Your Anti-Rants here

MrSweary

Had a little giggle at the grumpy copper manning one of the barriers lining the funeral route today. Stopped and asked if it was ok to cycle on the wide clear bit of closed road beyond him. No, came the stroppy reply. When I mentioned that everyone else was he launched into a whinge that no one ever listens to him - cue his colleagues bursting out laughing, boo-hoos etc and a fair bit of merriment all round. Least he had the good grace to crack a smile.

That and it just being a gorgeous morning for a cycle.

wolfsbane2k

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

Hampshire Police have run a Close Pass Initative.

<gobsmacked>

i've not seen any signs of it

https://twitter.com/HantsPolRoads/statu ... 7795207168

This ended up being front page news on the local newspaper (Portsmouth news), with a 2 page article & a supporting opinion piece.
Of course, it brought out the fools.

redvee

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

Of course, it brought out the fools.

Happens in all local papers, and nationals too

wolfsbane2k

redvee wrote:

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

Of course, it brought out the fools.

Happens in all local papers, and nationals too

Yep. What was really surprising was how positive the newspaper was about it, and how much it supported it.
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/opinio ... -1-7906289
A colleague has become very militant about cycling in the city, and he's been gobsmacked about the response.

slowbike

NHS front-line staff ...

Bloody good - from the Ambulance "Technician" - to the doctors who saw our little boy in the hospital ... thank you all - the transformation from an overheating delirious chappy to an overchatty verbal diarrhea chappy was amazing - fortunately nothing more complex than some neurofen, cooling down, juice and rest.

I wonder if he'll remember the blue light demo by the ambulance crew whilst we were waiting for the neurofen to kick in ...

DrLex

In contrast to the two hours of swearing and manipulation required to get a pair of Schwalbe G Ones on 650B rims, I have just flipped a pair of Schwalbe Ones on to 700 rims with my thumbs.

...my thumbs...

MY THUMBS!

I fear punctures on the smaller rims will bring out the support car.

bendertherobot

Garmin optical HR on the Fenix 5. Great for running, indoor anything. Rubbish for cycling. 80 mile sportive. 120bpm max, average 80.

Upgraded software to new beta. 3 mile ride at 20 mph has me back at an entirely sensible reading level.

slowbike

3663 articulated lorry - thank you ...you held back and although I waved you passed on a potential passing place downhill - you still stayed back - yup I did sprint through that village for you - just to get to the next suitable passing place quicker .
f me - your horn is loud when you did your little Toot Toot ... wish Little SB could've heard it as he loves Toot Toots ...

redvee

Used the bus to go to the Dentist this morning and had an all day paper ticket, got off and was walking home and spotted a face I didn't see on the scrounge for money and he soon latched onto me. He asked me for some loose change and I said do you want it for the bus to which he replied yes so I said give me your loose change and I'll give you enough for a bus journey. He hands over his coppers and small coins and I give him my still valid ticket and walk off and before he has chance to react his mobile rings and I'm around the corner and gone laughing at his misfortune.

Kieran_Burns

Captain_Kirk wrote:

Managed N+1 yesterday, and even with the permission of my wife, who knew the value of the bike (2nd hand, but still more than most people would accept a bike should cost).

It will allow me to commute along the River Trent from Beeston to Trent Lock when I start my new job in April. A nice change in scenery from the commute through Nottingham City centre from Beeston to Mansfield which I occasionally do now. I promise I will cycle more frequently with such nice views...

When you get just South of Beeston Lock, don't be tempted to just keep on the river path - take that 1st right towards the railway line and swing left as you get there. Follow that route over the mental dutch style bridge. Takes you through Attenborough Village. After you do the sharp right turn post cricket pitch, take the 2nd right (or first... but the 2nd is more straight forward) and straight past the church and parochial house back into the Nature Reserve. Follow the path (bearing right) and it brings you to the Reserve centre - take the 2nd left at the roundabout (over the bridge) and it'll bring you back to the river route at the bit where you go through the kissing gate towards Trent Lock.

