Cycling log - random events in the day of a cyclist II

[matt j]

The Italians love them. Nearly every vintage wheelset you can find or NOS rims are all tub specific.

Traditionally a tubular wheelset was way lighter than a clincher alternative but with modern tyres and latex tubes, or even tubeless, that gap has narrowed considerably. I wouldn't run tubs on anything other than a novelty bike. I have a set to go on my classic TT bike I'm building, priority is weight, speed and period correctness, I won't use it often or for any sort of distance but it has to be done!

 

[SteveG]

I took the newly fettled Soul out for another jaunt in the Pentland Hills tonight. Much better as now there was only the squeaking of the knackered bottom bracket to keep my heavy breathing company! When I was looking for a spacer in the drivetrain parts bin earlier I did find a couple of spare octalink BB's (one looks like it hadn't seen much us) but am going to be changing the drivetrain completely soon so will just live with the squeaking for a bit. At least I think it was the BB squeaking - might have been my knees of course!

I went exploring some bits of the Pentlands that were further west than I've been before - mainly because there hadn't been a track there before but there is now, servicing a large forestry plantation. I found an interesting little waterworks building as well. I wasn't really in that much of a hurry so it was a bit of a surprise to get home and upload the GPS to Strava to find a KOM, a couple of 5th overalls as well as a couple of PR's and a handful of 2nd & 3rd bests. I will admit the KOM and the couple of 5th overalls weren't on sections that see a lot of use - still, nice to have a KOM again, as I'd lost the couple I used to have a year or two back.

 

[matt j]

Chances of me getting a Strava KOM on any of my routes = slim to f*ck all so chapeau on that.

You'd think the obvious E-bike KOMs would get struck off or something.

 

[SteveG]

You can flag the obvious eBike KOM's in Strava and the Strava folks will review them and remove them.

I've seen a few segments locally where it's obvious the KOM or QOM were on eBikes but it doesn't look there are many. There are so many folks riding in the Pentlands that there aren't many KOM options for me but there are a few other segments I have my eye on. Mostly off-road but there are a couple of road segments I think I might be able to challenge once I start using my TT bike again.

 

[Woodface]

Using a TT bike to get KOMs is not right. Very, very hard to get KOMs near me, loads of competitive cyclists.

 

[stevec67]

I took the newly fettled Soul out for another jaunt in the Pentland Hills tonight. Much better as now there was only the squeaking of the knackered bottom bracket to keep my heavy breathing company! When I was looking for a spacer in the drivetrain parts bin earlier I did find a couple of spare octalink BB's (one looks like it hadn't seen much us) but am going to be changing the drivetrain completely soon so will just live with the squeaking for a bit. At least I think it was the BB squeaking - might have been my knees of course!

I went exploring some bits of the Pentlands that were further west than I've been before - mainly because there hadn't been a track there before but there is now, servicing a large forestry plantation. I found an interesting little waterworks building as well. I wasn't really in that much of a hurry so it was a bit of a surprise to get home and upload the GPS to Strava to find a KOM, a couple of 5th overalls as well as a couple of PR's and a handful of 2nd & 3rd bests. I will admit the KOM and the couple of 5th overalls weren't on sections that see a lot of use - still, nice to have a KOM again, as I'd lost the couple I used to have a year or two back.

2 spare Octalink BBs? Is there anything that you don't have? I have a spare, it's worn out. Otherwise it would have gone on the bitsa instead of the old Vuelta a mate gave me.

 

[Mullardman]

It sounds as though you have a group of mountain bikers making trails, I cannot condone this, not really my thing. We do have some consented MTB trails in Sheffield which are managed by volunteers but this is mandated.

‘Ponce about in Lycra’, totally provocative & stupid term. I wear Lycra as it is appropriate for the activity I do, just as someone who plays football or cricket would dress in a relevant manner.

You keep using the word ‘modern’ in a pejorative sense which is bizarre, time’s change. I cycle from my front door, I don’t drive with my bike unless I am going on holiday or to visit my parents.

Rather than complain on here why don’t you contact the woodland trust & share your concerns, they probably have wardens who can help?

OK The Lycra comment was a cheap shot and I withdraw in unreservedly.

I use 'modern' in an (obviously failed) attempt to describe what looks to me like a 'new wave' of cyclists. Many look to be in their early 20s to 40s. These are the ones who mostly seem to cause issues by riding selfishly both on and off road. Not all of them obviously, but they cause more problems IMHO than the very many older cyclists I see locally.

I've already noted that I live in a rural area which also happens to centre on a significant local viewpoint. (Billinge Hill) It follows that it attracts walkers, and cyclists. It is possible to cycle to within a couple of hundred metres of the top of the Hill without breaking any rules, from three directions. There is also a complex of footpaths around the hill, all of which are narrow, making it difficult for even walkers to pass without sidestepping each other, and have limited forward visibility. These paths are simply not safe for shared use and at least under current reags are prohibited for riding. This does not prevent cyclists from pushing their bikes for the few yards necessary to get to the top.

 

[Mullardman]

There are lots of old befuddled NIMBY's around that don't understand that the world has changed and doesn't follow what they regard as the rules anymore.

