Tell us about your cycle Yesterday.

feck sake lads

not back long for a 15 mile night ride would have done 30 miles only is lashed rain, still it was great to get a night ride in so different QUIET.;)
bike
Thorn Sherpa
lights/ dynamo front hub.
BnM lumotec plus cateye HL-EL 540 excellent
rear lights BnM top light and cateye excellent .
hi viz wrap around belt.

cython

hypersonic wrote: »

cycled 40k to enniscorthy today on the single speed, got home feeling fresh and invigorating. ah the sunshine!

Hope you didn't try Castle Hill on the single speed!

At least not without all of us around to see the results!

Haven't gotten out for any decent spins lately, best I've managed is a few commutes from Coolmine into Harcourt Street, which is between 13 and 15km each way (I take a different route home due to the mayhem that is the south quays). Quite a bit fresher this morning than some of them of late though!

aFlabbyPanda

BrianjG wrote: »

I did my first trip with the aero bars this morning and was up from 24.7 to 27.1 km/h avg over the same route. I need to adjust the setup though as I wasn't 100% comfy!

Well this morning was even worse, got soaked, and the bars shifted a little making the ride really hard and my forearms numb......:mad: need to put it back the way it was.

t'bear

43km last night, started out lovely but just over halfway round we started to hear the thunder, then a few drops of rain, so we hammered it up the N3 towards Dunshaughlin and stopped for a few mins under the bridge just before the village. It didnt look like it was going to ease up so rather than start shivering we wellied it the last 7km home, it was cool as it felt like the Giro going through mini floods on the road.

When I got home, I was greeted by two kids holding a big towel and an immersion full of hot water

bikermartin

Out this morning at 5.45 am. done 42 km. Wish the weather could always stay as good as this. it was 16 to 18 deg and dull at first. by 7 am the sun had started shining again. dont meet may cars on the road at that time nowdays. have not seen any early morning cyclists ......... come to think of it i dont think ive ever met another early morning cyclist. i think its the best time and it suits me at the moment anyways .

smacl

bikermartin wrote: »

i dont think ive ever met another early morning cyclist

I do the odd early spin these days setting out about 5:30am - 6am, usually up Cruagh road / Sallygap direction, getting back about 7-7:30. Usually see a few cyclists heading up the road as I'm coming home. Must do more, really enjoy them.

feck sake lads

yeah night rides and early morning are great dont do enough of them though.

Rew

Slid out on Stephens Green avoiding pedestrians crossing against the lights, really have to consider changing out the gator skins for something with grip in the wet...

quozl

Rew wrote: »

Slid out on Stephens Green avoiding pedestrians crossing against the lights, really have to consider changing out the gator skins for something with grip in the wet...

What is it about the gator skins that makes them poor in the wet? Is it the rubber compound?

They're pretty much tread-less IIRC (apart from the little gator skin patterns), and far as I understand it having no tread is good for wet weather grip.

So what makes a good wet weather grip tyre? Genuinely curious as a beginner cyclist.

Thargor

I thought Gatorskins were reccomended for winter training because they're good on wet?

Rew

When you first get them they feel more like plastic then rubber but mine are well worn in and feel more rubber like now. I've had a few slides, normally the rear kicking out a bit but this is the first time i've come off. I avoid road makings and manhole covers as I know ill slip on them.

It was very wet and it wasnt how I would normally take the corner. People get blinkers in the rain and do their own thing. One person asked me was I ok the others who I had fallen off going around just kept walking.

Darkglasses

Thargor wrote: »

I thought Gatorskins were reccomended for winter training because they're good on wet?

Not at all, they're notoriously bad in the wet. I suspect it's something to do with the quite hard rubber compound used, but someone will probably tell me I'm wrong there. I've been using them on my commuter and noticed immediately how much worse they were even compared to the cheap (noticeably softer compound) Kenda tyres that came with the wheels.

I'll try out Conti GP 4000s next, they seem to be the best compromise of puncture protection and grip.

quozl

Darkglasses wrote: »

I'll try out Conti GP 4000s next, they seem to be the best compromise of puncture protection and grip.

But only available in 23s and 25s that I can see. I want 28mm GP4000s!

Rew

In terms of punctures they have been great, I've only ever had problems when I don't keep them inflated to 100+ PSI. I've picked shards of glass out of them a few times.

rollingscone

I reccomend Bontrager Racelite Hardcase tyres for commuting - have some older Contis on the roadbike and have never had a problem on them but obviously the Commutourer is the bike that sees the widest range of weather.

Thargor

Maybe its placebo effect from thinking they were good in the wet then but Ive found them perfect since the day I got them, roundabouts and scary hills etc, Im only a beginner though so maybe they just dont meet the needs of people you see going round roundabouts faster than the cars. Not really bothered anyway I usually skip the evening cycle if its raining and go for a walk in waterproof gear instead and the day I put them on was the day I stopped getting punctures which is all that matters to me really, cant go back to the way I was dreading getting up in the morning and squeezing my tyres to see if I had yet another puncture.

