Road Cycling Essentials

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[DOD]Asprilla;18929448 said:
I bet he gave you Leith Hill and Box Hill. If I was evil and was taking someone out in Surrey for the first time then that's where I would take them....
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I spoke to Sean today at Spinning Class and asked him. He sent me an e-mail this afternoon - hopefully this will make sense to you:

West humble (shallow side)

Box Hill

Coldharbour from Dorking

Leith Hill (from the bottom)

Whitedown
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Whitedown almost killed me, we tackled it 3 miles from home. I thought Box Hill was easy - not sure what the fuss was about? It reminded me of one of the famous climbs on the TdF, with the constant switchbacks :)
 
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platypus said:
First chaingang of the year tonight. Lovely evening for it too :D.
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From your location I assume this is in Cambridge. Is there a club you cycle with? I went on a few training rides last term with CUCC - it was my first time riding in a group and all the rides were chaingangs (I only found out that's the term just now when I Googled it!). Slightly put off by an incident with a pothole I didn't see. I'm returning on Saturday for my final term of computer science. Hopefully I'll get out on the bike more when my dissertation is handed in and it's just revision left.
 
The ride was with the Cambridge Triathlon club. We did 35 miles last night, nothing fancy but the idea was to get people new to drafting ready to the idea.

How does it compare to normal group riding? In my limited experience of the two, group riding seems to be more sociable. This is a coached session where Tim (coaches some gb athletes) tells us the aims, expected average speeds, drafting periods etc, how many leaderships you're expected to do (riding at the front taking the wind buffet :D), average distance to maintain from the cyclist in front - this is the part that takes some doing as you're usually ~2cm away from the bike in front/behind. And its fast.
 
Are there any good sites for long distance cycle planning? I'm planning on going from Bristol to Eastleigh (nr Southampton) for which I believe I'll need NR #4 to Bath, then NR #24. I'm having trouble however seeing what roads NR #24 actually uses. I'd quite like to be able to actually picture the route on Google Maps rather than using the Sustrans maps which are useless.
 
Apparently you can see my bum through my new shorts (Nalini FDJ 2010 shorts). Which is a shame because they're incredibly comfortable.

Lucky motorists I say anyway!
 
Anyone want a place on the Gran Fondo (200km) route for the Verenti Dragon ride on June 5th? My mate has decided he can't do it and so I can transfer his entry. Will cost you the original entry price of £32.
 
Russinating said:
Are there any good sites for long distance cycle planning? I'm planning on going from Bristol to Eastleigh (nr Southampton) for which I believe I'll need NR #4 to Bath, then NR #24. I'm having trouble however seeing what roads NR #24 actually uses. I'd quite like to be able to actually picture the route on Google Maps rather than using the Sustrans maps which are useless.
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I use a combination of Garmin Mapsource with various installed maps, Topofusion and Google Maps.
 
Well after only about 4 months of owning my Boardman Hybrid I have already paid for my new proper road bike. Have ordered a Cannondale CAAD8 Tiagra after being impressed with the lower spec Sora model. VERY EXCITED. :D
 
platypus said:
Apparently you can see my bum through my new shorts (Nalini FDJ 2010 shorts). Which is a shame because they're incredibly comfortable.

Lucky motorists I say anyway!
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FDJ is one of my favourite teams :)

I have the 2011 long sleeve jersey, and am going to buy the 2011 short sleeve one shortly. I always wear my team jerseys with either my Castelli Body Paint or Assos bibs though - white shorts are never a good idea ;)
 
[DOD]Asprilla;18946361 said:
Anyone want a place on the Gran Fondo (200km) route for the Verenti Dragon ride on June 5th? My mate has decided he can't do it and so I can transfer his entry. Will cost you the original entry price of £32.
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I'm tempted to say yes, but haven't ridden more than 60 miles in one sitting so far - that would be quite a step up in distance :(
 
platypus said:
...you're usually ~2cm away from the bike in front/behind. And its fast.
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I'd have a huge problem with this. I was riding behind my cousin as a teenager and my front wheel touched his rear, I was straight off and put a hole in my knee. Two weeks later, same thing happened again - the wound has never really healed properly.

