So close...

[Danny Colyer]

Every morning I make a note of the average speed shown by my computer
when I arrive at work. I no longer bother trying for a PB - it depends
far too much on luck since my commute has been slowed down by the
opening of the final section of the ring road 3 years ago and by the
lack of sleep since becoming a father 2 1/2 years ago. But I do
sometimes try for what I call a PBM.

At the beginning of each month I look back through my log and see what
the fastest average speed I've recorded for that month of the year was.
It means that even in the winter months I have a fair chance of
getting the psychological boost associated with recording a new best
time. My PBM for July is 16.3mph, recorded on 31/07/01.

Yesterday (Monday) morning I set out not feeling on top form, but when I
realised (from the relatively clear roads) that the school summer
holiday must have started I decided to ride hard. I was doing well, and
by the time I left the cyclepath I reckoned I was in with a chance of a
new PBM, despite 2 red lights and 2 other delays where I had to wait for
motorists before reaching the cyclepath.

Then, in the last 200 yards, I had 2 very significant delays caused by
cars on the narrow village road that my office is sited on. When I
pulled up at the office door, my computer showed an average speed of
15.9mph :-(

So this morning I set out for a PBM. I set specific speed targets for
specific parts of the ride. I had the usual motorist-associated delays
and the usual 2 red lights on the way to the cyclepath, but I thought I
could still make it.

For the first couple of miles along the cyclepath I didn't once drop
below 19mph, unless to negotiate an obstacle. For most of that distance
I was riding at 20mph, which meant holding back in places but it's not
really safe to go faster, even without kids walking to school.

On the one section of the cyclepath where the sight lines are good
enough to allow a bit more speed I maintained a speed above 24mph and I
hit 26mph.

I rode up the final hill (where I'm happy to get into double figures) at
12mph. No delays on that section today. I pulled up at the office
door, pressed the button on my computer and saw an average speed of
16.2mph. Bugger!

Oh well. I shan't try again tomorrow. I can't put in that sort of
effort 3 days running. And I'll be a whole year older tomorrow, that's
bound to slow me down a bit.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

 

[Kevin Stone]

>> the fastest average speed

How far to work?

--
Kev

 

[bob watkinson]

Good story. Made me smile. Thanks Danny


"Danny Colyer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Every morning I make a note of the average speed shown by my computer
> when I arrive at work. I no longer bother trying for a PB - it depends
> far too much on luck since my commute has been slowed down by the
> opening of the final section of the ring road 3 years ago and by the
> lack of sleep since becoming a father 2 1/2 years ago. But I do
> sometimes try for what I call a PBM.
>
> At the beginning of each month I look back through my log and see what
> the fastest average speed I've recorded for that month of the year was.
> It means that even in the winter months I have a fair chance of
> getting the psychological boost associated with recording a new best
> time. My PBM for July is 16.3mph, recorded on 31/07/01.
>
> Yesterday (Monday) morning I set out not feeling on top form, but when I
> realised (from the relatively clear roads) that the school summer
> holiday must have started I decided to ride hard. I was doing well, and
> by the time I left the cyclepath I reckoned I was in with a chance of a
> new PBM, despite 2 red lights and 2 other delays where I had to wait for
> motorists before reaching the cyclepath.
>
> Then, in the last 200 yards, I had 2 very significant delays caused by
> cars on the narrow village road that my office is sited on. When I
> pulled up at the office door, my computer showed an average speed of
> 15.9mph :-(
>
> So this morning I set out for a PBM. I set specific speed targets for
> specific parts of the ride. I had the usual motorist-associated delays
> and the usual 2 red lights on the way to the cyclepath, but I thought I
> could still make it.
>
> For the first couple of miles along the cyclepath I didn't once drop
> below 19mph, unless to negotiate an obstacle. For most of that distance
> I was riding at 20mph, which meant holding back in places but it's not
> really safe to go faster, even without kids walking to school.
>
> On the one section of the cyclepath where the sight lines are good
> enough to allow a bit more speed I maintained a speed above 24mph and I
> hit 26mph.
>
> I rode up the final hill (where I'm happy to get into double figures) at
> 12mph. No delays on that section today. I pulled up at the office
> door, pressed the button on my computer and saw an average speed of
> 16.2mph. Bugger!
>
> Oh well. I shan't try again tomorrow. I can't put in that sort of
> effort 3 days running. And I'll be a whole year older tomorrow, that's
> bound to slow me down a bit.
>
> --
> Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
> <URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
> "He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

 

[Danny Colyer]

Kevin Stone asked:
> How far to work?

