Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

How was your cycle commute?

I got caught out a couple of years ago.
I went on this amazing group ride over the Severn to Tintern Abbey, so when a similar ride cropped up a week or two later I was well up for it.

I'd had a snotty nose for a few days, but it was running clear by the time of the ride.
I consciously used the 12 miles to the start point as a measure of my stamina and I was fine.
Once we started getting into the hills, I had all the symptoms of flu and I couldn't eat any lunch - the ride home was a nightmare - I felt 100 years old .... but the next day I was perfectly fine.
 
After ten days of sunny weather, and hence commuting by the magnificent Pashley Roadster, today there was a spot of rain in the air so my trusty old hybrid commuter was pressed into service once more.

As soon as go on it I nearly fell off it.

It is *so* different to whale of a bike that is the Roadster that it feels like a child's bike. And I now know which I prefer. Today, gone was the magestic progress to and from work I'd become accustomed to and instead it was a bit of a slog hunched over the handlebars.

What can I say? I have fallen out of love with my faithful commuting companion of fifteen years.
 
I struggle with the notion of having two different bikes.
That Surly disc trucker is clearly my sort of bike, but I'm really not sure of going back to dropped handlebars - and it's a £1000 gamble.
Or I could price up a DIY job and take time off to move all the nice bits from my old bike to a new frame .. and downgrade my current bike to rim brakes etc...
 
Well, I'm heading back to the office tomorrow but taking the bus, best to rest things completely (though bus-related stress is not good for my health either!)

I've had the fever/shaking/headache thing three times in the last few months, and it does coincide with changes to some medication I have - I'm on pretty strong immunosuppresents for Crohn's disease and the dose was doubled about three months ago - before that I'd rarely get colds or infections at all (the problem being an overactive immune system) but I've been hit a couple of times since. I'll have a chat with the team that looks after me about it I think, it might need to be reduced a bit.

I'm itching to get back into the saddle though, this week my lodger has joined Strava (route tracking app with 'segments' you can compare times on) and he's already pinched a couple of KOMs from me, so I'm keen to go out and defend my turf!
 
gentlegreen said:
I struggle with the notion of having two different bikes.
That Surly disc trucker is clearly my sort of bike, but I'm really not sure of going back to dropped handlebars - and it's a £1000 gamble.
Or I could price up a DIY job and take time off to move all the nice bits from my old bike to a new frame .. and downgrade my current bike to rim brakes etc...
Click to expand...

I have four bikes - a stripped-down tourer for the work commute, a Pashley with a huge basket/tray on the front for shopping/holidays, a racer that I'm slowly restoring for weekend rides and maybe commuting, and a shitheap mountain bike that I can ride to the station and leave locked up in the rack outside for four days without any concern (contemplating giving this one away at the moment). The dining room is full of bikes (my lodger has one too), I need to work on somewhere else to put them all.
 
spotted on croxted road this morning: Full flouro, panniered up hybrid-nodder rocking a very expensive looking TT helmet complete with mirrored visor. AMAZING.

anyone 'on here'?
 
gentlegreen said:
I struggle with the notion of having two different bikes.
That Surly disc trucker is clearly my sort of bike, but I'm really not sure of going back to dropped handlebars - and it's a £1000 gamble.
Or I could price up a DIY job and take time off to move all the nice bits from my old bike to a new frame .. and downgrade my current bike to rim brakes etc...
Click to expand...

The bars are quite high on the DT despite the drops as it comes with an uncut steerer. I chopped at least 50mm off the steerer of mine to get them back down to a normal height. Aerodynamic drag is F=1/2pv^2CdA. Drops considerably reduce A.
 
Sorry, I was thinking out loud.
I'm 6 foot 2 ish and I sometimes wonder if my 23 inch frame MTB is too big.
I certainly seem to be clambering on it like a horse.

If I'm coughing up over £1000 for a new bike, it had better be right.

In practice my MTB suits me pretty well - robust and responsive for short journeys, not that uncomfortable for the odd 50-miler.
 
Well, I've found a Bristol dealer and they're in the cycle to work scheme.
About time I got a bit of benefit from that - doubtless a lot of bikes are bought by fair-weather higher rate tax payers...
 
gentlegreen said:
Sorry, I was thinking out loud.
I'm 6 foot 2 ish and I sometimes wonder if my 23 inch frame MTB is too big.
I certainly seem to be clambering on it like a horse.

