I can cycle 4.3 miles
in 16 minutes. That's a personal best.

I want to get it down to 15 mins, but I'm sure I'd have to break the law and/or stop smoking.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:31, 5 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

That is fast dude
I'm currently doing that in 20 minutes, and that's without traffic.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:33, Reply)

YOU NEED TO GIVE YOUR BIKE A NAME
IT MAKES IT FASTER *CRIES*
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:38, Reply)

Haha!
I'd forgotten about that!
I'm on a trail bike though, so slower and heavier than racers... and I'm not as fit and strong as you.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:39, Reply)

That is true.
I can do my shoulder exercises with my bike now. Straight arm shoulder-fly a bike. I would have laughed at you 4 months ago if you said I could do it.

I might record a traffic light breaking run a bit on in the summer, late at night or something.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:45, Reply)

whats your bike called?
this is true, i need a name for my road bike
( zulu eh?, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:03, Reply)

Shhhh
Spirit
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:04, Reply)

ha ha
not, seriously, whats your bike called?
( zulu eh?, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:07, Reply)

Wasn't She-Ra's horse called Spirit?
Before it got all jazzed up into Swift Wind, obviously
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:10, Reply)

it does sound like something a girl would call her pony

( zulu eh?, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:14, Reply)

Mike

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:05, Reply)

Try cycling up the hill next time.

( girlinthehole, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:34, Reply)

I'm pretty sure there isn't a law against cycling 4.3 miles in 15 mins, you know.

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:35, Reply)

I have a lot of traffic lights on
my route. I think I need to try it at midnight on a Sunday or something.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:40, Reply)

If it was flat
I suspect it wouldn't take me too much more than that. Especially if I had a road bike rather than a mountain bike.
(berk, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:40, Reply)

According to my GPS
there's about a 50ft climb in the whole thing!

Traffic lights are the killer.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:42, Reply)

road bikes make you massively gay, though.
There are papers in The Lancet on it and everything.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:45, Reply)

:'(
Has road bike, isn't a lycra lout.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:45, Reply)

it's only because I'm jealous, sweetie.
Even with skinny slicks on my Kona I'm much slower than the boys in power rangers underwear.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:48, Reply)

I am the worst road cyclist ever
I get all kinds of funny looks from them because I don't have clips, lycra, a helmet or dickend orange glasses. Yet I can still thrash 'em over London Bridge.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:53, Reply)

get spuds.
makes you 25% quicker instantly. Everything else is gay, granted. Apart from a helmet if you cycle in London. I got hit by way too many buses and taxis and twats in vans to consider that anything but essential.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:55, Reply)

Really?
I have savings, didn't really see the point of them, but now will consider it!
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:06, Reply)

seconded for spuds
make a big difference. you can pick up 520s for about 20quid which is well worth it
( zulu eh?, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:10, Reply)

True
Although I ride 636s because you can wear normal shoes with them if you pop round the corner for something. Plus they are RED.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:12, Reply)

So I'll need shoes
pedals and cleats right? Thinking about a pair of these www.tredz.co.uk/.Specialized-BG-Elite-Road-Cycling-Shoes_27434.htm
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:14, Reply)

yeah
although the cleats usually come with the pedals

your call but I'd consider a cross or MTB shoe rather than a road one so then the cleats don't protrude from the sole and you can walk in them.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:16, Reply)

Okey dokey
Thanks for the tip! Will go and try some on this weekend!
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:17, Reply)

you want soles with very little flex in them, though
the stiffer the better the power delivery. Sometimes MTB shoes are a bit bendy, so compare them with something like the ones you pictured.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:19, Reply)

means you can deliver power on the upstroke as well as the down
and at the risk of sounding like a massively bent hippy, they make you "one" with the bike.

spds are better than the road bike specific versions as the shoes have recessed cleats so you can walk normally in them. My Lake jobs just look like a pair of Merrells.

