Show us your.......newbie progress! [4 Sep 2012 - 4 Oct 2014]

[Phoenix Lincs]

Set out for a 40 miler today as per training schedule. Had to go to Newark anyway in order to collect a key (but that's another story - still no key, clinic was shut)

Felt great out on the bike, sun is hiding today so not too hot, wasn't doing huge speeds but was happy with the way everything was going (drinking and eating in the saddle etc) UNTIL I slid off the edge of some newly surfaced road, into the verge and onto the newly laid gravel!

Grazes and bruises for me but my poor bike

There was also a noise I couldn't pin down and didn't want to make anything worse, so I rang for my knight in shining armour who came and scooped me up. He's managed to bend the hood into a more normal position, but we think it needs some professional love and attention and LBS is closed.

Good job it happened this week and not next or the one after (London 100 on 4 August)

I'm hoping the damage is mainly cosmetic - scratches and dents to the bike, shoes decided scuffed, but thank goodness I was wearing my shorts and not my expensive longs. Another occasion when my skin will heal but the fabric wouldn't have!

AND, there weren't any cars around at the time, so didn't cause an accident or damage anybody else's property.

Sigh, but counting blessings.

Hope everybody else is more successful today

 

[Mo1959]

@Phoenix Lincs Ouch. Sorry to hear that It can all happen so quickly when the bike goes from under you.

Hope there is nothing seriously damaged and your scrapes and bruises heal quickly.

 

[Phoenix Lincs]

@Phoenix Lincs Ouch. Sorry to hear that It can all happen so quickly when the bike goes from under you.

Hope there is nothing seriously damaged and your scrapes and bruises heal quickly.

Thanks Mo. unfortunately I'll have to kneel down this afternoon to bandage a patient, so I think I might take a cushion!

 

[Mo1959]

Thanks Mo. unfortunately I'll have to kneel down this afternoon to bandage a patient, so I think I might take a cushion!

Maybe you should let the patient bandage you!

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Nothing to do with all us blokes being at work and the women being ladies of leisure then

Well Chris she's beat me.

Just completed a little pottle on my n+1+1, a single speed, flat bar with rack and a pannier, as mapmyride was not playing ball with my new phone and I can't download strava, I tried a new one from the googlestore, it seemed to work and gave me a distance of 36.88 km (no miles on it!) with a time of 2.01.39, had a pretty strong headwind for half the ride and a coffee break, on the late shift today and now the sun has decided to come out after being cloudy during my ride . Anyway nice to back out as my toe gave no problems and I was cycling in sandals .

22.91miles. Pretty good going, something I have never fancied.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Set out for a 40 miler today as per training schedule. Had to go to Newark anyway in order to collect a key (but that's another story - still no key, clinic was shut)

Felt great out on the bike, sun is hiding today so not too hot, wasn't doing huge speeds but was happy with the way everything was going (drinking and eating in the saddle etc) UNTIL I slid off the edge of some newly surfaced road, into the verge and onto the newly laid gravel!

Grazes and bruises for me but my poor bike

There was also a noise I couldn't pin down and didn't want to make anything worse, so I rang for my knight in shining armour who came and scooped me up. He's managed to bend the hood into a more normal position, but we think it needs some professional love and attention and LBS is closed.

Good job it happened this week and not next or the one after (London 100 on 4 August)

I'm hoping the damage is mainly cosmetic - scratches and dents to the bike, shoes decided scuffed, but thank goodness I was wearing my shorts and not my expensive longs. Another occasion when my skin will heal but the fabric wouldn't have!

AND, there weren't any cars around at the time, so didn't cause an accident or damage anybody else's property.

Sigh, but counting blessings.

Hope everybody else is more successful today

Sorry to hear that, its easy enough to remedy, if you peel the rubber back a little you will see an allen bolt head, undo this so you can position the lever then tighten, providing nothing else is wrong.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

@Phoenix Lincs

Sorry to hear about your off - happens quick doesn't it.

Hope you are not aching too much when you wake up tomorrow.

Hope bike repairs etc are not too costly as well.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Ha, ha............maybe if I had a commute to and from work every day, I could do even more

I only work 5 miles away from home

 

[Supersuperleeds]

@Phoenix Lincs

Hope you are not to badly injured.

Don't worry about scratches and dents on the bike, they show everybody you ride and you ride hard

 

[boybiker]

Thats a shame Elliot because you are doing very well.
I was going to say I am just about to do my first 500km week but just checked, I have done one, but on the other hand I will complete the furthest in a week (sun-sat) previous best was 319.61miles in April. Though I do have a little further to go than Mo does tomorrow, since the weather has changed I am going to try the 3/4 length legging from Lidl.

