Progress so far...

June 30th 2009 - 22 stone 4Ibs. Current weight - 17 stone 1Ib. Weight loss - 5 stone 3Ibs. Commuting miles - 3389.
Non commuting miles - 359. Mileage this week - 101 miles. Total mileage - 3748 miles.


Wednesday 28 April 2010

Aren't cyclists selfish lawless idiots?

I have a saying that I live by and know to be true, "It doesn't matter where you go or what you do there's always one." In this case on my pedal home it was two. My pedal home last night was going really well, the stiff headwind was just giving me a better work out most of the other other road users were giving me the time and space I need to make progress. So I've pedalled from Smethwick, through Edgbaston, around Harbourne, past the QE Hospital and am now getting ready to do battle with the main Selly Oak/Bristol Road lights at the Sainsbury's Supermarket. No problems, I have a plan for this risky stretch, keep my pace high, take the central position in the inside lane then wait for a gap to move over to the middle lane to turn right onto the Bristol Road.

On this particular occasion I'm getting a lick on and about to ride through a pedestrian crossing (lights on green for the road users) and a bloke on a MTB just rides straight across in front of me making me brake hard then turns off the crossing and pedals his way serenely up the inside lane towards the junction! More of him later.

I then get to the junction with the lights on red (let in by a decent motorist) and while waiting at the front of the queue I see a student (looks like a student and it is Selly Oak) pedal up the inside lane to the lights, go through the red light left onto the Bristol Road and calmly carry on his merry way. At this point original MTB man has pedalled on the pavement all the way to the junction.

I'm looking around at the motorists and I can tell they're pissed off. And rightly so.

I just hope the footage comes out ok which is why I've gone into quite a lengthy description of the two incidents just in case it doesn't. They might be candidates for Joby's Fight Bad Driving website.

Incident 1:




Incident 2:







Otherwise the pedal was fine. Stats here:

Started: 27 Apr 2010 15:05:26
Ride Time: 44:05
Stopped Time: 1:33
Distance: 11.72 miles
Average: 13.63 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 39.69 miles/hr
Climb: 627 feet
Calories: 1025

This morning was an East Side 20 miler, which for me went ok legs and cardio vascular wise. I am really suffering with painful upper arms, my shoulders, biceps and triceps are pretty painful after about 20 minutes in to the ride. I think I'll start doing press ups and pull ups to strengthen them, maybe that will help. I don't suppose all the years of front row rugby can be helping my cause though.

But my bike didn't fair too well. Another broken spoke on my back wheel when I was pedalling through Hall Green. I heard it twang and when I got off the bike I saw another spoke hanging, broken in the same place right on the hub as the last one. I carry a bit of tape with me so I taped it to the adjacent spoke, opened my brake calipers to prevent rubbing and got to work without further incident.

Stats here:

Started: 28 Apr 2010 05:21:13
Ride Time: 1:11:18
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 20.60 miles
Average: 14.46 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 35.87 miles/hr
Climb: 269 feet
Calories: 1594

There'll be another visit to Northfield Cycles later today. I might be having something to say about this to Richard. I have gone all of my cycling life doing some pretty intense MTBing as an adult and long distance pedalling on road as a kid which was done on some pretty cheap kit back then without ever having broken a spoke. I spend just short of a grand for a half decent road bike and I get 2 broken spokes in 2 weeks. Something is not right and I'm not a happy bunny.

15 comments:

  1. Firstly, those crap pavement cyclists...tossers.

    Secondly, Spokes - As Im sure you remember I was fine on my hybrid for 700+ miles then the spokes were pinging all over the show, just goes to show things are not made to last anymore :(

    Thirdly, well done! 20 mile commute is nowt to be sniffed at :)

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  2. I've done if memory serves about 350 miles on the Giant. A bit pissed off. But I suppose the wheels are built by machine. My MTB bike wheels were all built by hand by blokes who knew their stuff. But by heck were they expensive!

    I can't afford hand built wheels for the Giant.

    Ta for the big up Matt!

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  3. The guy in the Local Bike Shop also took great joy in pointing out to me that my weight would not be helping the spoke situation, git.

    big up - no worries,

    "you da man"

    :)

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  4. I've had that, "frame flex due to your weight" off Neil, Richard's assistant. Different strokes for different folks, he might be 8st dripping wet but lets see him scrummage against an inbred mutant from Cornwall or an psychotic axe murderer from Staffordshire.

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  5. My personal favorite come-back when people "tease" me about my weight is "Carry on like that and I will sit on you" followed by a knowing nod. They soon stop and look a bit nervious!

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  6. Once one spoke goes the rest seem to follow. Sadly it might be time to get the wheel re-spoked.

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  7. That cyclist in the first video would have been punched to the ground by me. What a tosser.

    2nd one... Your head shake says it all.

    As for spokes - I know nothing about stuff like that - sorry.

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  8. That first tosser u shud given him a good kickin coz its wot he deserved.

    The second tosser deserves a kickin from a bus coz its wot he deserved.

    I am with you mate I wud be very pissed of as well spend all that money for that to keep happening, bet you got a Monday morning or late Friday afternoon wheel, maybe a replacement wheel is called for from them nice ppl at Giant at no charge. Good luck wiv that matey

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  9. Wish I could say North American bikers are better behaved in urban traffic, of course I can't. Similar incidents are all to frequent.

    Have you already written about your helmet camera rig? If not, I'd love to learn more about how you catch video like that.

    Shame about the spokes, I hope they set it right for you.

    Mike
    http://chesapeakesailor.blogspot.com

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  10. Hi Mike,

    Thanks for taking the trouble to comment.

    You can find brief mention of the rig and a piccy here - http://massivemtber.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-marin-east-peak-mtb.html

    Cheers

    Clive

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  11. Missed the videos this morning. I think I would have collided with that first cyclist. I would have just kept going and assumed (wrongly) he was going to stop.
    I love the way you're shaking your head in the second video.

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  12. NOB HEAD DAY
    Like you Clive i get them all in one go either in the car or on the bike.

    Nice ride and congrats on the mileage.

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  13. You definitely captured a couple of twats on video there!

    I was sitting at a red light yesterday when two lycra clad cyclists just rode straight through it. Wankers!

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  14. Hate red light jumpers they give us all a bad name really does my head in, as for the MTBer completely unaware what a c*&k

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  15. That first guy was ripe for a "left turn Clyde" kind of hand signal. How the heck you managed to not swear blue murder at him I dont know.

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