I don't know how fast I went cos my garmin is broke, but I went round Richmond Park and didn't touch my brakes once on the way down Sawyers Hill (clockwise) and only lightly touched them going down the big scarey (to me) thing on the anticlockwise approach to Robin Hood then let go altogether half way down and went "wheeeeeee". Thats a big step for me and at 25 mins for an clockwise lap, my fastest so far.
Mind you it felt a lot worse 1/2 a mile further on when my wheels stated to slide out from under me on a 90 deg corner, when I was only doing about 12 mph.
Just read through this thread. It reminds me of when I was on a college trip to France many years ago when our tutors arranged a day at an adventure centre mountain biking.
We all had a little practice on the bikes before setting off as the brakes were the opposite way to what we were used to.
All was fine and dandy until a mate fell off of his bike going down a narrow and steep footpath. Everyone behind slammed on the brakes but for half of us (including me) the natural reaction was the wrong one - we all flipped over the handlebars! Luckily nobody was hurt and we carried on, albeit a little more timidly than before.
And thanks to this thread I've just ordered a new wireless speedo which will hopefully arrive when the missus is out so she won't know I've been spending again!
I've sussed this down hill malarky a bit. I've been finding mountains and trying to go fast down them but it's way to scary and you have to sit on the brakes. I just found a nice steep hill where you could fly down for miles. My speedo actually flashed up 41mph, but I'm not convinced that was correct so I'll keep the 36mph that it settled on for now!
Are these strictly UK based or are overseas entries included - I can't think of too many passes in the UK where you get a good enough run to clock much over 45mph.
I've never found speed an issue, my greater fear is with super steep sections - dropping off the top of Hardknott pass (33%) and bloody bendy, in the pouring rain for the '09 Fred Whitton was one of the most pant wetting moments I've had on a bike, esp with mountain rescue removing bits of bike from some poor sod by the side of the road.
the bike route at IMCH still has the hill where I clocked that speed - it's a cracking straight drop with a supersmooth surface - BUT they have banned an aero profile position on it now as there were too many crashes from poor bike handling. when I did it, it was 3 laps not the 2 of the current route so I had 2 practice runs before unleashing the mad one on lap 3
it did make my arse pucker a bit though!! especially as you hit a housing estate at the end of the straight with a sharp left hander so you need to scrub speed quickly
I span out on a 53*11 and just let gravity and aero do the rest - at 16 stone I get a good gravity pull......
IMCH is a cracking event - was my 1st in 2005 and went back last year when we had 50 pirates racing the IM but I did the Oly on Saturday instead and supported the IM the following day.
Cheers FB - I'm excited enough as it is with it being my first tri, you've reassured me that it was a good choice.
I used to have quite the gravity pull at 15 stone, but at 5'7" it made the uphills a bit of a struggle.....now I'm 150lbs I don't get quite the benefit and always miss the bigger ring as I ride a compact.
I'll worry about the corner when I get there, not even sure I'll be bothering with aero bars, I've not really thought that far ahead, at the moment I'm not sure it's much of a benefit as I'm pretty small anyway, but I'll have a play and see.
Mine is UK based - down Abbotsbury Hill in Dorset. I did it on a normal training riide, though it is part of the bike route for the Bustinskin Middle Distance Tri. I cycled down it earlier on the morning of the race this year and they had "slow down" signs up to warn riders. I ignored them!
CD yep not been great over the last few weeks had to bin the Severn Sportive this weekend am on the road to recovery will be out for an EASY trip on the mountain bike and a trip to Bodmin pool with the kids planned this after
St Cleer hill is fast, my favorite is the twisty hill down into Seaton/Downderry never clocked my speed to terrified to look down
Just a word of warning to newbies chasing speed. Be careful & be safe there is a fine line between control and getting into difficulty (ive had a few scary experiences), just pick up your confidence slowly and dont take chances on roads youre not familiar with etc.
Last time at IMCH on the decent before the mega decent (where FB & I set our PB's in 2005). There was a rather nasty accident, so bad that having seen the cyclist sized dent in the side of a car and the broken bike I didnt dare look at the state of the person being helping into an ambulance. Some idiot had driven/reversed? out in front of them (this is also a handy reminder not to take closed roads for granted)
I totally agree with Barley. I'm much more realxed about my downhill speed now and just always stick at what I feel comfortable with. My downhill speed had got better but I'm still really cr@p, but it doesn't worry me anymore.
I like downhill. Pity I'm carp at everything else.
I think the best downhills are really the long undulating ones though, rather than the super-steep type where you just have to control your speed to keep safe. Some of the high Alpine mountain descents are pretty fabulous, because they often have good visibility and manageable gradients, but just go on forever.
Can't remember what my top speed is, but Mr P just refuses to look and meets me at the bottom after coming down at a more sedate speed. He's better uphill than I am, though.
