[Other Sport] Cycling geeks

[Motogull]

There are a few sections with 'comedy' names on my commute, including "Alans prowl" and "Big Gay AL's cruise".

That's brilliant. Exactly what I'd do. I mean, have done. I have only named one segment, but I got 'uphill gardening' in.

 

[Stat Brother]

Not a road bike, but I have that seat on a mountain bike (only used on the road).

They will love it, but:

Don't expect (most) cars to give you any more room, just because you've got a child on the back

Obvious one, but don't give them anything to hold, otherwise their toy Peppa Pig will end up with tyre marks on her from a Nissan Qashqai

Again, probably another obvious one, but - due to the extra weight - don't be tempted to get out of the saddle for anything resembling an uphill. It doesn't make for a particularly stable experience as the bike rocks excessively to the side...

And if all goes well, after a while, the pressure you feel in your lower back is their head as you've gently lolled them off to sleep. Or maybe that only happens at Center Parcs.

Sten wouldn't know a hill if it walked up to him wearing an 'I am a hill' t-shirt, then slapped him in the face with a wet halibut.



Alternatively don't get too competitive on your bike.
Lil Miss Stat was being written home from swimming, one July morning.
Along the seafront, looking at the very old roadie just ahead, mummy said 'shall we try and catch that cyclist'.
Spurred on by her back seat driver, they overtook the octogenarian legend.
Apparently this in turn caused Lil Miss Stat to cheer, cross herself and point both index fingers to the sky.

 

[Pantani]

No one talking about the Dauphine? That was superb. Check it out if you have not already.

 

[1066familyman]

No one talking about the Dauphine? That was superb. Check it out if you have not already.

I confess I'm not at all keen on Aru, but chapeau for that win today.

Seems hard to believe he was able to hold the peloton off like that, but it makes sense really. Technical descent where he was able to maintain and indeed extend the gap. Not quite enough flat for them to reel him in. Sprint trains all dropped on that cat 2 (even though a surprising number of sprinters got over it and were there at the end) so no organised chase. GC not interested in the stage or time gaps. Shame Terpstra was in the break of the day otherwise he may have taken huge pulls at the front for Alaphilippe and they might have caught Aru.

I think it's doubly clever of Aru to win this stage as I suspect he knows he's a bit further off top shape than the others and he may well get dropped in the mountains here. This stage win has taken the pressure right off.

 

[Stat Brother]

Sprinters in general do make me laugh.

Can't get up x,y, and z, but Milan San Remo is their classic, and like today give them a sniff of a win and 'dropping down through the peloton' doesn't really happen.

Had the break got to the foot of that climb with a 2 minute lead, Bohoo, Kristoff et al would have been puffing and blowing out the back, shaking their heads and cursing the route.

 

[1066familyman]

Sprinters in general do make me laugh.

Can't get up x,y, and z, but Milan San Remo is their classic, and like today give them a sniff of a win and 'dropping down through the peloton' doesn't really happen.

Had the break got to the foot of that climb with a 2 minute lead, Bohoo, Kristoff et al would have been puffing and blowing out the back, shaking their heads and cursing the route.

It's a fair point, but it's worth noting that all the sprinters here are fairly capable at getting over reasonable hills. Even the purest of sprinters like Bouhanni is more capable than many give him credit for. Today would have seen off a lot of regular sprinters I think, and I don't just mean Kittel.

 

[sten_super]

Sten wouldn't know a hill if it walked up to him wearing an 'I am a hill' t-shirt, then slapped him in the face with a wet halibut.

Oi!

Actually, it's a fair cop - was in Tenby in South Wales last week, and even the shortest ride (23 miles) had 1,200+ ft of climbing. Cambridgeshire doesn't prepare me for that!

Thanks all for the advice. Thankfully nursery to home is only just over 3 miles, and all along rural or village roads, so nothing too hairy (and the steepest 'climb' is a humpback bridge over a railway!).

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

Does anyone have experience of riding with a toddler in a child seat on a road bike? I have bought a Hamax Kiss seat, helmet for sprog and am supposed to be picking her up from nursery tomorrow on the bike for the first time (she's 18 months). Any advice besides being ridiculously cautious until I get used to the adjusted handling?

We have one for the littlest IL, the older one still uses a tag along (I blame his speed on a scooter for him showing no interest in riding a proper bike!)

My one tip would be cautious when getting off, we've had a couple of times when the weight on the back has nearly flipped the bike!

Also, pay some attention to adjusting the foot straps as flapping feet can be annoying/dangerous.

Oh, and I echo the sentiment about not getting out of the saddle - the weight send it all over the place.

Plus, as said above, car drivers continue to be massive bellends even when you have a tiny child on the back - be super aggressive with your positioning in the road so they don't even think about overtaking where its not appropriate.

 

[1066familyman]

We have one for the littlest IL, the older one still uses a tag along (I blame his speed on a scooter for him showing no interest in riding a proper bike!)

My one tip would be cautious when getting off, we've had a couple of times when the weight on the back has nearly flipped the bike!

Also, pay some attention to adjusting the foot straps as flapping feet can be annoying/dangerous.

Oh, and I echo the sentiment about not getting out of the saddle - the weight send it all over the place.

Plus, as said above, car drivers continue to be massive bellends even when you have a tiny child on the back - be super aggressive with your positioning in the road so they don't even think about overtaking where its not appropriate.

