Dr Ferrari's Camper Van (off-topic discussion)

Wishbone Ash

Did the rashers not make you very thirsty? I'd always avoid them before a cycle.

manafana

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Did the rashers not make you very thirsty? I'd always avoid them before a cycle.

ROK ON doesnt follow the rules. Nothing wrong with grilled meat either

loinnsigh

A man after my own heart. Looking forward to hearing what you eat tomorrow.

bcmf

detones wrote: »

Yeah took an age, used my Wife's razor, bit like using a flymo to cut the grass in the Phoenix Park. I'll tell people its to help road rash heal but to be honest i thought after a lot of training lately it would make my skinny legs end up with that cool toned and tanned pro cyclist look ........................it doesn't.

First hair removal of the year should always involve copiuos amounts of veet. Then decent razors for the rest of the time until it becomes time to war the longers again.

Squidgy Black

Had my first clipless incident today. I've been using SPDs for about a month now, and apart from one little wobble, no problems.

I was cycling home from work earlier, and at the end of clonliffe road where the flats are, there was a load of Gardai directing traffic, so I figured I'll just sit in behind this car turning left that's already way over the line, as if I went in front of him I'd be half way through the junction. So anyways, did the usual routine, unclipped the left foot and went to put it down, but the next thing I know I'm leaning over to the right and in front of a big line of traffic, and much to the amusement of a couple of lads walking to the pub after the match, I manage to reef my foot out of the pedal and stop myself falling, but I looked like an awful gob****e.

ROK ON

Raam wrote: »

Which do you prefer more, cycling or eating?

Not incompatible

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Did the rashers not make you very thirsty? I'd always avoid them before a cycle.

No. I have been weening myself off carbs. Cycling on protein is fine. (I accept thatthere maybe elements of carbs in suasage and pudding meat).

But no I didnt feel extraordinarily thirsty. Consumed four bidons of water during the cycle and at the finish I had a can of fanta lemon.

kerry4sam

If anyone gets any chance to instil confidence in cyclists more than you have been done to date, might I be so bauld as to urge you to do so whole-heartedly

When I started cycling I was in the midst of being bullied and harassed while volunteering (that's still on-going) and my confidence was so so low that when I would reach roundabouts I never felt confident enough to take my place in the traffic. That may sound surreal, but it was the truth.

Out cycling this evening I was actually proud at my own progress and how much my confidence was risen again & laugh at how I would avoid busy flows of traffic. When I started cycling I would end up taking routes and exits I had not planned on; had not wanted to be on; but only done so as I did not have the confidence to take my place on the road; put my hand out to take the exit I actually wanted; and progress where I should have.

If anyone finds themselves in any position where they can build confidence and belief in others; especially when cycling; I would encourage you to do so whole-heartedly

Many Thanks,
kerry4sam

Zyzz

kerry4sam wrote: »

If anyone gets any chance to instil confidence in cyclists more than you have been done to date, might I be so bauld as to urge you to do so whole-heartedly

When I started cycling I was in the midst of being bullied and harassed while volunteering (that's still on-going) and my confidence was so so low that when I would reach roundabouts I never felt confident enough to take my place in the traffic. That may sound surreal, but it was the truth.

Out cycling this evening I was actually proud at my own progress and how much my confidence was risen again & laugh at how I would avoid busy flows of traffic. When I started cycling I would end up taking routes and exits I had not planned on; had not wanted to be on; but only done so as I did not have the confidence to take my place on the road; put my hand out to take the exit I actually wanted; and progress where I should have.

If anyone finds themselves in any position where they can build confidence and belief in others; especially when cycling; I would encourage you to do so whole-heartedly

Many Thanks,
kerry4sam

doozerie

I put a brand new rear wheel on my bike last night. Nothing gets past my Garmin though, it knew, I don't know how, and it's kinda creepy that it did, but it knew. So it spent the first kilometre of my ride today having an apparent hissy fit, refusing to display sensible figures for anything until it overly dramatically and proudly announced "wheel circumference calculated" and settled down to business as usual.