Comments
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
FB 68mph
Rosey 66mph
Barley 58mph
Exiled Claret 54mph
Tommygun2 51mph
LN 39.8 mph
Magna Carter 39.8mph
Maddy 39.4MPH + -
Trogs 38mph
Pkim 37.5mph
Saffers 37.3mph
K9 35mph
Melds 36mph (Bala 2010)
Purpletrilady 34.5mph (bala 2010)
PinguPongu 34.4pmh, and that was bloody fast enough!
Soup Dragon 31mph
I don't know how fast I went cos my garmin is broke, but I went round Richmond Park and didn't touch my brakes once on the way down Sawyers Hill (clockwise) and only lightly touched them going down the big scarey (to me) thing on the anticlockwise approach to Robin Hood then let go altogether half way down and went "wheeeeeee". Thats a big step for me and at 25 mins for an clockwise lap, my fastest so far.
<blows kisses to flyaway for getting me this far>
54 mph sounds so scarey............
Mind you it felt a lot worse 1/2 a mile further on when my wheels stated to slide out from under me on a 90 deg corner, when I was only doing about 12 mph.
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
FB 68mph
Rosey 66mph
Barley 58mph
Exiled Claret 54mph
Tommygun2 51mph
LN 39.8 mph
Magna Carter 39.8mph
Maddy 39.4MPH + -
Trogs 38mph
Pkim 37.5mph
Saffers 37.3mph
K9 35mph
Melds 36mph (Bala 2010)
Purpletrilady 34.5mph (bala 2010)
PinguPongu 34.4pmh, and that was bloody fast enough!
Bootsie 32.2MPH
Soup Dragon 31mph
Was so chuffed with my efforts when I first entered this thread
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
FB - 68mph
Rosey - 66mph
Barley - 58mph
Exiled Claret - 54mph
Tommygun2 - 51mph
LN - 39.8 mph
Magna Carter - 39.8mph
Maddy - 39.4MPH + -
Trogs - 38mph
Pkim - 37.5mph
Saffers - 37.3mph
K9 - 35mph
Melds - 36mph (Bala 2010)
Purpletrilady - 34.5mph (bala 2010)
PinguPongu - 34.4pmh, and that was bloody fast enough!
Bootsie - 32.2MPH
Soup Dragon - 31mph
Schmunkee - 23.7mph (on The New Improved Barley)
*sits in the corner with the Dunce cap on*
We all had a little practice on the bikes before setting off as the brakes were the opposite way to what we were used to.
All was fine and dandy until a mate fell off of his bike going down a narrow and steep footpath. Everyone behind slammed on the brakes but for half of us (including me) the natural reaction was the wrong one - we all flipped over the handlebars! Luckily nobody was hurt and we carried on, albeit a little more timidly than before.
And thanks to this thread I've just ordered a new wireless speedo which will hopefully arrive when the missus is out so she won't know I've been spending again!
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
FB - 68mph
Rosey - 66mph
Barley - 58mph
Exiled Claret - 54mph
Tommygun2 - 51mph
LN - 39.8 mph
Magna Carter - 39.8mph
Maddy - 39.4MPH + -
Trogs - 38mph
Pkim - 37.5mph
Saffers - 37.3mph
K9 - 35mph
Melds - 36mph (Bala 2010)
PinguPongu - 36mph
Purpletrilady - 34.5mph (bala 2010)
Bootsie - 32.2MPH
Soup Dragon - 31mph
Schmunkee - 23.7mph (on The New Improved Barley)
I've sussed this down hill malarky a bit. I've been finding mountains and trying to go fast down them but it's way to scary and you have to sit on the brakes. I just found a nice steep hill where you could fly down for miles. My speedo actually flashed up 41mph, but I'm not convinced that was correct so I'll keep the 36mph that it settled on for now!
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
FB - 68mph
Rosey - 66mph
Barley - 58mph
Exiled Claret - 54mph
Tommygun2 - 51mph
LN - 39.8 mph
Magna Carter - 39.8mph
Maddy - 39.4MPH + -
Trogs - 38mph
Pkim - 37.5mph
Soup Dragon - 37.5mph (the Vit)
Saffers - 37.3mph
K9 - 35mph
Melds - 36mph (Bala 2010)
PinguPongu - 36mph
Purpletrilady - 34.5mph (bala 2010)
Bootsie - 32.2MPH
Schmunkee - 23.7mph (on The New Improved Barley)
FB - 68mph
Rosey - 66mph
Barley - 58mph
Exiled Claret - 54mph
Tommygun2 - 51mph
K9 - 40 mph
LN - 39.8 mph
Magna Carter - 39.8mph
Maddy - 39.4MPH + -
Trogs - 38mph
Pkim - 37.5mph
Soup Dragon - 37.5mph (the Vit)
Saffers - 37.3mph
Melds - 36mph (Bala 2010)
PinguPongu - 36mph
Purpletrilady - 34.5mph (bala 2010)
Bootsie - 32.2MPH
Schmunkee - 23.7mph (on The New Improved Barley)
didn't realise this thread still existed...
