Tell us about your new improved government regulations compliant cycle part II

Seth Brundle

I've a bell available if you want it.
Pink with (I think) Minnie Mouse on it (it's from my daughter's bike).

secman

Seth Brundle wrote: »

I've a bell available if you want it.
Pink with (I think) Minnie Mouse on it (it's from my daughter's bike).

Nah..think he wants a Mickey mouse one

Seth Brundle

I presume it wouldn't take much to change Minnie into Mickey!

Weepsie

I waited til it started to rain to go out typically. It was only light though. Loop of the park, thought about doing Mercian Pros taking every left, but ended up just doing a loop and then going back around the other way and a quick up and down the Kybher bit.

42 km at 23 kmph.

f1000

Dragged myself out of the house for 17km in around Dublin city centre in full casual gear on the road bike. My rear doesn't approve of that decision. Have not done any spins of length in such a long time. Will have to build up to that again

+ I was wearing winter walking boots on SPD-SL :P

Seth Brundle

Seth Brundle wrote: »

I've a bell available if you want it.
Pink with (I think) Minnie Mouse on it (it's from my daughter's bike).

Thanks for the offer, but I actually bought a Peppa bell for my two year old's balance bike a few weeks ago. Not a great look on the road bike.

Not sure I have the stomach for a bell on mine so I may have to give a few grannies a heart attack.

Wildly Boaring

Got out for an hour. Delightful to get away from the turbo.

Had a fella on an ebike behind me for a few mins. Quick yokes.

Chances a road that was a bit bumpy over the summer. It eh wasn't great

smacl

alentejo wrote: »

Where exactly is that? What route would you take?

Photo was taken from where the arrow is pointing in the map below. From the carpark, follow the wide gravel road uphill, left at the frogspawn pond near the top, follow the gravel road down and then left again (lovely descent). Sharp right uphill (and right again at the top to get to a short bit of single track). Most of the dotted sections are doable on a gravel bike this time of year but can get overgrown with gorse later.

Wildly Boaring

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Got out for an hour. Delightful to get away from the turbo.

Had a fella on an ebike behind me for a few mins. Quick yokes.

Chances a road that was a bit bumpy over the summer. It eh wasn't great

Where is that?, familiar but I can't put my finger on it.

fat bloke

Broke outta the shed today too. Traced a 13km lap within my boundaries and kept circling till I had 100k done! Still a cerebral brow-beating but nothing as bad as my previous 4km lap 100!

LollipopJimmy

I had to visit a site in West Dublin then another out Southside, 55kms all in. Making steady progress, I should be back to 30kph average 100km spins in no time

Large bottle small glass

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Got out for an hour. Delightful to get away from the turbo.

Had a fella on an ebike behind me for a few mins. Quick yokes.

Chances a road that was a bit bumpy over the summer. It eh wasn't great

They have a bit to go yet, 2 or 3 more rough winters and they should be perfect.:)

Crappy surfaces are avoided by cars and they tend to be slower traffic.

Wildly Boaring

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Where is that?, familiar but I can't put my finger on it.

This little road.
Was just trying to not retrace my steps

Wildly Boaring

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

This little road.
Was just trying to not retrace my steps

My god your pictures make that road look good !!!!!!! I was down it before Christmas and the whole time thinking "glad I'm not not on the Road bike"

I recall asking Eamon I think on here about is last year as I'd not been down it in years so had some expectations of what I was going to encounter.

magicbastarder

smacl wrote: »

Photo was taken from where the arrow is pointing in the map below.

picture not showing - going to the link says invalid attachment.

Wildly Boaring

[Deleted User] wrote: »

My god your pictures make that road look good !!!!!!! I was down it before Christmas and the whole time thinking "glad I'm not not on the Road bike"

I recall asking Eamon I think on here about is last year as I'd not been down it in years so had some expectations of what I was going to encounter.

I was on the road bike.
Had few little twitches getting around the holes. But nothing too bad. Killed my average speed though

CramCycle

Deleted User wrote: »

Anyone found a way to warn walkers who use the middle of the road that you are coming behind them?

If you have expensive wheels, just freewheel in good time. Otherwise, simply slow down and say "lovely morning", big smile and a wave. Does the job for most of it.

CramCycle

CramCycle wrote: »

If you have expensive wheels, just freewheel in good time. Otherwise, simply slow down and say "lovely morning", big smile and a wave. Does the job for most of it.