It sounds further but it's actually not, and it's a nice change. You just need to be wary in wet weather as the stretch after the mad dutch bridge can flood.

If you see a fat guy on a black Felt with stupidly bright lights huffing along, say hi

veronese68

Kieran_Burns wrote:

If you see a fat guy on a black Felt with stupidly bright lights huffing along, say hi

What happened to the cape? More to the point, where the f... have you been? Hope all is well.

elbowloh

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Captain_Kirk wrote:

If you see a fat guy on a black Felt with stupidly bright lights huffing along, say hi

Not sure why you're talking about me?

UndercoverElephant

Dug out the CR1, cleaned it off and fixed the rear deflation this morning. So glad I did. Perfect weather for a bike ride: glorious sunshine, warm and with a gentle, caressing tailwind.

Shame I had to get to work, truth be told.

davis

Snuck in a commute as the other half cancelled her spin session. To be honest 18 miles each way is a bit much at the moment, but I cut a couple of really boring main road miles out by cutting through the woods on my carbon road bike with slicks.

Hah. Take that rules.

mtb-idle

Feeling good after a great BH weekend's riding. here's a ride report:

Tour of the Low Countries – May Bank Holiday 2017

My main cycling buddy Greg and I love a challenge and in the past have ridden such epics as the Giro de M25, London to Paris in 24 hours, London to Bruges and Epsom to the Isle of Wight, all of which are circa 250km in a day.

For our latest tour we planned on riding harder and further than before and a monster 550km route over three days was discussed, tweaked, planned and finally agreed on that would take us from Epsom in Surrey over the channel and into France, Belgium and the Netherlands (four countries in one day) and then a return to Surrey.

The forthcoming Bank holiday weekend proved a suitable date in our diaries and with our weekend ‘passes’ in our pockets signed off by our respective wives and a day’s holiday signed off by my line manager I left work in Canary Wharf on Thursday evening after a full day’s work and headed home to Epsom and prepared to set off at 23:15 GMT that same night.

I cried a little inside as I picked up my 7kg carbon fibre road bike that was now loaded down with an additional 10kg’s of kit including night lights, a change of clothes, battery chargers, GoPro, tools, a spare Garmin and enough energy bars and gels to stock the local branch of Ev*ns.

We followed a familiar 150 km route from Epsom to Doverand traffic was light. But it was a very cold night hitting 1 degree C according to my Garmin and we stopped in Tenterden, Kent at 03:30 GMT which was circa 100km into the journey to pull on an additional pair of socks I was carrying as my toes were numb in my lightweight summer shoes. The energy gels were disappearing fast but I had a nagging pain in my right knee. We pushed on through the night and eventually found a 24 hour service station which offered some shelter from the cold and a Costa coffee machine. I took the opportunity to pop a couple of ibuprofen for the knee and feeling ten times better even the unwelcome long steep climb in between Folkestone and Dover was tackled without too much fuss.

We arrived in Dover at about 06:00 GMT (Friday morning) bleary-eyed and fuzzy-headed having had no sleep in 24 hours and loaded onto the 08:00 ferry. I managed to grab about an hour’s sleep in the premier lounge (I recommend you book this) before we hit Dunkirk at 11:00 CET and jumped onto our bikes again for the second phase of our journey heading East into Belgium.

Riding in this particular part of Belgium is quite straightforward with pan-flat roads, many cycle paths and no hills. With a little bit of a coastal tailwind we made good progress as we tackled another 116km’s with plenty of stops for caffeine and sugar at the many cafes that exist in this part of the world. A couple of beers at the cafe stops helped me on the way.

We had already ridden in England, France and Belgium and although I never saw the border crossing as we were now travelling off road along the side of the many canals that cover this area we ended the day (Friday evening) at 19:30 CET in Sluis, Holland to complete an epic 24 hours and 270km’s that took us into four countries in one day. I would say that it was courage and tenacity that allowed me to complete this massive day’s ride but mainly it was caffeine, sugar and ibuprofen.