Maybe I will be able to get some longer rides under my belt but I've done 1000 KM for the month now which was my main goal . You and Mo are both big mile munchers but I'm not doing too badly this month.

 

[Mo1959]

It's a weird feeling if you have overcooked a corner or misjudged a manoeuvre how you can't seem to help fixating on where you don't want to end up rather than where you do. Usually means the bike follows where you are looking, ie the ditch or whatever. It's really hard to train yourself to avert your gaze and try and look where you want the bike to go but it does seem to work when you manage it.

 

[Nomadski]

Set out for a 40 miler today as per training schedule. Had to go to Newark anyway in order to collect a key (but that's another story - still no key, clinic was shut)

Felt great out on the bike, sun is hiding today so not too hot, wasn't doing huge speeds but was happy with the way everything was going (drinking and eating in the saddle etc) UNTIL I slid off the edge of some newly surfaced road, into the verge and onto the newly laid gravel!

Grazes and bruises for me but my poor bike

There was also a noise I couldn't pin down and didn't want to make anything worse, so I rang for my knight in shining armour who came and scooped me up. He's managed to bend the hood into a more normal position, but we think it needs some professional love and attention and LBS is closed.

Good job it happened this week and not next or the one after (London 100 on 4 August)

I'm hoping the damage is mainly cosmetic - scratches and dents to the bike, shoes decided scuffed, but thank goodness I was wearing my shorts and not my expensive longs. Another occasion when my skin will heal but the fabric wouldn't have!

AND, there weren't any cars around at the time, so didn't cause an accident or damage anybody else's property.

Sigh, but counting blessings.

Hope everybody else is more successful today

Really sorry to hear about your incident Lesley, hopefully the picture you posted shows the bike took the brunt of it. Must have come down with a bit of force? Hopefully the LBS will bet your steed back up and your bruising will calm enough for you to enjoy riding again within a fortnight!

Take care.

It's a weird feeling if you have overcooked a corner or misjudged a manoeuvre how you can't seem to help fixating on where you don't want to end up rather than where you do. Usually means the bike follows where you are looking, ie the ditch or whatever. It's really hard to train yourself to avert your gaze and try and look where you want the bike to go but it does seem to work when you manage it.

Yeah it runs against your natural inclination

 

[boybiker]

It's a weird feeling if you have overcooked a corner or misjudged a manoeuvre how you can't seem to help fixating on where you don't want to end up rather than where you do. Usually means the bike follows where you are looking, ie the ditch or whatever. It's really hard to train yourself to avert your gaze and try and look where you want the bike to go but it does seem to work when you manage it.

I've got a lot more confident on fast descents. A lot of it is just knowing where the limits are, they are a fair bit higher than I thought they would be. I even hit 40 MPH +

 

[SpokeyDokey]

It's a weird feeling if you have overcooked a corner or misjudged a manoeuvre how you can't seem to help fixating on where you don't want to end up rather than where you do. Usually means the bike follows where you are looking, ie the ditch or whatever. It's really hard to train yourself to avert your gaze and try and look where you want the bike to go but it does seem to work when you manage it.

I am thinking about what you have said there Mo and it might help me with cornering at speed.

Since my 'offs' I have gone a bit namby-pamby on corners esp' downhill. I am tending to look where I don't want to end up instead of where I want to go although until I read your post I hadn't thought of it like that.

I end up braking to avoid my perceived doom and end up going very slow.

***

As an open question: how does everyone cope with cornering confidence esp' after an 'off'? Not that mine were at speed or on a corner I have just developed an allergy to pain!

I am really struggling to lean over in bends and I am desperately trying to keep the bike vertical as I go round. This is putting stress on my back as you can imagine + the tyres are not getting onto the grippier areas of the rubber (I have that triple compound stuff).

In short, and I don't mind admitting it, I am feeling a bit nervous on twisty descents esp' the nasty loose stuff but even on the sweeping smooth and sticky stuff too. I keep focussing on the fact that two very low speed 'offs' caused a lot of pain and residual damage and shudder to think what a speedier 'off' would do.

 

[Nomadski]

@SpokeyDokey - I think its perfectly natural for an off, let alone two, to dent your confidence with fast paced corners. Must admit Im the same even though I didnt come off, just had a 40 mph "wobble" which was bad driver error but has still made me overly cautious on fast bends.

I think just go as fast as your happy with and feel safe doing! And use the front brake not the rear one like I did...