That's usually my approach for walkers in the middle of the road, and it does the trick most of the time, but was going into a head wind yesterday (nearly always the same in that spot) so nothing worked. Slowed to a crawl and when I passed whilst saying hello, two old ladies nearly had a heart attack! They were petrified. I may have to borrow the young fella's Peppa Pig bell. Never experienced it before as people have only started walking in the middle of the quiet roads in the pandemic. Have come across a few walking around blind corners on the wrong side of the road too. I think they are just not regular road walkers.

smacl

CramCycle wrote: »

If you have expensive wheels, just freewheel in good time. Otherwise, simply slow down and say "lovely morning", big smile and a wave. Does the job for most of it.

Similar enough on all the local Coilte tracks at the moment with walkers and dogs, just a matter of taking a more pedestrian pace in shared spaces. You get the workout on the climb and end up at ambling pace on the downhill. Its going to be this way until lockdown ends or the early mornings are bright enough to allow getting out before the masses. Nothing to be done other than get on with it and keep on smiling.

smacl

Deleted User wrote: »

That's usually my approach for walkers in the middle of the road, and it does the trick most of the time, but was going into a head wind yesterday (nearly always the same in that spot) so nothing worked. Slowed to a crawl and when I passed whilst saying hello, two old ladies nearly had a heart attack! They were petrified. I may have to borrow the young fella's Peppa Pig bell. Never experienced it before as people have only started walking in the middle of the quiet roads in the pandemic.

I've found on Stocking lane and Cruagh that you really have to expect walkers on the road on the far side of blind corners, slow right down and take them quite wide. Also plenty of people stepping out onto the road to avoid other pedestrians without looking behind them first. May just get that Peppa Pig bell myself too...

smacl

smacl wrote: »

I've found on Stocking lane and Cruagh that you really have to expect walkers on the road on the far side of blind corners, slow right down and take them quite wide. Also plenty of people stepping out onto the road to avoid other pedestrians without looking behind them first. May just get that Peppa Pig bell myself too...

Absolutely, it's been a learning curve. I'd say I'm a lot more rural and very quiet compared to most so coming across a walker on the wrong side of a blind corner is very unusual but it happened yesterday so I'll be ultra aware from now on.

D13exile

Ah motorists giving out about cyclists and now cyclists giving out about walkers. I guess its like the food chain . Before I had enough of the "keep within the 5km limit" (and following the event below) and started doing all my cycling indoors, I used to enjoy doing loops that included one particular stretch of road near me that was quiet, rarely seen a car on it and had a good surface with some nice fast bends to throw myself round (on the bike of course). As it was a slight downhill stretch too, I could really put the hammer down and do 40kph+ on it while practicing leaning into a fast bend and switching over to lean into an opposite bend. Until one day I'm literally flying round one bend (keeping out from the verge just in case there is a walker or two) only to come round the apex and find about 8 women, most of them with buggys and young kids in them literally forming a human chain the full width of the road. I had absolutely nowhere to go as they were stretched from one hedge to the other side of the road with no gaps. I yanked on the brakes (luckily I was in the drops and not on the tops of the bars which would have delayed me by a second or two and resulted in a crash) and stopped just in time and I mean within inches of a pram with a young child. Naturally everyone was shaken but then that quickly passed and I got the full tirade from said ladies about me "almost killing them". When I tried to politely point out that if I was a car that would have been moving much faster, there would have been fatalities as they were stretched across the full width of the road on the other side of a blind bend. This didn't cut any mustard with them and the phones came out and the "I'm calling the Guards" started. I said go ahead, as you were stretched the full width of the road and not keeping into the edge as they should have been. Then the verbals really ramped up and I wished them all a nice day and moved on with them still giving out in my wake. I dropped into my local Garda Station later as I know the Sargent through my job and explained what had happened (he's a cyclist too btw). He said we were all in the wrong and told me to dial back the speed or get a turbo and compete with him on Zwift . So that's one of the reasons I got my rollers (as I couldn't afford a direct drive turbo).

rushfan

Deleted User wrote: »

Was thinking that might be the only option. May have to take the plunge as there are so many walkers using the middle of the roads within my 5k.

Thanks a million.

