Atfer frustration in last year's Tour and near misses this year team Columbia propelled Mark Cavenish to the stage win. It was a classic sprint finish- all members of the team at the front of the peloton, dragging the breakaway back and launching Cav towards victory. It was a well-deserved win from a rider making his way up through the sprinterati, let's just hope he doesn't let it go to his head.
Team Columbia, ex High Road, ex T-Mobile. Shame we lost the sponsorship, otherwise today would be party time at work.
With three riders in the top 10, Bob Stapleton's prediction of a high performance team in January last year was just right.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
GO CAV! (Allex le Rosbif!)
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Armchair tour de France
ITV 4 is doing a good job with Tour de France coverage this year, and expanding into covering the Tours of Britain and Ireland in late summer/autumn. TDF coverage is the time-honoured 7pm-8pm highlights spot, combined with weekend live coverage. If you've got Sky or Virgin cable you can click through to live coverage using the red button.
Beyond race coverage, ITV are showing some cycling related material too. After the highlights program on the opening day they showed a documentary about a British competitor in the Race accross America, followed by The Science of Larnce Armstrong the other night and Chris Boardman's 'The Hour' coming an a week or so. A year's worth of normal terrestial TV cycling coverage in a month..
Monday, July 07, 2008
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Friday, July 04, 2008
The curve of courtesy
citycycling has a good piece this issue, writing about the differences in overtaking behaviour driven by traffic conditions/roadspeed and the blissful effect of dropping traffic volumes caused by school holidays, which are soon to be upon us.
In general, drivers lighten up a bit during summer holidays, giving cyclists and pedestrians a bit more space in urban areas, but put in the country lanes- or anywhere where traffic conditions are really light and there aren't many cyclists (some) drivers still drive like arseholes.
Read the article- and citycycling.
Back on the road
I'm two weeks into my return to cycling. My legs are tired and I've covered maybe 60-70 miles this week with bugger all weight loss- though there may be signs that muscles are slowly firming. Oh well, things are going to take time I expect now I'm past 40- the age at which returning to fitness and losing weight see to take longer than previosly experienced.
Riding's ok; country lanes around here are good to ride, but the hills- such as they are- have me reaching for the lowest gears, especially the steepish hill out of Wheathampstead and the little steep bastard at Waterend (where I got a rest fixing a puncture last week) have me reaching for the granny gear. Still, at least this week I've started using the big chainring on the flat, having forsworn it last week in an attempt not to cripple myself. More of the same next week, 10-15 miles on the way home in just under an hour at a nice slow pace, then starting to throw in a few lunchtime rides the week after. Sadly my heart rate monitor is still knackered so no stats as yet.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
iPhone in 'didn't fall apart' shocker
IPhone: iPhone Keeps Cyclists' Leg Skin From Becoming Part of the Street
Next, laptops as body armour.
Next, laptops as body armour.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Variations on a theme
The first from a comment on quickrelease.tv , the second from Sam's blog way way back. Melded together the'd work better. I'll get round to it sometime.
Ladies and gentleman, doing the commute of '08 : Ride a bicycle!
If I could offer you only one tip for the future; cycling would be it. The long term benefits of bikes have been proven by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering rides.I will dispense this advice now...
Enjoy the power and beauty of your bike
Oh, never mind.
You'll not understand the power and beauty of your bike until you've stopped riding it, but trust me, in twenty years you'll look back at photos of yourself you'll recall in a way you can't grasp now how much fitter and how fabulous you really looked.
You were faster than you remember.
Worry about the future.
Worry, but know that just worrying is about as effective as trying to solve climate change by driving a 4x4 in town.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind.The kind that side swipes you at 5:30 on the homebound commute.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless at traffic lights and junctions.
Don't put up with drivers who are reckless with you.
Grease.
Don't waste your time on traffic jams: sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.
The ride is long and in the end its only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive; forget the Congestion Charge.
When you succeed in doing this, tell EVERYONE.
Patch your old inner tubes, recycle your old tires.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what bike to ride, the most interesting people I know didn't know at 7am what they wanted to do with their commute. Some of the most interesting 40 year old's I know just get out and ride.
Take plenty to drink.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone – so don't ride singlespeed.
Maybe you'll race, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll go touring, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll ride off road at 45, maybe you'll ride a velodrome 'Taster' on your Stag Night.
