On the commute today

[Riggers]

^

That was a lovely 'Poem of the Day' Jurekkers. Thank you.

[Tim Hall]

Zipping past a slow moving queueueueue, I noticed one driver tapping away on his mobile. I slowed down so he was alongside me and made a "put the phone down" gesture. He made a gesture which could be interpreted as meaning he'd be another two minutes,but I suspect not. .I pulled alongside again and told him he was a very rude man. Cock.

[Socks]

First time I've been been able to complete the journey back home this afternoon, without need for lights.  Days are getting longer, winter might have a few surprises still but suddenly spring seems a bit closer.

And I become independent on 31st March, when my job is 'deleted' as a result of the cuts.  On the negative side, less money coming in unless I find other work; on the positive side, more time for cycling (and gardening, household chores etc). 

[Feanor]

First commute of the year today.

I've been off the bike due to injury since coming back from skiing.
I had a high-speed clatter on some very hard and unforgiving ice on the last day.
My ribs have only just stopped hurting.

It's noticeably lighter, and much more mild than I expected.
I was a little over-dressed and over-heated.

[sg37409]

Welcome back.
It was very mild here too, dressed OK for it but stopped to take off gloves.

[fuzzy]

Oh for mild. I haven't cycled since 17th January because ice. I don't bounce like what I used to so the fear of broken bones makes me wimp out in this weather.

[Andrij]

I really should sort out my bicycle computers if I'm going to record stats, instead of relying on my Garmin.  On my London commute, which is almost entirely E<->W on 'cycle superhighways', I think it is unlikely in the extreme that I have ever exceeded 80kph (which my eTrex has stated more than once this year).

For the record, I have exceeded 64kph/40mph no more than a handful of times, and only on some rather sizeable hills.  Such things are in rather short supply between East London and Mayfair (Col du Bow and Col du Canning Town don't really count).


EDIT: Supposed max speed lowere to 80kpH.

[TimO]

... On my London commute, which is almost entirely E<->W on 'cycle superhighways', I think it is unlikely in the extreme that I have ever exceeded 80kpm (which my eTrex has stated more than once this year) ...

Four times the speed of sound ...    That does seem a little unlikely!

Whilst I've cycled across quite a lot of ice in the mornings for the last couple of weeks, it appears to have mostly been very thin frozen dew, on a few local roads near home and the cycle paths across the commons.  Whilst I've been judiciously nervous, I've only felt the wheel skid once, so I think it's mostly not a problem.  I've only resorted to using the bike with studded tyres once, and I suspect that was unnecessary.

It did seem a little lighter this morning, but I think that was more about relatively clear skies before the fog descended again, than the nights actually getting significantly shorter.

[SoreTween]

Another visitation on the canal towpath.

In 9 months I've had 4 punctures of which 3 were on the Basingstoke canal between St Johns & Woking.  I've done 2285 km on the bike in that time.  A rough flick through strava I guesstimate I've used that towpath 30-40 times at about 2 km each.

3.5% of the miles, 75% of the punctures.  Hmmmm.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

So you think you've had a bad day..

Chinese man cycles 500km in wrong direction to get home

A man hoping to cycle home cross-country for Chinese New Year realised 30 days into his trip that he had been travelling in the wrong direction.

All was not lost even if he was..

The unnamed man could not read maps, meaning he had to rely on others for directions.
Police stopped him when he was riding on a highway, which cannot be used by cyclists.
After discovering his mistake, both police and people working at the toll station he was stopped at contributed to his ticket home

[TigaSefi]

London was more gridlocked than usual. Still, bike wins the day.

[clarion]

First of the new commutes!

With a big crosswind roaring off the sea, and a short detour via Shoreham Fort, only to find I had completely missed the bridge I was aiming for, and run out of land.

But it was fun, tiring, and I had a sense of achievement.  Just got to ride home tonight.

[Cudzoziemiec]

So tomorrow you'll be commuting by pedalo? 

[clarion]

Tomorrow, I shall be heading to Yorkshire!

[Si S]

Now that's what I call a commute 

Mine seems to be characterised by a whole new level of aggression from the evening motons lately, mind you Manc has been pretty much gridlocked in the evenings lately so that probably explains that.

[clarion]

Got home fine.  I enjoyed the ride very much.  31km is the longest day's ride I've done in ages.

[Andrij]

Tomorrow, I shall be heading to Yorkshire!

To make sure you arrive on time I suggest you leave home yesterday.  HTH. 



By the time I arrived home this evening I couldn't feel my toes.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Tomorrow, I shall be heading to Yorkshire!

For a Brighton to Yorkshire commute I'd advise going via Bridgwater to have SJS fit some S&S couplings into your pedalo. This will mean you can fold it and take it on the train. 

[Ashaman42]

Trains?! On the Southern network?! Don't make me laugh

[Tim Hall]

Trains?! On the Southern network?! Don't make me laugh

He could get a Thameslink from Brighton.  One of those fancy 700 class jobs, that are configured like one big bendy corridor without doors between each carriage. Ideal for a game of skittles as you rattle your way north. (Sadly the bike accommodation on a 12 carriage set seems to be 2 x 2 spaces, rather than 3 x 2 as you'd find on a 377)

[Deano]

Wish my commute was like that, Tim

[spindrift]

It's weird, cos Tim seems to have recently watched a film where a bloke in a car overtakes a cyclist badly.

[Ham]

Marilyn has to be better than a knobber in a Mondeo, though, by any measure

[Si S]

Lurgy seems to have settled in the lungs, wheezing along like a broken steam engine this morning, feels like I've been back on the fags.

[TigaSefi]

Lurgy seems to have settled in the lungs, wheezing along like a broken steam engine this morning, feels like I've been back on the fags.

I felt like that on Sunday! Christ, it was hard keeping up. Still managed 18 mph avg so not all bad. I just need to up the stamina!

Southwark Bridge way on the CSH had a huge spill of diesel. Can I report this anywhere?