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Huge numbers of people are just absolutely bone idle when it comes to locomotion: they really want to park their cars in their front room, then in their kid’s classroom, then by their desk, then in the shop at the weekend. They kid themselves that they are busy, but they’re even too lazy to calculate that they are literally wasting days each year sitting in traffic.
Their future is the Wall-E one, with pods moving them everywhere. They’re not going to alter their fat, lazy courses without being slapped out of it.
I think this is the nub of the problem. Although when I drive anywhere, I do find myself trying to “park by my desk”!
Perhaps cars can be fitted with some kind of immobiliser where if it is driven less than 5 miles, it switches off and can’t be moved for days?
All the police need to do is mount a camera on the side of a road going into city/town and record people using phones, record no Insurance, vehicle tax,mot etc. Stop them a few hundred yards down the road and issue points and fines.I see loads of folk who should be caught.
What happened to good old fashioned random police checks? I got pulled over in the US for being slightly over the speed limit; I wasn’t going to complain with 2 armed Georgia cops walking towards me. Scrutinised my Brit licence and told me my speeding points had expired (which was correct) and that I needed to get my licence updated. I’d have passed out if a UK cop had gone to that level of detail. Mind you, I did some time in Zimbabwe; you grin like a Cheshire cat when a bloke with an AK47 peers through your window!
Good old UK; don’t upset the motorists.
What happened to good old fashioned random checks? I think they went out the window when the government realised replacing coppers in cars with speed camers saved them loads of money on wages and petrol and buying cars, and brought in loads of money on fines. Because speed cameras save lives, right?
get a compact triple, 50/36/24, solves all your problems and you can keep the 11-25I’m not getting a triple. I mean, I’m not Peter Sagan cool, but I have some dignity.
Good grief! I borrowed a mate’s bike that had a triple whilst my bike was being fixed, and it was great! I used the front shifter much more than I would normally, and having that option to change 2-3 teeth’s worth up and down at the front was brilliant.
Technically, I’m not wrong – the BBC weatherforecast may have been, but i just read it. Reading your post it seems to me that you’re saying that it rained heavily the night before. Many cyclists brave rain all the time: myself included. Tell me about the 40mph winds on Sunday. [/quote]Sorry, but you’re wrong.Yeah I didn’t type that very well; it rained all Saturday afternoon, through the night and til about 1 pm on Sunday. It was also cold, I think real feel was 7 degrees. Yes, the winds were not as strong as the forecast, but the roads were awash. I walked to the local shops at 11 am and it was miserable; I was glad I hadn’t been standing in a pen for 30 minutes at 6 am, to then try and negotiate Sussex lanes with a lot of other cold and wet folks.
15mph winds and heavy rain showing on the BBC weatherforecast for tomorrow. Cancelled too early, in my opinion. Perhaps rolling road closures coupled with fewer riders might have been a better approach. I’m pretty sure that this is how the other sportives I’ve done (except for RideLondon) are done without any catasptrophesSorry, but you’re wrong. I live two miles off the south east corner of the route, and the rain through started about 4 pm on Saturday and went throughout the night. The roads were awash with water and there would have been wwind-blownw debris too. Spithandle Lane can be difficult for one or two cyclists, but trying to get hundreds down there at the same time? Never mind Ducnton Hill with a significant tail wind…
Vox populi – the company that organises this says it’s been cancelled because of the weather but I suspect they have succumbed to the amount of protest from local residents in the South Downs. The sun is shining and the forecast looks great. There are a lot of people very motivated to stop this with a lot of resources and a lot of QCs to represent them. The South Downs is where people live – horses, businesses, farmers, church-goers and a 140,000 people – all marooned in their houses while 30,000 cyclists treat the place like Disneyworld. The way the private company went about organising this event was a disgrace. No wonder opposition increased the more people heard about it. I very much doubt this velo will ever see the light of day again.I thought the organisers were CSM?
You are a gullible fool, you have been taken in by the lies and propaganda put out by one person and 3 or 4 mugs that joined in. “Marooned in your houses” – really?
It was 15,000 cyclists max too. So you can’t even get simple facts right.
Why not join in? Or why not get a chair out and enjoy the sights and sounds of people enjoying themselves, instead of being a negative, moaning misery guts. Your attitude and the handful of people opposing it are typical of why this country is going down the pan.
