Author Topic: Have you been out today?  (Read 3814879 times)

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1700 on: 09 October, 2008, 12:42:55 am »
Found my self in Vancouver with some spare time so I hered a bike and went exploring. Pootled around town for a while and then headed out to Stanley Park



Vancouver from Stanley Park



Totem Poles

Then I went on to Beaver Lake which was a bit of a disappointment, the furry animals with the big teeth must have scared the naturists away   :o



Still it's pretty enough :)

Vancouver's a nice town to cycle, small enough to explore in a day, with courteous drivers (except for the drivers who obviously trained in the UK  >:() and cycle paths round the waterfront which are segregated from pedestrians but shared with the rollerbladers (who were, shall we say, very easy on the eye  ;) )

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1701 on: 09 October, 2008, 07:59:21 am »
I can't see any of the images...

(It may be just me, but I don't think MobileMe is letting me see them).
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Riggers

  • Mine's a pipe, er… pint!
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1702 on: 09 October, 2008, 09:21:27 am »
Nor me. Just question marks.
Certainly never seen cycling south of Sussex

FatBloke

  • I come from a land up over!
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1703 on: 09 October, 2008, 09:29:00 am »
Unauthorized
This isn't just a thousand to one shot. This is a professional blood sport. It can happen to you. And it can happen again.

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1704 on: 09 October, 2008, 09:46:43 am »
A different pub last night. I emailed detailed route instructions to S, who was worried about getting lost in the lanes.

I set off down the old main road, then through the old village and turned into the sunken lane in case the level crossing was closed. I heard the train passing as I climbed between sandstone sides, tree roots dangling from above.

Over the railway bridge, past the sawmill, over the ridge, and into the lanes.

Mud. Mud like in a field, deposited by the tractors as they raced to get the harvest in. Then, as dusk came, I encountered the first tractor, hammering along towards me and braking hard as he saw my light. The second didn't slow down much but I slid past. Two more came along, then silence, mud, and potholes.

I hacked through the village to the left turn for the pub, a car behind catching me on the straight but losing me on the bends.

The lights of the pub shone ahead and I turned into the car park followed by the car. No sign of S. The elderly, overweight chap who'd been driving, tottered up and volunteered that he thought I was fitter than he.

I rode on up the hill to see if S was in sight. More mud. There was a lorry and trailer parked across the road by a farm, the driver chatting to the farmer. I spoke to them and returned to the pub.

Inside the band was setting up. Trad jazz, but I can forgive most music if it's live. No sign of S. I texted. "nearly there".

I ordered two drinks and eats, and the band started. A trumpet in a small pub needs careful modulation and he fluffed a few notes. No sign of S.

As one piece finished I wandered out to peer up the lane. No lights. I turned and saw a cycle light approaching. She'd decided, not having seen my directions, to use the main road as far as possible then cut through the forest. But, as she discovered, the forest lanes are very narrow, dirty, potholed, lumpy, and confusing. Also the trees cut out the moonlight. She'd got a little lost.

We stayed and chatted and listened to the band until quite late, then I guided S back to the right road with instructions to "keep going straight on".

Back through the same muddy rutted lanes. The tractors were now coming back and in even more of a hurry. One locked its wheels as we met.

Finally, with a roar and a bewildering array of lights, there came an apparition from the opening scene of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I pulled into a gateway and shielded my eyes to see a large combine filling the lane as it inched past.

Then street lights, through the villages, past closing pubs, and winched the old fixed up the slope to my house.

As I was disrobing for a bath a text arrived: "just home. good roads. much quicker."

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1705 on: 09 October, 2008, 10:19:44 am »
Pounding city roads, I tend to forget all those things about riding in the country - mud, thorns, mud, vague junctions, mud, no signs, mud, pitch darkness and mud.

Did I mention mud? ;D

Good Ride Report, though, Ian.

As for us - well, I've not taken the same route home twice this week.  A different house to look at each day - Monday, Forest Hill; Tuesday, Streatham; last night, well...

It was an interesting ride.  I took my normal route to Tooting, where a neatly choreographed set of cars failed in their concerted attempts to wipe me out.  But I was a bit shaken, so I stopped in at home for ten minutes.  Then onward, up to Rose Hill.