5.39 miles.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

 

[Terry D]

Danny Colyer wrote:

<snip exceedingly good story about pb's>

> I rode up the final hill (where I'm happy to get into double figures) at
> 12mph. No delays on that section today. I pulled up at the office
> door, pressed the button on my computer and saw an average speed of
> 16.2mph. Bugger!
>
> Oh well. I shan't try again tomorrow. I can't put in that sort of
> effort 3 days running. And I'll be a whole year older tomorrow, that's
> bound to slow me down a bit.
>

I also like to make my journey more interesting by trying to do better
times occasionally. I find I get beaten by the wind more than anything.
I am astounded at the difference it can make having the wind almost -
but - not - quite at right angles to the direction of travel. A bit in
front and you can feel it, a bit behind and your average goes for a chop.

Should you wish to compare notes I tend to record my efforts in my
cycling diary on my website. Hopefully at the end of the year it will
show conclusive proof of the fact that it doesn't rain as often as we think.

And finally, on behalf of all of the readers of urc:

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy b'day dear Danny
Happy birthday to you.

--
Terry Duckmanton.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/terry.duckmanton
A website mostly dedicated to cycling

 

[Simon Proven]

Danny Colyer wrote:

> Kevin Stone asked:
>
>> How far to work?
>
>
> 5.39 miles.
>

Almost identical to my route to work (5.35 miles). Out of
interest, is your cycle computer auto-stopping when you
stop? My PB time is something like 19mins 10s which is
16.7mph. However, this is with the computer auto-stopping.
What's frustrating is that like you I spent most of the
ride at around 20mph but all the little delays really seem
to add up!

My best ever time over a distance is 19.1mph over 10 miles.

--
Simon

 

[Dave Larrington]

Danny Colyer wrote:

> Oh well. I shan't try again tomorrow. I can't put in that sort of
> effort 3 days running. And I'll be a whole year older tomorrow,
> that's bound to slow me down a bit.

Ooh, it's tomorrow now. Happy birthday, Danny!

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================

 

[Jon Senior]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> My best ever time over a distance is 19.1mph over 10 miles.

20.1mph (Auto-start) over 8 miles. Monday morning, good weather and a
new route that incorporated a part of the A1 on the return into town. I
never managed to get it that fast again, and soon changed the route.
Partly to make it longer, and partly because while fast, the A1 isn't
fun!

Jon

 

[Danny Colyer]

Terry D wrote:
> I find I get beaten by the wind more than anything.
> I am astounded at the difference it can make having the wind almost -
> but - not - quite at right angles to the direction of travel. A bit in
> front and you can feel it, a bit behind and your average goes for a chop.

The most exposed part of my ride is along an old railway embankment. On
a really good day I can get up to 28mph along there. On a windy day
I'll be doing well to reach 20mph. The prevailing wind comes from about
2 o'clock in the morning and 8 o'clock in the evening. It can make a
huge difference.

> Should you wish to compare notes I tend to record my efforts in my
> cycling diary on my website. Hopefully at the end of the year it will
> show conclusive proof of the fact that it doesn't rain as often as we
> think.

I like it. My own log is less detailed, but I *do* make a note of
weather conditions every morning (and in the evening if there's
precipitation). And if I've got an excuse for a poor performance I'll
make a note of that as well. Keeping a weather log has actually shown
me that it rains more often than I thought!

<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/z-hilo.txt>

The single character in brackets on each day represents which machine I
rode.
H = Helga (my Street Machine)
N = Nemesis (my old slicked-up ATB, now retired)
I = Iggy (the Giant Iguana that I took off the hands of a friend who was
throwing it out, now my emergency backup bike)
C = Cindy (my Coker 36" unicycle)
M = Mindy (my Muni)

The speed figure listed at the top of each month other than the current
month represents an average of my average speeds over the month, taking
into account only the days that I rode Helga.