Max_Charger

Bantry - Kenmare - Healy Pass - Adrigole - Glengariff - Bantry, 120km on my lonesome but the weather held off which I was thankful for. I've done the route before, fantastic route, however this time as I was coming up to the very top of the Healy, I could see a Bus stopped with a load of tourists all over the road. "Crap, i've no bell so will have to shout my way through them", or so I thought. As I got close someone shouted something, I think it was in German, and they just parted like the red sea, quickly followed by them starting to clap, cheer me on and a good few started taking photos, it was like being in the tour. It was bloody magic Smile on my face the whole way home after that.

A_Sober_Paddy

Just back...

From Limerick City, Shannon, Sixmilebridge, Clonlara, Ard na Crusha Limerick City...Around 49 km in 1 hr 40 mins Average speed 30km/hr

Part 1: http://app.strava.com/activities/69984206
Part 2: http://app.strava.com/activities/69998152

Was a good spin with a few little drags and some nice down hill's...Strava decided to act up so I've apparantly done two spins this evening

rollingscone

Actually had a pretty demoralising cycle today.
First I just had no legs and was averaging 22-24 instead of my usual 28-32 on my way out of the city.

Then two women cyclists overtook me (overtaking right turning traffic on the left and jumping a few red lights. poor form) they were obviously in a lot better shape than me but I managed to hang on until I accidentally cross chained on one of the early drags (after that little village on the way up Cruagh road).

After refitting my chain I struggled on up the hill, some guy sailed past me right before that house near the viewpoint, then I decided to keep going back down Killakee road. For some reason I just felt awkward and out of tune with the bike and after locking the brakes near the top I found myself having to work hard to keep my mind on the job on the way down: The road surface was very gritty too so even when controlling the bike properly I had a few mini skids and just didn't enjoy the experience at all.

On my way back through town a few RLJs overtook me at the lights (The old crossing when the perpendicular ped light is green) and while I took one of them farly easily, the other got the lights on his side and it took me until Harolds cross to catch him at which point road works and traffic consipred to keep me from overtaking before he turned off along the canal.

Morale dented

Thargor

Slowly extending my range every week now, did 25k today in a loop from Bray > Enniskerry > Powerscourt Waterfall and back to Bray, fun ride, some great downhill bits, some nightmare climbs aswell but the bike was great, I need to start making my rides interesting instead of just slogs around town with my eye on the odometer until its over, hoping to get from Bray up into the Sally Gap and back by the end of August.

Powerscourt is great by the way, need to go back in Winter when its in full flow:

robertxxx

Thargor wrote: »

Is that a halford's bike? If so is it any good? Looks very nice.

Thargor

Yeah its a Boardman Team Comp but a 2010 model, been my commuter for 2 years but I'm trying to get serious about cycling now so I recently had it fully serviced and added new Shimano 501s and Gatorskins, everything else on it was still perfect, I was saving my Bike2work credit for the 2014 bikes but Ill probably stick with the Boardman now to be honest, cant fault it, give it a clean and it still looks like it just came from the factory.

TinyExplosions

A nice 50k shakedown of the new bike from Dublin up to Drogheda via Naul -bike's great, but there are some short steep hill in North County Dublin I wasn't expecting!

delynet

First cycle over 300km. A group of us started in Ballyhaunis Co. Mayo and visited all 4 Provinces earlier. 323km averaging 29.8kph. 10.5 hours of peddling so all very tired

Wishbone Ash

delynet wrote: »

and visited all 4 Provinces earlier. 323km averaging 29.8kph

Until I saw your post I was pleased with my ride through 4 counties today!

(101kms with 1215 meters elevation in 3h 48m averaging 26.6kph - Limerick, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford).

feck sake lads

Wow mega respect one and all that was some cycling.:cool:

triggermortis

Rode into work yesterday evening in 39 degrees and somehow managed to still average 29.9Kmh for 15km. Thought I might melt on the way though. Finished work at 5am and rode home in 22 degrees! Summer in Switzerland !!
Also managed 30.1 Kmh average after a 12 hour shift so I'm pretty pleased with the way I'm going at the moment

A_Sober_Paddy

Took a spin out to Ennis and back this morning, may regret it come 3 o clock and I'm tired with still 3 hours to go in work:(

Also, whats the deal with tyre pressure...I pumped my lot up to their max of 10 bars, and it made for a very uncomfortable ride on some of the poorer roads(mainly from Ennis to Quin)...What is the ideal tyre pressure for irish roads?

Also was great to see so many people on the roads at 8 this morning, was really nice to see people out on their bikes...as i was over taking them:D

http://app.strava.com/activities/70358094

ford2600

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Took a spin out to Ennis and back this morning, may regret it come 3 o clock and I'm tired with still 3 hours to go in work:(

Also, whats the deal with tyre pressure...I pumped my lot up to their max of 10 bars, and it made for a very uncomfortable ride on some of the poorer roads(mainly from Ennis to Quin)...What is the ideal tyre pressure for irish roads?

Also was great to see so many people on the roads at 8 this morning, was really nice to see people out on their bikes...as i was over taking them:D

http://app.strava.com/activities/70358094

145psi? Are you sur you had 10 bar in.

I switched to 28mm from 23mm reduced pressure to 95/85 back/front. It helps on rough tar chip surfaces.

Run tires at minimum rated pressure and see how you go. Go too low and you'll get pinch flats.

145 is very high

RobFowl

Half way round tour of Meath :-)