So it was all grand until I got home, to find that while my Cateye speedo said I had done 87km , my Garmin said I'd done 68km. I presumed the Garmin had nodded off for part of the route, but the route profile on Strava appears to be missing nothing - also but both devices showed an actual moving/ride time of 3h15m. I then assumed that the Garmin had calculated some bizzarely large wheel circumference and therefore calculated the distance incorrectly, but the Garmin has a figure of 2112mm while my Cateye has a figure of 2092mm - those figures seems close enough not to be the cause of the discrepancy.

So how can two devices have a measured distance difference of over 20% while all other measures are comparable? Is my Garmin, in fact, possessed of the devil?

Bunnyhopper

Eating or cycling?

ROK ON wrote: »

Not incompatible

It's about running, but I feel a lot of it could apply to cycling

rollingscone

Definition of over-excited:

- Yesterday after one of her ultra sporadic cycling lessons, Mrs Rollingscone asked how much it would cost to buy her a bike.

- This morning, I found myself looking at the Giant Avail 1 thinking that it was fine to have a Tiagra cassette once she had 105 shifters and derailleurs...

Coming down is difficult.

Wishbone Ash

rollingscone wrote: »

Mrs Rollingscone asked how much it would cost her to buy a bike

FYP - you had 'her' in the wrong place. Tell her she needs Dura Ace and then swap them over some day she's away. She won't notice.

buffalo

Long shot, but if anyone knows a David who cycles down Dorset St/Gardiner St on the morning commute, and witnessed a wee incident between myself and a purple mini-SUV this morning, can they send me a PM? He gave me his number as a witness, but I've missed a digit.

magicbastarder

helmet cams can cause greater division between cyclists and motorists, claims study:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/helmet-cams-for-cyclists-set-road-users-on-collision-course-8744982.html

Zyzz

Wait for it..

doozerie

magicbastarder wrote: »

helmet cams can cause greater division between cyclists and motorists, claims study:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/helmet-cams-for-cyclists-set-road-users-on-collision-course-8744982.html

I approached that article with a fairly open mind, hoping to learn something. An early paragraph was quite promising, suggesting that someone was looking at the topic from a proper scientific/neutral perspective:

Kah Chan, a behavioural expert at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, has argued in a new study that the cameras could be further antagonising the two groups.

Several paragraphs later, and this one had me scratching my head as to its relevance, but I put that down to poor journalism, the author stating a fact and seemingly inviting people to make assumptions around this fact and the topic of the article ("helmet cams antagonise drivers, and look, more cyclists have been killed this year - shocking, wha'?!"):

Last year 122 cyclists were killed on Britain's roads, up 14 per cent on the previous year.

And then you encounter these two paragraphs, which throw into doubt entirely the supposed impartiality and neutrality of the "behavioural expert":

Mr Chan said commuting cyclists in the UK should not set themselves apart in the way they appear and that they should view cycling as a way of getting about rather than a physical workout.

"It is not just the thing that Chris Froome does or Chris Froome-wanabes. You should ditch the Lycra and the shiny plastic clothing and just wear what you would normally wear to work. That is what people in Copenhagen do. It is a mode of transport not a sport," he said.

Another potentially mildly interesting study consigned to the rubbish bin then. Perhaps we need a behavioural expert to conduct a study into why lycra seems to bring out the ire of some people.

Kav0777

doozerie wrote: »

Another potentially mildly interesting study consigned to the rubbish bin then. Perhaps we need a behavioural expert to conduct a study into why lycra seems to bring out the ire of some people.

I always assume it's envy/insecurity, along the lines of : "I'd never look as good as that in something so form fitting..... I HATE YOU / I wish I felt as comfortable as you about my own body image ..... I HATE YOU"

Whereas in my head I'm thinking "Man, I feel fast, Do I look fast? I bet I look fast. I know, I should get new kit in hot pink so people will notice how fast I look... I'm Awesome.... what's my average speed ... 19 kmph ....oh........"

Squidgy Black

I agree with the article in the sense that in some ways, a few of the helmet cam wearers might go out of their way post-collision etc to start a fight with the driver just so they can get a few more views on youtube etc.

However, to say that they're trying to get into collisions that could lead to fatalities simply because they're wearing a camera to protect themselves in court/with the police in case of an accident, is rather absurd. It goes against the premise of them wearing the camera in the first place.

buffalo

doozerie wrote: »

just wear what you would normally wear to work.