The figures right at the bottom of the page (dated 2000) were taken when
Nemesis was my only bike. For a few months I recorded my highest and
lowest average speed each month.

> And finally, on behalf of all of the readers of urc:
>
> Happy birthday to you

Thank you, and the same to the other well wishers. Now I can go and
read the copy of "The Recumbent Bicycle" that DW bought me

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

 

[Danny Colyer]

Simon Proven wrote:
> Almost identical to my route to work (5.35 miles). Out of
> interest, is your cycle computer auto-stopping when you
> stop? My PB time is something like 19mins 10s which is
> 16.7mph. However, this is with the computer auto-stopping.

Yes, it should be auto-stopping. I don't know how long it carries on
recording after I stop. The manual implies only 2 seconds, but I'm not
so sure about that (it's a Cateye Astrale, BTW).

I can think of 9 places where I would have to stop for at least a few
seconds on a morning commute with relatively light traffic [1]. Often
I'll have to stop a few more times than that, when I'm unable to filter
past stationary traffic on a narrowish road with cars parked up one side.

> What's frustrating is that like you I spent most of the
> ride at around 20mph but all the little delays really seem
> to add up!

Yup.

> My best ever time over a distance is 19.1mph over 10 miles.

I've only really recorded times for my morning commute. The best I've
done on the Street Machine is 17.0mph. On my slicked-up ATB I once
managed 17.1mph, and on my Coker the best I've done is 10.2mph.


[1] Numbered stops:
1) The end of my drive, waiting for a gap to turn into the road.
2) The end of my road.
3) The end of the next road.
4) The first set of traffic lights.
5) Rejoining the A420 after passing under the ring road.
6) Waiting to turn right onto the cyclepath.
7) Dismounting to go through the cyclepath barrier at Victoria Road.
8) Waiting to cross Victoria Road after passing through said barrier.
9) Stop to remount after passing through the barrier on the other side
of Victoria Road.


--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

 

[Simon Proven]

Danny Colyer wrote:

>
> [1] Numbered stops:
> 1) The end of my drive, waiting for a gap to turn into the road.
> 2) The end of my road.
> 3) The end of the next road.
> 4) The first set of traffic lights.
> 5) Rejoining the A420 after passing under the ring road.
> 6) Waiting to turn right onto the cyclepath.
> 7) Dismounting to go through the cyclepath barrier at Victoria Road.
> 8) Waiting to cross Victoria Road after passing through said barrier.
> 9) Stop to remount after passing through the barrier on the other side
> of Victoria Road.
>
>

1) End of my road.
2) End of the next road.
3) Roundabout.
4) Crossing road to island at roundabout (roadside cyclepath).
5) Crossing to other side of road from island.
6) Crossing Ditton Lane.
7) Junction with road after crossing river on footbridge (sometimes
also a stop to give way to oncoming cyclist before and/or on the
bridge).
8) T junction
9) Mini roundabout.
10) T-junction.
11) Mini roundabout.
12) Narrow section of shared use path, sometimes have to stop. I
can't really do more than 10mph along here, and it's quite long.
13) Joining the road again at the business park.

Unfortunately, I will never be able to reach those heights again,
as they've introduced a 10mph limit and really nasty speed humps
in the business park. There were gaps one could cycle through
but drivers were driving along the pavement to avoid the speed
bumps and maintain 20mph. I kid you not! They've now placed
bollards between the humps and the kerb to prevent this, and
it also prevents cyclists bypassing the humps.

There is a cycle path however it's preferred by pedestrians to the
pavement, is littered with junctions to car parks. Only good for about
10mph. It also doesn't start until after the first speed hump, and is #
not aligned with the road where it starts so you have to go up a ramp
that is actually worse than the humps! It's disgraceful!

Simon

 

[Danny Colyer]

I wrote:
> I've only really recorded times for my morning commute. The best I've
> done on the Street Machine is 17.0mph.

Make that 17.2mph :-D

I had a relatively clear run to the cyclepath this morning, which makes
quite a difference.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine