously have considered legit scalps. Sweet.

Excellent, I'll count that as at least one scalp for me by way of assists :twisted:
It's only the 3rd time I've left at 7, normally the alarm goes off at 7.20 and I leave around 8, unless it's busy at work. I did like that the gym was deserted before work today though so might make it slightly more regular.

rjsterry

Eurgh! Well at least it wasn't raining, but it took me until Vauxhall to properly warm up. Despite feeling pretty sluggish, I managed to make decent time up to Parl. Sq. just in time for the nine o'clock bongs. Horseguards bike lane was rammed with motorbikes again, but after that it cleared a bit and had a bit of a tussle with a chap on an unusual road bike - mint green and white with large black logo (very stylised letters - couldn't make out the name) and rather tasty looking white hubs and rims (Aerorage?). Held him off until the far side of the Blackfriars tunnel where I turn off up Queen St.

Nearly toppled over at London Wall lights on Moorgate - pulled up and put my left foot out to the kerb, but missed :oops: .

jonginge

Definitely a headwind this morning. Did. Not. Like.