I think I kind of already do that! Most of my weekday training is done on my chinese carbon cx commuter (8.75kg) with a backpack full of rubbish 4/5kg (laptop/lock/note pad etc) – usually laps around Richmond or Regents park followed by a start/stop/dodge all the way back to Ealing.

I know what you’re saying about bikes. My only high speed experience with others, bar accidental group riding in Regents, is this: https://www.strava.com/activities/708327207 which I did on my chinese cx bike. I didn’t have any issues keeping up with people on some fancy looking bikes but it was only a short ride.

matts – Member
True. I’ve given up training in Regent’s in the summer. It’s completely mental these days.

And you can get pretty far with a bike weighing 8Kg. My race bike weighs 7.7. The gains you can make in fitness at that level utterly dwarf the minor differences in bike performance by orders of magnitude.

Yep, there’s quite a lot of egos/fashion statements treating it as a race track. Quite annoying when you’re sat at the front of the lights and folk just come and sit in front of you…I’ve given up caring though, it’s much safer than trying to cycle on the shared paths around Hyde park or the bus lanes around Paddington/Shepards bush! Also no one bothers with the inner circle so that’s a nice retreat sometimes.

Yeah, I’m thinking this bike will be the final one for a while as there’s nothing more to improve really, not within the confines of my reality where deposit savings outweigh the need for dura ace ha! I really will know what my limitations are on it as I cannot blame the tool from then on 😆

bomberman – Member
Admit it, you’re not really serious about racing – you just want an excuse to splash the cash on “race level bling”

Move to Yorkshire lad and get up some hills, no point training on the flat.

Haha no I’m genuinely wanting to try it, like I said I got the buzz from just a closed road crit sportive (eisberg 2016 before the TOB). I’m imagining it to be become very addictive.

My folks live up near Rivington so I get some hills in occasionally. 😆

@david jey – 7.5kg is my target weight, I think it’s doable..

My lose math (green is actuals, and the cassette too but forgot to shade that), race is using carbon clinchers/better tyres:

@buckster yeah geo is how I narrowed down my choices, I did get sucked in a little by aero ness. The only colour I’m considering is black 🙂

@Sandwich I’m 27 at the moment, I’d be glad to be walking at that age let alone racing the way I’m decaying 😆

@matts I think my Richmond & Regent’s Park training will come into its own there!

Yeah admittedly that’s not a great picture of the 081..

Here’s a better one:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8653/28443445200_c8c24f5865_c.jpg%5B/img%5D

senor j – Member
And looks lovely .

Sure does!

It was a toss up between that WCB-R-066

and this WCB-R-081:
http://www.pedalroom.com/p/2016-workswell-wcb-r-081-28386_1.jpg%5B/img%5D

But the 066 has many more reviews non of which are negative.

Thanks @mtbtomo – will check that post out. I’ve been chatting to Kryton57 too.

I think my insurance covers accidental damage though, even when racing.

I’m about to pull the trigger on one of these:

and have an ultegra groupset with fulcrum quattros at the ready (maybe look at some farsports wheels at a later date too).

Even if it doesn’t ever see a race track – it’s a new bike. 😆

You’re talking about Richmond park here, if you’ve not cycled around it then it can be an insight! I’ve seen some very unpredictable behaviour.

1) Fast approaching someone who had moved to the left and was slowing down. I moved to the centre right when suddenly he stuck his right hand out slightly and immediately without looking tried to do a U turn. I had nowhere to go other than into him, we ended up in a tangle in the middle of the road. 🙄
2) Again approaching someone I was about 2/3 metres away when, and I still don’t know how he did it to this day, the guy just went over his handlebars and off onto the grass (narrowly missing those wooden stick things at the side of the road). 😯

To add to this there are also lots “weekend warriors” patrolling, who see it fit to barge their way past you in completely inappropriate places to get a decent lap time in at all costs! Also lots of cars which use the park as a shortcut and hate to be kept at 20mph unless there are deer anywhere near the road (within 100m) then 1mph is perfectly acceptable.

All good fun though!

Happy Birthday!

I cycle around Richmond Park a lot so I’m quite used to t*ts, particularly the ones that overtake on the wrong side of the roundabouts as you’re waiting your turn but hey ho.

I also don’t like people drafting me around there most of the time, I go there to not have to concentrate on things trying to kill me all the time ( like when outside the parks perimeter), not babysit someone who’s on my rear wheel. But brake testing is stupid, I normally power off or just slow down until they get bored and overtake.

