The daily "I cycled to work" thread
Discussion
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Enjoy it? Tough ride that.
Oops was meant to post this in the "today's ride" post!Yeah enjoyed it. Third year in a row. Managed 7:41 but felt pretty good. Rode with a mate who hadn't trained much so could have gone a fair bit faster I reckon. Next year!
The support on the route was great and the marshalls did a great job - I only had to stop at one junction.
Fastest time was 6 hours...oof!
Usget said:
You are looking significantly fresher than the bloke behind you!
Haha, the chap in the blue jacket on the drops? That was my mate. We rode around together for most of the way (me acting as wind break for 95% of the time). He did well considering his lack of training. I finished 8 minutes ahead having pulled away on Hardknott at 95 miles when he insisted that I press on.
Steve vRS said:
I haven't been able to ride to work for 2 weeks now due to working away from the office. I am offshore for another fortnight tomorrow too. I'll be 15kg heavier soon 
Steve
I've not ridden since February 2nd. I've only put on 0.3kg of extra weight, but my body fat mass has gone up by 1.3kg in the same period (same calibrated machine to measure both). So I don't actually weigh much more, but I'm morphing into a 1950s 'B' movie alien gelatinous blob Steve
The sun had his hat on, which was lovely for about a mile, whereupon I witnessed what could have been a rather nasty accident.
A silly woman led her kids out between stationary traffic - at a pelican crossing, but with the red man lit (and the green light for traffic). She inexplicably looked right, and stepped straight into the path of the bike in front of me, who was cycling cautiously but making progress in the cycle lane to the left of traffic. He had no chance - tried his best, but went straight over the bars, and banged his elbow up hard. One of the kids took the worst of it, and might have broken his little finger, poor bugger.
Crucially, I managed to rescue the bloke's bike from the road before it suffered any further damage. I would like to think that this is what he would have wanted.
Dopey woman had no concept of seeing if the cyclist was OK - was just interested in the welfare of her child. I suppose that's fair enough, but both me and the injured cyclist said nice things to her son, told him he was a brave boy etc - it might have been nice for her at least to say sorry. She literally ignored him, like she'd been run over by the invisible man. And someone shouted "You're a prick" from one of the cars, as the traffic started to move again - possibly assuming he was an RLJ? Poor bloke was just minding his own business, riding perfectly well.
I went on my way after 5-10 minutes as there wasn't much I could do: both parties were pretty much OK.
TL;DR - be f
king careful out there.
A silly woman led her kids out between stationary traffic - at a pelican crossing, but with the red man lit (and the green light for traffic). She inexplicably looked right, and stepped straight into the path of the bike in front of me, who was cycling cautiously but making progress in the cycle lane to the left of traffic. He had no chance - tried his best, but went straight over the bars, and banged his elbow up hard. One of the kids took the worst of it, and might have broken his little finger, poor bugger.
Crucially, I managed to rescue the bloke's bike from the road before it suffered any further damage. I would like to think that this is what he would have wanted.
Dopey woman had no concept of seeing if the cyclist was OK - was just interested in the welfare of her child. I suppose that's fair enough, but both me and the injured cyclist said nice things to her son, told him he was a brave boy etc - it might have been nice for her at least to say sorry. She literally ignored him, like she'd been run over by the invisible man. And someone shouted "You're a prick" from one of the cars, as the traffic started to move again - possibly assuming he was an RLJ? Poor bloke was just minding his own business, riding perfectly well.
I went on my way after 5-10 minutes as there wasn't much I could do: both parties were pretty much OK.
TL;DR - be f
king careful out there.
I actually managed to snap my axle on my rear wheel today
I was having a stormer of a ride, almost retook my old KOM ( 1 sec short ) and literally felt like i had an engine under me all afternoon!
and then, just as i started a sprint up a hill... CRACK!! I look back and see my wheel juddering and flapping left and right freely!
at first i thought my nut had come loose, but of course they were just fine! it wasn't until later when i took the wheel off and had both halfs of the axle fall onto the floor along with all 16 bearings that it became clear exactly what the issue was!
