Tales from today's commute....

[bicyclos]

Icy this morning and got well wrapped up. I had to walk part of the way on my route as it was just bottle ice and untreated. Enjoyed the ride in a strange way and had a nice pot of coffee before starting work.........shovelling the yard so the wagons could be tipped..........Took a different route home where I climb a mile long hill which kept me warm with the effort i put in. Roll on summer though !

 

[ianrauk]

Going to start using SPD clips and shoes for the first time this week. Does everyone fall off at first 'cos I really don't want to ?

No. I have never since I started using them 8 years ago.
Had a couple of 'nearly' moments though.

Best thing is to not worry about it, just get on with then. It soon's becomes second nature.

 

[DCLane]

Snow both ways, with wind. Otherwise normal ... except I got flashed at by a woman as she hung out of the passenger window going through Belle Isle in Leeds.

 

[fossyant]

Trying to snow here again. Forecast is minus 4, so hopefully that will hardback the TPT a little more for my attempt upon a KOM on a segment - got to do something fun in this horrible weather.

 

[HLaB]

A fastish PM commute for me I decided to cut through town to open country roads and I got my average up to 15.6mph from 12.4mph through town the average fell though when I went along the Sustrans route through Ferry Meadow got it back up to 15.1mph into the headwind & I was quite pleased with that but I let it fall again through the gated Orton Mere level crossing; in the end I ended up with just 14.6mph for the 12miles.
Grabbed some extra lights and dumped the sandwich box and popped to the shops to cool down. On the way home still in cool down mode I got scalped; stayed in the mode until the other rider did an RLJ. That was like a red rag to a bull, waited for the green (which wasn't long as they're pretty responsive lights and his primary position probably triggered them for me) got a push from the tail wind dodged SMIDSY (typical the two out side lanes gives way correctly and numpty in the inside lane blindly undertakes (the folk on your right stopped for a reason )); I lost a bit of speed there and the tight right hander over hatching but still had enough momentum to shoot up Mayor's Walk at 19.8mph on the fixie and the the light headwind (it was NEE and Id headed North) became a tail wind I was going to open it up further but there was a ped in the middle of the narrow road, 10 secs or more later he was still there and I had to trackstand, the car coming the other way was forced to stop too.

 

[HLaB]

Going to start using SPD clips and shoes for the first time this week. Does everyone fall off at first 'cos I really don't want to ?

Not everybody does but a lot do its a slow fall so its more embarrassing than anything Ive probably met 1000s of cyclists in my time but Ive only met one cyclist who tried and went back to flats; IMQuantifiedO there great; give them a go

 

[400bhp]

I know (strava sections), my legs are pretty tired today (a bit of purported threshold training in the last 7 days) but the easterly won't last. Perhaps another week of it, then the odd day until October.

Good ride home

 

[cyberknight]

Pretty bad going to work as the lanes where the snow had been piling up with the wind made the road only 1 lane wide in many places and i still had to get off a few times and walk through those sections as the traffic had turned the clear sections into ice.I had planned to take the MTB but i needed to put on new tyres and swmbo threw a wobbler last night when i said needed to sort my bike out so i had to manage on 23 mm slicks.
Needles to say i have had more fun commutes.
Coming home i had a great tailwind and took a clearer route but hitting slush sections at 22-23 is not the most conducive way to keep your calm.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Not everybody does but a lot do its a slow fall so its more embarrassing than anything Ive probably met 1000s of cyclists in my time but Ive only met one cyclist who tried and went back to flats; IMQuantifiedO there great; give them a go

I have clipless on my best bike and clips and straps on my fixed, I prefer clips and straps to clipless, I don't like clipless, and have found hardly any difference in performance between the two.

 

[PBB]

Not a good start to the week!

Bit icy so I took the hybrid, cycled 12 miles to work with no major issues. Parked the bike, got showered and sat down at my desk just as the phone rang. It was my wife telling me she had locked her and our 18month old son out of the house!

So it's back down stair, put my cold, sweaty bike kit back on, cycle 12 miles home into a biting head wind. Give keys to wife, cycle 12 miles back to work, by now I'm very cold and tired; having had nothing to eat or drink since last night.

So i have done an unexpected 36 miles already before 11 am, and all on my hybrid!

blimey that must have been hard work - hopefully you earned some serious man points for that!

 

[400bhp]

just put a new chain on having got down to 0.75%. The usual thing happened - cassette starts jumping. Grrr, just ordered a new cassette.

It was a new cassette and a new chain 1500 odd miles ago. My own stupid fault, should have changed the chain slightly earlier.

 

[ianrauk]

just put a new chain on having got down to 0.75%. The usual thing happened - cassette starts jumping. Grrr, just ordered a new cassette.

It was a new cassette and a new chain 1500 odd miles ago. My own stupid fault, should have changed the chain slightly earlier.

Just recently made the same mistake....

 

[HLaB]

I have clipless on my best bike and clips and straps on my fixed, I prefer clips and straps to clipless, I don't like clipless, and have found hardly any difference in performance between the two.

I found strap more scary but thats probably because I wore a couple of different shoes with them making them a bit inconsistent and I must confess to a strap moment

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I found strap more scary but thats probably because I wore a couple of different shoes with them making them a bit inconsistent and I must confess to a strap moment

I must admit to having had a few strap moments in the 25 years I have been using them, I use them with steel toe capped boots, trainers and cycle shoes, I normally use metal ones that I straighten and rebend so I can use boots with them.

 

[potsy]

1st puncture for ages last night on the way to my night shift, didn'y fancy getting hypothermia so did a pump and run for the last mile or so.
Fixed in work with a warming coffee.

Battled the cold easterly wind again, really not fun this.