Road Cycling Essentials

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First ride home in 5 weeks today, not looking forward to it!

Im not sure if anyone knows it but the Switchback climb up Quarrywood Hill in Marlow is going to be particularly tough!
 
Kimi said:
Haha I know only to well!

My main worry is the dark, even with lights imy vision is rubbish!
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worst combo is one of those "peeish" rains that cover your glasses in small water drops and literally kill your view + darkness + heavy traffic + filtering.. EVERY single sense in your body needs to be on high alert lol.
 
grudas said:
If I got fined for having no amber plastic on my pedals I'd be furious! my 520s don't even have that option lol.
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I brought amber reflective tape, and stuck a strip on the heel of my cycling shoes. I wasn't going to attach the reflectors either, but I've been pulled over by the police before for ridiculous reasons, so didn't want to give them an excuse.

On a side note, I noticed Strava now includes the Fitness and Freshness graphs for HRM users. Previously, it was only available for users that had power meter data. Don't really understand the fatigue/form numbers on the graphs, but they look pretty cool.
 
It also says you must have front and rear reflectors. Mine doesn't. Never has. So????

It would ridiculous for me to get a fine since I have 2 front lights (one steady "to see" and another flashing) and two flashing rear lights, plus when its dark I wear a fluoro jacket with reflectives on it. I find it hard to believe I would be fined on a technicality like that given all my other mitigations. But as said earlier, likeliness is that I wouldn't be seen as a target for the police.
 
grudas said:
worst combo is one of those "peeish" rains that cover your glasses in small water drops and literally kill your view + darkness + heavy traffic + filtering.. EVERY single sense in your body needs to be on high alert lol.
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Drizzle/mist/spray is the worst for visibility, 'real' rain just runs off!

physichull said:
It also says you must have front and rear reflectors. Mine doesn't. Never has. So????

It would ridiculous for me to get a fine since I have 2 front lights (one steady "to see" and another flashing) and two flashing rear lights, plus when its dark I wear a fluoro jacket with reflectives on it. I find it hard to believe I would be fined on a technicality like that given all my other mitigations. But as said earlier, likeliness is that I wouldn't be seen as a target for the police.
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I think that's partly it - cyclists who have gone to the effort to be seen by using lights/coats/reflectives and are obeying the road laws (stopping for reds is a great one they like to catch cyclists with, as lots don't). If they can see a cyclist 'in the wrong' they try and pin them with anything that'll stick to 'raise awareness'.

50% or more of the cyclists I regularly see on my commute do not wear helmets. :mad:
30% or more of the cyclists I regularly see do not have lights and are wearing dark clothing (ie no effot made to 'be seen'). :mad:
60% or more of the cyclists I regularly see do not stop for red lights. :mad:

The first two wind me up the most as it's as if they don't consider their own safety and will put a motorist through causing them a serious injury instead of taking their own steps towards being safe. No consideration. The last just gives me someone to chase/pass/shake my head at ;)
 
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An amateur UK tester by the name of Matt Bottrill is trying to get a bio passport together for a crack at it. He's a serious unit, came second to Alex dowsett in the 2013 national TT championships. He's past 40, but I reckon he could take it from Brandle....
 
Going back to the crackdown on cyclists with no lights thing, I've just read the comments on the road.cc article about it. It's full of people complaining that they'll never wear hi-vis clothing and why should they have to bother to make themselves seen?

I really don't understand some road cyclists. They're so militant about everything. I used to purely be a mountain biker and MTB magazines were constantly making references to how most 'roadies' have a stick up their backside. I can kind of see how that stereotype came about now that I'm into road cycling and have browsed forums other than this one. This thread is like an oasis of rational cyclists!
 
FishFluff said:
Going back to the crackdown on cyclists with no lights thing, I've just read the comments on the road.cc article about it. It's full of people complaining that they'll never wear hi-vis clothing and why should they have to bother to make themselves seen?

I really don't understand some road cyclists. They're so militant about everything. I used to purely be a mountain biker and MTB magazines were constantly making references to how most 'roadies' have a stick up their backside. I can kind of see how that stereotype came about now that I'm into road cycling and have browsed forums other than this one. This thread is like an oasis of rational cyclists!
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Stereotypes generally come from one group not really understanding the other and believing random complaints made by those that they do identify with. As such, I'm sure many road cyclists could tell you about the stereotypes of MTB'ers that we've heard.

That said, I agree that the idea of "why should I have to make myself seen?" is ridiculous. I don't bother with high-viz as in my opinion it is pointless. I do, however, have two front and back lights, which is soon to go to three due to my concerns about not being seen. Unfortunately, no matter how visible you make yourself, if you happen to have bad luck in terms of an idiot driver then you're going to get taken out. Having a front and back camera is the next step, sadly.
 
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FrenchTart said:
Stereotypes generally come from one group not really understanding the other and believing random complaints made by those that they do identify with. As such, I'm sure many road cyclists could tell you about the stereotypes of MTB'ers that we've heard.

That said, I agree that the idea of "why should I have to make myself seen?" is ridiculous. I don't bother with high-viz as in my opinion it is pointless. I d, however, have two front and back lights, which is soon to go to three due to my concerns about not being seen. Unfortunately, no matter how visible you make yourself, if you happen to have bad luck in terms of an idiot driver then you're going to get taken out. Having a front and back camera is the next step, sadly.
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Agree!
 
Very happy with my inaugural ride of the new bike http://www.strava.com/activities/213781050

I was not expecting the PB on Chinnor Hill, as soon as I got going on it I realised the road bikes low gear was not as low as my hybrid and I felt sooo slow. Well, I was slow...but not as slow as I usually am!

Hopefully my front torch arrives like it should today otherwise I will have to phone in a pick up, the original torch I got just is not powerful enough for the unlit country roads.
 
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