Steve. The only change this old befuddled Nimby detects is a huge increase in the number of cyclists who insist that they have the right to ride anywhere. The rules in England have not changed and for the most part, Public Footpaths ( Not 'sidewalks', or pavements) are not intended for cyclists. Bridleways and other rights of way are. The position with canal towpaths is more complex. Some are, some aren't.

You do still see haters that think:
- bikes shouldn't be on the road, roads being just for cars etc. (I've only ever had passing drivers shout "get off the road" in England, where it happened quite a few times, never had that in Scotland).
- bikes shouldn't be off-road, off-road just being for walkers etc.
Not sure where they think we should ride in fact - probably they just want us to disappear completely so they can drive their cars to where they want to walk - without having to observe cyclists anywhere, on or off road. Although when driving they'd lose the fun they get from trying to pass us as close as possible and as fast as possible...

You really know what these people think?

I'm happy to share the roads with all legal users.. including cyclists and pedestrians. The selfish, aggressive and incompetent from all categories need not apply.

As for bikes 'off road'. You have Bridleways, Most Canal Paths and many other 'ways'. You also have nominally exclusive use of Cycle Paths and MTB trails etc. Only Footpaths are currently barred to cyclists in England.

Not sure where they think we should ride in fact - probably they just want us to disappear completely so they can drive their cars to where they want to walk - without having to observe cyclists anywhere, on or off road. Although when driving they'd lose the fun they get from trying to pass us as close as possible and as fast as possible...

Oh dear Steve.. you are doing just what you accuse me of...

Once more with feeling. I do not think that cyclists should be allowed on rural public footpaths. You can have the rest.

 

[avole]

Could we kill this topic, please? It's moved far away from the OP"s original intention, and some of the arguments, such as the one above, deserve better than to be hidden away here.

 

[SteveG]

2 spare Octalink BBs? Is there anything that you don't have? I have a spare, it's worn out. Otherwise it would have gone on the bitsa instead of the old Vuelta a mate gave me.

There were also 3 square taper BB's in there, and that's not something I think I'll have used in a decade. They all seemed workable, with one looking mostly unused. There is a charity cycle scheme in Edinburgh and, post lockdown, I think I'll donate a lot of the older spares to them. I found several Hollowtech BB's as well - a couple of road bike ones and a MTB one - the latter being a bit of an annoyance as I just bought one of those to use on the singlespeed. I need to have a good rummage through the spares bins so I know what I've got.

 

[SteveG]

Using a TT bike to get KOMs is not right. Very, very hard to get KOMs near me, loads of competitive cyclists.

It's quite hard on the road segments near me, and not all that easy on most of the mountain bike ones either as there are a lot of folks who ride here. My best options are either on the flat, bumpy mountain bike sections or on more remote areas where the segments only get hundreds of riders rather than thousands.

 

[stevec67]

There were also 3 square taper BB's in there, and that's not something I think I'll have used in a decade. They all seemed workable, with one looking mostly unused. There is a charity cycle scheme in Edinburgh and, post lockdown, I think I'll donate a lot of the older spares to them. I found several Hollowtech BB's as well - a couple of road bike ones and a MTB one - the latter being a bit of an annoyance as I just bought one of those to use on the singlespeed. I need to have a good rummage through the spares bins so I know what I've got.

I ought to do something similar with my older bits,but mine are generally much lower value and well worn. Shame about your square BBs, I'd have bought one off you, maybe even 2. I have 4 bikes with them!

 

[Woodface]

OK The Lycra comment was a cheap shot and I withdraw in unreservedly.

I use 'modern' in an (obviously failed) attempt to describe what looks to me like a 'new wave' of cyclists. Many look to be in their early 20s to 40s. These are the ones who mostly seem to cause issues by riding selfishly both on and off road. Not all of them obviously, but they cause more problems IMHO than the very many older cyclists I see locally.

I've already noted that I live in a rural area which also happens to centre on a significant local viewpoint. (Billinge Hill) It follows that it attracts walkers, and cyclists. It is possible to cycle to within a couple of hundred metres of the top of the Hill without breaking any rules, from three directions. There is also a complex of footpaths around the hill, all of which are narrow, making it difficult for even walkers to pass without sidestepping each other, and have limited forward visibility. These paths are simply not safe for shared use and at least under current reags are prohibited for riding. This does not prevent cyclists from pushing their bikes for the few yards necessary to get to the top.

Your case is very specific, you need to air your complaints to the relevant parties.

Cyclists do not cause problems on the roads, this is total nonsense. There are more uninsured drivers on the roads than there are cyclists.

People have been cycling on the road long before cars were around, the oldest cycling club in Sheffield has been around for over 100 years.

I cannot help you with your particular case of NImbyism (& yes I live close to open countryside myself, visitors don’t bother me).

