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Faster than a Ferrari in a traffic jam...

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01 / Original postFaster than a Ferrari in a traffic jam...davek · 29 Jun 2005 02 / This pagePosts 1–15Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #15Chris Eilbeck · 30 Jun 2005

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UK and Europe
Published
29 June 2005
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30 June 2005
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davek
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  1. Original post
    davek
    Archived post
    #1

    Recently I have been trying to fit in doing the "long" commute as much
    as possible - this involves getting off the train at Bromley South
    instead of Victoria, upping the distance from about 6km to about 26km
    (17 miles?). I have a nice route worked out through south London's
    bumpy bits (via Crystal Palace Parade and Streatham Common), then up
    through Tooting Bec, across Wandsworth Bridge and up to Ken High
    Street.

    It normally takes me about 1hr 10-15 minutes and I've been determined
    to get that down to under an hour by the end of summer. Today I did it
    in under 59 minutes. Wooooo-hooooo! OK, so that's just riding speed,
    and factoring in stopping at traffic lights and negotiating the solid
    traffic through Streatham it came to about 1hr 3 mins, but I'm still
    dead chuffed.

    Even better is the thought that there is no way on earth you could do
    the same journey by car in that time. :-) I must have passed several
    hundred - if not several thousand - tin boxes en route, including the
    above-mentioned Ferrari. Now, I can understand (kind of) why you might
    want a Ferrari (if you had more money than sense) but I really can't
    imagine why you would want to drive it in London during rush hour.

    Passing all those cars would be funny except for the depressing sight
    of a thick yellow cloud hanging over London Town, which you get an
    otherwise superb view of from the top of Streatham Common. It's hard
    not to see the connection between the smog and the traffic and be
    thoroughly depressed by it.

    Ho hum!

    d.

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  2. Tony Raven
    Archived post
    #2
    davek said:


    Even better is the thought that there is no way on earth you could do
    the same journey by car in that time. :-) I must have passed several
    hundred - if not several thousand - tin boxes en route, including the
    above-mentioned Ferrari. Now, I can understand (kind of) why you might
    want a Ferrari (if you had more money than sense) but I really can't
    imagine why you would want to drive it in London during rush hour.

    Last year I burnt off a Lamborghini, round Marble Arch, on my Brompton.

    Smug didn't describe it.

    --
    Tony

    "I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
    Anon

    Report
  3. LSMike
    Archived post
    #3

    "davek" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    <snip excellent commute report>

    Quoted message said:

    Ho hum!

    d.

    It's great, isn't it? I cycle something similar to you, from Beckenham to
    Hyde Park. Last week I had a great ride, 30kms, to the A406/A10 junction,
    took me an hour and 15 minutes, yet my friend took 2 hours 30 minutes
    driving on very nearly the same route. Smugness!!!!!

    Report
  4. davek
    Archived post
    #4
    Tony Raven said:

    Last year I burnt off a Lamborghini, round Marble Arch, on my Brompton.

    A couple of months ago, heading east along Knightsbridge, I was nearly
    caused to fall off my bike by the noise of a Ferrari (not sure what
    model) driver flooring it away from the lights (silencers? what
    silencers?). Naturally, I caught him and passed him at the next queue
    of tin boxes, about 30 yards down the road, looking in at the driver's
    window and shaking my head ruefully as I did.

    ISTR the day before I had a similar experience with a Lotus Elise.

    Sometimes you really do have to wonder what is the point of these
    overpowered penis extensions. (NB the clue is in the question.)

    d.

    Report
  5. davek
    Archived post
    #5
    LSMike said:

    It's great, isn't it?

    If I go on the tube, I similarly expect to arrive at work dripping with
    sweat - but not being nearly so happy about it. :-)

    Quoted message said:

    I cycle something similar to you, from Beckenham to
    Hyde Park.

    Ah, interesting. What route do you do? Sth Circ via Clapham? I
    sometimes think about heading that way but haven't done so yet. Might I
    have seen you en route?

    And do you go via Crystal Palace? I love that upwards road from Penge
    up to Crystal Palace Parade - it's by no means a steep climb but a good
    workout.

    Last week I had a great ride, 30kms, to the A406/A10 junction,

    Quoted message said:

    took me an hour and 15 minutes, yet my friend took 2 hours 30 minutes
    driving on very nearly the same route. Smugness!!!!!

    Sounds like the basis for a feature in the Evening Standard...

    d.

    Report
  6. John Hearns
    Archived post
    #6
    davek said:
    LSMike said:


    Last week I had a great ride, 30kms, to the A406/A10 junction,

    Quoted message said:

    took me an hour and 15 minutes, yet my friend took 2 hours 30 minutes
    driving on very nearly the same route. Smugness!!!!!

    Sounds like the basis for a feature in the Evening Standard...

    Isn't there a regular challenge every year to get to Canary Wharf
    via tube, taxi or bicycle?

    Report
  7. LSMike
    Archived post
    #7

    "John Hearns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    davek said:
    LSMike said:


    Last week I had a great ride, 30kms, to the A406/A10 junction,

    Quoted message said:

    took me an hour and 15 minutes, yet my friend took 2 hours 30 minutes
    driving on very nearly the same route. Smugness!!!!!