Whatever you do don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either. Your safety is THE priority, so is everybody else's.
Enjoy your bike, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it.It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Turbo-train, even if you have nowhere to do it but your own living room.
Read the Sustrans directions, even if you don't follow them. Do not read cycling magazines, they will only make you go buy another bike.
Get to know your byways, you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your brakes,they're your best friend on the road, and the item most likely to save you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with practice they too could ride to work.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and cycling style.
The older you get the more you need gears and the lungs you had when you were young.
Ride in London once,but leave before it makes you hard. Ride in northern England once,but leave before it makes you live there.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise,tires will puncture.
You too will get old and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young bicycle were reasonable, tires never punctured and it never rained on long rides.
Respect old Hillclimbers, don't expect anyone else to tow you.
Maybe you'll have a road bike.Maybe you'll have a hybrid.But you never know when either one might need maintenance.Don't mess too much with gear indexing or when you are due a chain, you'll need rings as well.
Be careful whose lube you buy,but be patient with those who supply it.
LBS's are a form of nostalgia dispensing things from an Aladdin's Cave- wiping off the muck & fixing the tired components.Ebay just recycles them for more than they are worth.
But trust me - on the riding!
Sam's:
Ladies and gentlemen of the community of cyclists... wear lycra.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, lycra would be it. The long-term benefits of lycra have been proved by professional cyclists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about converting the drivers. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by ingesting a packet of Gu. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on your Tuesday commute.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Spin.
Don't be reckless with other people's bikes. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Lube.
Don't waste your time on stoplight sprints. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old PowerLinks. Throw away your old PowerBars.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know where you want to go on your ride. The most interesting people I know didn't know at two miles where they wanted to go on their rides. Some of the most interesting 40 mile rides I know still don't go anywhere.
Get plenty of carbohydrates. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll mountain bike, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have a fixed gear, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have to push a 39, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your your pedals like Lance Armstrong climbing L'Alpe D'Huez.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your bike. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument ever invented.
Pedal.
Even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the cue sheet, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read bicycling magazines. They will only give you upgrade fever.
Get to know your bike shops. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your mechanics. They're your best link to a smooth drivetrain and the people most likely to fix it when it starts to grind.
Understand that riders come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the better you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were a newbie.
Bike in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Bike in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Hills will rise. Pacelines will splinter.
You, too, will get tired. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were fresh, hills were reasonable, pacelines stayed intact and cyclists respected their drafts.
Respect your drafts.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a windless route. Maybe you'll have a friend willing to pull. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you take off your helmet it will look like you were a band member from the early 1980s.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the lycra
Ladies and gentleman, doing the commute of '08 : Ride a bicycle!
If I could offer you only one tip for the future; cycling would be it. The long term benefits of bikes have been proven by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering rides.I will dispense this advice now...
Enjoy the power and beauty of your bike
Oh, never mind.
You'll not understand the power and beauty of your bike until you've stopped riding it, but trust me, in twenty years you'll look back at photos of yourself you'll recall in a way you can't grasp now how much fitter and how fabulous you really looked.
You were faster than you remember.
Worry about the future.
Worry, but know that just worrying is about as effective as trying to solve climate change by driving a 4x4 in town.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind.The kind that side swipes you at 5:30 on the homebound commute.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless at traffic lights and junctions.
Don't put up with drivers who are reckless with you.
Grease.
Don't waste your time on traffic jams: sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.
The ride is long and in the end its only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive; forget the Congestion Charge.
When you succeed in doing this, tell EVERYONE.
Patch your old inner tubes, recycle your old tires.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what bike to ride, the most interesting people I know didn't know at 7am what they wanted to do with their commute. Some of the most interesting 40 year old's I know just get out and ride.
Take plenty to drink.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone – so don't ride singlespeed.
Maybe you'll race, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll go touring, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll ride off road at 45, maybe you'll ride a velodrome 'Taster' on your Stag Night.
Whatever you do don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either. Your safety is THE priority, so is everybody else's.
Enjoy your bike, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it.It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Turbo-train, even if you have nowhere to do it but your own living room.
Read the Sustrans directions, even if you don't follow them. Do not read cycling magazines, they will only make you go buy another bike.
Get to know your byways, you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your brakes,they're your best friend on the road, and the item most likely to save you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with practice they too could ride to work.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and cycling style.
The older you get the more you need gears and the lungs you had when you were young.