What about people who work wearing hazmat suits - do they have to wear them on the bike? Do lifeguards have to cycle in their swimming togs?

smacl

buffalo wrote: »

What about people who work wearing hazmat suits - do they have to wear them on the bike? Do lifeguards have to cycle in their swimming togs?

Or even just a plain old suit with shirt & tie. Add Irish weather, and you may want to throw on some waterproofs, which in turn leads you to sweat like a pig, and arrive with that expensive cotton shirt stuck to you. Not to mention your sodden feet and muddied up leather shoes. Or the smell by about lunchtime as all that sweat matures.

It baffles me how the good people of Copenhagen and Amsterdam, who seem to be the poster boys for cycle commuting, manage to get by, cruising around in their designer woolies and corduroy slacks. While I wasn't a huge fan of the old lycra starting out cycling, it is supremely functional.

rollingscone

smacl wrote: »

Or even just a plain old suit with shirt & tie. Add Irish weather, and you may want to throw on some waterproofs, which in turn leads you to sweat like a pig, and arrive with that expensive cotton shirt stuck to you. Not to mention your sodden feet and muddied up leather shoes. Or the smell by about lunchtime as all that sweat matures.

It baffles me how the good people of Copenhagen and Amsterdam, who seem to be the poster boys for cycle commuting, manage to get by, cruising around in their designer woolies and corduroy slacks. While I wasn't a huge fan of the old lycra starting out cycling, it is supremely functional.

And short short miniskirts. You'll see a lot of ladies underwear in Copenhagen. Apparently it's not awkward for them. I however, being a traditionally bashful Irishman, found walking around with my eyes closed to be quite inconvenient.

Lepidoptera

"The observable net effect of the increased use of cameras is one of distrust between modes of transport. Why have traffic relationships deteriorated to the point that cyclists feel the need for cameras as a self-defence mechanism?"

This whole thing just seems rather...backwards. Also very biased, though I am trying to work out how much of that is from poor journalism and how much is from the behavioural expert. I'm hoping that the article is just presenting the study in a really terrible way. Surely a behavioural "expert" understands and would have some measures in place to account for the fact that correlation doesn't equal causation? Because according to the article, he appears to be saying that road deaths have increased and road relations have deteriorated, and there is increased use of cameras which present motorists in a negative lights; therefore, the increased use of cameras are causing this....which is either really poor science, really poor journalism, or both.

I would really like to know 1) How exactly is he determining that it is the cameras which are causing this "observable net effect"?

2) How does that weigh up against the benefits of cameras in instances of crashes or abuse or in situations where the evidence of the cameras has allowed for either the cyclist to defend/protect himself or serve as a witness, or where it facilitated positive change or brought about greater awareness of a cyclist's right to use the road?

3) If he is studying the observable net effect of how negative media presentations worsen relations between cyclists and motorists, wouldn't a better and far bigger and more obvious target for this be such things as newspaper articles - like this one - and other such "authority" source media that then filters down and/or reflects/stirs up popular opinion of the week? There's a lot more meat there.

Zyzz

The day I lose my KOM in the phoenix park is the day I quit Strava.

Heard it here first. :pac:

Wishbone Ash

Amiens street closed by Gardai this morning.

rollingscone

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Amiens street closed by Gardai this morning.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/man-crashes-car-outside-garda-station-after-being-shot-1.1486705

buffalo

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Amiens street closed by Gardai this morning.

Aye - the entirety of Gardiner Street from the Custom House back to Dorset St was bumper to bumper. No chances to overtake the slower cyclists.

rollingscone wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/man-crashes-car-outside-garda-station-after-being-shot-1.1486705

Mental - heard the headlines and the outline on the news, must have a closer read.

Jawgap

Too much power?

Happened on this morning's commute - the subsequent tumble was pretty 'interesting'

doozerie

Jawgap wrote: »

Too much power?

Happened on this morning's commute - the subsequent tumble was pretty 'interesting'

Your power to crank metal reliability ratio does seem a bit skewed. Hope you didn't incur any injuries, that's a nasty way to come off a bike.

Jawgap

Bit of road rash, torn shorts and what's looking like a Garmin-shaped bruise at the top of my abdomen!

It looks like a new chainset is required - that's going to sting even more:(

couerdelion

Zyzz wrote: »

The day I lose my KOM in the phoenix park is the day I quit Strava.

Heard it here first. :pac:

Which is your KOM?