Getting into cycling

ewal

This is why I have mixed feelings about organised events. They're good for motivation but I don't really enjoy riding in big mixed ability groups. You're either pootling along only for a bike club chain gang to expect you to make way, or working out how to navigate past people riding at lots of different speeds.

Maybe I'm an audax rider at heart...

Johnnyseven

To be fair, people should be riding on the left. If they were club riders wouldn't need to ask people to move out the way and others wouldn't have issues getting round people going slower than you as they'd be space to overtake. Unfortunately not everyone reads, and pays attention, to the guidelines. Although i've generally not had an issue with this apart from on narrow climbs.

crunchman

Johnnyseven said:

To be fair, people should be riding on the left. If they were club riders wouldn't need to ask people to move out the way and others wouldn't have issues getting round people going slower than you as they'd be space to overtake. Unfortunately not everyone reads, and pays attention, to the guidelines. Although i've generally not had an issue with this apart from on narrow climbs.

It was worse early on.  Later in the ride it sorted itself out, as the really slow people were miles behind, and most people were doing a similar speed.  The first 5 miles really weren't a lot of fun though.  I think I said it above, but because of the different start waves, it wasn't until Kingston that it really settled down.

Johnnyseven

crunchman said:

Johnnyseven said:

To be fair, people should be riding on the left. If they were club riders wouldn't need to ask people to move out the way and others wouldn't have issues getting round people going slower than you as they'd be space to overtake. Unfortunately not everyone reads, and pays attention, to the guidelines. Although i've generally not had an issue with this apart from on narrow climbs.

It was worse early on.  Later in the ride it sorted itself out, as the really slow people were miles behind, and most people were doing a similar speed.  The first 5 miles really weren't a lot of fun though.  I think I said it above, but because of the different start waves, it wasn't until Kingston that it really settled down.

It was the opposite for me, the crowding issues started after Hampton Court.

The first roads are really wide, were the slower people hogging the entire width?

crunchman

Johnnyseven said:

crunchman said:

Johnnyseven said:

To be fair, people should be riding on the left. If they were club riders wouldn't need to ask people to move out the way and others wouldn't have issues getting round people going slower than you as they'd be space to overtake. Unfortunately not everyone reads, and pays attention, to the guidelines. Although i've generally not had an issue with this apart from on narrow climbs.

It was worse early on.  Later in the ride it sorted itself out, as the really slow people were miles behind, and most people were doing a similar speed.  The first 5 miles really weren't a lot of fun though.  I think I said it above, but because of the different start waves, it wasn't until Kingston that it really settled down.

It was the opposite for me, the crowding issues started after Hampton Court.

The first roads are really wide, were the slower people hogging the entire width?

There were so many different types of people there.  At one extreme there were some rather large people on mountain bikes or heavy hybrids, while at the other extreme there were some properly fast people on road bikes.  Some of the fast people were nutters who were forcing their way through when there wasn't a lot of room.

Some of the slow people were obviously very inexperienced, and were riding in the middle of the road, which didn't help, but there was such a range of different speeds that it would have been difficult anyway.  Probably a bit like the hill on the M5 between Bridgewater and Bristol on a summer weekend.  You get the faster caravans overtaking the slower caravans, and it clogs it up for everyone.

I started around half an hour after the first wave of the 46 mile riders, and there were two or 3 more waves behind me, so I was catching up the slower people from the waves in front, at the same time as the really fast guys from the waves behind were coming up behind me.  I took it very easy until somewhere around Tower Hill, as the road was so crowded.  After that it was slightly better, but even at Sawyer's Hill in Richmond Park, which was around the 20 mile mark, there were still a lot of moderately slow people from the waves in front of me.  You couldn't get into a rhythm at all.

Johnnyseven

Sounds like a bit of a nightmare. Not being able to find a rhythm up a hill is a pain, it's like that on Leith Hill on the 100 even at the best of times.

You probably had the slower 100 waves clogging up the road as well.

I've been reading stuff online today that apparently this congestion is usual in the later waves of the 100. I don't think my wife will be keen on doing it again for a while so next year i'll be back to doing in the faster waves.

littlegreenman

Sad day at the Tour of Poland, 22 year old Bjorg Lambrecht didn't take to the start line after a fatal crash yesterday

It was a processional stage in honour of the youngster tipped to possibly win the whole race.

ThePrettyDamned

Still at it. Lost almost a stone in the last 4 weeks, from a whopping 15 stone 9 to 14 stone 10. Aiming to get to healthy weight range - 10 stone 10 is where that begins, but I'm aiming for 9 stone 10.

Definitely getting easier, but today I hit a bump outside the office and kissed goodbye to one of the nuts, bolts and plastic retainers on the front mudguard. Fucking rubbish. And they're like £8 for replacements! So I'm going to refit it when spares have arrived (if I can't find the original) and use some loctite on them to keep them in place. The safety mech is in the plastic bit bolted to the frame anyway. 

57Deluxe

hardest part is always getting your shorts on...

ThePrettyDamned

57Deluxe said:

hardest part is always getting your shorts on...

Honestly, not far off how I'd look in that sort of clothing. 

crunchman

I did see some very large people on the Ride London 46.  One of them wasn't all that far short of that one.

ThePrettyDamned

First time cycling to and from work 2 days in a row. Will be 28 miles in 2 days when I get home tonight - plan on doing a third return trip tomorrow before resting Friday and hitting a cross trainer at the weekend.

Not feeling fit yet - the wind isn't helping! But I'm definitely improving. 

drofluf

57Deluxe said:

hardest part is always getting your shorts on...

I'd have thought that the real problem would be tieing your shoelaces!

littlegreenman

'Twas bloody windy (side wind out and back!) but sunny so got out on the bike for a long one (for me anyways). Not exactly fast but I'll take it