On a tangent from that. I've had several occasions now where cars/vans have been so impatient to get round me that when I take the lane at a traffic island so they can't squeeze past me, they've literally gone around the island on the other side of the road Fine by me if they want to do that, but it does seem a bit bizarre that they can't just wait those precious few seconds.

 

[Jeep]

I've used this sort of thing both as a passenger and as a parent! As a passenger it was always tremendous fun and a great way to get to nursery school.

As a parent I would echo the care needed whilst getting on the bike. Casually throwing you leg over the back of the saddle is not a great start to the ride if you've inadvertently kicked your child's head.

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

On a tangent from that. I've had several occasions now where cars/vans have been so impatient to get round me that when I take the lane at a traffic island so they can't squeeze past me, they've literally gone around the island on the other side of the road Fine by me if they want to do that, but it does seem a bit bizarre that they can't just wait those precious few seconds.

I've also noticed a well-intentioned but dangerous move - the very slow overtake, fully on the other side of the road, with oncoming traffic. Thanks for giving me room but that's no use if you cause a head-on collision in front of me!

 

[Bold Seagull]

What about the continuous horn during the overtake? Club ride Sunday, not a car on the road, couple of bends before the car could overtake, then when the chance came, let his horn go for the entire overtake!? At first I wondered if he was French and this was a blast of endearment to a well formed club ride group, but then I realise this was your typical 60 year old grumpy git that cannot abide being held up on his Sunday morning drive. I've slowly learned not to get angry now, I've mellowed and my 'just ignore' ability is greatly improved.

 

[Stat Brother]

“Great to compare times to legends,” says rider who was 2nd to Wiggins at club 10 TT

http://road.cc/content/news/192992-...ds”-says-rider-who-was-2nd-wiggins-club-10-tt

For me the key quote is:-

He said it was “great to be able to compare times to legends and I don’t think this kind of thing could happen in many other sports.


I know I'm preaching to the converted, but nevertheless, this fella was competing as equals (although clearly some are more equal than others) with a former World TT champion, at a TT.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Shimano RS610 Tubeless Road Wheelset down to £150 with a discount code:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-rs610-tubeless-road-wheelset/rp-prod121535

I'm a bit tempted at that price as an upgrade from my broken spoked slightly dished rimmed Fulcrum 7's. I suppose really I should hold out for a set of Stat's Hunt's at £280, but the £130 change in the pocket might feel nice on this discounted set. Anyone got a set or know about them? Bit of a search for reviews and forums and I can't find much info. (which is slightly off putting in itself).

***EDIT
Forget all that, I need to save for the Hunt's don't I!

 

[Stat Brother]

Shimano RS610 Tubeless Road Wheelset down to £150 with a discount code:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-rs610-tubeless-road-wheelset/rp-prod121535

I'm a bit tempted at that price as an upgrade from my broken spoked slightly dished rimmed Fulcrum 7's. I suppose really I should hold out for a set of Stat's Hunt's at £280, but the £130 change in the pocket might feel nice on this discounted set. Anyone got a set or know about them? Bit of a search for reviews and forums and I can't find much info. (which is slightly off putting in itself).

***EDIT
Forget all that, I need to save for the Hunt's don't I!

Tubeless = Dark art.

 

[1066familyman]

Tomorrow's Dauphine stage looks very interesting. There should be attacks from all quarters on that final climb.

Be nice to see Etixx-QuickStep do the old one two move with Alaphilippe & Martin. Either can win a stage like this, but I'd love to see Alaphilippe take the stage and the leaders jersey. He wouldn't be able to keep it over the weekend, but would be interesting to see how he hangs on in a Dumoulin /Jungels kind of scenario.

 

[Pantani]

I see Contador is belly aching about losing time after that crash yesterday. Do not see how he can possibly claim he was held up by it. Only two riders crashed, and everyone else got round them easily enough. Looks more like some riders lost the wheel on that final uphill drag to me.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Great to see Eddie take the stage and the green jersey, wonder if they will try and compete for this in the Tour, especially if Sagan is practicing his mountain biking. ]

Wow just a few seconds, going to be some ending here. Can Porte really challenge, could make for an exciting few weeks.

 

[1066familyman]

I see Contador is belly aching about losing time after that crash yesterday. Do not see how he can possibly claim he was held up by it. Only two riders crashed, and everyone else got round them easily enough. Looks more like some riders lost the wheel on that final uphill drag to me.

Agreed, the crash held no one up really. Froome is smart like that, he's always near the front on sprint finishes of he's serious about GC. I think Henao cleverly let the wheel go to cause the split as well. If you see the results, he finished just behind Gallopin in the Bert group.


Boni seconds on the line here as well. Hopefully Alaphilippe can take all 10 today and nick that leaders jersey.

 

[1066familyman]

Great to see Eddie take the stage and the green jersey, wonder if they will try and compete for this in the Tour, especially if Sagan is practicing his mountain biking. ]

Wow just a few seconds, going to be some ending here. Can Porte really challenge, could make for an exciting few weeks.

Personally I can see Porte going head to head with Froome for this Dauphine. Usual bad day in a GT will mean he's no chance of winning the Tour though, unless by default. He really is just a better version of Spilak & Costa.