Road Cycling

[Jose Jones]

I'm thinking of doing Around the Bay in a day this year as the last chance before I am officially middle aged.  250km though, with high chance of sea breezes...

[Paulie Dangerously]

Picked a beautiful day for it. Lovely leisurely cycle in this morning. Back on the saddle.

[Total Longo]

Do you stink though?

[Champ]

Do you stink though?

 

In this heat? Undoubtedly!

[lifetime fan]

I gave my road bike to my brother as he wanted to get fit. Skyped my niece last night and they're using it to dry clothes on.

[Champ]

I dont know if anyone else has discovered  Audax cycling, http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audax_(cycling), loosely organised long distance rides.

 

I dont know if there are any round you, Jose, but if your looking for a bit of sociable training for your big event it might be worth a look.

[Paulie Dangerously]

Do you stink though?

It wasnt overly hot this morning actually so wasn't too sweaty. Think my way home will be a different matter. You can tell I'm out of practice because my undercarriage is sore

[Jose Jones]

I dont know if anyone else has discovered  Audax cycling, http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audax_(cycling), loosely organised long distance rides.

 

I dont know if there are any round you, Jose, but if your looking for a bit of sociable training for your big event it might be worth a look.

 

Cheers Champ.

There does appear to be Audax Australia that have various rides around Victoria.  Most of them seem to start miles out in the country which is perhaps a bit too much effort for me.  A lot of them also seem to be bloody miles.  I might check out a few that are around Melbourne though, so thanks for the heads up. 

My aim would be to convince one or two accomplices in for training/event purposes as well.

[Champ]

Does anyone use Strava and if so, can anyone tell me how to upload rides now? I've wasted hours on this the past few days

[Brodie]

Does anyone use Strava and if so, can anyone tell me how to upload rides now? I've wasted hours on this the past few days

Is it on your phone? Should automatically update when you either have a good internet connection or wifi after you've saved ride. You did save the ride?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Champ]

I've a Garmin Connect which I have then been uploaded to Strava on the desktop. Until the last couple of days when I'm getting a message that Chrome no longer supports Garmin Connect. It refers me to a shortcut to IE but I cant seem to get any further

[AngryOfTuebrook]

My mate's son started a business a few months ago, for supporting group cycling (or walking) trips.  For example, he just took a bus load of fairly hardcore cyclists and their bikes up to Inverness, dropped them there, then collected them in Fort William and brought them home.

 

If you're involved in any groups or if you fancy a bike weekend with a bunch of mates, you could do worse.

 

http://bikebusadventures.com/

[Champ]

Cheers Champ.

There does appear to be Audax Australia that have various rides around Victoria.  Most of them seem to start miles out in the country which is perhaps a bit too much effort for me.  A lot of them also seem to be bloody miles.  I might check out a few that are around Melbourne though, so thanks for the heads up. 

My aim would be to convince one or two accomplices in for training/event purposes as well.

I did my first one yesterday. 117 km through the Scottish Borders. Really really enjoyed it. Like I said, they are very loosely organised. For about a fiver you get the route which includes a number of marker questions along the route and recommended food stops, register at the start and then you're pretty much on your own to the finish with drinks and 're-fuelling' food provided. Tinned rice pudding and peaches never tasted so good.

 

And if anyone is looking for quiet roads and beautiful scenery I couldn't recommend the Borders highly enough

[Ginny]

Just got myself a bike. Well I say got, but mate gave me some old school racing bike. I've done a couple of 22 milers this week. I can see why people get addicted to this. Well during the warmer months anyway!

[Champ]

Just got myself a bike. Well I say got, but mate gave me some old school racing bike. I've done a couple of 22 milers this week. I can see why people get addicted to this. Well during the warmer months anyway!

What are you liking about it?

[mattyq]

I've a Garmin Connect which I have then been uploaded to Strava on the desktop. Until the last couple of days when I'm getting a message that Chrome no longer supports Garmin Connect. It refers me to a shortcut to IE but I cant seem to get any further

Chrome has just had an update which has fucked a lot of things. It no longer supports Silverlight which is a real pain in the arse for Amazon Instant and BT Sport

You'll have to open up Strava using IE or Firefox rather than Chrome and that should work

[Champ]

Chrome has just had an update which has fucked a lot of things. It no longer supports Silverlight which is a real pain in the arse for Amazon Instant and BT Sport

You'll have to open up Strava using IE or Firefox rather than Chrome and that should work

Thanks. I'll give Firefox a go as I didnt have any luck with IE

[Champ]

Chrome has just had an update which has fucked a lot of things. It no longer supports Silverlight which is a real pain in the arse for Amazon Instant and BT Sport

You'll have to open up Strava using IE or Firefox rather than Chrome and that should work

Thank you, that man!

 

I was feeling lost not being able to see my rides. If its not recorded, it didnt happen

[Ginny]

What are you liking about it?