need to update mine to 40mph from a few weeks ago - my regular biggest downhill with a good tail wind
did 39.6 mph yesterday also according to bike puter on another hill
Still bottom of the class, but I did get a PB on Sunday
FB - 68mph
Rosey - 66mph
Barley - 58mph
Exiled Claret - 54mph
Tommygun2 - 51mph
K9 - 40 mph
LN - 39.8 mph
Magna Carter - 39.8mph
Maddy - 39.4MPH + -
Trogs - 38mph
Pkim - 37.5mph
Soup Dragon - 37.5mph (the Vit)
Saffers - 37.3mph
Melds - 36mph (Bala 2010)
PinguPongu - 36mph
Purpletrilady - 34.5mph (bala 2010)
Bootsie - 32.2MPH
Schmunkee - 26.4mph (on The New Improved Barley)
I had a good teacher!!!
Thanks flyaway.
Are these strictly UK based or are overseas entries included - I can't think of too many passes in the UK where you get a good enough run to clock much over 45mph.
I've never found speed an issue, my greater fear is with super steep sections - dropping off the top of Hardknott pass (33%) and bloody bendy, in the pouring rain for the '09 Fred Whitton was one of the most pant wetting moments I've had on a bike, esp with mountain rescue removing bits of bike from some poor sod by the side of the road.
some are overseas - mine is from Ironman Switzerland in 2005
Cheers FB and Chapeau, even on an Alpine pass that's clocking some serious pace, you must have some serious gearing going on.
Switzerland - great news, sounds like a promising bike route for my first Ironman in that case, just entered IMCH 2011.
it did make my arse pucker a bit though!! especially as you hit a housing estate at the end of the straight with a sharp left hander so you need to scrub speed quickly
I span out on a 53*11 and just let gravity and aero do the rest - at 16 stone I get a good gravity pull......
IMCH is a cracking event - was my 1st in 2005 and went back last year when we had 50 pirates racing the IM but I did the Oly on Saturday instead and supported the IM the following day.
Cheers FB - I'm excited enough as it is with it being my first tri, you've reassured me that it was a good choice.
I used to have quite the gravity pull at 15 stone, but at 5'7" it made the uphills a bit of a struggle.....now I'm 150lbs I don't get quite the benefit and always miss the bigger ring as I ride a compact.
I'll worry about the corner when I get there, not even sure I'll be bothering with aero bars, I've not really thought that far ahead, at the moment I'm not sure it's much of a benefit as I'm pretty small anyway, but I'll have a play and see.
Cheers
FB - 68mph
Rosey - 66mph
Barley - 58mph
Exiled Claret - 54mph
Tommygun2 - 51mph
K9 - 40 mph
LN - 39.8 mph
Magna Carter - 39.8mph
Maddy - 39.4MPH + -
Trogs - 38mph
Cornish Digger 37.8mph Pkim - 37.5mph
Soup Dragon - 37.5mph (the Vit)
Saffers - 37.3mph
Melds - 36mph (Bala 2010)
PinguPongu - 36mph
Purpletrilady - 34.5mph (bala 2010)
Bootsie - 32.2MPH
Schmunkee - 26.4mph (on The New Improved Barley)
First ride today with new bike computer.Wish I could go fast uphill as well
RB, I probably could, but I was coming down from St Cleer, Sun in my eyes and very nearly rode head on into a lorry going up on the bend.
I heard you have been unwell, hope you are feeling better.
CD yep not been great over the last few weeks had to bin the Severn Sportive this weekend am on the road to recovery will be out for an EASY trip on the mountain bike and a trip to Bodmin pool with the kids planned this after
St Cleer hill is fast, my favorite is the twisty hill down into Seaton/Downderry never clocked my speed to terrified to look down
Ooooooohhhh never seen this thread before,
I AM CARP AT DOWNHILLING!!
I need a too slow going around corners thread. I've found a few tips on websites re trying to see the line. I brake too much though.
Just a word of warning to newbies chasing speed. Be careful & be safe there is a fine line between control and getting into difficulty (ive had a few scary experiences), just pick up your confidence slowly and dont take chances on roads youre not familiar with etc.
Last time at IMCH on the decent before the mega decent (where FB & I set our PB's in 2005). There was a rather nasty accident, so bad that having seen the cyclist sized dent in the side of a car and the broken bike I didnt dare look at the state of the person being helping into an ambulance. Some idiot had driven/reversed? out in front of them (this is also a handy reminder not to take closed roads for granted)
I totally agree with Barley. I'm much more realxed about my downhill speed now and just always stick at what I feel comfortable with. My downhill speed had got better but I'm still really cr@p, but it doesn't worry me anymore.
I like downhill. Pity I'm carp at everything else.
I think the best downhills are really the long undulating ones though, rather than the super-steep type where you just have to control your speed to keep safe. Some of the high Alpine mountain descents are pretty fabulous, because they often have good visibility and manageable gradients, but just go on forever.
Can't remember what my top speed is, but Mr P just refuses to look and meets me at the bottom after coming down at a more sedate speed. He's better uphill than I am, though.