Thanks for the HRV info!

The resting heart rate increase is in line with me feeling like crap. It’s also really apparent when out on the bike trying to do zone training. It used to be relatively easy to maintain a decent speed when in zone 2 (126-144). I cannot match this recently, not even close.

Spotted these earlier: iVUE Camera 8GB Crossfire 720P HD Action Camera Glasses Sport POV Video Recording DVR Eyewear (Black, 140° Wide Angle Lens) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CB25RCQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_o5l7xbG8Z71VZ

Oops yes, should have stated that 😳

Yeah, the way I’m feeling at the moment I’d get dropped by my gran!

Couple of random standard months:

And then:

Needless to say I ain’t going anywhere near a race for a while!

So an update to this.

Something has gone a bit wrong with my training routine – my resting HR has rocketed (stress/illness) and I’ve had to prioritise fixing that first (starting with a new job)!

Still on plan for next year though. I’ve got a groupset in the post and just deciding on the frameset now, narrowed it down to a couple from workswell.

I’m going to try a couple of club runs out over winter and get my provisional and insurance up and running too, will also try to get myself booked on the next courses via: http://primecoaching.co.uk/

Thanks again!

It has hopefully been a risk free venture, I know they’re similar in specs but actually usage has been very different. Been out this afternoon taking lots and lots of pictures, uploaded a few.

Sony Pics: http://s143.photobucket.com/user/nathb89/library/camera%20test/Sony%20A6000

Canon Pics: http://s143.photobucket.com/user/nathb89/library/camera%20test/Canon%20M3

Decided to keep the Canon, well it was a joint decision. 😛

**The gardens weeding needs doing, I just finished the front 😆

Strava central both today and yesterday. 🙄

I’ve been given some digital camera wallet cards from a photographer friend which give you a scenario (landscapes/animals/kids/flowers etc etc) and the best settings for it (exposure mode/focus mode/shutter speed/aperture/iso/drive mode) these seem a good start to test them.

One thing I have noticed though is that raw wise they are both very similar. The Canon’s Jpeg is identical to the raw (in terms of colours etc). The Sony’s Jpeg’s are amazing, perfect for uploading quickly without having to edit – VERY impressed with these.

If it was wholly down to me the Canon would be being sold on, just got to convince her now. 😆

Yeah auto, the main user will be the other half. I’m going to read up on various settings and how to take an okay picture – but she’ll more than likely just want it to do all of that for her. 😆

So got them both now: http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r129/nathb89/camera%20test/5FA2EDAA-A872-4CC6-8DB4-9A6BA1E0FE87.jpg

The canon’s lens is much longer than the sony’s, but the sony definitely feels a bit nicer to hold in my hands.

I whacked it into “auto” and headed into the garden to shoot some comparison shots of the cat. Initial thoughts were that it was taking AGES between shots, which was very frustrating. After connecting it to the computer I’ve realised that I put it in “Hybrid Auto” which essentially was recording video (with sound) and taking stills when I hit the button. 😳

Sample of the hybrid auto still:

I thought getting them both would ease the decision making process, but looks as though it’s going to be tougher than I anticipated.

Thanks everyone for all of your advice!

Rusty Spanner
Hiya.

Ta for the link Nath but I think it had already gone by the time I opened it this morning.

Nah there’s still two there, the boxes just have minor damage, but if you have a student account or know someone with one you can get 20% off.

If you’re around London/can collect I don’t mind ordering it for you.

That’s how I was getting mine so cheap in my camera thread. 😆

cp – Member
fair enough

YHM

cp – Member
would appreciate it if you could send me that..!

Depends if the OP wants it or not, there’s only one in stock.

Sent you a link to a new RX100 for £200 🙂

Came up in my searches for a camera after my thread which went horribly out of budget haha.

The Sony A6000 arrived today, it’s a very nice looking camera – love the view finder on it.

Quick test shot in jpeg, subject not very happy about it:

Thanks @TiRed.

I’ve got a green light for a new bike from the missus, I cannot miss this opportunity as it may not happen again for a LONG time 😆

I’ll check those two day training sessions out. http://primecoaching.co.uk/

@TiRed – Cheers, I’ve seen a few of you guys around particularly Richmond Park and to and from Windsor. I’ll check out your site club details etc.