Ride in London once,but leave before it makes you hard. Ride in northern England once,but leave before it makes you live there.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise,tires will puncture.
You too will get old and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young bicycle were reasonable, tires never punctured and it never rained on long rides.
Respect old Hillclimbers, don't expect anyone else to tow you.
Maybe you'll have a road bike.Maybe you'll have a hybrid.But you never know when either one might need maintenance.Don't mess too much with gear indexing or when you are due a chain, you'll need rings as well.
Be careful whose lube you buy,but be patient with those who supply it.
LBS's are a form of nostalgia dispensing things from an Aladdin's Cave- wiping off the muck & fixing the tired components.Ebay just recycles them for more than they are worth.
But trust me - on the riding!
Sam's:
Ladies and gentlemen of the community of cyclists... wear lycra.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, lycra would be it. The long-term benefits of lycra have been proved by professional cyclists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about converting the drivers. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by ingesting a packet of Gu. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on your Tuesday commute.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Spin.
Don't be reckless with other people's bikes. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Lube.
Don't waste your time on stoplight sprints. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old PowerLinks. Throw away your old PowerBars.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know where you want to go on your ride. The most interesting people I know didn't know at two miles where they wanted to go on their rides. Some of the most interesting 40 mile rides I know still don't go anywhere.
Get plenty of carbohydrates. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll mountain bike, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have a fixed gear, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have to push a 39, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your your pedals like Lance Armstrong climbing L'Alpe D'Huez.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your bike. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument ever invented.
Pedal.
Even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the cue sheet, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read bicycling magazines. They will only give you upgrade fever.
Get to know your bike shops. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your mechanics. They're your best link to a smooth drivetrain and the people most likely to fix it when it starts to grind.
Understand that riders come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the better you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were a newbie.
Bike in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Bike in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Hills will rise. Pacelines will splinter.
You, too, will get tired. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were fresh, hills were reasonable, pacelines stayed intact and cyclists respected their drafts.
Respect your drafts.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a windless route. Maybe you'll have a friend willing to pull. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you take off your helmet it will look like you were a band member from the early 1980s.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the lycra
Thursday, June 05, 2008
This is why I haven't posted for a while
I had a stroke on January 19th. Nothing too radical-I have no mental or physical consquences- but it was a hell of a shock.
I'm now back at work, so no harm done in the long term.
Don't you just hate it when
Someone else does work that you got hauled off once you've made some useful pre-studies...
Mobile phones expose human habits
By Jonathan Fildes Science and technology reporter, BBC News
People's movements were not as random as predicted
The whereabouts of more than 100,000 mobile phone users have been tracked in an attempt to build a comprehensive picture of human movements.
BBC news story
"It would be wonderful if every [mobile] carrier could give universities access to their data because it's so rich," said Dr Marta Gonzalez of Northeastern University, Boston, US, and one of the authors of the paper.
From textually.org
Mobile phones expose human habits
By Jonathan Fildes Science and technology reporter, BBC News
People's movements were not as random as predicted
The whereabouts of more than 100,000 mobile phone users have been tracked in an attempt to build a comprehensive picture of human movements.
BBC news story
"It would be wonderful if every [mobile] carrier could give universities access to their data because it's so rich," said Dr Marta Gonzalez of Northeastern University, Boston, US, and one of the authors of the paper.
From textually.org
Thursday, January 03, 2008
The harvest.
Christmas brought with it once again about a cubic meter's worth of assorted childrens' toys, which all needed to be found a home somewhere in the already-bulging cupboards. This year the 'finding space' activity (think of it as a storage space defrag) included a foray into a previously-untouched cupboard, viz my odds and ends repository. Lurink therin was a very old digicam (750kilopixels, wow)which I picked up years ago. It's too old to be worth using, so I pulled it apart for Pat's collection of laser optics.
A very satisfying job, it's not often I get the chance for some wanton destruction..
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
One of the 7.5 million
If you live in the UK and missed this you must have been living in a remote cave on the Isle of Arran or something.
