On the commute today

[Si S]

Shame the clocks have to go forward at the end of the month.

I hate this, just get to the point can make the commute both ways without lights and then its dark again, not to mention what it does to my body clock, takes weeks to sort out.

Today's horrible headwind coupled to Friday legs meant I just was just plodding along, not a lot of fun.

[TimO]

I hate this, just get to the point can make the commute both ways without lights and then its dark again ...

If I leave at my optimal departure time, I never avoid needing lights on my commute into work.  Whilst sunrise can be at 0442 for the Summer Solstice, the sun doesn't rise above the level of buildings, so I only see direct sunshine at the occasional junction, on Clapham Common and crossing the Thames!  Lights are mostly a good idea, even after sunrise, because it can still be surprisingly dim.

I keep on forgetting to mention the newly widened and resurfaced Hermitage Path, over the River Graveney, between Ellison Road and Acacia Road.  After mucking about with the kerb from Ellison Road, and then the entire area for a number of weeks, the last couple of weeks have been bliss.  The surface where the car park / cycle path met Acacia Road has been horrible for the entire time I've used this route, but it avoids a very dangerous and nasty route southbound from Tooting Bec Road to Streatham High Road.  There are some stupid features, like the street light which is now in the middle of the path, rather than at the side of it, but largely it's a massive improvement upon what was there.

[Pingu]

BTDTGTTS 


IMG_4868 by The Pingus, on Flickr

(Not commuting though)

[hatler]

NZ ?

[Ham]

BTDTGTTS 


IMG_4868 by The Pingus, on Flickr

(Not commuting though)

This one?
(Ed Shearing)
 or this one?

(Where's Wooly)

or this one?

(Silence of the Lambs)

[Mr Larrington]

I got held up by the same bunch of little woolly buggers on my holibobs in the exact same place two years running, somewhere near where SW Wyoming collides with Utah.

[Pingu]

NZ ?

France, descent from Col de la Croix de Fer.

[Butterfly]

For the first time in a very long time I have actually commuted (more than .25 of a mile).
I cycled to work into the wind on Friday night and zoomed home yesterday morning and rode back again last night and home via the less direct route to avoid the horrendous southerly wind this morning. That was fun 

[ian]

I hate this, just get to the point can make the commute both ways without lights and then its dark again ...

If I leave at my optimal departure time, I never avoid needing lights on my commute into work.  Whilst sunrise can be at 0442 for the Summer Solstice, the sun doesn't rise above the level of buildings, so I only see direct sunshine at the occasional junction, on Clapham Common and crossing the Thames!  Lights are mostly a good idea, even after sunrise, because it can still be surprisingly dim.

I keep on forgetting to mention the newly widened and resurfaced Hermitage Path, over the River Graveney, between Ellison Road and Acacia Road.  After mucking about with the kerb from Ellison Road, and then the entire area for a number of weeks, the last couple of weeks have been bliss.  The surface where the car park / cycle path met Acacia Road has been horrible for the entire time I've used this route, but it avoids a very dangerous and nasty route southbound from Tooting Bec Road to Streatham High Road.  There are some stupid features, like the street light which is now in the middle of the path, rather than at the side of it, but largely it's a massive improvement upon what was there.

I think we often follow the same route (though at radically different times). If I'm in a hurry I sometimes just take the A24 all the way to Croydon, but the back route (LCN 5 if I recall) is a bit (ok, lot) more relaxing. Though the bit after Norbury is (or was horrible) – Norbury Avenue (and the streets between Thornton Heath and Broad Green) tended to be a rat run, narrow and over parked, the usual story with impatient drivers who can't wait a few seconds for a place to pass safely.

Not seen the improvements though, will have to try on my next commute.

[Jurek]

Took a left turn off Lea Bridge Road this morning, and gave myself nearly a mile of tarmac path over Walthamstow Marshes, as opposed to the cycle lane through Argall Industrial estate, followed by a school / rat run.
What's not to like?

[velosam]

Legs felt tired after a week off and was making steady progress till the seat rails snapped.

Made it to work, albeit a lot more tired, due to the rubbish position and due to the fact I had to carry my little barley around my neck!

[clarion]

Last week's commuting was dampened by a broken drive side spoke, so I dug out the S3X.  It is, after all, the commuting bike.  Had fun up and down the prom with the wind yesterday, so decided to go for a commute today.

Er, set another PB!   This time through the back streets, so not much traffic, and barely any sets of lights.  Not so much tailwind, either.  45 min door to door.  I could live with that as a timing, but the rough surfaces did leave my left wrist a bit numb.

It's an interesting landscape of industry and leisure in competition and in harmony.  I am still noticing more with every ride.

[clarion]

Now reminded of how work is the bit in the middle which spoils the bike ride

[hatler]

It's an interesting landscape of industry and leisure in competition and in harmony.  I am still noticing more with every ride.

Is that Worthing to Brighton ?  I'm always intrigued and fascinated by the contrasts along that stretch of England which is just West of Brighton. A standard day out for my family was Brighton, with a diversion to the port at Shoreham so my dad could look wistfully at the merchant vessels alongside, and every once in a while board a vessel to have a natter with the crew. Invariably they knew someone in common.

[clarion]

Worthing to Hove, and, yes, the Port inevitably dominates a large stretch.  I was pleasantly surprised at how active it still is.

[TimO]

I think we often follow the same route (though at radically different times).

It sounds likely.

If I'm in a hurry I sometimes just take the A24 all the way to Croydon, but the back route (LCN 5 if I recall) is a bit (ok, lot) more relaxing. Though the bit after Norbury is (or was horrible) – Norbury Avenue (and the streets between Thornton Heath and Broad Green) tended to be a rat run, narrow and over parked, the usual story with impatient drivers who can't wait a few seconds for a place to pass safely.

Not seen the improvements though, will have to try on my next commute.

I think you mean the A23, the A24 will take you towards Leatherhead, not particular close to Croydon.

The Norbury Avenue direction doesn't work for me, it takes me away from my destination, but I did use it a few times when I first moved to Croydon, partially as an experiment, and because I was helping take a group of novice cyclists through there, back when Hovis was sponsoring the summer cycling closure in central London.  I found it fairly horrible, and as you say, met some very nasty aggressive drivers.  After Thornton Heath Pond, I use London Road (A235) into Croydon, since it's largely better than the Thornton Road/Purley Way, with its own horrible junctions (Lombard Roundabout and Ikea).

I believe that Norbury Avenue did have some closures placed in it, to stop through traffic, but still allow cyclists through, but I believe that was an experiment, and has since been removed.

I only use the back roads between Tooting Bec Common and Norbury southbound, because two junctions near Streatham are verging on being lethal in that direction.  Northbound, whilst the A23 is busy, it's surprisingly safe for cycling, and you do see quite a lot of cyclists on it.

[ian]

Yeah, the A-something-or-other, that'll be it. Straight run from Elephant to the dark heart of Croydon. Can do it in twelve parsecs. There are indeed a couple of foul junctions southbound: the one where Brixton Road becomes Brixton Hill and Effra Road and the north end of Streatham Common. Both rely on cyclists being to out-accelerate internal combustion engines. Driving skills seem to drop as you get closer to Croydon. It must emit some kind of field. Wild West Croydon occupies all levels of 'interesting' simultaneously. The entry/exit to Lidl's carpark is a basically a quantum superposition of motorists who at any one point are both leaving and entering. The only thing with isn't uncertain is the fact they're not looking.

The only other problems I have on the A23 is (a) the bus and traffic pollution, it's pretty foul and (b) outside bus lane hours you get the occasional 'clever' driver who thinks he (and it usually is) can undertake at speed via the bus lane. Which is unfortunate if you are cycling in it.

No idea why the removed the closures on Norbury Avenue, it's a uniformly horrible rat-run but I presume the locals didn't want to be delayed in their hurry to park on their gardens. LBC hates cycling and they likely wanted to spend the money on the strange cycle junction over the tram lines in Wild West Croydon. As Croydon's only cycle facility, it's obviously something they want to lavish cash on.

Purley Way would offer the quickest route for me, but I wouldn't view it as cycleable. The Lombardy Circus of Death and then the lane spaghetti by Waddon and – oh my – the Purley Cross gyratory. There are easier ways to commit suicide.

[Karla]

Not, strictly speaking, on today's commute

[TimO]

... Purley Way would offer the quickest route for me, but I wouldn't view it as cycleable. The Lombardy Circus of Death and then the lane spaghetti by Waddon and – oh my – the Purley Cross gyratory. There are easier ways to commit suicide.

Other than fun with Lombardy, I don't need to go far enough that those cause problems.  I've mostly only used the Purley Cross gyratory on FNRttCs, and at 1am the traffic is less of an issue.  Five Ways is more of a nuisance, since Parcel Force always leave my parcels with a Post Office on the other side of it, to me.  Sometimes it's safe, faster and easier to use the pedestrian crossings.

Lombard Roundabout, on the rare occasions I use it, is the only place where I'll switch my Exposure front light to flashing, during the night.  Generally the flashing mode is far too annoying to use other than in twilight or fog, where being spotted is paramount.  For some reason, when going southbound across it, motorised traffic crossing from the west seems particularly prone to speeding onto the roundabout, with nary a care for anyone else who isn't going in their direction.  I have less issues when going northward, but I can see them more clearly, and they've got less excuse for not seeing me.

The Ikea junction is also very good for people turning across your path, at the exits, and trying to undertake you at the entry points, if you're trying to just cycle along the road.  The slip roads meet the A23 over relatively short sections, so there really isn't time for a vehicle to do that with any realistic chance of doing so in any way that could (laughably) be described as safe, not that this stops some.

[ian]

The entire retail park stretch of Purley Way is mad, tbh. It's full of people unsure which entry they need for whatever retail warehouse and when they find it, at the last moment, they'll slew across three lanes without looking or perform some other bonkers manoeuvre. I did only try the Purley Way once. I sometimes cut across the Lombardy Circus of Death coming from Mitcham, it's bearable if the traffic is snarled, otherwise cars seem to use it on a close-eyes-and-pray strategy. I'd get off and push but they didn't bother with pedestrian crossings either (well, there's a pedestrian route on the south side, but it's one of those do-we-have-to facilities). Of course, if I did take that route, Purley Cross dumps me on the A22 which is even less fun.

Post-Croydon, crawling over Sanderstead hill is infinitely preferable to the A-anything. Though my legs sometimes disagree.

[Si S]

Rear light went bouncing down the road, picked up all the bits re-assembled and carried on, half a mile later its in the road again but in a few more pieces. Bah!

[fuzzy]

First sub 30 minute commute home of the year yesterday

[clarion]

Good work, fuzzy!

[spindrift]

Roads&Transport MPS‏Verified account @MPSRTPC  Mar 7

 Driver stopped Archway Rd @MPSHaringey using his mobile phone. Previously imprisoned for causing death by careless driving. Unbelievable!

[TheLurker]

Not my commute route, but a road I ride now and again. More canyons

The glove in the pictures is about 9" fingertip to cuff.