On the commute today

[Sergeant Pluck]

Traffic in W London has been just horrendous since the schools have been back. However, I left at 0730 this morning so it was not too bad.
On the way home (blustery, light drizzle, traffic horrendous) I had one of those really unsettling rides:
First, heading west on King's Road - cyclist ahead of me cut up by moped idiot who pulls in, decides he needs to be elsewhere, pulls out without looking and nearly forces cyclist into the traffic. Shocked cyclist gets all wobbly, turns around to remonstrate with moped moron, and rides into the side of a parked car, which loses a wing mirror.
Next, much worse   Junction of King's Road and Lots Road. Cyclist heading west on King's Rd appeared to have been hit by BMW (or similar largish saloon) which was heading east on King's and turning right into Lot's. Boardman bike under front of BMW   Ambulance and numerous police in attendance. I think this had happened just minutes before.
Next, woman approaching from left just ahead of me arrives very quickly at the junction and drives straight into the cycle lane leaving me nowhere to go at all. I am very thankful that due to the above I was riding more slowly than usual and had been keeping my brakes dry.
Next (I've still hardly got a fucking mile from work), still on (New) King's, approaching car cleaning place nr Hurlingham Rd, employee of said emporium appears to have collected customer's car from nearby and is proceeding West, presumably to bring the car in for a clean. Cyclist ahead of me is iPod wearing BSO rider at a slow cruise but oblivious to his surroundings. Anyhoo, this isn't his fault but a more experienced cyclist might have anticipated this numptiness: employee notes cyclist on his inside (I can see this in the door mirror), indicates left and drives right across the front of him anyway   Result: customer will be collecting car that is clean but minus nearside wing mirror.
WTF's going on?
I am deeply worried about the cyclist on the Boardman   I could not see the rider but it looked not good. Just thinking that this is probably one of the riders that I pass / am passed by every day on the way in and out of work.  

[gordon taylor]

I got a front wheel puncture just half a mile from home at 6:30 this morning. As it was pouring with rain, your hero wallked home, took Mrs G a second cuppa in bed, snugggled up for ten minutes then took the car to work.

       

[mrcharly-YHT]

I don't know how you londoners survive it. Nothing happened on my commute as usual. Its a different sort of north south divide

[itsbruce]

This morning, a moronic woman in a wankpanzer pulled out across the road in front of me without once looking to her right.  If I were less cynical about drivers, I'd have been less prepared and gone across her bonnet.  If I'd been a car, she'd probably have been dead.

Coming home, I got wet.  Didn't realise how wet till I reached home and had to wring out my socks.

[clarion]

That was wet and a bit slow.  But I rode with Butterfly most of the way, which was lovely

[GruB]

Good ride in except for the silent treatment by a racing snake and the head wind.
Wet ride coming home after a long day.
At least I have a varied route tomorrow as I am off to Salisbury with the Nelson on the back.
I am tired mentally but tomorrow I have to give a presentation to an audience of rank.
Luckily I can do the subject without any prep but I will not be in the mood for any funny business.
If the biggest boss notices I am wearing black Reebok trainers it might be interesting too as that is not really part of my uniform ( but they do fit into the Nelson a lot better than any other black shoe / boot that I have) so beggars can't be choosers.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Much better ride in this morning - lovely crisp morning  Colleague had passed the accident I saw yesterday at a slightly earlier stage: he had seen the cyclist being loaded on to the gurney; he didn't think it looked too bad, thankfully.

[clarion]

Brilliant ride this morning.  I kept re-passing the fools who went through red lights & pushed down ridiculously small gaps.  I'm happy to stay safer & wait - I got this old one junction at a time

It's a good feeling zooming past a load of cyclists.  Felt like I had a personal downhill

[Ham]

Great ride through the sunrise, had to get to my desk for an 8:00 call so kicked off at 5:40, shame the sun rose behind me ;-)

But, I did count my traffic lights.

198

Breaks down: 42 up to the City, 40 Aldgate to Oxford Circus, 39 Shepherds Bush, 40 Hanwell, 37 to Office (near Heathrow)

I shouldn't have been surprised but they do seem evenly spread, average 4.7 per km, one every 200 m .......... (higher in town, obviously)

[clarion]

That's a lot.

I managed a run of six red lights in a row coming out of Balham.  Not often that happens.

[Andrij]

Lousy commute today — I had to stand the whole way.  Oh, how I hate being off the bike. 
 

[vorsprung]

What a glorious morning, blue sky, no wind and cool

[citoyen]

What a glorious morning, blue sky, no wind and cool

Yes. I know. I sat there looking out of the train window this morning wondering why the feck I'd decided to leave my bike at home today. 

d.

[her_welshness]

On my way home last night (just getting into Deptford) on the A2 the buses were bunching up very close together, so something was not right. Sure enough, a motorcyclist was lying spread-eagled in the middle of the road. A cyclist had parked his Trek across the 2 lanes and was marshalling traffic away from the incident  2 minutes later the ambulances showed up. It was bloody slippery last night, I hope the motorcyclist is OK .

This morning was just a lovely commute in: it really is Autumn proper now!