Dunno really - like the uphills leg burn followed by the downhills. Getting out into the sticks and hitting some country roads and clocking up some miles. I do boxing twice a week so a long ride to burn my legs out is good training in between whilst am working mainly upper body with boxing. Another thing - went out the other day for a few hours on my bike and came back with a sick tan!

[mattyq]

Thank you, that man!

 

I was feeling lost not being able to see my rides. If its not recorded, it didnt happen

Cool

Glad it's sorted

[Champ]

Dunno really - like the uphills leg burn followed by the downhills. Getting out into the sticks and hitting some country roads and clocking up some miles. I do boxing twice a week so a long ride to burn my legs out is good training in between whilst am working mainly upper body with boxing. Another thing - went out the other day for a few hours on my bike and came back with a sick tan!

When you said you'd done a couple of 20 milers already I guessed you probably werent a stranger to exercise.

Compared to running I just love the freedom you get from a bike to travel distance and get to places you could never get to running. I cant say I love hills but I am definitely an 'improver' and I love the sense of achievement of managing hills that had previously beaten me/in better shape/in better times etc.

 

And cycling in warm sun is just the best!

 

...and the refreshments afterwards

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Some tiresome gripes correctly answered.

http://www.motoring.co.uk/car-news/cyclists-why-do-they-ride-in-the-middle-of-the-road-_62617

 

Why do cyclists ride in the middle of the road? Because they're allowed to: a poster from the Department for Transport advises "Cyclists. Ride central on narrow roads."think.direct.gov.uk/cycling.html

See those potholes? Not good for your suspension, are they? To cyclists, they're not just inconvenient; they're lethal. The cyclist up ahead might be in the middle of the road for a few seconds in order to avoid a big gash in the ground. Cyclists are expert pothole - spotters. Use this inside knowledge to prevent costly damage to your car's suspension.

But, I hear you cry, cyclists block me even when the tarmac is butter-smooth. Take a look ahead. See any "islands", those refuges placed smack bang in the middle of the road, and placed there to protect pedestrians? Every keen cyclist knows that these islands can be death traps. Some motorists get a spurt on to overtake cyclists before these refuges, cutting in at the last second. Some cyclists, therefore, take what's called the "primary position". (Yes, there's an official Stationery Office name for the middle of-the-road manoeuvre www.cyclecraft.co.uk/book.html). This is cyclists' semaphore for "don't pass me just yet; there's an obstacle ahead." Watch what cyclists do when they've passed the island: ninety-nine times out of a hundred they tuck back into the side of the road, and the motorist can then safely overtake. When a cyclist takes the "primary position" before such an upcoming obstacle it's not a mark of arrogance, it's a (risky) tactic to keep everyone safe.

Cyclists will also assume the primary position to avoid "dooring" by motorists opening their car doors without looking, or when about to turn right. Again, once safe to do so, cyclists return to the side of the road.

Not that a cyclist has to be a "gutter bunny," hugging the kerb. Cyclists, in law, operate "carriages", and have done since a court case in 1879. And, as operators of vehicles they have as much right to the whole lane as a motorist. Most of the time cyclists, quite sensibly, allow motorists to pass because that's the safest and nicest thing to do. But it's not a legal requirement. There's no such thing on the road as a "car lane." The only roads that motorists can call their own are motorways - the clue is in the name.

OK, so how about those cyclists who block the road by "riding two abreast". That's also perfectly legal. It's in the Highway Code. https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82/overview-59-to-71 Remember, motorists - unless their cars concertina like Autobots from the Transformers movie www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279/ - ride two abreast all the time, even when driving solo.

The Highway Code states that cyclists should not ride more than two abreast and should ride in single file on "narrow or busy roads and riding round bends." However, the Highway Code doesn't define what it means by "narrow" or "busy" or quite how rounded the curve has to be before it's considered a "bend." Club cyclists, who often ride in packs, will ride two abreast to chat, and will thin out when necessary, but two riders will often "take primary position" before bends. It should be reasonably obvious why. Far too many motorists take bends, even blind ones, fast, and cyclists do not want to be squished when an overtaking driver realises they've overcooked the corner and has to dive back in to avoid a head-on smash.

Cyclists often "block the road" in order to save their lives, and possibly yours, too.

[Ginny]

I'm a new cyclist. Before I started I used to shout at cyclists for riding way out in the road. Then I started cycling and raised that all the stones and glass are over at the side of the road that cyclists are meant to cycle on. So now I find myself whenever I can being as far out in the road as I can to reduce the risk of a puncture.

[Sweeney287]

Cycling on busy roads does give you a completely different perspective for when you are driving. I always thought I was fairly considerate when going past but I realised that there was more I could do to make it a tiny bit safer.

[Champ]

Cycling on busy roads does give you a completely different perspective for when you are driving. I always thought I was fairly considerate when going past but I realised that there was more I could do to make it a tiny bit safer.

And equally when someone overtakes you too closely I always think, 'I bet you're no cyclist'