In a nutshell, the National Audit office needed some sample data to do a random audit of shild benefit, which is a state benefit to which all parents/guardians of under-16 year old children are entitled. Although all the NAO asked for was 100 name,national insurance number, child benefit number tuples. What they got was an extract the entire child benefit database showing the info they'd asked for along with address and bank account details. Actally, the NAO didn't get this because some staffer burnt the lot onto 2 discs and popped them in internal post, whereupon they were lost. But that's ok, isn't it, bacause the files were password protected. (But not encrypted)
I'm slightly less rantingly angry thatn I was a few days ago, but still...WTF is going on? What makes HMRC think internal post is a secure transport system? Why are HMRC moving data on disks. WHY WASN'T IT ENCRYPTED? Ultimately, why does a junior staffer dealing with this sort of data have access to a CD burner , or come to think of it the access rights to be able to copy this data onto aany removable media anyway? Doesn't someone have the common sense to install THE MOST OBVIOUS AND BASIC security measures? How many social engineering attacks are there on this patently shite security infrastructure?
It's inexcusable, and most likely criminal under the UK's data protection laws. Apologies are not enough- I want arrests and jail time for whoever's responsible for opening me, my wife and my children to identity theft either now or at some future stage.
And forget all about ID cards.
The Register has a good article on the debacle.
I'm going for a coffee to cool down.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Word of the day
There are transitions in every parent's life when a child does something for the first time. There were had two today: our son read his first few sentences, and then came out with a word which had me going back to first principles to work out its meaning.
Today's word is digraph: two letters which when written together make a single sound. He must have heard it from his teacher but his use of the word, in correct context and with explanation, just floored me.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The wonder of serendipity
Sometimes things just, well, work out.
Yesterday we were scrabbling around looking for material for capes for a children's superhero party this weekend. Our car wouldn'r start so Tracey couldn't get to the market and I wandered down to the Galleria to see if there was a shop selling material. Returning empty-handed, I walked through reception to discover that Sony Ericsson were handing out..capes as part of a promotional giveaway. 
Last night I was playing around with my new camera, experimenting with depth of field and high ISO black and white. Just a few minutes ago I got an email telling me I'd won 30 days of free coffee and pastries at our on-campus Starbuck concession.
Yes, I know it's just co-incidence, but it's nice.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Taking down the beanpoles and tidying up
There's no denying Autumn has arrived; most of the veg have finished so it was time to pull up dead plants, weed any tidy up ready for the winter. The veg beds are bare now, bar a few cabbages and some curly kale, all of which are going very well. (The kale is shaping up nicely for Calda Verde or Kale and Bean soup later in the year.)
With few exceptions it's been a disappointing summer for the vegetable experiment, both in the beds and the greenhouse. I'll blame it on the weather..
- Shallots 7/10. Grew well, not an incredible yield but they are tasty and very pungent- as I found out peeling some last night with streaming eyes. I'll grow more next year.
- Garlic 2/10. Poor yield, died back early. Planting in spring won't have helped. A possible for planting again in the next few weeks, there are already a few shoots coming up from bulbs I missed when harvesting them.
- Broad beans 5/10. Got off to a good start, minimal blackfly infestation once I'd nipped out the growing tips. The plants were battered by the rain at the end of May, then fell victim to some sort of rust-like infection. I'll plant again later in the Autumn at a slightly wider spacing and put in supports for next year.
- Runner beans 5/10. Not a huge crop, but OK- at least the poles stayed intact. When digging over the bed I noticed it was very dry where the means were growing, so they'll go in a different bed with more watering next year.
- French beans 2/10. Low yield and no-one in the family likes them enough for them to be worth the hassle next year.
- Courgette 3/10. Very disappointing, after being snowed under with fruit last year I'd expected a good yield, but many fruit rotted/mildewed at the tips before having time to develop. Need full sun for them next year.
- Lettuce 7/10. Good results- not show-winners but enough to make fresh salads. Need to pay more attention to sucessional planting next year.
- Carrot 5/10. Grew better than expected but were crowded out by other plants.
- Raspberry 8/10. Only a few fruits in the first season, but very tasty. I'll put in some more canes and better supports for next year.
- Peas 7/10. Reasonable yield and well liked by the family. Need to protect against pea moth and ensure sucessional planting next year- wider spacing would be a good idea.
- Cabbage/Kale 6/10. Looking good so far.
- Tomatoes. 3/10. Failed to control side shoots, resulting in lots of foliage but few fruit. What fruit there was tasted good. Need an earlier start next year, with fewer plants.
- Aubergines. 0/10. Abject failure- few flowers but no fruit. May try again next year but needs planting earlier.
- Chili 6/10. Produced fruit (still green)- no idea of the heat yet since they're still unharvested.