The thing that really gets me is those walkers who, while walking in the same direction that I'm cycling, suddenly & without looking backwards, step off the footpaths so as to social distance from oncoming walkers.

a_squirrelman

D13exile wrote: »

Ah motorists giving out about cyclists and now cyclists giving out about walkers. I guess its like the food chain . Before I had enough of the "keep within the 5km limit" (and following the event below) and started doing all my cycling indoors, I used to enjoy doing loops that included one particular stretch of road near me that was quiet, rarely seen a car on it and had a good surface with some nice fast bends to throw myself round (on the bike of course). As it was a slight downhill stretch too, I could really put the hammer down and do 40kph+ on it while practicing leaning into a fast bend and switching over to lean into an opposite bend. Until one day I'm literally flying round one bend (keeping out from the verge just in case there is a walker or two) only to come round the apex and find about 8 women, most of them with buggys and young kids in them literally forming a human chain the full width of the road. I had absolutely nowhere to go as they were stretched from one hedge to the other side of the road with no gaps. I yanked on the brakes (luckily I was in the drops and not on the tops of the bars which would have delayed me by a second or two and resulted in a crash) and stopped just in time and I mean within inches of a pram with a young child. Naturally everyone was shaken but then that quickly passed and I got the full tirade from said ladies about me "almost killing them". When I tried to politely point out that if I was a car that would have been moving much faster, there would have been fatalities as they were stretched across the full width of the road on the other side of a blind bend. This didn't cut any mustard with them and the phones came out and the "I'm calling the Guards" started. I said go ahead, as you were stretched the full width of the road and not keeping into the edge as they should have been. Then the verbals really ramped up and I wished them all a nice day and moved on with them still giving out in my wake. I dropped into my local Garda Station later as I know the Sargent through my job and explained what had happened (he's a cyclist too btw). He said we were all in the wrong and told me to dial back the speed or get a turbo and compete with him on Zwift . So that's one of the reasons I got my rollers (as I couldn't afford a direct drive turbo).

:pac: But you weren't in the wrong.

Wildly Boaring

a_squirrelman wrote: »

:pac: But you weren't in the wrong.

We all have to use the roads with due care and attention.

a_squirrelman

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

We all have to use the roads with due care and attention.

Of course, but 8 abreast on a turn.

Seth Brundle

We're going off topic (again) but many years ago I was chatting with a rural client who had been found responsible for injuring someone (I think fatally) who whilst drunk was lying flat across a road just over the crest of a hill and he drove over them.

MojoMaker

That could be akin to the well-touted cycling equivalent of "3 abreast, Joe!!" :pac:

Seth Brundle

Seth Brundle wrote: »

We're going off topic (again) but many years ago I was chatting with a rural client who had been found responsible for injuring someone (I think fatally) who whilst drunk was lying flat across a road just over the crest of a hill and he drove over them.

I think I dragged this off topic with an innocent request about safely approaching pedestrians in the middle of the road.

D13exile

D13exile wrote: »

Ah motorists giving out about cyclists and now cyclists giving out about walkers. I guess its like the food chain . Before I had enough of the "keep within the 5km limit" (and following the event below) and started doing all my cycling indoors, I used to enjoy doing loops that included one particular stretch of road near me that was quiet, rarely seen a car on it and had a good surface with some nice fast bends to throw myself round (on the bike of course). As it was a slight downhill stretch too, I could really put the hammer down and do 40kph+ on it while practicing leaning into a fast bend and switching over to lean into an opposite bend. Until one day I'm literally flying round one bend (keeping out from the verge just in case there is a walker or two) only to come round the apex and find about 8 women, most of them with buggys and young kids in them literally forming a human chain the full width of the road. I had absolutely nowhere to go as they were stretched from one hedge to the other side of the road with no gaps. I yanked on the brakes (luckily I was in the drops and not on the tops of the bars which would have delayed me by a second or two and resulted in a crash) and stopped just in time and I mean within inches of a pram with a young child. Naturally everyone was shaken but then that quickly passed and I got the full tirade from said ladies about me "almost killing them". When I tried to politely point out that if I was a car that would have been moving much faster, there would have been fatalities as they were stretched across the full width of the road on the other side of a blind bend. This didn't cut any mustard with them and the phones came out and the "I'm calling the Guards" started. I said go ahead, as you were stretched the full width of the road and not keeping into the edge as they should have been. Then the verbals really ramped up and I wished them all a nice day and moved on with them still giving out in my wake. I dropped into my local Garda Station later as I know the Sargent through my job and explained what had happened (he's a cyclist too btw). He said we were all in the wrong and told me to dial back the speed or get a turbo and compete with him on Zwift . So that's one of the reasons I got my rollers (as I couldn't afford a direct drive turbo).

Rule one of the rules of the road doesn't apply to cycling no ?