Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

goneriding wrote:

leximack wrote:i love Commute Cup racing.
I chase everythinga nd anything down.
Very satisfying passing a Pinarello or Colnago with full kitted rider with my cheap heavy Single Speed Flatbar with rack and Panniers .
Sometimes i get to work a tad tired and sweaty, but its worth it

+1. I can't help myself.

must force myself to take it easy this arvo...

relax.
rest
take it easy.


is that a rider up ahead?

hannos wrote:is that a rider up ahead?

it's a rabbit. Chase it:)

Quiet commute in both directions today Yesterday was better, caught a guy up with maybe 6ks to go home. Biggish hill up the side of Adelaide's famous expressway. Rode the hill with my new Mate

Gavin

goneriding wrote:

Burt 'Pigeon Racer' Jones wrote:So how fast are you?

I also avoid the LACC guys on Tues and Thurs mornings as they cannot be counted because they are training not commuting.

That training ride is part of my commute.

Disappointing lack of competitors in both directions today. I hope tomorrow is better.

betterthanwalking wrote:Disappointing lack of competitors in both directions today. I hope tomorrow is better.

+1. Although it will be Thursday for me.

Burt 'Pigeon Racer' Jones wrote:

goneriding wrote:

Burt 'Pigeon Racer' Jones wrote:So how fast are you?

I also avoid the LACC guys on Tues and Thurs mornings as they cannot be counted because they are training not commuting.

That training ride is part of my commute.

I got in Group 1 a while back. They move pretty damn quick. My computer showed a max speed of 68 kph along the back of ANZ stadium. Made for a great average lap!I am going to try and get on those rides regularly next year (maybe not Group 1).

Had a good challenge, and win, this morning. I passed a guy just after the short climb on Australia Ave proceeded to chase me down to the other end and along behind Acer and ANZ stadiums. Either I rode him off my wheel (my preferred option) or he gave up (probably reality).

goneriding wrote:

hannos wrote:is that a rider up ahead?

it's a rabbit. Chase it:)

Be vewy vewy qwiet - we're hunting wabbits!

I took part in the commuter cup challenge today. I noticed a guy sitting behind me for a while, so I started to crank it up a bit. I figured, hey, maybe I can be a rabbit just for once. I was sitting on around 28Kph, thinking to myself, "Hey, I'm going pretty quick!" He sat behind for a polite period of time, then tore past me like I was standing still. Pwned.

Max

Max wrote:I took part in the commuter cup challenge today. I noticed a guy sitting behind me for a while, so I started to crank it up a bit. I figured, hey, maybe I can be a rabbit just for once. I was sitting on around 28Kph, thinking to myself, "Hey, I'm going pretty quick!" He sat behind for a polite period of time, then tore past me like I was standing still. Pwned.

Max

It's devastating isn't it. Leading has never worked well for me. Having said that, I think I dropped a guy today

Max wrote:He sat behind for a polite period of time, then tore past me like I was standing still. Pwned.

if he was sitting behind you, he was probably saving his energy and sizing you up for a pass. one of the rules of commuter cup racing is - make it seem easy. never show any body english - keep your pedalling smooth, even when you're giving it 100% and always put in a big burst when you overtake, to discourage being drafted.

my favorite game is to hold a steady pace and see whether they can maintain theirs. as often as not, they can't, and i gradually catch up again. it's good fun to overtake them again - there's no hiding the fact they bit off a bit more than they could chew

I had a good one last week riding home. He passed me about 1km into my commute & took off. 4ks later he had dropped his speed & I was tailing him. He then made a RH turn though an amber light which I stopped at and I forgot about him. 20ks later on the Federation Trail guess who I was waiting at a red light with?! I recognised him and I think he would have done the same as I wear a distinctive hi-vis vest. I took off fastest from the lights and thought I was clearing away, but no he soon passed me going at a good clip. I was on his wheel for about 500m and he continued to up the ante. It got a bit too much for me and I lost 'contact' after a further 1.5ks. He continued to hammer it down the trail in the distance. I'll take credit for motivating him.

Yep, I attempt to play the game as well – although, riding a heavy homemade recumbent, and being on the wrong side of 55, I have to pick my targets... Downhill or on the flat I have a chance, but with even the hint of a hill and I’m nearly always the one who is humbled.

I was comprehensively blown away this week near the end of my commute at Sydney Olympic Park. Cruising along at around 30kph, I saw a bike turn onto the trail some distance behind. Slowed though a crowded section of PSP and he was on me. He sat there for a km or so until we came to a small rise where he blasted past and took off. The bike was high end carbon road, which is fair enough, but the rider was wearing jeans.