Heart definitely. Even down
Heart definitely. Even down to looks and colour scheme, because that is what will make you ride it. There are always cheaper alternatives.
And nothing wrong with that Giant either, a friend at work has one as his commuter. One man’s Focus is another man’s Giant…Quiet day at work so here are
Quiet day at work so here are some options –
1) https://www.strava.com/routes/15340831
93 km 1399 m of climbing
Starting with a climb to the highest point in Sussex, Blackdown, which is about Leith Hill level difficulty wise. Then it gets tough with BexleyHill soon after and then country roads to Bignor, a couple of real killers! Bexley is like a mini Barhatch, in that it is long and keeps building up to its steepest part at the top. Bignor is the opposite, the steep part is at the bottom but I make it harder than Barhatch and anything else south of London. After Bexley, you could avoid Midhurst and go east on the A272 for a couple of miles before turning off to pick up the route, but the 272 can be busy, depending on the time of day. Just before Bignor there’s a lovely road heading east past a lake. The approach road to Bignor is rough at first through a farm yard and you might think your road bike can’t take it, but the surface gets better (just enough) and as you go into the woods the climb starts, with about 300m around 25%. If you want to avoid Bignor, bear left and head towards Bury. Coldwaltham to Storrington is quiet and a nice stretch, a tiny back road gets you to Ashington (watch out for cars, there isn’t room for a bike and a car to pass on most of it) Steyning has plenty of shops and coffee places. The road to the airport is quiet, it may look like you can’t get through the airport but you can (I think they want motorists to not use it as a rat run) and the art deco airport building has a popular cafe/bar.
2) https://www.strava.com/routes/15341116
84 km 1100m of climbing
I thought this would be less hilly, but it’s only 200m. Skirting Blackdown, head east and then south, to Lurgashall which is a picture postcard English village, cricket and nice pub on the green. Watch the climb out of Lurgashall, it’s narrow and has a short descent into it so you can get there going fast. The road from there to Tillington is an absolute beaut, but probably better heading the other way. The Petworth and Fittleworth, there’s a narrow uphill section to Fittleworth which can get busy. You could shorten the route here and pick up the route above, but you’d miss a great cafe at Wisborough Green. So, head north towards Bedham and the easier climb over Horsebridge Hill. Take care on the descent, it’s narrow and twisty and often wet, so there can be leaves and gravel too. The cafe at Wisborough Green is on your right, run by a Maltese/Italian guy. You’re then on the route above as far as Steyning before going east, with the South downs on your right hand side for a couple of miles. Fulking has a great pub on a corner, and the one in Poynings is ok too. Then it’s up Devils Dyke past the golf course, but you have to take the right hand turn to the top to get one of the best views in the south east. Heading south you cross the A27 and then you are in the suburbs of Brighton heading for the coast.
If you want to go on to Ditchling, don’t head up Devil’s Dyke, but keeo going east to Pyecombe, then north over a busy hill and then at the bottom take the first right onto Underhill Lane, which is a lovely country road and pops you out at the bottom of Ditchling a couple of miles later. If you go that way, pick up the route of London to Brighton after, so you go to the end of the road after Ditchling, take a left then plummet down Coldean Lane and turn right onto the road into Brighton which has one of the best Cylce Paths I know.
I did this a few years ago as part of a longer cycle tour, whilst on my way to catch a ferry at Newhaven. My route went something like this: through Windsor Great Park to Virginia Water; over the M3; past the east side of Woking by the McLaren factory and into the Surrey Hills where I stopped overnight. The next day I cut west to join the Downs Link near Shamley Green, but as Duncann said above this is not suitable for road bikes as the surface is terrible. The Downs Link took me to the coast. The main road through Shoreham is not very pleasant, but there is a cycle path once you get to Hove.I hope that gives you another option, although to be honest even though the first part of this route as far as the Surrey Hills was enjoyable, if I did if again I would probably go further west and head down through Hindhead, Petworth & Arundel.
The Downslink has been improved in places in terms of surface, some of it is now ok on a road bike, with care. It is a bit boring though, it’s a disused railway line and in the cuttings you only have a restricted view forward, and not much either side. It has a great cycing cafe, Stan’s at Partridge Green, and if you had a mechanical on the route, there would be a steady stream of other cyclists passing by to help you.
If you get to Steyning you can go south on the Coombes road, a rolling quiet country road that a lot of local riders use, much better than the main road past the old cement works.