- Basil 4/10. Grew OK but nothing spectacular due to overcrowding from other plants. Needs more space and full sun next year, I think.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Last night's commute was great; a nice steady spin through the lanes, spotting the changing colour of the trees as Autumn entres stage left. The last bit of this particular route takes me home along what is locally known as the St Albans ringroad; it's not the most direct route from the lanes, just a little loop I add in to squeeze another mile or so into the ride.
Despite the name, the 'ring road' is not really that grand, just a set of normal streets which link to run round the north side of the city about two-thirds of the way out. Traffic can be busy, but it's not intimidating. Close to home there's a couple of mini roundabouts about 75 yards apart; at this stage in my commute I'm well warmed up, the road is flat to slightly downhill and I'm riding fairly quickly (about 18-20mph), maintaining a distance of about 4 feet from the kerb to set myself up to turn right at the second roundabout. My speed and the distance between the two roundabouts means that I'm not holding up the traffic to any real extent and traffic in the other direction usually prevents safe overtaking.
Anyway, last night I'm about 3 feet from the kerb approaching the first roundabout when a van starts to overtake (pretty stupid thing to do, but no problem, I have space to move into if needs be), then pulls in sharply to within 18" of me when it's half way past and almost up to the roundabout (big problem). I slap the side of the van, not hard, just enough to let the driver know I'm there, and shout 'give me room!'. The driver bakes, and I clear the roundabout ahead of him. This is red rag to a bull to the driver, who then sits on my back wheel tooting his horn and follows me as I turn, keeping up the agression and the horn. As we approach a parked car he's nearly parallel and it looks like he's going to box me in. I'm on a road bike, so hopping the
kerb isn't really an option and I stop before we get into a road duel which I'll only lose. Most of all, I don't want him to follow me home.
The usual enraged cager diatribe ensues; I tell him he was too close, he threatens to 'slap my face like I slapped his van' and follows up with the tired old 'you shouldn't be on the road, you don't pay road tax, don't have insurance, yadda, yadda yadda.' He's virtually foaming at the mouth, won't admit he pulled in on me at the roundabout, won't listen to me, so I just let him spew his bullshit and calm down a little before saying 'whatever' and riding off unfazed.
There's no solution to this sort of outburst which doesn't invite further agression, so there was no point in continuing the 'conversation'. In retrospect I'm slightly annoyed I forgot to pull my phone from my jersey poket and video the encounter to follow up with his employer, possibly "CV plumbing" or similar but I couldn't be sure- a plumbering/heating firm in any case.
This incodent isn't a big deal, I've commuted by bike for more than twenty years, I'm well used to this sort of thing and it doesn't happen often. What bothers me is the degree of ingorance and bigotry and the downright agression of a small minority of drivers.
We need a local road strategy which educates drivers about leaving adequate room for other road users, and infractructure design/signing to reinforce the message.
On the other side of the Atlantic, blogger Cycledog writes about simialar attitudes in the US and references analysis which refutes the 'freeloading cyclists don't pay for the roads' myth.
Despite the name, the 'ring road' is not really that grand, just a set of normal streets which link to run round the north side of the city about two-thirds of the way out. Traffic can be busy, but it's not intimidating. Close to home there's a couple of mini roundabouts about 75 yards apart; at this stage in my commute I'm well warmed up, the road is flat to slightly downhill and I'm riding fairly quickly (about 18-20mph), maintaining a distance of about 4 feet from the kerb to set myself up to turn right at the second roundabout. My speed and the distance between the two roundabouts means that I'm not holding up the traffic to any real extent and traffic in the other direction usually prevents safe overtaking.
Anyway, last night I'm about 3 feet from the kerb approaching the first roundabout when a van starts to overtake (pretty stupid thing to do, but no problem, I have space to move into if needs be), then pulls in sharply to within 18" of me when it's half way past and almost up to the roundabout (big problem). I slap the side of the van, not hard, just enough to let the driver know I'm there, and shout 'give me room!'. The driver bakes, and I clear the roundabout ahead of him. This is red rag to a bull to the driver, who then sits on my back wheel tooting his horn and follows me as I turn, keeping up the agression and the horn. As we approach a parked car he's nearly parallel and it looks like he's going to box me in. I'm on a road bike, so hopping the
kerb isn't really an option and I stop before we get into a road duel which I'll only lose. Most of all, I don't want him to follow me home.