@Pierre – I’ve been doing my training on my commuter, which is a cf cross bike imported from China. The Felt doesn’t feel as fast as this, and is certainly less comfortable over long distances, so has been collecting dust.

For “Race” bike I was thinking 5800, Ribble R872 frame with quattro wheels and deda finishing. Nothing fancy at all and have the wheels and finishing kit already.

@njee20 – Looking to start next year, building the new bike over winter. It won’t be a super bike as I know I’m likely to be involved in a crash at some point. I feel I’ve kind of outgrown the Felt to be honest.

@legend – I’m not fussed where I finish up, as long as it’s in one piece and I haven’t made a fool out of myself. 😛

@Kryton57 – I’m based in West London (Ealing), but spend a lot of time also in Regents Park as I work in Chelesea, Richmond Park for quick spins and out to Windsor etc on the weekends. I may well drop you an email in the not so distant future, cheers! 🙂

@TiRed – Thank you for that, very helpful. I wont be joining the veteran races for a few years yet though – I’m “only” 27 😀

@stevious – I’ll check those vids out. Yeah my ultimate aim is mid pack by the end of the season. 😆

Ha sounds like another minefield!!

Figure out the camera first, it’s now out of my hands and primarily up to the missus as after NYC she’ll be the main user.

Cheers for that!

I feel I’ll be asking for lens advice in a few weeks time 8)

On a general note how do Canon EF-M lenses compare to Sony E mount ones (again for future) to help decision making?

Thanks I’ll check that out!

As you guys suggest I’ll just stick with the standard lens for the time being.

This is the lens I’ve been recommended for indoors:

But I clearly need to do research on it.

First job is to decide which camera to keep.

Oh it’s not an unlimited budget by any stretch of the imagination – I’ve temporarily delved into my new bike fund 😐 All being well the new camera will have cost circa £350.

Ah that’s a shame, my friend was recommending Canon 40mm 2.8 STM lens for this camera for out and about.

Should I potentially sell the Canon lens adapter then to recoup some money?

CraigW – Member
The Canon mirrorless cameras seem like a half-arsed effort. Deliberately crippled to encourage you to buy a DSLR. And hardly any lenses available.

But with an adapter (which I’ve managed to get one included since I was spending a bit) it opens the whole canon range of lenses up to me.

Yep, it’s the story of my life when buying joint things. Over research something get bored/confused end up buying one that I like the most, tell her I’ve bought it and it’s the wrong thing so I end up buying what she wanted. 🙄

I’m quietly confident I can sell one on with minimal loss though.

Should have both by the weekend, so will do some weekend snaps with both and make a decision from there.

Anyone in the market for a camera? 😆

and because of the above a Canon M3 is also on it’s way. 😳

thisisnotaspoon – Member
In your specific case, if you had gone into the back of him then you were going too fast to stop in the distance you could see was clear. That he didn’t indicate might have made it knock for knock, but it’s still your fault.

Sorry this is a little off topic now, how is that my fault?

Maybe I didn’t explain the situation better; I had been following him up an empty 20mph road (v.good distance away) in the right hand position indicating to go right, he suddenly stopped after turning into the right hand side street (without indicating but that’s not important). I was directly behind as there was no way anyone could have predicted a stop on an empty road, say 3-5 foot away. I myself had stopped but still clipped in, and was waiting to see what he was doing (again no indication & didn’t want to overtake for him to set off while I was). But I didn’t get a chance to do anything as he suddenly whacked it into reverse and went straight into me.

FunkyDunc – Member
I think it will make you less safe too. Cyclist with cameras always seam a bit angry.

Won’t help you if you get hit either

How wouldn’t it?

I was following a car the other day that had just turned into a side street. Suddenly stopped barely into the street so I was directly behind it with nowhere to go. He suddenly reversed straight into me. Had I been knocked off/bike damaged with no one around he could have quite easily claimed I’d gone into the back of him.

I’ve been considering a camera recently too, I’d want a helmet mounted one.

Problem is they’re so big and obvious- I really want a very discreet one so other road users are totally unaware that they are being recorded.

Hope so, the missus isn’t happy it doesn’t have a flip screen though 😆

Okay thanks all.

Ordered the A6000 as I’d quite like the viewfinder.

I think at the price I’ve got it at if we decide it isn’t for us I don’t think we’d lose anything selling it on.