After a quick outing for an evening meal we hit the sack at 21:30 CET and I was asleep within 30 seconds and didn’t stir for another 12 hours.

The following day (Saturday) broke bright and sunny and after taking advantage of the complimentary, all you can eat (and I can eat a lot) breakfast we pulled the bikes out of storage, topped up our water bottles and hit the road heading East once again. This was a very different ride to the previous day as we followed the 129km North Sea route that took us across bridges, along the top of dykes and onto and off local ferries which all added to the excitement with circa 95% of it on dedicated cycle-paths. It really was easy going and we made good time to reach the Hook of Holland at 18:00 CET in plenty of time for our overnight ferry back to dear old Blighty allowing us to grab a few beers and some food in the local hostelry before boarding.

We had booked a cabin for the 10 hour crossing and again after a quick meal fell gratefully into bed and landed in Harwich the following day (Sunday) at 05:00 GMT.

We de-camped into a very cold and windy Essex port and shivering ourselves warm we set off again into a blustery cross-wind, quickly realizing that the only thing we had both forgotten to pack was chamois cream. Yes, it felt like I was sitting on a cheese-grater for most of the day as we finally headed back West. Harwich is not the prettiest of towns but we were soon into the beautiful Essex countryside and lanes and as the sun rose we started to see many other weekend warriors out for their Sunday spin. With our bikes laden down still it was clear we were touring and we chatted to many of these riders describing our exploits.

A stop for breakfast and coffee (double macchiato) in Colchester and chatting with more local riders and another stop at a local post office for lunch and we were getting closer to London. The miles were getting harder and harder now as the effect of the long weekend took their toll and as we finally hit Olde London town the Sunday traffic was heavy and there were masses of pedestrians everywhere as we made our way through the urban streets. Combined with the general tiredness I was feeling and the pain of Cycle Superhighway 2 into Aldgate we had had enough by this time and agreed to head for Waterloo station and finish the 147km ride there with a train ride back to Epsom being the final stretch.

I really was in a zombie-like state by this time and even the welcome caffeine kick from another coffee stop couldn't prompt me to make any conversation as we stared aimlessly out of the train window and 30 minutes later I was back home and enjoying a hot shower and a cold beer as I kicked back and relaxed on the settee for the evening. Thankfully it’s a BH Monday tomorrow and I can get another day’s rest!

Would I do it again? Off course, it was a fantastic trip and I loved every minute of it, both the highs and the lows.

timothyw

Didn't get knocked off the bike this morning! The driver turning across the queue of traffic saw me filtering and stopped.

asprilla

MTB-Idle wrote:

Epic

Epic.

In other news, I wore sunglasses on the ride in for the first time this year.

veronese68

TimothyW wrote:

Didn't get knocked off the bike this morning! The driver turning across the queue of traffic saw me filtering and stopped.

Did you give a little wave of thanks? I'm sure I would have done. Why do we thank drivers for not screwing up and killing us? Does seem odd when you think about it.
Also in sunglasses this morning, it was glorious.

timothyw

Veronese68 wrote:

TimothyW wrote:

Didn't get knocked off the bike this morning! The driver turning across the queue of traffic saw me filtering and stopped.

Did you give a little wave of thanks? I'm sure I would have done. Why do we thank drivers for not screwing up and killing us? Does seem odd when you think about it.
Also in sunglasses this morning, it was glorious.

I did indeed, and a shouted thanks - although it happened so quickly that I had barely had time to hit the brakes myself, and might have shouted FUUU-anks!

To my shame I was concentrating a bit too hard on closing the gap to the cyclist ahead rather than what was going on around me, although I'd imagine it might have been the driver seeing the cyclist ten yards ahead of me that might have alerted them to the danger as they crossed the queue.

mtb-idle

Asprilla wrote:

MTB-Idle wrote:

Epic

Epic.

In other news, I wore sunglasses on the ride in for the first time this year.