[L CC]

I don't know how you londoners survive it.

+1
The most exciting thing that happened to me, thankfully, was that I borrowed No2daughter's mp3 player and was forced to listen to the radio in preference to Lady Gaga. All I could get it to tune into was radio 2. I gave up and sang to myself instead, thus spreading the pain of my knee to all around. Rabbits scuttled into the undergrowth to avoid it, crows squawked their disapproval and pheasants flew away from it.

[Adam]

I've managed to make two women very unhappy today, by making some very proper suggestions to them!!

First one was this morning, as I was approaching the line of built up traffic just before the 30 mph zone coming into Harpenden.  A quick look behind shows there's a car some way off, so I stick my hand out and move across towards the middle of the road.  The car brakes and swerves around me, just stopping in time for the cars about 20 feet in front of me and avoiding the traffic island.  As I went round her, she got a suggestion from me that she might like to learn how to drive.  She just had a gormless look on her face as I zoomed down the middle of the road.

And then this afternoon, heading back home along the High Street, I'm in a line of traffic moving about 7 mph, approaching a mini roundabout.  I'm on the left hand side, with a kid on a little motorbike on the right hand side.  We're just following the Corsa in front, when I spot the driver is playing with the apps on her phone.  So I scoot up the inside, bang really hard on her side window, making her drop her phone in fright, and suggest she puts the phone down before she kills someone.  Which was quite apt really, as she was wearing a nurse's outfit.

She shouted something about how I shouldn't be hitting her car before she accelerated away, although the kid on the motorbike chased after her, and stuck about 1 foot off her rear bumper, I think to wind her up a bit more.

So a good day's commuting for me. 

[itsbruce]

I raised my voice at two cyclists this evening and met a third who deserved it.

Number one wasn't even on his bike; I was waiting at the lights so I could cross Fulham Road, he was approaching along the pavement from my left, pushing a fashion fixie.  Just as the lights turned, he stepped out into the road in front of me, looking firmly to his left - so away from the traffic he's blocking - with a bloody mobile phone pressed to his ear, the cock!.  A loud "Excuse, pal, do you mind NOT doing that?" was quite restrained, I felt.

Number two was another bloody RLJer at the junction of Stockwell Road and Clapham Road, who accelerated though the lights and would have hit me side on if I hadn't shouted.  Yes, I realise most cyclists who travel along Clapham Road aren't aware of the cycle path with its own set of lights that allows access across to Stockwell Road.  Not being aware of everything is why RLJing is so bloody stupid.

I met Number three when I overtook a bus that had stopped at the lights.  As I curved in front of it to take position on the left to wait for the lights, some tit who was undertaking it (on a tight corner where it's even more stupid than usual) screeched to a halt.  I know he only stayed still after that out of embarrassment, because when he eventually caught up with me at lights further on, he just trundled on through and did a right without signalling.

[GruB]

NCN 45 to Salisbury.  Hilly.  Very windy.  Went past Gordon's again.  Didn't see him.
NCN 45 home.  Still hilly.  Still very windy.  Didn't see Gordon again either.
Tired when I got home.

[gordon taylor]

I left work today, feeling tired and stressed. The weather was wet and windy.

Forty minutes later, I'm soaking wet but whooping round a huge roundabout at warp six*, slipstreaming a removal van.
I get home and feel fantastic.

I'd be a wreck without my cycling fix.  



* edited: that's fatso warp six, which feels fast to me, but is actually a speed at which many other cyclists would probably topple over. 

[GruB]

Totally agree G.
My 1.75 hour journey to DHQ was spent planning the presentation I was to give at 1030 in front of many rank.
The journey went quickly and easily as I was 'not really there' 
Coming home was worse as the day was such a success and so draining that I was wrecked.

[Wowbagger]

My commute this afternoon was gruelling with an unremitting headwind. My top speed was 12.4 mph.

On the way back it was, of course, a different story.

[SlowCoach]

Had an interesting complaint from a car driver tonight on my way home. I was approaching a roundabout on the inside lane in the primary (wanted to go straight on and needed to make sure I wasn't left hooked - most of the traffic on the inside lane turns left) following the car in front at about 10mph. There was a car driving alongside me in the outside lane.

When I stopped at the roundabout waiting for a gap the driver of the car alongside wound her window down and complained loudly that by riding in the middle of the lane I was preventing her from pulling into my lane when she wanted to turn left - now she was in totally the wrong lane and what was I going to do about it... I very calmly suggested that she turned right from the lane she was in and do a complete 360 degrees around the roundabout... I also pointed out that I was riding in the middle of the lane precisely because I wanted to prevent a driver (e.g. her) left hooking me as it would make an awful mess of her nearside door and she didn't really want all that bother with the insurance people...

I was most restrained.

[Chris L]

...and do a complete 360 degrees around the roundabout...

450 degrees, surely?

Yep, I've got my coat.

[Kevina9]

270 degrees actually, if you think about it.

Sorry, couldn't resist.   

[Chris L]

I though that (it's three right hand turns, correct), but I settled on 450 'cos I thought she'd have to go all the round to where she was (360) another quarter turn (90) and then turn off.