Top Gear Style Races

cat_with_no_tail

Anyone else do Top Gear style races with mates?

I only ask because I had one last night with a mate of mine, from work to my house. Me on my bike, her on her motorbike. 1.9 miles, 420ft total climb and a new PB of 9min 24sec.

And I STILL lost

It's fantastic training though. Been ages since I've pushed that hard.

I suppose it's similar to SCR, but there are no other commuters round these parts for me to race against, so motorbikes are the next best thing.

She did say though, she only just had enough time to pull into the drive and jump off before I showed up, if she's been in the car I'd have won easily.

I'm off to go dream up some new races now, ones I might actually be able to win!

tgotb

Get to race my other half in the car, from time to time. Haven't lost one yet, though it's taken her a while to get used to the fact that a bike can be quicker than a car in traffic.

Very first time, she got home, couldn't see my bike, and started telling the kids how funny it was that I'd actually thought I could beat them. Of course I'd already put the bike away, had a (very quick) shower and cracked open a beer. Expression on her face when I wandered into the hallway was priceless :-)

Aidy

TGOTB wrote:

Get to race my other half in the car, from time to time. Haven't lost one yet, though it's taken her a while to get used to the fact that a bike can be quicker than a car in traffic.

Very first time, she got home, couldn't see my bike, and started telling the kids how funny it was that I'd actually thought I could beat them. Of course I'd already put the bike away, had a (very quick) shower and cracked open a beer. Expression on her face when I wandered into the hallway was priceless :-)

Awesome, truly awesome

Cafewanda

Stevo_666

Never tried that but I have been around the Top Gear test track. Great fun seeing which of The Stig's lap times we could match (although obviously his equivalent times were set in a much slower car....).

lost_in_thought

Oh gosh yes, I think living in London lends itself to them. I used to live almost next-door to one of my finance guys at the hedge fund, so a LOT of tube vs bike, taxi vs bike etc etc. going between South Ealing and High Street Ken. The only ones he ever won were in taxis late at night.

I've also had a fair few zone 1 races, which apart from ones against taxis in the dead of night I've always won.

I've also done the usual 'I'll race you from Liverpool street to Moorgate, you take the tube' type ones, which, frankly, are cheating...

Aidy

I live far enough away that my commute doesn't tend to lend itself to races.

Shame really, I love competition

londonbairn

I race my g/f, she works in Victoria, I work near Liverpool Street. She takes tube, I cycle. I usually beat her to Ealing Broadway Station if we leave at the exact same time. If there is a lot of traffic and congestion, she will win.

In my head I also race the door to door time vs if I tube it in.

lost_in_thought

londonbairn wrote:

I race my g/f, she works in Victoria, I work near Liverpool Street. She takes tube, I cycle. I usually beat her to Ealing Broadway Station if we leave at the exact same time. If there is a lot of traffic and congestion, she will win.

In my head I also race the door to door time vs if I tube it in.

You've got to race door to door time! I mean, heck, whose eventual destination is a tube station?

il_principe

I've done a few, the bike has yet to be beaten, even racing the Jubilee line from London Bridge to Willesden Green. Having been on the train a lot over the last few months I was thinking about this today:

Train commute:

Walk to station - 10 mins
Wandsworth to Waterloo - 13 mins
Walk to office - 20 mins or
Tube and walk to office - 15 mins

38 to 43 mins assuming no wait for train/tube

Bike commute:

Wandsworth to Borough - total time usually 23 mins.

Drove from my office to home last sunday. Door to door it took 40 minutes.

The bike kicks arse.

dav1

A couple of years ago I raced some colleagues to the city centre for a christmas pub lunch. They drove but I was on the bike because I was staying in the city for some shopping afterwards.

I rode down and chained my bike up outside the pub, overtaking them when the traffic built up. They got stuck behind busses, at lights (no jumping from me, just making use of the ACLs) and had to park then walk to the venue.

15 minute ride in followed by a 10 minute wait for them to show up

W1

I regularly pass one of my bosses on my way to work. He has yet to beat me. He drives, I ride.

Kieran_Burns

lost_in_thought wrote:

londonbairn wrote:

I race my g/f, she works in Victoria, I work near Liverpool Street. She takes tube, I cycle. I usually beat her to Ealing Broadway Station if we leave at the exact same time. If there is a lot of traffic and congestion, she will win.

In my head I also race the door to door time vs if I tube it in.

You've got to race door to door time! I mean, heck, whose eventual destination is a tube station?

A Tube worker?

lost_in_thought

Kieran_Burns wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

londonbairn wrote:

I race my g/f, she works in Victoria, I work near Liverpool Street. She takes tube, I cycle. I usually beat her to Ealing Broadway Station if we leave at the exact same time. If there is a lot of traffic and congestion, she will win.

In my head I also race the door to door time vs if I tube it in.

You've got to race door to door time! I mean, heck, whose eventual destination is a tube station?

A Tube worker?

Damn you Burns...

tgotb

Kieran_Burns wrote:

A Tube worker?

With all this warm weather, they must be due to go on strike again fairly soon...

jonginge

TGOTB wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

A Tube worker?

With all this warm weather, they must be due to go on strike again fairly soon...

<cynic>No, no, they'll wait until the World Cup starts. Strike days will magically coincide with England games</cynic>

whyamihere

I've raced a driving friend from uni to my house before at rush hour. I won it, just. The last few miles are a free flowing 50mph A-road which is overall uphill, to give an impression of the gap I had before we hit that...

biondino

Il Principe wrote:

I've done a few, the bike has yet to be beaten, even racing the Jubilee line from London Bridge to Willesden Green. Having been on the train a lot over the last few months I was thinking about this today:

Train commute:

Walk to station - 10 mins
Wandsworth to Waterloo - 13 mins
Walk to office - 20 mins or
Tube and walk to office - 15 mins

38 to 43 mins assuming no wait for train/tube

Bike commute:

Wandsworth to Borough - total time usually 23 mins.

Drove from my office to home last sunday. Door to door it took 40 minutes.

The bike kicks ars*.

If you're cycling you have to also include time spent changing into and out of cycling gear at the office. Adds a good 8 minutes to my daily time, and makes it as near as dammit the same as train/tube.