Silly commuting racing

dafruk

Jeez you londoners, you don't know what the cold is! Threw on my Briko SS and bib shorts this morning, out in the bracing raid. Man up I say.

(admittedly Edinburgh is showing as similar if not warmer than London per BBC weather right now)

Oh and hee hee "Richmond park hill" as if.

Coriander

Mmmm... I love being a little bit cold. That nip on your skin... mmmm....

jonginge

dafruk wrote:

Oh and hee hee "Richmond park hill" as if.

Not very long to be sure but Dark hill up from kingston gate is about as steep as the top of the Galibier... which I rode last thursday during a week's biking in the alps
Any hill is hard if you're going at full gas

Littigator

JonGinge wrote:

dafruk wrote:

Oh and hee hee "Richmond park hill" as if.

Not very long to be sure but Dark hill up from kingston gate is about as steep as the top of the Galibier... which I rode last thursday during a week's biking in the alps
Any hill is hard if you're going at full gas

Yes but to be fair it is only about 50 metres long

No commuting for me on Friday, I went out cycling with an elite pro who took me for some training...took me for a bloody ride more like.

A 100k circle out and back from Guildford incorporating Leith Hill which is about a mile long, averages 8% and culminates in a 21% lungbuster at the end...ouch ouch and double ouch. We averaged just over 20mph doing the ride in 2hrs 50 mins.

My legs are still not back to normal today

cjcp

Littigator wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

dafruk wrote:

Oh and hee hee "Richmond park hill" as if.

Not very long to be sure but Dark hill up from kingston gate is about as steep as the top of the Galibier... which I rode last thursday during a week's biking in the alps
Any hill is hard if you're going at full gas

Yes but to be fair it is only about 50 metres long

No commuting for me on Friday, I went out cycling with an elite pro who took me for some training...took me for a bloody ride more like.

A 100k circle out and back from Guildford incorporating Leith Hill which is about a mile long, averages 8% and culminates in a 21% lungbuster at the end...ouch ouch and double ouch. We averaged just over 20mph doing the ride in 2hrs 50 mins.

My legs are still not back to normal today

Hills never get easier; you just go faster.

Litts - Leith Hill is the venue for our club hill climb. Now you've done it, you've no excuse not to enter.

dafruk

Littigator wrote:

A 100k circle out and back from Guildford incorporating Leith Hill which is about a mile long, averages 8% and culminates in a 21% lungbuster at the end...ouch ouch and double ouch. We averaged just over 20mph doing the ride in 2hrs 50 mins.

Sounds like pain, and just to make you feel good, here's the tail end of the Vuleta profile from (I think) Saturday. Feel the pain.

il_principe

Dear God, that's one mother of a summit.

jonginge

Zoncolan was in the 2007 Giro, i think
Angliru last weekend had a max gradient in the 20+%
Plan de Corones in this year's Giro also had 20+% stretches of gravel at the top. yikes

L'equipe at the weekend had a comparison of these climbs and Alpe d'Huez, which looks pretty wimpy when stacked next to those...
The alpe felt pretty hard to me (59mins ascent) and it was a bit soul-destroying to go through Huez village (5k to go) and see Pantani's finish time whoosh by.

cjcp

Correct. It was L'Angliru and E. Fuentes (no pun intended) this weekend.

I suppose how hard it is depends on the quality of the field you're chasing/chasing you. Not something the Vuelta is famed for.

biondino

Is it possible that when I went up Leith Hill I didn't go right to the top? Cos I don't remember a 20% section. Makes me feel a bit disappointed, that.

cjcp

biondino wrote:

Is it possible that when I went up Leith Hill I didn't go right to the top? Cos I don't remember a 20% section. Makes me feel a bit disappointed, that.

Did you go up Whitedown this weekend? If not, try it. It'll soon relieve you of any disappointment. Kicks up to 18%.

jonginge

biondino wrote:

Is it possible that when I went up Leith Hill I didn't go right to the top? Cos I don't remember a 20% section. Makes me feel a bit disappointed, that.

Confucius say, 'Leith is a hill of many paths'.
The road up Holmbury hill is marked as 21%, nasty on the 42x19 gears the first time I went up it

biondino

I rode to the Chilterns this weekend but although it was quite attritional, there were no actual steep hills on the journey.

Okay - questions I should ask on the main boards but they're scary and you guys aren't:

1. My rear wheel is 1-2mm out of true.
2. Quite a few of my aero spokes (on my Fulcrum Racing 3s) are not pointing aero-ly any more.

As a bike maintenance noob shall I just take the bike to the lbs and, while it's serviced, ask them if they can sort these out too? Or should I try and fix them myself, starting from a position of zero knowledge?

biondino

Hmm, Leith Hill - by what I thought was the top I was standing up desperately trying to not grind to a halt in 34/27, and although I am a complete lily-livered spinner when it comes to hills, there must have been quite a slope at this point. But 20%? Really not sure. Severe oxygen debt at the end, mind!

Coriander

biondino wrote:

I rode to the Chilterns this weekend but although it was quite attritional, there were no actual steep hills on the journey.

Okay - questions I should ask on the main boards but they're scary and you guys aren't:

1. My rear wheel is 1-2mm out of true.
2. Quite a few of my aero spokes (on my Fulcrum Racing 3s) are not pointing aero-ly any more.

As a bike maintenance noob shall I just take the bike to the lbs and, while it's serviced, ask them if they can sort these out too? Or should I try and fix them myself, starting from a position of zero knowledge?