There wasn't anywhere locally that was able to provide me with a new axle and the *helper* at decathlon tried to flog me a new wheel, so i came home and pillaged one from my *new* MTB wheel for a silly project i was building several years ago and then gave up on lol.
but long story short .. i now have a brand new axle fitted and cleaned and regreased all the bearings and used the new bearing cups as the old ones were very badly pitted.
great day turned bad but topped off with joyful spannering
I was having a stormer of a ride, almost retook my old KOM ( 1 sec short ) and literally felt like i had an engine under me all afternoon!
and then, just as i started a sprint up a hill... CRACK!! I look back and see my wheel juddering and flapping left and right freely!
at first i thought my nut had come loose, but of course they were just fine! it wasn't until later when i took the wheel off and had both halfs of the axle fall onto the floor along with all 16 bearings that it became clear exactly what the issue was!
There wasn't anywhere locally that was able to provide me with a new axle and the *helper* at decathlon tried to flog me a new wheel, so i came home and pillaged one from my *new* MTB wheel for a silly project i was building several years ago and then gave up on lol.
but long story short .. i now have a brand new axle fitted and cleaned and regreased all the bearings and used the new bearing cups as the old ones were very badly pitted.
great day turned bad but topped off with joyful spannering
Had a nice 10.5 mile ride home from central London tonight. There was a distinct lack of wind and possibly even a tail wind, the result being that I was absolutely flying. I was on the road bike rather than the hybrid today so was up for some silly commuter racing (SCR) even more so.
Pulling out of a junction on the way home, I spotted a MAMIL, all kitted out on his road bike. It didn't take long for me to catch up and make the inevitable pass. He dropped a couple of gears just as I was passing, possibly to try and keep up but got well and truely owned in the silly commuter race along the open stretch between Kew bridge and Brentford. Good fun but I'm disappointed at the general lack of SCR along my route. Speaking of which, shouldn't there be an SCR specific thread in this forum by now?
Pulling out of a junction on the way home, I spotted a MAMIL, all kitted out on his road bike. It didn't take long for me to catch up and make the inevitable pass. He dropped a couple of gears just as I was passing, possibly to try and keep up but got well and truely owned in the silly commuter race along the open stretch between Kew bridge and Brentford. Good fun but I'm disappointed at the general lack of SCR along my route. Speaking of which, shouldn't there be an SCR specific thread in this forum by now?
Could not get a PB this morning as I stopped to help a guy with a snapped chain and I had a chain tool. I would always try to help when I can, if I see a stranded commuter in the hope that if it ever happened to me my "karma bank" would be full, but in reality how many people would stop and risk being late for work/ not getting their Strava segment completed? I commute around Sheffield, there are lots of hills and not that many cycle commuters, would this happen in larger cities?
Completed my first ever commute this morning. 10.2 miles of rural Cheshire countryside, lovely. Also, it was the first time I have properly used Strava - Here is my ride..
What low cost GPS cycling units can you recommend. Would like the data to link with Strava.
Etiquette question. Toward the end of my ride, as I approach the A50 from the B5081, traffic starts to build as cars wait to join the A50. This morning I would guess there were approximately 30 cars queuing. This part of the B5081 is a narrow two lane road and there is no space to cycle on the inside. What is recommended to pass this traffic? I slowly rode past the cars in the wrong lane, looking well ahead and pulling into gaps as and when cars came the opposite direction. Is this acceptable or would you wait with the traffic?
What low cost GPS cycling units can you recommend. Would like the data to link with Strava.
Etiquette question. Toward the end of my ride, as I approach the A50 from the B5081, traffic starts to build as cars wait to join the A50. This morning I would guess there were approximately 30 cars queuing. This part of the B5081 is a narrow two lane road and there is no space to cycle on the inside. What is recommended to pass this traffic? I slowly rode past the cars in the wrong lane, looking well ahead and pulling into gaps as and when cars came the opposite direction. Is this acceptable or would you wait with the traffic?
Hoddo said:
Completed my first ever commute this morning. 10.2 miles of rural Cheshire countryside, lovely. Also, it was the first time I have properly used Strava - Here is my ride..
What low cost GPS cycling units can you recommend. Would like the data to link with Strava.