The usual enraged cager diatribe ensues; I tell him he was too close, he threatens to 'slap my face like I slapped his van' and follows up with the tired old 'you shouldn't be on the road, you don't pay road tax, don't have insurance, yadda, yadda yadda.' He's virtually foaming at the mouth, won't admit he pulled in on me at the roundabout, won't listen to me, so I just let him spew his bullshit and calm down a little before saying 'whatever' and riding off unfazed.
There's no solution to this sort of outburst which doesn't invite further agression, so there was no point in continuing the 'conversation'. In retrospect I'm slightly annoyed I forgot to pull my phone from my jersey poket and video the encounter to follow up with his employer, possibly "CV plumbing" or similar but I couldn't be sure- a plumbering/heating firm in any case.
This incodent isn't a big deal, I've commuted by bike for more than twenty years, I'm well used to this sort of thing and it doesn't happen often. What bothers me is the degree of ingorance and bigotry and the downright agression of a small minority of drivers.
We need a local road strategy which educates drivers about leaving adequate room for other road users, and infractructure design/signing to reinforce the message.
On the other side of the Atlantic, blogger Cycledog writes about simialar attitudes in the US and references analysis which refutes the 'freeloading cyclists don't pay for the roads' myth.
Friday, September 14, 2007
and . . . . relax.
It's the end of my second week of higher intensity bike riding, and for the first time so far I'm feeling tired. Tired, but at least not aching; with a couple of 'red mist' exceptions, I've been targeting lower intensity, longer rides in low gear rather than mashing big gears. I still can't climb worth a damn, but that'll come once I've got better basic fitness and shed a few pounds.
The 'plan' (a very loose interpretation of the word) is to spend about a month more just getting miles in my legs before upping the intensity to the next level by working more on hill climbing. The daily commute is up to around 7 miles each way and I'm doing two or three lunchtime sessions of about 11-12 miles. It's not really enough for base training as none of the sessions are longer than 40 minutes, so I'll chuck a few hours a week on a turbo trainer into the mix in a couple of weeks' time.
Here's the stats for the first couple of weeks. Don't laugh, I'm starting from a very low base! Some of the data is a bit suspect since my HRM seems to randomly corrupt samples.
Week 1 week 2
Mileage 75.4 89.9
Rides 12 14
Calories 4135 4357
Av heart rate 147 147 (in the 'fat burning and re-energise glycogen' zone. Ha.)
Max heart rate 171 170 (approx 90% of estimated max)
av speed 15.9 16.7 (not my primary target but nice to see an increase)
The target for next week is 100 miles, which should be easily achievable if it doesn't rain too much.
Days until I'm 40: 23.
Age-related angst level: amber.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Tour of Britain returns, Cavendish wins prolog
The Tour of Britain is back, we have a Brit in yellow and a load of promising other British riders.
The Daily Peloton has an overview of the event, and raises a good question: the race is scheduled for the first week of school term, starts in a fairly inaccessible area of London and has no city centre crit finish. After the great sucess and huge crowds of the our de France earlier this year, can we really expect to see the same interest in our home event?
Lack of remaining holiday and a race route which finishes in Glasgow means I won't be able to watch it live this year. Typically, terrestrial broadcast TV coverage is meagre compared to the Tour de France, so I'm looking out for alternatives.
Off-road, Brits did well in the Mountain Bike World Championships, taking four medals in the downhill, including gold in the mens juniors.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Slave to the rhythm
40 approaches, and with it the customary angst payload. Baldness I can't cure, but I can (hopefully) regain some of the fitness I once had.
So, I've rediscovered my bike computer's zones feature, so my commute is punctuated by plaintive beeps as my computer snugly points out that either a. I'm slacking or b. I'm riding at an intensity which isn't optimal for burning my beer belly.
Spill, could be worse, at least I have on urge whatsoever to own a sports car-
Thursday, September 06, 2007
This is a photograph I did not take
of a group of mountain bikers crossing Nomansland Common the other evening, the car's headlights rendering their identical reflective jackets into a long dotted line as they ride west along the arrow-straight single-track lane, equally spaced with almost military efficiency. Unbunched, each rider in his/her own 10 yard bubble, they don't appear to be 'normal' cyclists.
With a tip of the hat to Unphotographable.
With a tip of the hat to Unphotographable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)