Your Anti-Rants here

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  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    Ever have days when it all comes together? Did my usual half asleep plodding for the first mile or so this morning then realised keeping up a decent pace was quite easy, so pushed a bit, then a bit more and went the direct route instead of the rural retreat. Wish I'd kicked in at 100 yards and not 2 & a bit miles; 20.36 miles, 1h 1m 11s, avg speed 19.96. So close.

    And if it hadn't been for those pesky workers in the woods leaving an inch of thick gloopy mud all over the road at Stratton Mill causing me to slow to a crawl for a 100 yards or so as I picked my way through, I'd have gotten away with a 20+ avg and a PB for the year so far. Dagnabbit. Cotton picking frickin grumble mumble mumble...
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    CiB wrote:
    Ever have days when it all comes together? Did my usual half asleep plodding for the first mile or so this morning then realised keeping up a decent pace was quite easy, so pushed a bit, then a bit more and went the direct route instead of the rural retreat. Wish I'd kicked in at 100 yards and not 2 & a bit miles; 20.36 miles, 1h 1m 11s, avg speed 19.96. So close.

    And if it hadn't been for those pesky workers in the woods leaving an inch of thick gloopy mud all over the road at Stratton Mill causing me to slow to a crawl for a 100 yards or so as I picked my way through, I'd have gotten away with a 20+ avg and a PB for the year so far. Dagnabbit. Cotton picking frickin grumble mumble mumble...

    Tailwind
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    Nope. Crosswind over the left shoulder then a bit of a h/wind from the Finmere bypass turn at the airfield for most of the last 8 miles. I put it down to sheer strength, power, stamina & absolute determination. I'd have seen Cav off today.
  • flimflam_machine
    flimflam_machine Posts: 263
    Whoa! Anti-rants has got pushed down to page 2. Who's put soluble grumpiness into the water supply?

    Anyway, I've upgraded my brakes by fitting modern aero-levers and they are the bollocks!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,644
    flimflam_machine wrote:
    Whoa! Anti-rants has got pushed down to page 2. Who's put soluble grumpiness into the water supply?

    Anyway, I've upgraded my brakes by fitting modern aero-levers and they are the bollocks!

    Hair free? :roll:
    _
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    Feeling fat and unfit due to almost no riding over the last month (stinking weather, busy weekends and working week being pretty much on the road in a car - which also translates to far too many pub lunches and motorway grub.

    Got on the bike this morning, in the rain, and felt great. Flew in at close to my PB and it wasn't down to a tailwind either.

    Mind you, the way in is on average a drop. Maybe the additional weight was a gravitational aid and I'll know about it on the way home..... :-D
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • Wheelspinner
    Wheelspinner Posts: 6,659
    Been glorious weather all week, but not able to take advantage much. Friday evening after a particularly grievous day at work.... home, dumped stuff, turned around and back out for an evening ride. No wind, balmy temp, and even the ninjas seemed to be on a night off. Thirty km flat out later, arrived home a sweating lump in a much better mood. Loooooooooooooooong shower, a nice NZ savvie with some scrumptious lamb sausages and salad... excellent.

    Weekend forecast is 26 deg C and sunshine both days to come. Woohoo!
    Open One+ BMC TE29 Seven 622SL On One Scandal Cervelo RS
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    I can finally hear properly again. After 5 days of a wax blocked ear my regime of drops followed by self syringing has cleared it.
    Whippet
  • Tricycleboy
    Tricycleboy Posts: 373
    suzyb wrote:
    I can finally hear properly again. After 5 days of a wax blocked ear my regime of drops followed by self syringing has cleared it.

    I know your pain- and your subsequent delight. Its amazing when it eventually clears isn't it. sooooooooo satisfying.
  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    Tricycleboy wrote:
    suzyb wrote:
    I can finally hear properly again. After 5 days of a wax blocked ear my regime of drops followed by self syringing has cleared it.

    I know your pain- and your subsequent delight. Its amazing when it eventually clears isn't it. sooooooooo satisfying.
    +1 I get this particulary if I'm doing a lot of swimming or flying - I often suffer from blocked ears when on holiday. What drops do you use? I've used olive oil and swim ear with mixed results.
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • Santa cruzing
    Santa cruzing Posts: 157
    Sun shine? Check!
    Pizza lunch on someone else? Check!
    Extended route home clocking up 23.5miles @20mph average? CHECK!

    Little bit happy.
    AKA Captain Blackbeard
    Going Top to Bottom - E2E for Everyman and Headway - Spet 2013
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    walkingbootweather wrote:
    Tricycleboy wrote:
    suzyb wrote:
    I can finally hear properly again. After 5 days of a wax blocked ear my regime of drops followed by self syringing has cleared it.

    I know your pain- and your subsequent delight. Its amazing when it eventually clears isn't it. sooooooooo satisfying.
    +1 I get this particulary if I'm doing a lot of swimming or flying - I often suffer from blocked ears when on holiday. What drops do you use? I've used olive oil and swim ear with mixed results.
    Optrex express and some drops mother got prescribed (I know you shouldn't but it really is annoying being half deaf).
    Whippet
  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    suzyb wrote:
    it really is annoying being half deaf.

    You can say that again. If those ears are blocked you might have to...
    suzyb wrote:
    Optrex express

    Isn't that for eyes rather than ears? Sounds akin to using chip fat to lube your chain :shock:
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    walkingbootweather wrote:
    suzyb wrote:
    it really is annoying being half deaf.

    You can say that again. If those ears are blocked you might have to...
    suzyb wrote:
    Optrex express

    Isn't that for eyes rather than ears? Sounds akin to using chip fat to lube your chain :shock:
    oops added a p where there isn't one. I meant otex express.
    Whippet
  • optimisticbiker
    optimisticbiker Posts: 1,657
    Not sure if this an anti-rant, but....

