Road Cycling

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FrenchTart said:
Planned the route for a cycle down to visit a friend in Cheltenham next weekend. Can anyone see anything drastically wrong with the route that I should change?

https://www.strava.com/routes/2198755

Cheers :)
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The only problem I see is that you've missed the Goyt, Gun Hill and Mow Cop out on your way past.

But other than that, from the bit I have experience of, you've done a good job of avoiding the cack roads.
 
grudas said:
MEH, I couldn't care less if I tried! I have my reasons for not wearing a helmet and that's that...
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Is it bad that my main reason for wearing a helmet is that if I don't wear one then my hair does crazy things due to the wind? :o

I mean seriously, if I come off at anything over 30mph (and I can easily do more than that on a downwards gradient) then a bit of foam and plastic isn't gonna be doing much for me anyway.

As long as no-one does anything stupid like making helmets compulsory then it's all good. People can do what they like. Cycling is dorky enough without forcing people to wear helmets imo.
 
FishFluff said:
Is it bad that my main reason for wearing a helmet is that if I don't wear one then my hair does crazy things due to the wind? :o

I mean seriously, if I come off at anything over 30mph (and I can easily do more than that on a downwards gradient) then a bit of foam and plastic isn't gonna be doing much for me anyway.

As long as no-one does anything stupid like making helmets compulsory then it's all good. People can do what they like. Cycling is dorky enough without forcing people to wear helmets imo.
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Everyone has their opinion on this stuff. Personally I think you are mad to ride without a helmet. I know a bloke who would have been killed without question had he not been wearing one when he collided with a van. As it was he escaped with his life and only a minor brain injury.
 
topgun06 said:
The only problem I see is that you've missed the Goyt, Gun Hill and Mow Cop out on your way past.

But other than that, from the bit I have experience of, you've done a good job of avoiding the cack roads.
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I need to arrive in decent enough shape to socialise and such :p Also need to be there as quickly as possible.

I do want to do Mow Cop soon though. There's a chance I'll get out there on Saturday if the weather isn't terrible, but it's looking unlikely right now.
 
Calpol said:
Everyone has their opinion on this stuff. Personally I think you are mad to ride without a helmet. I know a bloke who would have been killed without question had he not been wearing one when he collided with a van. As it was he escaped with his life and only a minor brain injury.
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I agree. I was knocked off my bike at speed on a commute and hit the side of my helmet. Pretty sure if I didn't have a helmet I'd have been in a lot more trouble than just minor bruising.
 
FrenchTart said:
What is your shoulder injury out of interest? Have you tried posting for rehabilitation advice in the mobility thread of the sports arena forum?
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Sprained shoulder, felt worse, it was horrific at the time.

It got better then got reallly bad towards the end of last year weirdly.

Ill post something over the weekend and see what can be done, there's a gym over the road from me and I want to use it to strengthen my shoulder again.
 
Asprilla said:
Shots fired.
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grudas said:
MEH, I couldn't care less if I tried! I have my reasons for not wearing a helmet and that's that...

this guy, in his article summarizes my feelings quite well -;

http://www.howiechong.com/journal/2014/2/bike-helmets
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It wasn't intended that way grudas, sorry! Slipped my mind you were 'one of them'! :p

I've seen that article thrown around around before, in principle I agree and in a perfect world we shouldn't need helmets. It's a similar thing to saying we shouldn't cycle wearing high-viz as car drivers shouldn't get used to seeing cyclists wearing it meaning they hit the ones that don't. It just doesn't work that way! If it did we'd trust car drivers and not expect them to do stupid things and be proven right time after time. :rolleyes:

londonbairn said:
I agree. I was knocked off my bike at speed on a commute and hit the side of my helmet. Pretty sure if I didn't have a helmet I'd have been in a lot more trouble than just minor bruising.
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Agreed, I was knocked off at a maximum of 6-7 mph, car driver possibly doing 10mph. My head hit the ground hard enough to crack the helmet (admittedly a cheap Bell one). I didn't even have a headache afterwards (just a small bit of whiplash). Probably would've needed an ambulance if I wasn't wearing one!

grudas said:
it depends where, moving traffic yeah.. standstill.. EASY.
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Similar, I only tend to 'overtake'/filter past stationary traffic in my lane when the oncoming traffic is slow/stationary. Depending how much room there is of course!

