A serious piece of hard won advice from me to you Dear Reader: If you come across Water Fowl of any description while pedalling along a towpath or river bank DO NOT under any circumstances try to get past them water side of them. Always ride between them and the bankside. If you do try to go between them and the water they'll panic and try and go through you to get to the safety of the canal, pond or river. All that will result in is maybe you coming off your bike and maybe going in the drink or injury to the bird. Neither of which is to be recommended unless you're deliberately going for Goose or Duck for Sunday Dinner.
Yesterday's pedal home was again without incident and I got back home in well under the hour and feeling in pretty good shape. Cock Hill was powered up out of the saddle and I got my second ever overtake in on the hill just before the Dingle Pub (or what's left of it). A bloke about my age on a MTB was victim number 2, bring 'em on!
As Redbikes was talking about his Bike test yesterday I thought I'd stick in a gratuitous photo of my Bike. A Kawasaki ZX 636. It's a summer toy that sits in my garage most of the year. I love it dearly but it might have to go to fund my ever increasing cycling addiction.
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Thats proper bike porn that - my wife would have that if we had the money and if I trusted her to ride something more powerful than me ;)
ReplyDeleteI used to have a Kawasaki ZX9 a 900cc sportsbike, bloody hell that was fast! Too fast for our roads I think. Allegedly some one with a similar name and similar bike to me did an indicated 174mph on an empty M6 very early (like 0530hrs) one sunny Sunday morning once. It was totally uneventful.
ReplyDelete21 overtakes, very impressive, sadly most of the time I only hear the breeze, and catch a glimpse of those anorexic racers, as they fly by me. I used to overtake a young chap about a year ago, he now passes me when I least expect it, it's almost like an ambush. I'm sure he must stalk my commute, waiting for his opportunity. My commuting speed varies quite a bit, with several variables taking their toll such as how I'm feeling (the vital one), weather conditions, particularly the strength of the headwind, and then, to a lesser extent, how much I'm carrying in my pannier bags. My bike is never going to be a speed machine, it's far too heavy, especially with me on it. But I just love cycling, and will endure the embarassment of overtakers.
ReplyDeletePeople overtaking me doesn't bother me at all mate, I'm fat, 46 and on a MTB. I don't expect to be flying past everything. But on the odd occasion I do like to be overtaking instead of being overtaken. Just pedalling is what counts as you say.
ReplyDeleteOoo, very nice. My motorcycle has been put on hold due to two very upset parents.
ReplyDeleteI was going to point out thats it's probably safer commuting on a motorbike than push bike then changed my mind before they paniced about that too.
You'd think they'd stop fussing at 30. - No chance!
I don't know what the stats are Red, but I think it's more dangerous on a motorbike. Just my opinion like, from having done both forms of commuting. I have no evidence to back this up with though. Mainly because of the speed of the motorbike.
ReplyDeleteI was cycling to work the other night there was a bloke on his bike and like you I am the one who normaly gets overtaken but this night I was reeling him in thought like u this would b great first overtaking victim guess what as I was within 30 yards he turned of gutted luv the pic of ure bike it looks a beast m8
ReplyDeleteYou'd have had him Les! ;-)
ReplyDeletei see one other cyclist on my commute about every 3 months!..i cant keep up with roadbike (motorbikes) and there model types!,i used to race enduro bikes in the 1990s scottish enduro championships and remember hitting a 93 mph recorded top speed on a forest road down at innerliethen at a british championship round on a honda XR600...deft the scariest speed ive done on a motorbike!,of course i never break the national speed limit on the roads (ahem..)
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