On the commute today

[GothonaBrompton]

After a stupid and pointless overtake by the very first car I encountered this morning, I decided to go for the Wandle Trail again, though this time on fixed.  I've done that before, but I was fitter.  Ah well, never mind.

Even Friday legs would have helped, but I did enjoy the ride.  Bit of a problem about half way along, though.  I got a stick caught in the gear cable (S3X, remember), and then I caught my foot, so the cable was ripped through the retention bolt, which would have stuck me in top gear.  I didn't fancy riding rough surfaces on 90", because I'm not as nails as Teethgrinder, so I stopped and readjusted the disintegrating cable.  It was OK, but as it settled in (I think the flattened, de-stranded part stretched out a bit), the middle gear slipped, so I had another go.  This time, it was just fine.  I had feared that the BB guide, which is only glued on, had come away, but fortunately that was sound.  Anyway, three cyclists passed me while I was fettling.  Only the third, a woman, actually asked if I was OK.  As it happens, I was just putting my spanner away when she asked, so I smiled and let her carry on.

To the top (ish) of the Trail, then through the byergh of Wandsworth to the riverside path then backstreets from the Heliport to Battersea Park.  realising I was short of time, I realised it would be quicker to ride over the Thames and back to avoid the delays at Vauxhall, so I did that, and tried hard to keep up with a very fit woman on an aluminium Trek, who blasted away from the rest of the peloton on Embankment.

At Lambeth Bridge, and with a heavy heart, I turned back towards work, but I did enjoy the trundle past the IWM and SBU under the shade of the trees. 

Ticked over to 25km just after I entered the street where I work.  A real disappointment to have to stop.

Do the Wandsworth riverside paths come up on CycleStreets?  I'd like to have a pootle down them one weekend with hubby - maybe riding into town from Putney.  I go by on the train every morning on the way into Waterloo but often see cyclists going past near the industrial bits just before the gyratory.

[clarion]

It's a lovely ride in from Putney.  And the path has changed a few times, what with building work affecting access, so I couldn't say what the full route is like at the moment.  It's very variable, with mostly shared paved sections, but occasional dumps onto the road (such as at the Heliport), narrow ginnels, barriers, unsigned turns and the like, as well as a bit of awkward manoeuvring at the mouth of the Wandle itself.  But a swish through Battersea Park is always a delight.  Well worth doing.

[Kim]

I set out to explore the Wandle Trail back when I lived in London and 25 miles was a long ride.  It rapidly deteriorated into an epic victorian explorer style adventure complete with dense undergrowth, blood-sucking insects, angry natives, voodoo navigation and indeed saddle sores.  I doubt that Stanley had to contend with anywhere near as many Silly Sustrans Gates and dodgy cycle lanes, but if he had, no doubt he would have attributed them to Ken Livingstone.

[clarion]

Most of the barriers have been removed, but it depends on which council area you're in.  The worst was a bridge which spiralled in to the middle, then spiralled out again the other side.  Passable with a tandem, if you can wheel it on its rear wheel.  Simply bonkers otherwise.  The spiral arms (which cost umpteen GBP for an artist to create, along with two other bridges with horrid surfaces when wet, and difficult turns from ramps as well as kerbs up) have been hacked to half their length, so now it's just very awkward with a solo bike.

Mind you, the barrier at the bottom of a drop (both ways) in the middle of a metal surfaced bridge is a doozy.

Surfaces on the Wandle trail vary massively, with no more than about 200m of any type.  There's sand, tarmac, gravel, macadam, brick paviors, mud etc etc. 

And it's very hard to get through the Tooting section without a nettle sting.

[Kim]

The worst was a bridge which spiralled in to the middle, then spiralled out again the other side.  Passable with a tandem, if you can wheel it on its rear wheel.  Simply bonkers otherwise.

That one's in my (as yet unwritten) list of top 5 silly cyclepath obstructions^[1] of all time.  It's one of the few where I've given up and folded my folding bike in order to negotiate it.  I'm pretty sure which end of the genius-insanity spectrum that one lies on.


_{[1] I'll go and start a thread, shall I...}

[clarion]

That's a thread which could run and run.  But that bridge, delightful as it is for walkers, is a supreme example, simply because it isn't remotely accidental, but a deliberate commission.  Appropriate word for something that's half-way criminal.

[clarion]

There are at least two sections of the Wandle trail where the designers have just shrugged and said 'This is too difficult', and dumped you onto a silly road.  The worst of these was due to be solved by the LCN+ network, which jolly old cycle-friendly Boris Johnson axed, let's not forget.  Another sends you up a busy hill (joining the road just before a constriction heading North), and through an estate before putting you onto a decent cycle path which dwindles with comic hilarity, as it crosses a couple of junctions and the entrance to a petrol station at just the place drivers aren't looking, to a deeply inadequate shared path.  That's to avoid a short and pretty section which is still designated footpath, but could very easily be sorted.

[ian]

There are at least two sections of the Wandle trail where the designers have just shrugged and said 'This is too difficult', and dumped you onto a silly road.  The worst of these was due to be solved by the LCN+ network, which jolly old cycle-friendly Boris Johnson axed, let's not forget.  Another sends you up a busy hill (joining the road just before a constriction heading North), and through an estate before putting you onto a decent cycle path which dwindles with comic hilarity, as it crosses a couple of junctions and the entrance to a petrol station at just the place drivers aren't looking, to a deeply inadequate shared path.  That's to avoid a short and pretty section which is still designated footpath, but could very easily be sorted.

I use the Wandle trail a lot and yes, that weird spiral bridge is definitely a little bit – ok, a lot – special. Occasionally, for added fun, they decorate it with the hospitality committee of one of the local estates. It's always good to see the local wildlife in its native habitat.

[interzen]

Surfaces on the Wandle trail vary massively, with no more than about 200m of any type.  There's sand, tarmac, gravel, macadam, brick paviors, mud etc etc. 

Sounds like I need to get Pugsley (re)built and get my arse down to London

[clarion]

Oh, I wouldn't say it was exciting enough for Pugsley.  I rode it both ways yesterday (well, most of it) on a fixed with 25 section tyres.

[PaulR]

A post-Dunwich bad neck led me to fit sit up and beg bars on my Pearson at the weekend, and the ride to work was delightful.  Had a chat with another pearson rider at New Cross Gate and then met Ben/Skully, whom some of you may remember fron November's Cambridge ride, and we had a pleasant chat about ruined abbeys and such like.

Also had a chat with a greentomato priapus driver who pulled left into my lane, clipping my bars with his wing mirror.  I queried his driving, and he apologised and then whined "I indicated and I apologised, what more can I do?"   I suggested that he might take care not to drive into cyclists, so he repeated his whine.  So I spelled it out again: what I'd like him to do is not drive his car into me.  Does he really think that it's OK to hit a cyclist, so long as you indicate that you're about to do it, and apologise afterwards?

Oh well, the pleasures of the ride were far greater than the woes.  My neck is already thanking me for changing the bars.

[alexb]

Also had a chat with a greentomato priapus driver who pulled left into my lane, clipping my bars with his wing mirror.  I queried his driving, and he apologised and then whined "I indicated and I apologised, what more can I do?"   I suggested that he might take care not to drive into cyclists, so he repeated his whine.  So I spelled it out again: what I'd like him to do is not drive his car into me.  Does he really think that it's OK to hit a cyclist, so long as you indicate that you're about to do it, and apologise afterwards?

Sounds a bit like the driver who reversed into me.
"I looked and I couldn't see you, so it's your fault" was his basic line. Repeated over and over again. I was delighted to be told that the correct place for me to position myself to go straight on at a junction was by the kerb, "so he could see me", as opposed to directly behind him on the centre-line of the car, directly behind his rear view mirror...

[ian]

Also had a chat with a greentomato priapus driver who pulled left into my lane, clipping my bars with his wing mirror.  I queried his driving, and he apologised and then whined "I indicated and I apologised, what more can I do?"   I suggested that he might take care not to drive into cyclists, so he repeated his whine.  So I spelled it out again: what I'd like him to do is not drive his car into me.  Does he really think that it's OK to hit a cyclist, so long as you indicate that you're about to do it, and apologise afterwards?

Sounds a bit like the driver who reversed into me.
"I looked and I couldn't see you, so it's your fault" was his basic line. Repeated over and over again. I was delighted to be told that the correct place for me to position myself to go straight on at a junction was by the kerb, "so he could see me", as opposed to directly behind him on the centre-line of the car, directly behind his rear view mirror...

Self-justification is common. The chap who pulled out into me took the time and trouble to turn on his indicators afterwards (I had a nice view as I was sprawled on the road) and left them on until the police turned up. His first words to a police officer: "I was indicating."

Even if he had (and he most definitely hadn't), I still think it a tad unreasonable to pull out without looking and into another road user and send them flying over your bonnet. Still, the Met didn't think that was careless either, so there you go.

[SteveC]

A race between me and the rain this evening.
I nearly won!
However, if I'd done my usual homeward bound pootle, I've have been totally drenched so it was worth it.
Shame I didn't think about timing the ride until nearly half way, though.

[SteveC]

Coming back home I was doing a bit of commuter racing. The road was busier than usual; in fact the traffic seemed heavier everywhere as if there were a problem somewhere closer to town. As I came into the village, a car overtook me, then realised there might not be room for him and the transit to fit past the parked cars. We all, just about, came to a halt in time. Sigh. And I didn't catch my target.

[PAC]

Sooooo.....now working in London, so have purchased a Brompton S2L, which is a superb bike   Observations so far:

- It's superb, but blimey, it's slow up hill!
- I can burn up other cyclists on normal bikes until I reach about 10kph
- The sheer amount of other 'people riding bikes' that completely ignore traffic lights is shocking

Great fun

Cheers!

[Gandalf]

Also had a chat with a greentomato priapus driver who pulled left into my lane, clipping my bars with his wing mirror.  I queried his driving, and he apologised and then whined "I indicated and I apologised, what more can I do?"   I suggested that he might take care not to drive into cyclists, so he repeated his whine.  So I spelled it out again: what I'd like him to do is not drive his car into me.  Does he really think that it's OK to hit a cyclist, so long as you indicate that you're about to do it, and apologise afterwards?

Sounds a bit like the driver who reversed into me.
"I looked and I couldn't see you, so it's your fault" was his basic line. Repeated over and over again. I was delighted to be told that the correct place for me to position myself to go straight on at a junction was by the kerb, "so he could see me", as opposed to directly behind him on the centre-line of the car, directly behind his rear view mirror...

Had a woman nearly pull out in front of me, but thankfully awoke from her reverie just in time.  I got one of those coy little smile & wave combos.  Not sure what reaction that is supposed to elicit " ooh you nearly killed me, you cheeky little scamp"?

[Riggers]

Ab-so-lute-ly nothing to report on my commute (as usual), apart from the drizzle being a little heavier than expected, and the schools are 'off' which, as we all know, means the roads are empty. Well, almost.

Usual 2 minute ride.

[GothonaBrompton]

Why does the rain always (well, the last 2 days anyway), wait until I get off the train at Waterloo at 07:50 to start?

If it was raining when I left home at 07:00, or I spotted it on the train windows any time before Putney, I could take the 'can't be ars*d/legs are tired/hungover/cold/wet' route of changing at Clapham Junction, getting the train one stop to Victoria, and barely getting up to speed before pulling over into the office.

From Waterloo isn't far, but surprising how that misty rain gets you soggy in a short time.  Too warm to put the pakajak on.

[Basil]

First commute for nearly two weeks and the first one since the schools broke up.
The annual re-learning of the new traffic patterns.

[Kim]

First commute for nearly two weeks and the first one since the schools broke up.
The annual re-learning of the new traffic patterns.

Don't forget the non-event that is the closure of the A38 tunnels.

[phantasmagoriana]

Bah. I knew I should have taken waterproofs...

[SlowCoach]

Bah. I knew I should have taken waterproofs...

You should have bought those Aldi rain legs when they were on offer. I've packed a set in my saddlebag and never needed them once since doing so...

[Kim]

Bah. I knew I should have taken waterproofs...

You should have bought those Aldi rain legs when they were on offer. I've packed a set in my saddlebag and never needed them once since doing so...

That's how rainlegs work.

[Otto]

Bah. I knew I should have taken waterproofs...

You should have bought those Aldi rain legs when they were on offer. I've packed a set in my saddlebag and never needed them once since doing so...

That's how rainlegs work.

Same as normal legs but apart from being a little moist