On the commute today

[DrMekon]

Tea with JJ thanks to spotting mrsJJ go flying past me. Very nice to meet up, finally.

[L CC]

Ah, a headwind. Just what you need of a Monday morning...

Hope the bugger doesn't turn around!

+1

Especially after riding 232km yesterday in the same wind. 

+1, but I'm definitely with citoyen on the fixed theory. Headwinds bother me much less on the fixie. You have to man up and JFDI.

[itsbruce]

On the way home I saw a Clash of the MAMILs.  While stopped at the lights at the junction of Old Brompton Road and Bina Gardens, a MAMIL on a very expensive carbon bike drifted past me and across the road towards Drayton Gardens.  His eccentric course meant he nearly slammed into the side of another MAMIL who was legitimately turning right onto Drayton Gardens, who wasn't slowing down for any RLJer but who was loud and creative with the verbal abuse.  The lights changed, I overtook the RLJer (who was making a big deal out of not much speed) and caught his near victim on the lights.

"Saw that happening", I said.
"Yup.  Stupidest thing you can do on a bike", says he.

At this point, the RLJer arrives behind us.  "Sorry: stupidest thing I've done in a long time".
His victim makes polite noises about "We all do it at some point" and then goes "Oh, is that a Look?  That's why I noticed you..."

So I left them both well behind when the lights changed.  Very competitive of me, but I'm riding a cheap steel fixie, so I surely can't be a MAMIL.

[simonp]

Ah, a headwind. Just what you need of a Monday morning...

Hope the bugger doesn't turn around!

+1

Especially after riding 232km yesterday in the same wind. 

+1, but I'm definitely with citoyen on the fixed theory. Headwinds bother me much less on the fixie. You have to man up and JFDI.

Perhaps the feeling crap for most of yesterday's ride, the having to stop due to cramps every few hundred yards on the way back home after leaving DrMekon, being late for work, and still feeling off-colour today, may have contributed to my somewhat reduced tolerance for the head wind.

BTW: I ride to work on fixed.  I was maintaining about 15mph into the headwind.  This was about 5mph faster than we were going on gears into the headwind yesterday.

So yes, I just did it, but I was more than usually unhappy about it.

/gets on with some work.

[Wendy]

Wind, what wind?   

[simonp]

Wind, what wind?   

Did you not see what I said about cramps?

[Crock of Gold]

What's a MAMIL?

Apologies but thought I'd invade here as Cycle Chat is down.

Was a bit strange weathery today. Hot, cold, humid, sunny, overcast, dry. All in one go.

[clarion]

Faster riding than I expected this evening.  And I was unexpectedly met by Butterfly who had ridden out to meet me.

Quite fun passing all the motorists queueing through town now Hackbridge bridge is closed.

[Andrij]

After this morning's tough (but fast ) ride to work, I've had a lovely bit of post work riding.

Went to the Bike Whisperers (Ealing) for a post-fitting adjustment.  Some bits of the Embankment have been resurfaced, including having bike lanes painted — some of them have a solid line!  A4 to Hammersmith then King Street to Chiswick.  That bit was lovely and quiet — I must use it more often.  Then around the Chiswick roundabout and up the North Circular.  That would have been good fun if I didn't have to slow down for the cars.  Must find a reason to cycle more of the A406, just 'because'.

Once the fitting session was over decided to cycle the whole way back.  Brilliant!  Hit most of the lights on green, traffic was light, often moved around 35mph (me, not the traffic). I love what they've done with my bike. 

All together: 66.7km for the day. 
 

[clarion]

That sounds like fun.

[dkahn400]

What's a MAMIL?

Middle Aged Male in Lycra.

[spindrift]

What's a MAMIL?

A crap acronym made up by a lazy hack whose editor has asked them to write something about cycling.

[Wendy]

Oh come on, I thought it was a rather good and funny article. Some insight too.

[GruB]

I had a lovely ride to Salisbury yesterday for work.  I enjoyed using NCN route 45 and it was very very pretty.  It was quite windy in places but by hugging the river I was able to avoid the worst effects.
I even waved to Sting as I went passed his house.

[clarion]

Very tired this morning, but still made a decent ride.  I think I missed the worst of the wind.

[Andrij]

Can one have Friday legs on Tuesday?  Last night's ride may have been a contributing factor.

Anyway, wind wasn't bad, missed the rain, and the roads were pretty much empty.  All in all a good morning on the bike.
 

[hulver]

Back on the fixed today, pushing the larger gear. It's nice what a difference it makes on the flat. Quite a quick run in (for me).

Stuffed too much in my bag (for a change), so quite heavy at the back end. Still quicker up hills than gears though.

[DrMekon]

Riding home last night, approaching a long row of parked cars on the opposite side (the section in Shelford made famous by Reg's recent altercation) with a car heading towards me on my side. I slow to let them through, only to hear a van roaring up behind me. I signal right and take the primary position, only for them to come flying past anyway, cut back on our side hard, only to find himself going head to head with the oncoming car. Oncoming car bottled it and squeezed over, van mounted curb and squuezed by. Later, I pass him coming out another junction, and he shouted something like "aahmucherooomdoyoofarkingneed", to which I gestured to come over and shouted "I can't hear, but I'm really interested". He started to repeat himself, but I rode on.

This morning, I spun in slowly, trying to save my legs for my first ride with the local Clarion CC section. By the time I meet up with them tonight, my legs will have done 350km in the last 3 days, so I suspect my comments to the sootbike owning secretary that I didn't see the point in blingy carbon bikes if you aren't racing may come back to haunt me. 

[vorsprung]

Took the long route to work up the A38 all the way.  I have been in Holland all last week, I need a bit of A road

Average speed 29.9kph

[dkahn400]

What's a MAMIL?

A crap acronym made up by a lazy hack whose editor has asked them to write something about cycling.

That too.

[perpetual dan]

It was foggy enough to want lights and bright clothes this evening. First time in ages. I broke the rear light fitting so used a bungee to strap it to the rack and the front has fairly flat batteries. I'm supposed to be decorating not fettling tonight.    Nice enough ride, and a quick chat as I passed someone on Elm Grove (not often I get to say that).

[TimO]

It was foggy enough to want lights and bright clothes this evening. ...

Peers out the window at the sunshine.

I didn't think Brighton was that far away from London...

[GruB]

Got a puncture on the way home.  I was enjoying the tailwind and did again after I'd changed the tube.

[perpetual dan]

It was foggy enough to want lights and bright clothes this evening. ...

Peers out the window at the sunshine.

I didn't think Brighton was that far away from London...

That's what comes of living on a hill beside the sea. On the bright side I worked late enough to avoid the rain.

[TimO]

Rather surprisingly I noticed that along Chelsea Bridge Road they've actually gone to the effort of removing the mandatory cycle lane.  I'm not sure it'll make a great deal of difference, but as cycle lanes go I don't think it was a bad one, since it didn't make things worse.  I'm not sure why they have bothered to do this, since the road was actually wide enough to easily have enough room for the cycle lanes and the road, without any problem, but it's not wide enough for cars to overtake or for more than one lane each way to exist.

It doesn't seem to have made things better for anyone, but it's cost the council a days worth of pay for several guys to burn the markings off.

They have left in the most southerly bit between the junctions with Ebury Bridge Road and Chelsea Embankment, which is utterly useless, since at peak times you can hardly use it for all the cars backed up from the junction at the bridge, and outside of peak times you can't use it because of all the cars legally parked in it.