    I was amazed at how much quicker my bike is after changing out the freewheel body for a new one. The bearing runs silently instead of rumbling; on the workstand the old one would spin for 30-40sec whereas the new one goes on for well over a minute, but it must have been even worse than I thought under load and creating a huge amount of rolling resistance (normally the hubs are estimated at something like 0.1% of the total resistance, I reckon I could have been looking at 5%+).

    Today on the club run I was climbing hills in the big ring that before I struggled to do so on the small ring and halfway down the cassette. Keeping up with the group leaders was relatively easy whereas before I would have had to work much harder. The whole bike just felt more lively and I've come back from a 70mile, 1125m ascent ride in the glorious sunshine with the biggest smile on my face :D

    Of course it could be that I have just got awesomely fit in the last week, but somehow I think not... :lol:
    Invacare Spectra Plus electric wheelchair, max speed 4mph :cry:
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,692
    Did the Thames Bridges ride with my son and some friends. Really enjoyed it, particularly pleased with my son and his friend as it's the longest ride they've ever done and managed 45 miles each including getting to the start and riding home afterwards. Well done boys.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    I built a grape arbour in the garden today.

    A) I LOVE building stuff.

    B) I got tanlines! In May!
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    Veronese68 wrote:
    Did the Thames Bridges ride with my son and some friends. Really enjoyed it, particularly pleased with my son and his friend as it's the longest ride they've ever done and managed 45 miles each including getting to the start and riding home afterwards. Well done boys.

    Well done Veronlad!
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • marchant
    marchant Posts: 362
    Non-bike one here; transferring a phone number (PAYG) from one network to another, I spent about 2 minutes on the phone to a friendly advisor to get my PAC number yesterday evening (after reading numerous horror stories of being on hold indefinitely). My free SIM arrived this morning and after filling in a form online, I'm all done. Just waiting for the new network to switch on...
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    marchant wrote:
    Non-bike one here; transferring a phone number (PAYG) from one network to another, I spent about 2 minutes on the phone to a friendly advisor to get my PAC number yesterday evening (after reading numerous horror stories of being on hold indefinitely). My free SIM arrived this morning and after filling in a form online, I'm all done. Just waiting for the new network to switch on...
    I'd like to increment this anti-rant with the bit in bold; chapeau sir to someone who recognises that we fill forms in, not out. Excellent.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,692
    SimonAH wrote:

    Well done Veronlad!
    Ta, even more surprisingly he was up at 6:40 to go to school this morning with no complaints. Considering he was sleeping rough in the school playground Friday night for another charity thing and he was up at 6.15 on Sunday I expected more teenage-like behaviour.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    A day on from it all and I still can't listen to this 32 seconds without grinning like a complete idiot and having that bit of dust in the eye that makes the tear ducts well a little.

    Mike Ingham

    Priceless. Glad I support Leicester & not Citeh.
  • Flyingbogey
    Flyingbogey Posts: 352
    1st, I'm cut up by a lorry on Tavistock Square. The driver wound his window down and Apologises!!! Then the rest of the ride home is bathed in sunlight, even though all around are menacing clouds and soaking wet roads. blessed I tell you.
    Bianchi Nirone C2C FCN4
  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    MMMmmmmmm, what a wonderful morning. Beautiful day to be on a bike.

    So much stationary traffic to pass too :twisted:
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • flimflam_machine
    flimflam_machine Posts: 263
    Did my first properly rainy commute yesterday, previously I've wimped out.

    It's really quite survivable isn't it, even pleasant. The cycle lanes were empty because all the part-timers were on PT. I was nicely huddled up in my jacket under my peaked helmet. My brakes worked admirably. Plus I always seem to go faster on a wet road. If my workplace had covered cycle parking (and I hadn't encountered one daft driver, see the rants thread) it would have been pretty much perfect!
  • London_Falcon
    London_Falcon Posts: 150
    1) To the driver of the mahoosive flat bed lorry on Upper Richmond Road just before the lights going onto Queens Ride.

    Lights were red. It's dual lanes. There was a bus at the bus stop so instead of pulling alongside and blocking both lanes you let waited and let about 10 cyclists through. I got there late and slowed right down as I didn't fancy squeezing between lorry and bus. You clearly looked down, acknowledged me, and let me through. It made no difference to your day but got me into the Advanced Stop zone at the front of the queue, so much appreciated.

    2) Shorts and t-shirt weather, that was glorious!
    Black Specialised Sirrus Sport, red Nightvision jacket, orange Hump backpack FCN - 7
    Red and black Specialized Rockhopper Expert MTB
  • Byke_boy
    Byke_boy Posts: 2
    I think that as cyclists we don't notice the small quiet cars who routinely give us room, while the trucks who squeeze us into the gutter always get our attention.
    I'd like to give an honourable mention to the taxi (amazing I know) las week who patiently waited for me to pass before whipping around in the expected u-turn. I feel sorry for the pedestrians that he didn't notice, but I still got a warm fuzzy feeling nonetheless.
    Some more personal raves about fitness in general and cycling in particular: http://www.myfitnesstip.com
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    Meant to post this last night, better late than never I suppose.

    I'd like to thank the driver of the Audi that waited behind me on the blind bend coming into town. Even though the road is wide enough and I was far enough over on it for you to pass you waited until you were sure it was clear.
    Whippet
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    He was aving a letch luv. It's what they do.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,692
    CiB wrote:
    He was aving a letch luv. It's what we do.
    FTFY
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris

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