Just practise with them before you try them on the commute, eh? Failing to unclip and toppling over at a red light is top comedy, but only for everyone else.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:10, Reply)

I use spuds on my road bike
exactly for this reason. I can wear my shoes off the bike because of the recessed cleats. I am on my second set and have thankfully never toppled. I have seen someone else go over though, comedy gold. I very rarely need to unclip though. Most days I clip in when I start and clip out when I finish and thats it.
( Peej, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:18, Reply)

The first ride I ever did on spuds
(1994, yes I am that fucking old) I was riding narrow singletrack above a river, I stopped because the twat in front fell off on a tree stump and I couldn't unclip.

Toppled sideways and fell 5 feet down into the river, on my head, with the bike on top of me. Oh, how we laughed.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:21, Reply)

Ouch
that probably wouldn't have had the same comedy feel as watching my mate Patrick fall over at the lights.
( Peej, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:23, Reply)

A mate of mine used to complain how much harder it was to cycle on a mountain bike
I was utterly derisive of him and his puny legs until I borrowed a road bike...
On the plus side though, increased resistance and all that = sexy toned legs.
(berk, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:48, Reply)

Sexy toned legs aren't much good if you don't have anyone to lick them.

(Bazongaloid, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:50, Reply)

That just sounds weird
besides, I've sorted tennis boy out and he's behaving himself now.
(berk, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:54, Reply)

Oh well done.
What was his problem in the end and how did you whip him into shape?
(Bazongaloid, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:01, Reply)

Ever since I started riding to and from work each day my legs have become superbly muscled
however my torso is still scrawny to I look daft.
( Peej, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:54, Reply)

It's mainly the tyres and the weight.
My mountain bike only weighs 22 pounds and I have a second set of very, very light wheels with 1" slicks on them. The problem with road bikes is that they are massively uncomfortable compared to a mountain bike that fits you well, and road bikes aren't ideal for commuting. But they are quick.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:54, Reply)

Commuting is 90% of what I use my bike for
I'd rather have a bit of extra weight/resistance and it take a little longer than spend less time cycling but uncomfortable.
(berk, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:59, Reply)

I was only uncomfortable for the first week
There's really nothing to it now
( Peej, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:03, Reply)

so's being buggered by "Dutch Schteve", mate.
Doesn't make it good.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:06, Reply)

I totally agree that road bikes are massively gay
and I love my mountain bike and my bmx and ride them around town. I got the road bike because it was costing way too much to drive to work and I tried it on the mountain bike and it took forever. Then it was all downhill, I was wearing shirts and board shorts and the shirts were just disintegrating and the shorts at anything over 30mph where like riding wearing a kite so I got proper gear and look like a massive bender.
( Peej, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:13, Reply)

if you ever find yourself putting postcards in the spokes
its time to start counselling
( zulu eh?, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:19, Reply)

depends on the commute
mine is 15 miles of beautiful country lanes I even get to ride past this gorgeous lake every day. Its a bugger in the winter though, can't see a thing.
( Peej, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:02, Reply)

road bikes destroy my back.
They are also unusable on my commute (unpaved canal towpath) and the wheels have to be rebuilt every other week because of the roads up here. But it's totally horses for courses, I agree.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:07, Reply)

the drop bars on my road bike are a little low
i spend most of the time with my hands on the upper bit of the bar so think its flats for me... otherwise you're right, it just kills your back
( zulu eh?, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:11, Reply)

yeah, that's my point
if you're going to ride a road bike sitting upright .. you might as well ride a mountain bike.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:14, Reply)

i've set it up as a singlespeed hack, so for commuting its perfect
its a cyclecross bike so a little tougher than a normal road bike and it means i dont have to lock the expensive mountainbike up outside of the office...
( zulu eh?, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:17, Reply)

good call
I built a bike to commute in London out of a cheap kid's bike frame, handlebar for a seatpost to get the length right, singlespeed with a freewheel brake and spuds. Was genius. Until the seatpost/handlebar broke. Ow. And in the end someone STILL nicked it. Cunts will steal anything.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:24, Reply)

I have a car...with a radio and comfy seats and shit

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 9:54, Reply)

and a fuel bill and a big arse
no doubt ;)
( zulu eh?, Fri 8 Apr 2011, 10:18, Reply)