Passed a lady rider in full lycra heading down Kissing point road recently. I knew she would catch me on the climb out of Brown’s Waterhole, and sure enough, she came up behind me about half way up. I moved over saying, ‘you go through, you’ll be faster than me up the hill..’ She thanked me and said ‘Cool bike’ as she went past. By the time we got to Vimera Rd, she was still in sight. There was no option but to raise a full head of steam and give chase. Slowly reeled her in over the undulating terain and by the time we got to the lights I was nearly on her wheel. She noticed me and said, ‘well, you’re not that slow..’ Nicest thing anyone has said to me in a while

rdp_au wrote:Passed a lady rider in full lycra heading down Kissing point road recently. I knew she would catch me on the climb out of Brown’s Waterhole, and sure enough, she came up behind me about half way up. I moved over saying, ‘you go through, you’ll be faster than me up the hill..’ She thanked me and said ‘Cool bike’ as she went past. By the time we got to Vimera Rd, she was still in sight. There was no option but to raise a full head of steam and give chase. Slowly reeled her in over the undulating terain and by the time we got to the lights I was nearly on her wheel. She noticed me and said, ‘well, you’re not that slow..’ Nicest thing anyone has said to me in a while

Was she hot? Did you get her no?

There is one guy on my commute I see occasionally, on an MTB but he has some kind of powered rear wheel, it has a very large rear hub and the speed he carries does not appear to reflect the effort his applying. Other than that it looks like a standard hard tail MTB. The other day I'm on my way to work, along the straight flat stretch past the airport on my brand new TCR Advanced, enjoying the new found speed over my old MTB. There was little wind and I must been doing ~35kmh thinking yeah I'm flying this morning. Suddenly this guy on his MTB blows past me like a blur it seamed like he was doing double my speed!

....Cheater!

My workmate and I got involved in the commuter cup this afternoon. We left work and rode to the M7 cycleway getting on at Sunnyholt road and then enjoyed a ride to the bypass section at Qyakers hill. Rode a slight variation of the bypass and rejioned the M7 on the Quakers hill bridge over the M7 only to see a group of cyclists (3) on nice bikes (two road bikes and one Hub gear 700C commuter). After waiting to cross with the lights on the Quakers hill parkway and my mate removing his jacket (don't know why he put it on it was so nice) the chase was on (they had a four min. start).

Both of us were feeling good - there was alot of traffic on the M7 shared footpath but we eventually chased them down by Rooty hill railway bridge. They were not going very hard but it was a good chase. My mate let them know we were passing by ringing his little bell - his first time hunting rabbits. After we passed them we both realised that we had to ride back from where we came (to Quakers hill parkway) and not feeling like we wanted to be caught out just passing the group to turn around we decided to take the exit to the Blacktown Olympic site like that was our usual exit, wait at the top for a few min. and then ride back. The motivation to go at a fair clip had gone with the pass.

Neadless to say we got sprung - it was the group of three's usual exit we were busted waiting at the top of the off ramp puffing like steam trains (we don't usually go that far - Powers street is the usual turn around point - 5k's earlier). We see these three, on average, one out of two Thursdays when we both try to put a few extra k's in. The next time we see them I think it will be ON FOR REAL - THEY DIDN'T LOOK PLEASED TO SEE US!!

No rabbits out this week, just obstacles. Apparently the rabbits don't like the rain

I once followed a guy in Melb along the Yarra Trail. Not going that fast. At the top of each little incline he would speed up and do a double handed victory salute.

At the time I thought what a tosser, but now I understand him.

Still pretty funny to watch.

I must confess I'm guilty of racing on my commute, but I have an unfair advantage in that I've been commuting on my lowracer recumbent which gives me a huge aero advantage. I've even set it up with a trunk bag to eliminate the panniers which made a noticeable difference in top speed. It's not so much racing but how many other commuters can I catch and pass on my commute.

Second commute, first entry into the commuter cup. A guy pulled up a cross over next to me and was gamer than I was to cross infront of cars coming at 100km an hour (don't get me wrong he had plenty of time, i'm just really erring on the side of caution). Then there was another guy coming along the road we were merging onto, who I slipped infront of. I managed to drop that guy and set about chasing down the other guy. Its amazing what motivation it gives you cause all of a sudden I was averaging 35 down a highway I usually average 28 to 29 down. Managed to make my way past him and keep on pulling away But come the last three kms of my ride I was paying for it, but who cares, was a lot of fun

I did think about the two handed victory salute as per the above post, but figured given my skill i'd probably just fall off.

got blown away this morning. i have been fighting some kind of cold for the last week and this has led me to overestimate my Commuter Cup capabilities. started following a couple of guys this morning and thought "no problem" so went past. i noticed that going past was harder that it should have been and realised i was in trouble. then shortly after i had to downshift and i knew i was on the ropes. then the inevitable happened - one of the guys comes past me. there is no greater humiliation in Commuter Cup racing than to be re-overtaken by someone you thought you could take

I am about to get some more chances in the Cup as I start working back in the City next week. Looking forward to the Lilyfield hill and ANZAC Bridge challenges. Also looking forward to working Victoria Rd from Darling St into my commute. That is a great piece of downhill!

Ok Bunny wabbits, I'm a comin I am.... am leaving work and will be looking to see how many wabbits I can catch...

Caught a wabbit on the way in this morning, was in the process of smiling to myself and then what appeared like a jet plane tore past me.... not sure who or what it was but DAMN was he moving.... tried to catch him but alas not... good craic tryin though....

Happy Days are here again

Saw a guy in the distance on the M5. no idea what he/she was riding. I was sitting on about 42km/h and was just barely catching them.
I didn't get the opportunity to finish the job though as they pulled off at River Road and I kept on through to Belmore Road.

A shame really, would have beena good chase!