Well, I say 'up', and I'm sure it was a frightful grind when I did it before, but short of the scrap-magnet that is Mitcham, it was a pleasant ride.  Up a hill from the Wandle, i suppose, but, when a chap on a hybrid zipped past me after I'd changed into ridiculously-low-gear in anticipation of the steep rise that never actually happened, I faced facts, changed up, and followed, arriving at the ugly Rose Hill roundabout in good time.  Which was where I needed to check the map, but a quick call to reassure Butterfly I was close by sufficed, and, only briefly baffled by the lack of roadsigns into taking the wrong exit, I was on my way.

On my way where, though?  It was a classic council estate - one of those with the big green spaces in the middle of dual carriageway roads, albeit a single lane in each direction.  Not unpleasant, but some of the character could be guessed from the burned out scooter in a layby and the ubiquituous disintegrating Fords on driveways, as well as the odd sofa in a front garden.

The house itself was quirky but small, and quite filthy.  Not for us, really - even for the comedy value of putting Our Kid in a bedroom that was pinker than Barbie's dreams. :-\

Riding back, we avoided Mitcham, and took some reasonably fast roads down the hill.  Then, on a whim, Butterfly went into Morden Hall Park, and we made our way gingerly through the reedbeds, and across the tramway to the Wandle Trail, which we followed to within a few hundred metres of our front door.  I must remember when cycling with Butterfly to take the brighter lights! 

We saw very few people en route, though one of them was a cyclist riding without his front light on.  Curious, especially approaching the boggy bits, where the paths are quite tricky to see, or the sharp turn off the wooden bridge, where the earth has fallen away from the inside of the turn, promising a closer encounter with the river than had been planned for the unwary.

Good ride.  And great company.  Tea on our return.  What could be better? :)
Getting there...

Chris S

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1706 on: 09 October, 2008, 10:29:01 am »
Rose Hill.

*shudder*

What a dump.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1707 on: 09 October, 2008, 10:58:09 am »
Yeah - sounds like it oughta be prettier... ;D
Getting there...

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1708 on: 09 October, 2008, 11:18:20 am »
Just the ride to work.  It was foggy in patches.  Eerie.

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1709 on: 09 October, 2008, 12:38:44 pm »
I can't see any of the images...

(It may be just me, but I don't think MobileMe is letting me see them).

Are they visible now? I've moved them to Picasa

Obviously I can see them   ::-) Else I see a visit to Blinkenlights  :-\

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1710 on: 09 October, 2008, 12:43:42 pm »
Yup.  Can see now :)
Getting there...

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1711 on: 09 October, 2008, 12:45:02 pm »


Are they visible now? I've moved them to Picasa

Obviously I can see them   ::-) Else I see a visit to Blinkenlights  :-\

Yup, but they seem to be somewhere foreign.

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1712 on: 09 October, 2008, 02:42:36 pm »
Just the ride to work.  It was foggy in patches.  Eerie.

Ride home from work 5.30 this morning ~ also foggy in patches.

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1713 on: 09 October, 2008, 08:24:36 pm »
Yesterday on the way home I spied a cyclist in the distance.  I made ground but couldn't catch him/her.

Today a cyclist took a left hand turn off the roundabout that I was straight over.  He was just in front of me.

His name is Karl and he is a carpenter.  He was on a Bianchi Navarone kitted out with Campag and Miche gear.

I drafted for a bit until it came to my right turn off that main road onto a side road.  I had enjoyed the pace and ramped it up a bit too  ;D

I looked back half way through the 2 mile Village hop only to see Karl behind me a bit.  At the next junction, right turn, I waited.  We had a chat and I established it was he from the day before. 

We then rode together at a good speed for 10 miles before I peeled off onto my route home.

'Twas ace.  :thumbsup:

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1714 on: 09 October, 2008, 09:20:15 pm »
Rode to the LBS in the morning, mostly a down-hill take-it-easy with iffy bike affair.
Got wheel re-dished to stop tyre rubbing on chainstay. This was good as when I noticed the noise it was dark, I couldn't see the rubbing and starting worrying about the bottom bracket.

