Cycling UK Forum

So,  a bit of a disaster today,  went down on ice necessitating a trip to LBS for a new hanger and wheel true up.  I normally replace a chain after each winter commuting,  so asked him to do that while he was at it.   Turns out it didn't really need to be done quite yet (I did it anyway,  just convenient and also will likely delay cassette replacement). 

This despite running 2500 miles on muddy back roads all through the wettest winter on record,  and me cleaning it exactly once. 

LBS said in his experience the 11 speed set up is actually *more* durable than predecessors. This seems to bear that out;   my old 7 speed typically needed a new chain every winter. 

It's shimano 105, both chain and cassette.

Do it. I first tried a proper road race style bike after 15 years on either a tourer or a mtb. It was a revelation. Like the difference between a go kart and a land rover. It will be completely different to an mtb with slicks.

It was properly light on the way in and on the way home for the first time this year.

The birds were singing this morning and there was a magnificent sunset in the evening.

And I'll have 2,000 miles this winter on the bike by the end of the week.

It's all good.

Leaving is appealing because it fits a narrative. A powerful story of a strong island state, better than the rest of the world. An island that stood alone against the evils of Spain in 1588, dictatorship in 1815, facism in 1939 and won glorious victories. Now we fight on against the antidemocratic bureaucrats who would seek to drag us down. Britain, the island nation that civilised the world!

Of course, the story is a fantasy. Even Richard the Lionheart was French, buried in Fontevraud. Our current Royal Family are part German, part Danish (that part improbably foisted upon then exiled by the Greeks). Our survival in WWII was only possible because of the USA and even more so, the Russians. Our civilising influence on the world ran to powering our economy through the inhuman slave trade. Even now our “democracy” is the only one in Europe where half our “mother of parliaments” is appointed, or more farcically still, hereditary.

The referendum might just be our opportunity to reach adulthood as a nation and leave behind childish fantasies. Of course we should stay in.

We need a new story for the future.

The threat of video can make a difference.

I was recently intimidated by a total idiot, who chose to drive alongside me on a busy A road around a couple of tight bends during which his passenger shouted abuse and made obscene gestures at me.

(I know this sounds surreal, but I assure you it really happened).

I pointed to my handlebar mounted light, which looks a bit like a bullet style video camera, and shouted that they were on video, which was shortly followed by them accelerating away.

In hindsight, they were maybe on drugs.

On the practicality of videocams, I would consider investing, but my commute is 45 mins each way so presumably I’d need to recharge at least daily if not twice daily? Sounds like a hassle, and not sure it really helps that much with getting police attention from what I've read recently.

Oop North, such cycling facilities are custom designed to "help" us...

Here is one such near me. So safe, so convenient, so designed by a motorist.

Vorpal wrote:Commuting can be fun, though it certainly seems more like a chore on dark winter days.

It's nearly spring... this morning on my commute

(re the OP I'm on a Kinesis 4S with guards and racks. Both fun and practical for commuting)

merseymouth wrote:I suspect that the "All the gear, no idea" brigade want to have things handed to them on a plate - the thought of them actually creating the events themselves?

Correct. Most people would prefer to have something organised for them than organise it themselves. I have no idea why this is a problem. In the same way, I prefer to buy food than run a smallholding.

merseymouth wrote: The behaviour & roaad-craft of participants was awful, some hurling abuse at well behaved drivers who were endanger by the lawless antics of idiots on bikes!

I agree that not all cyclists behave well. CTC organised events could be a great opportunity to help educate those that don't.

merseymouth wrote:My family and myself have suffered at the hands of badly behaved cyclists, sadly even from Jerseyed Club groups, being spat at having rubbish thrown at us!

That is appalling. I've personally not once experienced abuse from another cyclist, on organised rides or otherwise.

merseymouth wrote:Mass participation events have more down sides than up!

Cheer up and chill out! I've seen them inspire folk who would otherwise never venture on a long ride to do so, and experienced great camaraderie en route. They'll never be a great percentage of my time on a bike, but they can be brilliant. Forcing my failing limbs up Alpe d'Huez inspired by hundreds of likewise suffering folk on the Marmotte is one of my fondest cycling memories.

mjr wrote:I'm surprised British Cycling back them as they do. BC claims to be worried about the excluded minorities, but then force sportive events to be no helmet=no ride, recumbent =no ride, e bike=no ride and even allows ill/disabled =no ride. This is the dirty little secret of sportive events that ought to be exposed, denounced and challenged..

I'm sure you've got sound grounds for this claim, but I'm very surprised. I've done a sportive on a Tandem, no questions asked, nothing but encouragement, so I don't see why the other categories would be an issue. Perhaps the rules are mostly ignored. I'm not a fan of helmets generally, but for a ride with perhaps thousands of rather inexperienced riders and a few fast descents with some people trying for a time, I can see some logic there.

mjr wrote:It looks like Audax promotion is a big opportunity for CTC or whatever it's becoming, but the rumoured renames suggest that mimicking BC is more likely than innovation.

Yes, organised rides have massively increased in popularity. Surely CTC and Audax, between them probably the biggest backers of organised rides in the country, have something to gain...

Yeah, having the CTC organise rides which are extremely popular and make a profit would be ridiculous. What were you thinking of?

Sarc off, the CTC used to organise a series of these, before they became popular. The phil liggett branded one was, I think, the first century ride I did.

No idea why they stopped.

Mick,

Cheers for the info. I'm not actually bothered about the numbers in the calorie counts, I was just struck by what a large difference there was. The two calculations must be using an almost identical set of information (my weight isn't so outlandish as to make a factor of two from average), so presumably they must have a totally different correlation for air resistance, rolling resistance, or both?

No cadence, power or HR. Mapmyride knows my weight, height, and the ride profile. I'm 85kg/192cm.

Just did an undulating but not particularly hilly 30 miles. I rarely use Mapmyride, but did today,  running off the phone GPS - it's nice to see a profile of the ride. 

Now,  both the app and my cateye cycle computer gave pretty much identical distance and speed,  but the app reported double the calorie count (2000 vs 1000).

Why such a huge difference?  

Swerved in

661-Pete,

This sets me wondering about the collision I witnessed, but was not directly involved in, several years ago.

Strangely enough, the exact same thing happened to me as did to you, maybe 10 years ago, on the same hill as this morning’s incident, but in the opposite direction.

I still recall the driver at error (overtaking on a blind bend in pouring rain…) saying how she was rushing as she was late to pick up her child from kindergarten. “Not as late as you are now” was my thought at the time.

The poor guy coming down the hill had his car written off. I provided a statement for his insurance.