    Sounds like the basis for a feature in the Evening Standard...

    Isn't there a regular challenge every year to get to Canary Wharf
    via tube, taxi or bicycle?

    I remember reading something about this recently, I'm sure you're right!

    Report
  8. LSMike
    Archived post
    #8

    "davek" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    LSMike said:

    I cycle something similar to you, from Beckenham to
    Hyde Park.

    Ah, interesting. What route do you do? Sth Circ via Clapham? I
    sometimes think about heading that way but haven't done so yet. Might I
    have seen you en route?

    Probably not, unfortunately. 🙂 I tend to take either:

    * A small section of cycle routes 21 and 22 via Catford and Peckham Rye Park
    up to the A202, then follow that across Vauxhall Bridge, and on up past
    Victoria to Hyde Park Corner.
    * A nice and more hilly route via Sydenham, Kirkdale Road, A205, Lordship
    Lane, Dog Kennel Hill, Denmark Hill and again onto the A202.

    I suppose I ought to do some more exploring, I'm sure there are other good
    routes to get to know.

    Quoted message said:

    And do you go via Crystal Palace? I love that upwards road from Penge
    up to Crystal Palace Parade - it's by no means a steep climb but a good
    workout.

    I like the hill too, it's a fun one to cycle up.

    Quoted message said:

    Last week I had a great ride, 30kms, to the A406/A10 junction,

    Quoted message said:

    took me an hour and 15 minutes, yet my friend took 2 hours 30 minutes
    driving on very nearly the same route. Smugness!!!!!

    Sounds like the basis for a feature in the Evening Standard...

    d.

    Report
  9. Chris Eilbeck
    Archived post
    #9
    Tony Raven said:

    Last year I burnt off a Lamborghini, round Marble Arch, on my Brompton.

    Smug didn't describe it.

    It was a lot of fun doing something similar to a chav in a kevmobile
    with all the wings and lights and [censored] on it in Worcester last
    weekend.

    Chris
    --
    Chris Eilbeck

    Report
  10. Tim Hall
    Archived post
    #10
    Chris Eilbeck said:
    Tony Raven said:

    Last year I burnt off a Lamborghini, round Marble Arch, on my Brompton.

    Smug didn't describe it.

    It was a lot of fun doing something similar to a chav in a kevmobile
    with all the wings and lights and [censored] on it in Worcester last
    weekend. ^^^^

    Is that a verb or a noun?

    Tim

    Report
  11. John Everett
    Archived post
    #11

    On 29 Jun 2005 01:15:06 -0700, "davek" <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:

    Passing all those cars would be funny except for the depressing sight
    of a thick yellow cloud hanging over London Town, which you get an
    otherwise superb view of from the top of Streatham Common. It's hard
    not to see the connection between the smog and the traffic and be
    thoroughly depressed by it.

    One of the advantages claimed for the automobile when it was first
    introduced over a hundred years ago was the lack of polution (horse
    droppings). ;-)

    jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

    Report
  12. Tony Raven
    Archived post
    #12
    John Everett said:


    One of the advantages claimed for the automobile when it was first
    introduced over a hundred years ago was the lack of polution (horse
    droppings). ;-)

    Which actually was a very serious problem in cities as were the bodies
    of dead horses. In the winter the roads were covered in a deep slurry
    and in summer it would dry out and horse [censored] dust would blow around
    causing respiratory problems.

    --
    Tony

    "I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
    Anon

    Report
  13. BIG_ONE
    Archived post
    #13

    On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 18:44:08 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:
    John Everett said:


    One of the advantages claimed for the automobile when it was first
    introduced over a hundred years ago was the lack of polution (horse
    droppings). ;-)

    Which actually was a very serious problem in cities as were the bodies
    of dead horses. In the winter the roads were covered in a deep slurry
    and in summer it would dry out and horse [censored] dust would blow around
    causing respiratory problems.

    but it did give the sparrows something to eat

    Report
  14. Tony Raven
    Archived post
    #14
    BIG_ONE said:

    On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 18:44:08 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:
    John Everett said:

    One of the advantages claimed for the automobile when it was first
    introduced over a hundred years ago was the lack of polution (horse
    droppings). ;-)

    Which actually was a very serious problem in cities as were the bodies
    of dead horses. In the winter the roads were covered in a deep slurry
    and in summer it would dry out and horse [censored] dust would blow around
    causing respiratory problems.

    but it did give the sparrows something to eat

    Read and enjoy
    http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/578.html

    --
    Tony

    "I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
    Anon

    Report
  15. Chris Eilbeck
    Archived post
    #15
    Tim Hall said:
    Chris Eilbeck said:
    Tony Raven said:

    Last year I burnt off a Lamborghini, round Marble Arch, on my Brompton.

    Smug didn't describe it.

    It was a lot of fun doing something similar to a chav in a kevmobile
    with all the wings and lights and [censored] on it in Worcester last
    weekend. ^^^^

    Is that a verb or a noun?

    The look on his face when he finally overtook me suggests it could
    have been a verb 😉

    Chris
    --
    Chris Eilbeck

    Report

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