your daily bicycle log

was that solo? fast!

nbs what category do you race in?

28.97 mi in 01hrs49 today

Yes, solo. I mostly ride solo. I've got a 4th cat licence. I've done 4th-cat-only races, races for 3rds & 4ths, and Go-Races (4ths and novices). In theory, a 'Go-Race' is supposed to be a simple easy race for newcomers to try out: I've heard of some being as short as 5 miles. However, the races I've occasionally been doing on Thursday evenings are categorized as Go-Races, but I think this is just for admin purposes (I think it means they can get away with less admin as nobody can score points for their licence) - the pace is quite high (23mph average) and the race quite long (1 hour) and none of the riders appear to be beginners.

thanks - I think I'll talk to some of the ppl in the club run on saturday about racing to see what's the deal; I'm swithering about whether I want to or not... don't want to embarass myself

A typical way to start off would be by doing a ten-mile time trial. You don't have to enter an 'Open' event (i.e. with 120 riders from lots of different clubs and entry forms sent in at least a fortnight in advance), there should be a 'Club 10' somewhere near you, maybe even run by your club. These are less formal affairs, usually done on a midweek evening in the summer, with maybe 20 or so riders taking part, most of them from the same club. There might still be time to do one this summer, but they're drawing to a close now that the evenings are getting shorter, so you might have to wait till next May. In the meantime you could find a ten-mile circuit and just time yourself doing your own personal race over it. Maybe set yourself a target of getting under half an hour (i.e. over 20mph) - if you can do that you'll be ready to race.

went out with the harder group today; what an eye-opener

very sobering

81 miles in 4hrs50 continuous (the longest continuous run I've done) over hills with names like THE REST & BE THANKFUL and HELL'S GLEN in driving rain

had a weird mechanical at the bottom of the r&bt road when trying to shift into the little ring where my chain got stuck outside the big ring between it and the front mech - only way to unjam it was to remove the front mech. when it was put back on it wasn't properly adjusted and so I had real issues getting into the little ring when needed (there was a particularly tortuous few k where I was wrestling with the gears to shift, all the while negotiating the rolling hills in the big ring)

not surprised I was out the back on each of the big climbs - and tho I wasn't the slowest up the hills I was significantly slower than the fast guys (tho to be fair they've been cycling for years and one had just come back from doing the col du souleur and tourmalet in the etape)

still now I know my level and have something to aim for

absolutely STUNNING scenery going through hell's glen, so beautiful, even in the horrible rain

pretty sure I just don't have the legs yet but I'm not convinced I got my nutrition right and I find it really hard to get power in the cold/rain when my legs go numb

ah didn't realise the rest and be thankful was in simon warren's book of best british climbs. ace! check one of those off

Good going Cozen. I've started a thread about that hill climbs book:
Britain's 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs

I'm on holiday now, so I'm trying to get some miles in and ride in some different places when I'm not parenting. On Friday I rode in northern Sussex / southern Surrey, taking in the climb of Leith Hill. Today I did 37 miles in Herts/Cambs/Essex on tiny country lanes hardly wide enough for one car, never mind two. This was a problem when a farmer came towards me on a tractor / combine harvester / some kind of agricultural machine. I had to climb into a field while carrying my bike and blundered into some stinging nettles.

I don't know where the summer's gone - the weather's been a bit mediocre recently. It's not really bad, just not as hot as it should be, hardly ever sunny, and with spots of rain that last just long enough to be annoying, but not long enough to leave you properly wet.

Denver! Join me & Gov Ritter @ the Capitol 4 an exciting announcement Wed @ 10am. Bring ur bike because we're ALL going for a ride after..

http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong/status/20181343934

should i go ride w/ la? *imagining the likely 5000 ppl swarming on this shit*

just a few blocks away tho

I did that last year when he did the same thing in Paisley and I thought it was awesome fun. I recommend it.

my brain switched the 'Denver' and 'Join' and thought you were going riding w/john denver

even though he's been dead for like 12-13 yrs

maybe he isn't ;)

Set off for a short training ride this morning (19.5 miles) trying to get home before the forecast rain started. I’d gone less than a quarter of a mile when there was an incident. I was on the main road at the tail end of the rush hour and the traffic was moving fairly slowly as there was a zebra crossing and a set of traffic lights about 400 yards up ahead. I was in the cycle lane on the left (i.e. inside) – painted green, but not separated from the road – and going faster than the cars. Suddenly a white car turned left into a side street right across me.

I jammed on the breaks and my back wheel skidded all over the place but I managed to avoid the car and stay upright. “What the fuck are you doing – are you trying to fucking kill me?” I shouted after it, then filled with righteous fury I turned around and went up the same side street chasing after him shouting similar comments.

He stopped the car dead in the middle of the one-way street, blocking it, then got out and came towards me. He was big, chunky, hard, 50-something, cockney and angry – suspiciously like this bloke:
http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/object2/1111/5/n9886223300_5703.jpg

I came to a halt just in front of him.