I can't ride closer than 50 cm now, and even that is pushing it - no confidence :(
 
In celebration of completing the first draft of my dissertation yesterday (it's kept me off the bike for nearly two weeks!) I did 65 miles of riding in the Peak District today, total ascent 5,300 feet. I've gone further in a day before but never done that much climbing. Quite pleased :).
 
Velo Rapide said:
I can't ride closer than 50 cm now, and even that is pushing it - no confidence :(
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I didn't come off in the the pothole incident I mentioned above but the rear tube got a snakebite. Combined with an incident a few weeks before that where the guy behind me ran into my dérailleur and made a bit of a mess of it I've been put off too. On later rides people would tell me I needed to cycle closer but it just doesn't feel safe at all.
 
After lots of messing about, I've finally bought a tourer!

I went for something that I hadn't looked at before and took a risk because it seemed like a good second hand deal, and a good bike (very reputable in Germany and slowly making its way into the rest of the EU market) for the money. A VSF Fahrradmanufaktur T400. This bike:

Unloaded (as I have it now, but with bar-ends):

5620464116_fe168c1e2b_o.jpg


and Loaded (I don't have any of the stuff on here, but hopefully I will have something similar in a few months):

5620464022_6be8233dc4_o.jpg


I bought it for £650, after opting not to go for the lowrider as this is something I'd rather add myself at a later date if I decide to go for fully loaded touring. I'm glad that I got it for this price because the LHT I was looking at was £1k from my LBS, and that was without a rear rack... so I've easily saved £400 or so, which leaves me money to spend on the right components and additions to turn it into the perfect tourer!

I also had to sacrifice drops and bar-end shifters, but I'm not too bothered because I've not used drops before and they seem to give a more racy positioning. The flat bars are very comfy and the bar ends are a nice change in hand posture from time to time.

Spec sheet here for anyone interested, although I don't have a prop-stand and the pedals and saddle are different.

Code: 
Frame 	25 Cro-Mo 4 Double Butted	
Forks 	25 Cro-Mo 4	
Front Mech 	Deore LX	
Rear Mech 	Deore LX	
Shifters 	Deore LX Rapidfire	
Chainset 	Deore LX	
Sprocket 	CS HG 50, 11-32 teeth	
Chain 	Shimano HG 73	
Bottom Bracket 	Shimano BES30 Octalink	
Gear Ratio 	(Fr:Rr) 26/36/48 teeth : 11-32 teeth	
Handlebars 	"Moon" Bars, 15?	
Stem 	Alu adjustable	
Grips 	Herrmans Zep Laif	
Headset 	1 1/8 inch Cartridge	
Saddle 	Selle Royal RVL2001, unisex	
Seatpost 	Aluminium, Anodised	
Brakes 	Magura HS 11	
Brake Levers 	Magura HS 11	
Hub Front 	Shimano Hub Dynamo DH 3N71	
Hub Rear 	Deore FH-M 530	
Rims 	Rigida X-Star 19 Aluminium	
Spokes 	Stainless Steel 2,0	
Tyres 	City Contact, 54-599	
Mudguards 	Canyon plastic black	
Rack 	TUBUS "Cargo"	
Front Light 	Lumotec Fly Senso plus	
Back Light 	B&M Toplight XS with Standlicht	
Dynamo 	Shimano Hub Dynamo DH 3N71	
Pedals 	Aluminium, VP 195 A	
Propstand 	Pletscher Compact Alu

Collected it in London and had a fun 30 minute ride back to the station - it's a lovely bike. Shifts well, rides smoothly - my only gripe at the moment is the saddle because my arse is killing me. I might need to lower the seatpost though... but I'm most likely going to invest in a Brooks saddle.

So... to-do list:

- Brooks saddle?
- D-lock (I'm thinking one of the high-end Kryptonite locks)
- Panniers (Looking at Carradice Super C, but I'm not sure whether to go for the universal (front and back) or the rear panniers yet.
- Cycle computer.
- Odds and ends.
- SPD shoes (the pedals are flat/SPD so I can wear both)

I also need to probably sort out insurance, immobilise etc. But overall I'm pretty chuffed and looking forward to getting out and enjoying this spring weather! :D
 
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