If I'm coughing up over £1000 for a new bike, it had better be right.

In practice my MTB suits me pretty well - robust and responsive for short journeys, not that uncomfortable for the odd 50-miler.
Click to expand...

What's your average pace on a 50-mile ride on a 26" wheel MTB?!
 
ChrisFilter said:
What's your average pace on a 50-mile ride on a 26" wheel MTB?!
Click to expand...
Approx 10MPH - average touring speed for most people.
On a Sunday ride (non-sporty), I'm somewhere in the middle of the field - most other bikes are 700c hybrids, plus the odd tourer.
My one strength weighing 18 stone and riding a heavy bike is sprinting - if you can all 20MPH on the flat sprinting.
 
I feel somewhat cheated.
Brisk sou' westerly promised today.

wind.jpg

I got a bit of assistance at the bottom of my morning hill that made me glad to be slightly over-dressed (my jacket makes a reasonable sail) - and it encouraged me to put in a little extra effort, but as I got up onto the steep bit, the promised "yellow alert" howling gale didn't materialize and the excessiveness of the insulation became highlighted .

I bet it'll be blowing a hoolie when I'm cycling home in its general direction. :p
 
Pretty brisk westerley up here in t'north, but I'm still feeling ropey and therefore am stuck on the buses. 1hr 40 to get to the office on two buses this morning (think my connection in town left at least 3 mins early, so a 35 min wait for the next bus that doesn't go right to the office - only one (frequently cancelled/late/early bus a day does)). That's an hour longer than cycling, massively frustrating. I think the stress makes me iller than cycling does, plus I'm probably hoovering up other illnesses in a humid box of people. This is why I cycle!

I've been maintaining pretty good times on my journey in over the last couple of weeks, riding into a fair-moderate easterley every day, with a strong wind behind me I reckon I'd crack my best time. Not going to get a chance this week until my lungs clear up. It'll be back against me by the time I'm back in the saddle, sods law.
 
Local shop wants £1250 for the disc trucker.
Even with the cycle to work discount, that makes DIY look appealing - the Surly comes with a few bits - saddle, tyres that I'm not keen on - not even sure the wheel rims are strong enough .. I can take all the good bits off my current bike - disc brakes etc - with the old bike being for rare emergencies, all it needs are rim brakes etc ...

I might even fit butterfly bars instead.

Spa Cycles have the frame and forks for £350 delivered

Main snag is I don't have the nerve to go to the local shop to work out what size frame I need (probably based on the non-disc bike they may have in stock) then build it myself ...
 
I felt good this morning, even overtaking a couple of other roadies whilst on a short climb and then leaving them for dead once at the top. I seem to be using the top chainset more these days, which perhaps suggests my legs are strengthening.
 
As part of a 250 mile over the weekend I found myself riding through Bristol. I didn't hear a single cyclist shout "Ninja!" - I was quite disappointed.
 
a_chap said:
As part of a 250 mile over the weekend I found myself riding through Bristol. I didn't hear a single cyclist shout "Ninja!" - I was quite disappointed.
Click to expand...
So it wasn't you on the railway path with the horrible flashing light then ?
I fired mine back at him and called him something else :p .
 
gentlegreen said:
So it wasn't you on the railway path with the horrible flashing light then ?
I fired mine back at him and called him something else :p .
Click to expand...

No, I never use a flashing front light. Ever.

I would normally not use a bike path but the route took us along the Bath to Bristol Sustrans route and therefore through the two bike tunnels which were fantastic. But weaving the bike round the frequent metal gate things was a PITA.
 
Today was the first time this year I haven't needed a coat! Some woman made a sarcastic remark to her colleague about "pavements are for people" so I told her to fuck off. I had stopped to allow them to walk past, as I know I am not really supposed to be on it, so it's not like I was menacing her in any way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

TopCat
Ceramic coatings for new cycle
Replies
3
Views
337
TopCat
TopCat
A
First car / how do people afford cars when in low paid work?
2
Replies
59
Views
1K
Chz
Chz
TopCat
Brompton folding cycles
2 3
Replies
74
Views
2K
TopCat
TopCat
fucthest8
Hybrid e-bike for commuting
Replies
12
Views
542
newme
newme
kalidarkone
How much should I sell my van for?
2
Replies
33
Views
1K
kalidarkone
kalidarkone
Back
Top Bottom