Him: “Don’t fucking shout at me calling me an arsehole – come and say it to me face and I’ll do you!”

At this point I’m thinking three things: 1) Actually, I have gone to a particular effort to do precisely that (i.e. say it to his face), 2) I’m pretty sure I didn’t call him an arsehole, but I can’t remember if I called him a fucking idiot or a cunt, 3) If he hits me, it will hurt a lot, and it will be difficult to escape what with the road blocked and me standing over a bike with one foot still clipped in.

Me: “Well what the fuck were you doing? You could have killed me” (this is unlikely – but he could have hurt me and caused expensive damage to my bike, as I found out in 1993 when I went somersaulting over someone’s bonnet)

Him: “Don’t give me that, shooting down that hill, you should look where you’re fucking going”
Me: “Where was I? In the cycle lane. Was I breaking the speed limit? No. Did you look in your mirror? No.”
Him: “I’ve had enough of fucking idiot cyclists speeding around, you was going well over thirty”
Me: “Well, let’s look.” shows maximum speed on computer “20.4, nowhere near 30”
Him: “Ah fuck off, if you’ve got all that…“ gestures at computer, cycling clothes, helmet, etc. “…you can fuck off and cycle somewhere else. You should try driving round here with all you lot bombing around.”
Me: “I do drive, but I use my fucking mirrors”
Him: “I’ve got insurance. Have you got insurance? Don’t fucking shout at me – I’m insured. If you crash, my insurance pays for it.”
Me: “I don’t care about the money, I don’t want to get killed!”

This carries on for a bit until I realise that there are now three cars and another cyclist backed up behind us, that clearly neither of us are going to back down, that I haven’t actually been injured (yet) and I’d probably rather spend the next hour cycling than sitting in Casualty waiting for a doctor to see me, so I ride off.

all my bike accidents have been cause by taxis pulling this move from a traffic jam

I think he was actually a mini-cab driver (he had one of those stickers in his car window, but no passengers at the time).

Nice work - make him answer questions rather than punching you. Even reading it you can tell no-one's going to get smacked after a couple of exchanges. But, chasing him probably wasn't worth it dude :)

i got chased the other day. got rolled up to at a red light and a girl on a bike goes "you should really turn around and look before you spit, i totally got some of that". it had been at least 2-3 blocks since i spit. i felt seriously bad and apologized

eek

disgusting savage.

all my bike accidents have been cause by taxis pulling this move from a traffic jam

― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Wednesday, August 4, 2010 6:21 AM (3 hours ago) [IP: 67.163.203.49] Bookmark

sub "close calls" for accidents and this is 100% true in my case. there is, i think, a sticky legal question tho about whether or not they'd actually be on the hook for any damage. as i think i've recounted elsewhere on this board, i actually got caught inside like this by a g-d COP (leading to a very, very uncomfortable situation). in the end, he was right: even though he didn't single and made his turn suddenly, and even though there had been a bike lane, once you actually get up to the intersection, it's not legal for cyclists to overtake on the right.

not sure how it works for "sidestreets" though

it's not legal for cyclists to overtake on the right.

can't find out what is legal over here, i suspect it hasn't been codified. highway code says

# only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so
# stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left

but a) that's obviously written for cars, even tho it applies to all road users by default, and ii) it's not actually a statement of law.

in California if there is no bike lane, the bicyclist may "take full use of the lane" at his/her discretion.

i didnt attend lancemania at the capitol, but there was a lot of maximally stressed lycra rolling and loitering on the steps. i guess la is working with quiznos for a stage race in co.

yeah, just read that it's likely gonna happen?

also hunt3r wtf is going on here (xpost from US POLITICS)

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/co-gov-goper-maes-hickenloopers-bike-love-is-a-un-plot.php

http://www.denverpost.com/election2010/ci_15673894

lol, its all right there i guess. maes seems like your typical tea party style fruitcake with a dash of mystery-- like this:

http://www.denverpost.com/election2010/ci_15563749

While he has repeatedly touted his business acumen on the campaign trail, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes' income has fallen below federal poverty guidelines for a family of four at least twice in the past five years, according to information from a Tea Party website and the Maes campaign

tried to do this ride yesterday. http://www.sf2g.com/bayway.html

http://www.sf2g.com/bayway-directions.html
the instructions were ridiculous. something like 40 steps. some of them through random parking lots and over dirt areas. we even had to ride THROUGH the airport and so close to the tarmac you could smell the gasoline. was neat to see the planes take off though. we got lost so many times and had to backtrack. probably added on a few miles just because of this. luckily i printed out the instructions and had my iphone w/gmaps. getting out past the airport was the hardest part. so many stops and starts and shitty riding in traffic. once we got past the airport it was nice trails along the coast. no lights, beautiful scenery. saw a seal swimming in the bay. by the time we decided to stop, my friend was starving and my knee felt like it was gonna blow up, so we got lunch, a beer and took caltrain home.