grudas said:
deflatable.
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:D:D:D

FrenchTart said:
Planned the route for a cycle down to visit a friend in Cheltenham next weekend. Can anyone see anything drastically wrong with the route that I should change?

https://www.strava.com/routes/2198755
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I'll only comment on the more southern bits I vaguely know about/observe:
  • Next to Wolverhampton you've chosen to climb one of the few hills around there?! (Tettenhall) :rolleyes:
  • I would avoid the centre of Kidderminster, it's multiple lanes (3-4 in places) of traffic. You could miss it by going on the A449 which you almost join after Kiddi anyway.
  • Weird route south of there before Worcester, it might avoid some of the traffic but winding around that much could be a recipe for losing your direction. The A449 could solve your 'problem' as the majority of traffic going north<->south would use the M5 and not the A roads. Would depend what time you were hitting it of course...
  • South of Worcester the A38 again may help you, it's more direct and less 'zig-zagging', also avoids crossing the M5 a number of times (views are not worth it) ;)
Bear in mind I've not cycled any of that area, I've probably been along most of the A roads around there at some point (from driving) but wouldn't know enough to recommend/avoid.

Someone on here lives in Cheltenham? Can't remember who but they're on my Strava and the closest person to me from the regulars here!

Dan may have better advice than me! - https://www.strava.com/athletes/177665
 
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I dunno I guess as much as 90?
ummmm head shape..
I don't even know.
Fairly round?
I quite like the look of these "aero" ones as they look quite un restrictive movement wise
 
I definitely get given more room on overtakes, if I don't wear a helmet.

I agree somewhat with that article, everyday commuting shouldn't require a helmet, as the article says there's more chance of a head injury as a pedestrian.
I mean if I get hit by a car that's travelling at 30+ mph, I doubt very much a helmet would save my life.
I do think they're useful for children, as they're most likely to have a slow speed impact with the ground, which helmets are useful for.

I take issue with people preaching saying, "I was in an bicycle accident, and a helmet saved my life". How can you be so sure? I've seen a shot put land on a child's head before, who survived with minor concussion. I've also seen someone cycle into side of the van, doing close to 40mph downhill. We had to call an ambulance, but he didn't sustain any long term injuries.

Having said all that, I wear a helmet as I get abuse from home and work if I don't :)

In other news; I adjusted my cleats at lunchtime, moved them a lot further back. I only had time afterwards to quickly go round the carpark, but it felt like my positioning was more natural. I did have a bit of hard time clipping in though, but I guess I'll get used to the change soon. Hopefully get out for a quick spin after work tonight for a real test.
 
Eliot said:
HOw long do you expect that to take :O
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I would guess anywhere from between 10-14 hours, that's allowing for at least 2 half hour stops for food/refreshments and a leisurely pace.

Eliot said:
I dunno I guess as much as 90?
ummmm head shape..
I don't even know.
Fairly round?
I quite like the look of these "aero" ones as they look quite un restrictive movement wise
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Get to a LBS and try some on, helmet fit is very personal!

I've ended up with a Specialised Echelon II and can't rate it enough as I've got an odd shaped large head! I'd love a Kask/Lazar/Catlike but a helmet shouldn't need to be an expensive purchase - less painful to replace it every couple of years then! :)

janp said:
I take issue with people preaching saying, "I was in an bicycle accident, and a helmet saved my life". How can you be so sure?
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I can say with confidence that if I wasn't wearing one when I got knocked off (at very low speeds) that I'd have suffered from a head injury. Probably fairly minor - but I'd have ended up in hospital. I can distinctly remember smacking my head on the floor, twice.
 
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Eliot said:
I dunno I guess as much as 90?
ummmm head shape..
I don't even know.
Fairly round?
I quite like the look of these "aero" ones as they look quite un restrictive movement wise
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Giro, specialized, bell, kask, catlike, scott... pretty much any of the big names will be okay safety wise. Go to a shop and try them on, find something you like the look of that fits your head well and is fairly lightweight, definitely the best way of doing it.
 
Ugh. Bombed out of riding home and waiting for the train. My knee feels shot and in a way that feels like it'll be better to not ride on it.
 
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