On the commute today

[Si S]

A very steady cruise for last one until the end of next week as I have a few days in Glentrool with the MTB.

[matthew]

Leaving the laptop at work last night shaved 3 minutes off the commute in each direction. that's >10%.

[PaulR]

Slow puncture on the ride in this morning - I suppose I should have avoided the canal path.

I pulled in to the side of the road but my team car was nowhere to be seen, so I had to nick a rear wheel off the first fixed rider to come past.  He seemed a bit nonplussed but I knew I couldn't afford to lose any more vital seconds.


Pumped the tyre up four times on the way in, planning to do the repair at the end of the day. 

[SoreTween]

Half way to work I realised I'd left my magic hat in my room. Felt curiously naked from then on.  Towpath route back tonight.

[clarion]

Ouch, fuzzy!  Hope it knocked some sense into you

[Feanor]

Visitation on ride in this morning, so at lunch time I pootled into the town centre to the LBS to pick up some spare tubes.
One to replace the one I'd used in the seat-pack, and a couple just to have in my desk drawer.

And they let me borrow their track pump to top up the pressure because I'd got bored with the mini-pump after my arms had started aching.

[fuzzy]

Ouch, fuzzy!  Hope it knocked some sense into you

 

 

[ian]

One of the nice things about summer and cycling home is that I can just wander. I call it randomeering. I pick a road that I've never been down before and off I go on my suburban safari. I'm practically a connoisseur of the pebble-dashing and stone-cladding to be found in South London more exotic locales.

This also explains why I visited Colliers Wood three times this evening.

[Si S]

Only one this week, lazy and slow.

[Cudzoziemiec]

One of the nice things about summer and cycling home is that I can just wander. I call it randomeering. I pick a road that I've never been down before and off I go on my suburban safari. I'm practically a connoisseur of the pebble-dashing and stone-cladding to be found in South London more exotic locales.

Oh yes, randomeering or silly bike adventuring or chaotic pootling or whatever you call it is a great way of discovering places.

[url]This also explains why I visited Colliers Wood three times this evening.
[/quote]
That sounds like an excuse you'd use to your wife.

[Jurek]

I have an appointment on Tuesday to see the dental hygienist.
The antics on this evening's commute came close to changing that appointment, to see the dentist instead. For reconstructive work.

I was giving it beans along Westferry Road, a road I've stopped using, preferring to use the riverside path. But they're carrying out work on that at the moment, as a result the path is closed.
The car in front was indicating left, and started to turn off, so I upped the beans.
The departing car (I was not far from his rear bumper) revealed a sink hole in the road. Maybe around 1/3 of the depth of a wheel, and not all that long - somewhere between the dimeter of one wheel, and the diameter of two.

The key thing here is that the sink hole had the same profile as the ski-jump in Grenoble where the winter olympics were held in 1968 or thereabouts.
I know this because when I entered the sink hole I felt some unusual g-force on my neck, this gave me enough time to say 'fck, fck, fck, fck' through gritted (and precious) teeth, before leaving the exit ramp with both wheels in the air.
Those of you who know me, will attest that I am really not BMX material, so what followed next surprised even me.

I landed on the front wheel which, because by now, what passes for my brane, had started to process this as an 'inaction could result in Very Bad Things Happening' and I was applying the brakes - so the front wheel locked.
Suddenly, I was seeing too much tarmac. And not enough sky.
And I could feel the bike's mass making it's way up my back, in a way which wasn't good.
My branes were saying 'Let go of the brake! Let go of the brake!'.
This translated into me managing to unclip first one, then the other foot, and land crab-like either side of the bike, after which the rear wheel crashed down to terra firma.

Luckily. Very luckily, there was no motor traffic immediately behind me.
But the cyclist who was ( I spoke with him in the lift at the foot tunnel) thought that something had got caught in my front wheel when he witnessed my spectacular, albeit ungraceful antics.

I've heard that it is bandied about in pilot's circles that any landing you walk away from can be considered to be a successful one.
Tonight's unscheduled flying lesson falls into that category.

And......... relax.

ETA - it should be noted that all of the above happened in a heatbeat. How our brains manage to process so much stuff going on in such a brief period of time, never ceases to amaze me.
ETFA - I'd love to see http://www.bostondynamics.com take on that sort of scenario.

[Mr Larrington]

And the bike?

[Jurek]

And the bike?

Thank you for asking.
I'm not exactly heavy, but remain surprised that the Velocity-V rims remain true after their airborne adventure.
It's not like they're intended for that sort of caper.

[Notsototalnewbie]

Blimey Jurek. It goes without saying that I'd have shit mesel'.

I have a new commute that is 12 miles long. I'm not fit enough for that yet, particularly as I've just spent the last 5 weeks with a broken arm, but when the arm finishes mending I'm going to put the Brompton on a train to cut out the Tube part of the commute.

I live in West Croydon but can also get to East for the quick trains. I work near the British Museum. I have a lot of Options including Victoria and London Bridge (I thought Victoria was closer but there's not a lot a lot in it, and the roads around Victoria are so shit LB might be a better bet, the trains are quicker but more packed...)

What would you do in terms of routes? I'm out of practice for central London, it's been about few years and there's shiny new infrastructure in some places now I'm sure...

[Jurek]

Hmmmm....
Of the two termini, LBG is definitely preferable to VIC. While Southern Fail's re-jigged timetable hasn't affected the line through Forest Hill, I don't think that's the case with the Gatwick line from VIC.
And, of course, with LBG you have the delightful 5-car Ginger Line to avail yourself of .

I rarely go through Central London by bike these days, but you are right - there is much fresh and improved infrastructure to be had. I've used the (physically separate from traffic) one which goes over Blackfriars Bridge to get to and from St Pancras on a Saturday and it was a delight, in both directions. My guess is that during the week, in this sort of weather it'll be *ahem* busy, and perhaps not as nice as when I had the entire lane pretty much to myself, but hey - that's commuting.

I believe Upper & Lower Thames Street has been similarly treated withe segregated lane - but I've not used it. To get to that you'd have to cross London Bridge, and I understand that at the moment it is a bit of bomb-site thanks to roadworks. (Andrij may be able to elaborate on that)

I guess from LBG you could go along the riverside path (if that's not too slow - I suspect it might be, as well as full  of peds) or alternatively Southwark Street, cross the river at Blackfriars, left into Fleet Street, R into Fetter Lane (taking the left fork) , over the pavement and left into Holborn, then High Holborn then R fork into New Oxford Street, and a naughty right into Museum Street. Or something.

I take it you are no longer at LB of C - that being the case - congratulations on the new job!

Wishing your arm speedy recovery.
JB

[Andrij]

The new, segregated, route between Westminster Palace and Tower of London is finished, and rather nice.

Coming from London Bridge onto the segregated route there's a slight complication - Arthur Street is closed due to building works, and one can't turn right onto Monument Street -> Fish Street Hill.  Instead, carry on north, turn left onto Cannon Street, then left down Laurence Pourtney Lane then onto Upper Thames.


As an aside, I use the new facilities on most of my trips to Mayfair.  Rather than the direct route which would end up with me going down Oxford Street I'll catch CS3 which transitions nicely (beware tourists near the Tower) into the new facility.  From Westminster I make my way into Hyde Park then turn right into Mayfair.  It's a longer route, but much more pleasant.

[Mr Larrington]

It's been a very long time since I was in those parts, but have Bloody Stupid Johnson and his Elves done anything about the horror that was the north end of Blackfriars Bridge?

[Jurek]

It's been a very long time since I was in those parts, but have Bloody Stupid Johnson and his Elves done anything about the horror that was the north end of Blackfriars Bridge?

If you've not been there awhile, you won't believe the difference.
2-way bike lane physically segregated from motor traffic. Dedicated traffic signals for bikes and motor traffic.
I can't remember (accurately - only been there once since the changes) but I don't think northbound motor traffic can do a left onto the Embankment any more.

[Notsototalnewbie]

Useful info, thanks. Just need to figure out best place to turn off for Bloomsbury. I've peered over Waterloo bridge at the Embankment cycle path when walking over the bridge and it does look bloody brilliant; if it's like that all the way along I'd be delighted. Bear in mind most of my cycling this year has been going between all my Croydon sites, sharing Croydon roads with Croydon drivers *sits in corner, rocking*

Thanks Jurek. Yes I have indeed departed the House of Fun.

[Jurek]

Useful info, thanks. Just need to figure out best place to turn off for Bloomsbury. I've peered over Waterloo bridge at the Embankment cycle path when walking over the bridge and it does look bloody brilliant; if it's like that all the way along I'd be delighted. Bear in mind most of my cycling this year has been going between all my Croydon sites, sharing Croydon roads with Croydon drivers *sits in corner, rocking*

Thanks Jurek. Yes I have indeed departed the House of Fun.

I can picture that.....
Pleased to hear that you're out of it.

ETA
Red Lion Street off High Holborn is a good call for traffic-lite to Bloomsbury.
It'd be my route of choice.

[ian]

Zooming from Embankment Gardens to Bermondsey the other day via the new segregated route (goes all the way along Lower Thames St, past London bridge to Tower Bridge and on to Canary Wharf and, for the truly adventurous, Barking) was splendid (and fast). The downside was that I had to wait thirty minutes for my wife to turn up in her taxi (for the same journey).

Blackfriars is a big improvement. If I have to gripe about anything, it does get a bit busy during peak periods and a minority of cyclists have to do the speedy overtake at every opportunity even when it's very busy. There's also a lot of the racing to the next lights, the activity so beloved of car drivers. I dunno why people can't just go with the flow and take an extra minute to get to the other end. Really, it's Elephant & Castle, no one should be in a hurry to get there.

Croydonia, yikes! I still have to cycle through the entire benighted borough and there's not one good thing I can say about either the drivers or the council (and its singular investment in cycling infrastructure – the lights at end of shopping precinct/Wild West Croydon). It's saying something that I'm relieved to be on the A23 and in the tender embrace of Lambeth. Even Brixton doesn't touch Croydonia.

Victoria can be hellishing crowded during peaks and the roads aren't cyclist friendly (though there's plenty of side routes that make it tolerable). London Bridge is a bit more civilised though the junction at the north end is a bit of a nightmare. Leave more time though, the work there on the platforms restricts width so people have to filter out slowly and it can take several minutes, a process not much helped by man (or woman-)handling a Brompton through the crowds.

In theory, you can get the Thameslink from East Croydon. I'm not being rhetorical. I've heard it's theoretically possible for one to turn up on time. If scientists can spot the collision of distant black holes through the gravitation waves they emitted, I feel sure they can find a Thameslink train running on time somewhere in the universe.

[TheLurker]

On the way home.    Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!  I do so _love_ a tailwind.

[JonJo]

Woke early so decided to go to work on the bike for only the 4th time in 18 months. It was an uneventful if laborious ride in but the ride home wasn't so serene.

At 3 o'clock up pops a reminder on my screen that I'm due at the dentists at 4:10. Sh*t sh*t sh*t I'd totally forgotten this appointment. No chance of me making this is there? 1hr 15min  later I'm 15 miles away, propped sweating and gasping against the reception desk at the dentists apologising for being late. They seem a little bemused but book me in and send me to the waiting area where I collapse onto a chair, pouring with sweat and feeling sick.

And that's where I wait for the next 20 mins.

[Afasoas]

Uneventful this morning.
5 miles. 20 minutes. Not too shabby on a heavy hybrid. First cycle commute >3 years. 1 trip down, 9 to go.

[velosam]

Nearly did not do it, as the bolt fell out of the cranks. Thankfully spotted it so headed back home and got the winter bike out. Gosh it was slow coming in, it just felt so difficult. :-(