It's very, very important to support local business. So take it to the shop. That's how I validate it anyway.

Littigator

Do you still have the instructions that came with your F3s? If not I have my copy and can scan and mail it to you if you want to PM me. From memory (very brief glance as I ran to the bike shop with them to get the casette fitted) the spoke adjustment looked relatively simple (famous last words).

I have also read a few reports that the spokes on these can go out of true when they are fresh from the box, but once they've settled in they're all good.

I'm loving mine I must admit.

il_principe

biondino wrote:

Hmm, Leith Hill - by what I thought was the top I was standing up desperately trying to not grind to a halt in 34/27, and although I am a complete lily-livered spinner when it comes to hills, there must have been quite a slope at this point. But 20%? Really not sure. Severe oxygen debt at the end, mind!

Don't try and retrue it yourself you have neither the tools or the know how. I always reckon wheels are best left to the experts. Your Fulcrums should have come with a special spoke key so you could use this to get the spokes straight again if you want to try. Also remember to take all the Fulcrum tools to your LBS as they might not have them... I learnt that the hard way once.

dafruk

biondino wrote:

I rode to the Chilterns this weekend but although it was quite attritional, there were no actual steep hills on the journey.

Okay - questions I should ask on the main boards but they're scary and you guys aren't:

1. My rear wheel is 1-2mm out of true.
2. Quite a few of my aero spokes (on my Fulcrum Racing 3s) are not pointing aero-ly any more.

As a bike maintenance noob shall I just take the bike to the lbs and, while it's serviced, ask them if they can sort these out too? Or should I try and fix them myself, starting from a position of zero knowledge?

Spoke adjustments are the one area where I throw my hands up in defeat and pass the bike to the shop. I invariably made things worse rather than better when I tried it myself.

biondino

Thanks guys. Can you also let me know if this chain will work with a Tiagra double and an Ultegra 9-speed cassette?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/KMC_X ... 360021126/

m0scs

cjcp wrote:

biondino wrote:

I just hate stepping out of the house cold, especially as, in winter, I'll have been cold in bed, cold in the shower, cold while getting dressed. Hate it. At least if I'm wrapped up warm (and my new bib tights will get a lot of use I'm sure, as will my Rapha arm-warmers!) then that particular bit won't be so unpleasant.

CJCP, what's your 1-lap PB? Mine's 19.56 which I'm sure is pathetic.

Biondino - do you have heating in your house?

It's 17:53, which is in the context of a 3-lap PB attempt. I've never actually belted it for one lap though. I doubt I'd get below 17:30 though because I'm blowing out of my a*se most of the time anyway and can never sustain any power on the flats. Also, if you're feeling bad, you'll lose a load of time on the hill from Kingston Gate and in the recovery after you've reached the top.

Your time isn't pathetic at all. It's an average speed in excess of 20mph. Between the inclines, false flats and side winds, you don't really get much respite around the Park. You'll probably find that your average speed around the Park would be slower than on most 10m TT courses.

As a non London person Im curious how far it is round Richmond park.

joew4ll

Last time I tried to straighten a wheel I made it worse - by throwing it on the floor in a huff having spent 3 hours plus making it worse than I started - how time flies when you're frustrated! (I was a teenager at the time I hasten to add and my temper has moderated considerably)

Now my LBS gets all my business - the wheel builder there is a genius!

By the way, no challenge from the flip flop man today thank goodness...

il_principe

biondino wrote:

Thanks guys. Can you also let me know if this chain will work with a Tiagra double and an Ultegra 9-speed cassette?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/KMC_X ... 360021126/

Yep, should be fine.

il_principe

m0scs wrote:

As a non London person Im curious how far it is round Richmond park.

About 6.5 miles I believe.

biondino

A little bit more - 6.8 I think?

Let's see what toporoute thinks... 6.84 miles, there you go.

Littigator

And for anyone that's interested here's the route

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Richmond-Park-London-Dynamo-4-laps-on-a-Saturday-morning

which also contains an altitude profile if you click on 'Show' on the top left drop down menu. This shows the mahoosive hills us Londoners have to deal with

Stop laughing so hard you Northerners!!!

biondino

If you just jumped onto the tail of the Dynamo and sat there for 4 laps would they be annoyed, do you think?

il_principe

biondino wrote:

If you just jumped onto the tail of the Dynamo and sat there for 4 laps would they be annoyed, do you think?

You'd struggle to given that they normally ride in a pace-line, you'd just be in the way.

But yeah, pretty poor etiquette!

knight2k

I rode to the Chilterns this weekend but although it was quite attritional, there were no actual steep hills on the journey.

Where in the Chilterns were you not to encounter the steep hills? Coming from the area I regularly enjoy the ascents of The Krong, Bison Hill, Whiteleaf, Wardrobes etc. all around the 15-6% mark.

dafruk

Ohh nice site.

Here's one of the most common training laps in Edinburgh, lacking a computer I've never timed myself round a lap, but it's a nice 5.3km circuit, so considerably shorter than the richmond park one but has the advantage of you can just do it again!

Arthur seat - Edinburgh

I like the profile map, nice feature. A lot of people start with the steep climb first (circa 2.2km in) then it's just a shallow incline at the end to the finish.

Littigator

biondino wrote:

If you just jumped onto the tail of the Dynamo and sat there for 4 laps would they be annoyed, do you think?

BD, yes that would be bad form but it's not unheard of for people to get sucked into a group for maybe half a lap or so.

Why don't you just come along to a ride one morning. I'm going this weekend and don't mind joining a slower group with you and make you feel welcome.