Ride home from LBS later:
Bike seemed fine. Pootled through 5:30pm town center crowds. Enjoyed quiet flat ride along Brighton seafront and coast-road cycle path.
Then I hit a hill and managed to recreate the rubbing tyre on chainstay :( Only happened when really pushing hard on the pedals, so I took the rest of the 200m climb home quite easy.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1715 on: 10 October, 2008, 12:57:58 am »
A nice seaside lunch with Fatters & Nutty at the Crooked Billet.

Being off the booze, I had three bottles of some godawful piss called Clausthalen, which is less than .5% alcohol. I described it as being like Stella with the good bits taken out. Nutty made a mildly humorous joke about Santa Clausthalen, which Fatters thought a real hoot. :thumbsup: He gave me the impression that he was rushing home to post about it on here, but seems to have overlooked it.

Perhaps the Stella is having a long-term effect. ;)
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1716 on: 10 October, 2008, 01:53:58 am »
I've been sat here all evening trying to remember the name of the Santa Claus anti-beer you were on.  :-[

It was a great and unexpected lunch stop.  Good to meet up again.




Only problem is I had some of the sand/salt/pepper mixture that was supposed to be Fatbloke's Cockles, and I'm feeling queezy again as I often do after seafood :-X :sick: :-X

I really hope I'm not going to be hugging the china tonight.  I still haven't got it flushing :-\

FatBloke

  • I come from a land up over!
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1717 on: 10 October, 2008, 07:28:44 am »
Nutty!!


I hope you haven't touched your cistern yet!

The bit you need to get at to replace the flappy valve thing is easy to remove.


   Troubleshooting: The Toilet Won't Flush (DIY & Home: Plumbing)
This isn't just a thousand to one shot. This is a professional blood sport. It can happen to you. And it can happen again.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1718 on: 10 October, 2008, 11:54:06 am »
Last night, i took a different unusual route home again.

This time, via Dulwich, Crystal Palace :o and Selhurst.

Then back through and along some quiet streets and some almost impossible crossings of busy routes.  Just spinning along, and loving it.
Getting there...

Andrij

  • Андрій
  • Ερασιτεχνικός μισάνθρωπος
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1719 on: 10 October, 2008, 12:05:48 pm »
Nice commute this morning, if a bit 'crisp' when I left the flat.  In general the roads were dead quite.  No real motorised numpties but too many RLJs as I appraoched the City.  I was a bit late this morning but the bike racks were practically empty.  Where is everyone today?
;D  Andrij.  I pronounce you Complete and Utter GIT   :thumbsup:

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1720 on: 10 October, 2008, 12:21:49 pm »
Nice commute this morning, if a bit 'crisp' when I left the flat.  In general the roads were dead quite.  No real motorised numpties but too many RLJs as I appraoched the City.  I was a bit late this morning but the bike racks were practically empty.  Where is everyone today?

Dunno, but I noticed it too. The changing room was virtually deserted at work this morning.
The old Legion hand told the recruit, "When things are bad, bleu, try not to make them worse, because it is very likely that they are bad enough already." -- Robert Ruark

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1721 on: 10 October, 2008, 12:22:38 pm »
Bus strike. Maybe everyone thought it would be a day of chaos. I'd have thought it would be a joy for cyclists.

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1722 on: 10 October, 2008, 12:23:33 pm »
Bus strike.

Shouldn't that increase rather than decrease the number of cyclists?
The old Legion hand told the recruit, "When things are bad, bleu, try not to make them worse, because it is very likely that they are bad enough already." -- Robert Ruark

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1723 on: 10 October, 2008, 12:32:40 pm »
been sprinting from meeting to meeting in London as clients try to figure out what the hell is going on and reassuring them that we're not about to go under, so no lycra opportunities for me until the weekend.
 :(
 



Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #1724 on: 10 October, 2008, 12:38:29 pm »
Then I hit a hill and managed to recreate the rubbing tyre on chainstay :(

It was a broken rear axle. LBS replaced the wheel, didn't charge for labour and had my bike back in the time it took to do my errands round town (thank you Baker Street Bikes).

Had a nice sunny ride home and was able to get properly sweaty up the hill :)