Haha, I removed my gloves on the ride home last night as i was slightly overdressed and this was the quickest way of cooling down. Took the longer 35k route home and had to put them back on about 30 minutes later as the sun was dropping and the temp cooling fast

mtb-idle

Veronese68 wrote:

TimothyW wrote:

Didn't get knocked off the bike this morning! The driver turning across the queue of traffic saw me filtering and stopped.

Did you give a little wave of thanks? I'm sure I would have done. Why do we thank drivers for not screwing up and killing us? Does seem odd when you think about it.
Also in sunglasses this morning, it was glorious.

Because we are British old boy and all behave in a slightly Hugh Grant, foppish kind of way. It's been inbred to us through generations.

asprilla

MTB-Idle wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

MTB-Idle wrote:

Epic

Epic.

In other news, I wore sunglasses on the ride in for the first time this year.

Haha, I removed my gloves on the ride home last night as i was slightly overdressed and this was the quickest way of cooling down. Took the longer 35k route home and had to put them back on about 30 minutes later as the sun was dropping and the temp cooling fast

That's why I use arm warmers rather than long sleeve jerseys. Greatest heat loss is through the forearms (rather than the top of the head) so if you can bare your arms you'll cool down much quicker.

hopkinb

Asprilla wrote:

MTB-Idle wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

MTB-Idle wrote:

Epic

Epic.

In other news, I wore sunglasses on the ride in for the first time this year.

Haha, I removed my gloves on the ride home last night as i was slightly overdressed and this was the quickest way of cooling down. Took the longer 35k route home and had to put them back on about 30 minutes later as the sun was dropping and the temp cooling fast

That's why I use arm warmers rather than long sleeve jerseys. Greatest heat loss is through the forearms (rather than the top of the head) so if you can bare your arms you'll cool down much quicker.

None of my ss jerseys are warm enough for the cool weather we've been having, even with arm warmers and a base layer. Really hoping I can break them out soon. Wearing a thermal ls jersey plus baselayer in May is just daft. I must be getting old.

asprilla

hopkinb wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

MTB-Idle wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

MTB-Idle wrote:

Epic

Epic.

In other news, I wore sunglasses on the ride in for the first time this year.

Haha, I removed my gloves on the ride home last night as i was slightly overdressed and this was the quickest way of cooling down. Took the longer 35k route home and had to put them back on about 30 minutes later as the sun was dropping and the temp cooling fast

That's why I use arm warmers rather than long sleeve jerseys. Greatest heat loss is through the forearms (rather than the top of the head) so if you can bare your arms you'll cool down much quicker.

None of my ss jerseys are warm enough for the cool weather we've been having, even with arm warmers and a base layer. Really hoping I can break them out soon. Wearing a thermal ls jersey plus baselayer in May is just daft. I must be getting old.

SS jersey, windstopper gilet (Castelli F-Awesome) and arm warmers. Keeps the core warm and allows you to cool down easily when required. Also allows for those days when the morning is a lot colder than the evening.

hopkinb

Ah, of course, the gilet...I have one of the original fawesomes in fluoro yellow, which I never wear because it has CASTELLI on it.

Heads off to internet cycle stores, whistling innocently to find a fawesome in a different colour without the shouty branding.

itboffin

mines black no logo just a small label

hopkinb

Yeah, seems mine was the original fawesome, which had castelli in large red letters across the chest, and is XL, whereas I have shrunk a little to be an L. They improved the look of it for the fawesome 2, and now it seems to be the perfetto vest. No bargains around at the moment, so my hopes are pinned on weather improving.

asprilla

I've got the original black one and the fluro yellow Fawesome 2. Still can't work out how it's improved.

I usually wear the black one because it's slimming, innit.

slowbike

2. Nearly 3 scalps on the way home - last one turned off before I caught them.
Ok, number 2 had ridden a good 40-50 miles before I'd done my 5 to catch him. But a scalp is a scalp

redvee

Went Yo-Biking around Brizzle.