Once at Shoreham you can cross over the lock and there is a very quiet road next to the beach past the power station which would get you to the cycle path at Hove. I go this way when I want an easy start or finish to a ride, a good 10 miles of dead flat road.
I had a Fiat Multipla before
I had a Fiat Multipla before the current Octavia, and it was a fantastic car for a young family. The middle seat up front is set about 3 inches behind the other two so your shoulders overlap rather than go side by side. Brilliant interior design, very light and airy, double sun rooves, not big on the outside. I wish there was something similar available today. You could probably get 3 with your 5k budget but they would all have mega miles!
I’m looking for something to replace the Octavia, which has been a great car. It’s low to the ground though, so with four adults in it you have to be careful with speed bumps and ramps. I’m tempted by a Yeti, I think Skoda make an internal bike rack for it. Again not too big externally but clever on the inside.
As a flip side to the Yeti, I am also thinking of a Volkswagen CC. We drive to Italy and back every summer, so I want something good for 4 people to spend 2 whole days in a few weeks apart. I think it is slightly bigger on the inside than a Passat, although only really seats 4. Your tales of the complexity of the Passat are putting me off though.
The Mrs saw a new XC90 the other day and liked it, but they are too much, too big, and too complicated.
I live between Brighton and
I live between Brighton and Worthing, and my “patch” goes up as far as Haslemere, there are some lovely roads south and east of there. I don’t know beyond it though, but could plot a route for you from Haslemere to Brighton if you like?
Let me know how hilly you like it, and if you would mind going along the coast from Shoreham (for example) or I could route you over Devil’s Dyke or Ditchling if you want that classic end to the ride…
If you have an Evans Cycles
If you have an Evans Cycles near you, arrange a test ride or two. You could try a Cannondale Supersix and a Synapse, the race and sportive bikes from Cannondale to see how different they are. I’d also try a CAAD12 and maybe a CAADx to see all the differences.
I personally don’t think there are massive differences between the two styles, and I struggle to feel these small changes. I could just be an insensitive old lump, but does half a degree here and a couple of mm there make a dramatic change?
When I was looking for my new bike 3 years ago, I did a load of research and tried a load of bikes. I then looked at the actual riding I do; whilst we all would like to disappear for a day and ride 100 miles or more, or go bikepacking for a week, my actual rides were mainly 1-3 hours. So I went with a Giant Propel, a so-called aero bike. I don’t regret it, I still get moody if I don’t get out on it for a few days, and I spent 27 hours on it doing an Everesting, so comfort wasn’t that much of an issue.
[ I suggest that if you are averse to new ideas, development and change,I’m not, but this isn’t new or a development. It’s a backward step, if you read my original post you would see why I think that. This is the emperor’s new clothes, marketing people are dreaming this stuff up to try and get more sales.
The guy running the team with the 3T bikes doesn’t seem to think they are progress…and they have the resources and knowledge to adapt their bikes for whatever terrain they are on that day. Although I suspect a double would give them a lot more scope to deal with varied terrain…
David Arthur @davearthur
If you can’t manage a front and rear shifter should you be riding on the road?!
Yeah, more of this elitist nonsense. Nice one
I’ve spotted a gap in the market, going to start selling bikes with only one pedal. You know, less maintenance, less weight, easier to operate…
As Shimano are arguably the
As Shimano are arguably the no1 supplier of drive train kit, maybe they don’t need to pander to this new and fickle market?
I think half by is a niche market. And for me, a niche market is TT bikes and cx bikes. I have one road bike and one mountain bike, and I want them to have proper transmissions that can cope with whatever I throw at them. I want the road bike to climb steep hills at maybe less than 5 mph, and I want to be able to pedal it at over 40 mph. I would argue the case for a triple chainset with a nice close ratio cassette as being the best possible transmission, although I haven’t found a triple that has a wider range than available doubles. You use the front shifter for big changes and the rear one to fine tune the cadence you want.
I want my mountain bike to climb shitty muddy tree-root ridden flinty chalky trails in the South Downs at less than walking pace, and I want to be able to pedal it along roads between trails.
I just don’t get the claims of simplicity either. If you can’t manage a front and rear shifter should you be riding on the road?! It’s just marketing bollocks, in my opnion, another way to get people to part with their cash.
Now if I was a pro, and could ride a 54 tooth chainring on a TT bike, or if I was racing cx, maybe it makes a little more sense.