Etiquette question. Toward the end of my ride, as I approach the A50 from the B5081, traffic starts to build as cars wait to join the A50. This morning I would guess there were approximately 30 cars queuing. This part of the B5081 is a narrow two lane road and there is no space to cycle on the inside. What is recommended to pass this traffic? I slowly rode past the cars in the wrong lane, looking well ahead and pulling into gaps as and when cars came the opposite direction. Is this acceptable or would you wait with the traffic?
Not really etiquette, more safety, it that situation I always do what you do and filter pass on the right, generally unless there is no cycle lane on the left I never filter/undertake on the inside (outside of London etc). It can get time consuming and boring, so I try and pick routes to avoid it if I can, even if it means riding an extra mile or two.What low cost GPS cycling units can you recommend. Would like the data to link with Strava.
Etiquette question. Toward the end of my ride, as I approach the A50 from the B5081, traffic starts to build as cars wait to join the A50. This morning I would guess there were approximately 30 cars queuing. This part of the B5081 is a narrow two lane road and there is no space to cycle on the inside. What is recommended to pass this traffic? I slowly rode past the cars in the wrong lane, looking well ahead and pulling into gaps as and when cars came the opposite direction. Is this acceptable or would you wait with the traffic?
For Strava I just use my phone - I always have my phone with me, so that's one less bit of kit I need attached to the bike.
Agree with the above, my route to work is longer than it needs to be to avoid certain congested areas. As for passing left or right I let the circumstances dictate which is safest for me, but generally I filter on the left. I'm cycling into Manchester city centre and 99% of motorists leave space down the left for the numerous cyclists.
Agree with the above, my route to work is longer than it needs to be to avoid certain congested areas. As for passing left or right I let the circumstances dictate which is safest for me, but generally I filter on the left. I'm cycling into Manchester city centre and 99% of motorists leave space down the left for the numerous cyclists.
Hoddo said:
Completed my first ever commute this morning. 10.2 miles of rural Cheshire countryside, lovely. Also, it was the first time I have properly used Strava - Here is my ride..
What low cost GPS cycling units can you recommend. Would like the data to link with Strava.
Etiquette question. Toward the end of my ride, as I approach the A50 from the B5081, traffic starts to build as cars wait to join the A50. This morning I would guess there were approximately 30 cars queuing. This part of the B5081 is a narrow two lane road and there is no space to cycle on the inside. What is recommended to pass this traffic? I slowly rode past the cars in the wrong lane, looking well ahead and pulling into gaps as and when cars came the opposite direction. Is this acceptable or would you wait with the traffic?
GPS unit? I don't know if it qualifies as 'low cost' but I use a Garmin Edge 500 (bought from ebay). Uploads direct to Strava, and can follow a simple 'breadcrumb' route, but does NOT have mapping. It's the first unit in the Edge series that connects to Heart Rate straps and cadence sensors, in case you later decide you want to use these items. If you are happy with just the head unit, then an Edge 200 will do the job.What low cost GPS cycling units can you recommend. Would like the data to link with Strava.
Etiquette question. Toward the end of my ride, as I approach the A50 from the B5081, traffic starts to build as cars wait to join the A50. This morning I would guess there were approximately 30 cars queuing. This part of the B5081 is a narrow two lane road and there is no space to cycle on the inside. What is recommended to pass this traffic? I slowly rode past the cars in the wrong lane, looking well ahead and pulling into gaps as and when cars came the opposite direction. Is this acceptable or would you wait with the traffic?
Passing queuing traffic? I would do exactly as you did. One word of warning though - the lead car in any queue is likely to be concentrating hard on getting out into a gap at the junction, so I wouldn't usually jump right to the front, but tuck into a space one or two cars back from the front. Oh, and it's not really the 'wrong' lane, it's called a "safe and legal overtake into the opposing traffic lane". Just make sure there's a safe refuge alongside or between cars ahead that you can reach in plenty of time if something approaches from ahead
I almost always move over to the right to pass slow or stationary traffic (only exception is a solid white line cycle path). Some drivers will take exception, because they see it as 'cheating' or because they firmly believe (wrongly) that bikes are legally obliged to stay in the gutter, so keep your wits about you, and watch for idiots who might move to the right, or close a gap so as to deliberately prevent your progress. And be careful where the road widens at the junction, especially if there is an 'island' because there'll be a whole load of swarf, gravel, glass and such like because it's a generally unused part of the road, and is consequently a bit of a p***ture zone.
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