this is what we ended up doing. anywhere between 38 and 40 miles depending if i put all our turns and turnbacks properly into gmaps.
http://tinyurl.com/2d87cd3

why on earth would you do that instead of skyline to woodside? unless you're reconning for your commute which I understand.

jets use aviation fuel, which is closer to kerosene than gasoline btw iirc. :P

ya, already did that skyline to woodside. i loved it, just wanted to try out a different route (reconning for commute, yes). see up close what i pass twice a day on the freeway. it's seriously really beautiful once you're past the airport.

but never again, that's for sure

On Saturday I beat my best time for three laps of Richmond Park - 63.31 (it's 20.4 miles I think). Anything under the hour is impressive but I'm a million miles away from that!

cycled out to the rents' at the weekend, much slower going out than coming in cos there was a hellish headwind: out 36 miles in 2hrs30, in 33.5miles in 2hrs4.

16.2 pace vs 14.4, big difference

Been over to Germany for a few days visiting my brother. Took my cycling stuff with me, but no bike (just hand luggage on a budget airline) - just my trusty eggbeaters. Fitted them to his road bike and made him ride his time trial bike. Great countryside, good roads, not much traffic. About 90 miles over several days. Did a few sprints for signs / tops of hills, but obviously he was a bit disadvantaged being in a low-profile tuck all the time.

I planned today to do a 45-miler in the Essex/Suffolk border country in the window of opportunity between dropping my daughter off at nursery and picking her up again. The weather didn't look good at all: the forecast was for an unseasonable 14C (57F) at 1pm with dark skies and strong winds, with the sky suddenly clearing and the temperature shooting up to a much more reasonable 21C by 4pm (by which time I would have long stopped cycling). However, I don't have much holiday time left, so I've just got to take the opportunities I have.

I drove up to Thaxted and set off on this route:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3926624
The riding wasn't great. It was cold, miserably grey and extremely windy (as predicted). I took my rucksack out again (with some lunch and an extra top in case it got even colder) and was surprised to find my back getting wet after about ten miles - this was odd, because the previous time I'd done a ride with it I hadn't felt unduly sweaty. I stopped at the picturesque village of Clare and reached into my bag for my camera, only to discover the reason for the wetness: my spare bottle of diluted energy drink had largely emptied itself into my bag, which in turn had emptied itself over my back and shorts. Disappointing. A party of wasps found themselves attracted to my energy drink-soaked bag - some decided to get inside.

I rode on and narrowly avoided eating a wasp (it bounced off my lips and tongue, fortunately without stinging me). A few miles later a wasp got stuck under my helmet and suffered a serious injury as I tried to shake it loose - in the end I had to stop and remove the helmet and then remove the dying wasp from the helmet. The last few miles were a fairly joyless experience riding into a pounding headwind in the joke of an August day that could easily have passed for October.

I got back in the car at 2pm and drove back to London. On the way, the sky suddenly cleared to a cheerful bright blue and the temperature shot up to a much more reasonable 21C, but this was no use to me.

http://img.skitch.com/20100816-qjawhk7s248dmdigiirdij39cj.jpg

finally got my bike back today - woot, just in time for tomorrow's club run

Back from week MTBing in Morzine. Mixed bag. Pretty bad weather, only one rain free day, trails hugely muddy, thorough bike and gear washing required at end of every day. Morzine's very much tailored to the hardcore downhiller, not so much in the way of swoopy singletrack or epic cross country rides. And the trails are so afflicted with braking bumps it's ridiculous. Into the berms, through the berms, out of the berms, along the straights... just everywhere. Doing one single red run down from the top on the last day killed my arms.

However we had a fantastic guide who was really friendly and funny, knew the area inside out, and was a good judge of everyone's ability, and tailoring the rides to suit. Plus, the difficult trails and stupid conditions almost certainly made me a better rider.

Braking bumps on berms = wankers trick. That's where you want swoopy smooth flowing more than anywhere else. Kind of missing mtb-ing right now after I dug out the old steel Marin this afternoon so I can turn it into my winter commuter bike.

Well if you ever fancy a trip to Leith Hill of a weekend, gimme a shout.

140km. started flat, then major climb of the day, then big descent, then rolling countryside, then flat with some unsealed path thrown in. one puncture, one magpie attack; massive hunger flat about 8km from home made the flat bike path harder than the 8km climb.

yay finally got back out on the bike today after it being in the shop and recent inclement weather

quick 18 miles with some hill repeats in the middle. ow ow ow

found a hill that takes roughly just over 1 min to go up, with 1 mile spinning at the top and roughly just under 1 min to go down and did it 5 times

am I doing it right?

a hill that takes roughly just over 1 min to go up [...]and roughly just under 1 min to go down

Are you sure that's not flat + wind?

signed up to a 150k sportive in a month. ack. i hate training. also it's a hilly route, taking in leith hill & pitch hill.

xp
shut up

it's a short hill, only about 400 metres at 7%

Cozen - it kind of depends what you're trying to get from it. Are you trying to get fitter, or to prepare for racing, or to get really good at climbing hills, or...?