 

[SteveG]

On my ride last night I passed a couple of other cyclists, a chap on a mountain bike and a lady on a gravel bike. Where I passed them was on a road section and as I went by the mountain biker had a go at catching me - seemed off at the time because while that happens on the road bike a fair bit, it's pretty unusual with mountain bikes (first time for me I think). He gave up pretty quickly though, however on having a look at Strava Flyby's today it turns out he was riding an eBike, so possibly thought he had a chance given I was on what seems to get referred to as a "clockwork" bike by eBikers these days. I suspect he hit the assistance limit then gave up - the section was pretty flat so I'd likely have been going a good bit over the 25km/h assistance limit.

 

[Tony Lockhart]

Guy at work has an ebike, and on the rare occasions he has been on it while I’ve been on my mtb for the short commute, we’ve passed each other a few times. On one downhill stretch I’ve overtaken one guy on his scooter. Obviously limited to 30mph lol. Felt good glancing across

 

[SteveG]

Guy at work has an ebike, and on the rare occasions he has been on it while I’ve been on my mtb for the short commute, we’ve passed each other a few times.

I had a sort of race across London with an eBiker once. I overtook them several times but they kept overtaking me again when they jumped red lights. I've had very similar experiences with non e-Bikes in London (and elsewhere) as well though.

On one downhill stretch I’ve overtaken one guy on his scooter. Obviously limited to 30mph lol. Felt good glancing across

On the road-bike I overtake cars occasionally although of course that's also when they're under 30mph.

From the looks of the info on Strava the lady on the gravel bike was the eBike chap's wife and she's a lot more serious a cyclist than he is (hence the reason for his eBike as it'd be the only way he'd have a chance of keeping up with her). Her Strava profile has 3 whole pages of her QOM's so if she's chased me down when I passed them last night then I'd have had no chance, but I probably wasn't worth the trouble!

 

[stevec67]

From the looks of the info on Strava the lady on the gravel bike was the eBike chap's wife and she's a lot more serious a cyclist than he is (hence the reason for his eBike as it'd be the only way he'd have a chance of keeping up with her). Her Strava profile has 3 whole pages of her QOM's so if she's chased me down when I passed them last night then I'd have had no chance, but I probably wasn't worth the trouble!

That reminds me of a tale a mate tells of leaving a cafe just after a group of women. He saw there was a hill and decided to stay behind them. His mate was made of sterner stuff, so he overtook the group. After he had pulled ahead and my mate was still bumbling along behind the group, one of the women said, in a low voice, "Yeah. Get him, Tracey." Tracey just leaned on the pedals a bit and accelerated after him. She reeled him in halfway up the hill and stayed a few yards behind him, by which time he was pretending to be strolling along looking for a picnic stop while giving it the full Alpe d'Huez treatment. Shortly before the top she opened the taps and cruised past with a nod, leaving him floundering in her wake. Turns out she was the local club hero. I narrowly avoided a similar fate when doing a Polaris back in the 90s. We were grinding up some muddy slope in the drizzle when 2 women passed us. I picked up a wheel and followed them, largely because they looked rather nice, even if covered in mud, and as a 20-something single man chatting up women was never far from my mind. After a minute or two I felt a gentle tug at my back. My pal had hold of a rucksack strap. "Don't bother trying to keep up with those two Steve, the one on the right is xxx xxx, she's just won the last 2 rounds of the UK XC competition and I don't think you'll keep up for long."

I live in fear of going out around Otley and encountering Lizzie Armitstead. Mind you, I don't think that she would trouble me. I think there would be a whoosh of air, a whirr of gears and I'd be looking at the back of a bike disappearing up The Chevin.

 

[stevec67]

Guy at work has an ebike, and on the rare occasions he has been on it while I’ve been on my mtb for the short commute, we’ve passed each other a few times. On one downhill stretch I’ve overtaken one guy on his scooter. Obviously limited to 30mph lol. Felt good glancing across

I used to commute over Caerphilly Mountain. The Cardiff side was easier angled and on the way home I used to pick up a queue of cars doing 30-35mph. I well remember once coming up behind an Audi convertible with the top down, the driver was looking extremely anxious in his mirror as I lined up to overtake and started accelerating. Sadly with a MTB compact 42-11 and 26" wheels I was running out of gears at just over 35, so I couldn't quite get past. I still remember his double take every time I shoulder checked, lined up, and moved right.

 

[Woodface]

Could we kill this topic, please? It's moved far away from the OP"s original intention, and some of the arguments, such as the one above, deserve better than to be hidden away here.

Fair point but he keeps going on. I really don’t want anyone to start an anti cycling thread.

 

[SteveG]

I live in fear of going out around Otley and encountering Lizzie Armitstead. Mind you, I don't think that she would trouble me. I think there would be a whoosh of air, a whirr of gears and I'd be looking at the back of a bike disappearing up The Chevin.

Many years ago myself and a few friends arranged a mountain bike skills training course with the ladies that used to run The Hub cafe at Glentress, who were both ex world cup racers. It was Tracy Bunger that was our instructor for the day and it was a great course, but only at the end of the day did we notice she'd ridden in her bikes biggest gear the whole day (while some of us were huffing and puffing in our granny rings) as she liked to do that as a bit of resistance training. She was massively quicker than any of us uphill, but going downhill it was beyond a joke how much faster she was.