Author Topic: On the commute today  (Read 2462175 times)

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20675 on: 28 March, 2019, 11:08:31 pm »
A great close view of a heron which was nervously watching me as I went passed.

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20676 on: 29 March, 2019, 10:15:58 am »
Presumably not a company-branded van as it's so nice to remind them what a great advert for their business it is.

The worse thing about CS7 is the other cyclists. Even the majority of vehicles on the non-CS A23 are mostly OK, it's just the occasional speeders (worst when a section of bus lane is no longer restricted, some of them like to zoom up the inside of traffic) and dope-fiends. But it's horribly polluted with exhaust fumes, which is why I take the back roads. Takes another fifteen minutes in toto, but my lungs thank me.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20677 on: 29 March, 2019, 11:46:36 am »
I've extended my ~13.5 mile commute to ~15 miles, to include traffic-lite / traffic-free bits of tarmac.
I feel safer and healthier for it.

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20678 on: 29 March, 2019, 12:50:17 pm »
It's shocking how bad pollution is along a road like that. It's the sort of thing like smoking on public transport that in a decade people will think 'what the hell, people thought that was OK?' about.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20679 on: 29 March, 2019, 01:17:36 pm »
the pedestrian crossing the road this am in full shouty F-OFF mode. F-Off was used a number of times as was DROP DEAD. All I thought was just turn the phone off - the conversation clearly isn't going to be resolved in a polite manner for a while.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20680 on: 29 March, 2019, 07:55:35 pm »
Presumably not a company-branded van as it's so nice to remind them what a great advert for their business it is.
Sadly not.

Quote
The worse thing about CS7 is the other cyclists.
Absolutely. Not all of them obviously, but enough to make it unpleasant at times.
Rust never sleeps

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20681 on: 03 April, 2019, 02:00:45 pm »
I was almost a bonnet ornament last night. The car coming towards me pulled into my lane to overtake a parked car. I swerved just enough to avoid contact. The low, setting sun was in her face.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

tonycollinet

  • No Longer a western province of Númenor
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20682 on: 04 April, 2019, 07:11:41 am »
I trust you started singing "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" as you passed him?
Damn and Blast!

And that was probably the only chance I’m ever going to get to do that!

On the plus side, the rest of us are now prepared.

I certainly am  ;D (best LOL of the week so far - thanks Paul/Kim)

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20683 on: 09 April, 2019, 11:21:34 pm »
Sales of cheap booze must go up sharply during school holidays.  I pass a few groups of kids out in the sunshine getting refreshed, and yesterday some kid lying face down on the grass with nobody near him. (he could have been dead !) As I stopped, some of his mates emerged from bushes to tell me he was just having a sleep and he was fine. I was glad to get going and not get involved, but as I left one of the girls shouted "skinny malinky" at me - that was all - no swearing !  ;D
Also spotted , close up views of roe deer and a fox in the last couple of mornings.

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20684 on: 10 April, 2019, 09:37:54 am »
I'd like to thank Network Rail for this morning's wake up call, given the van driver who decided to slide through a bunch of cyclists to take a side road off Southwark Street with nary an indication or any sign that he'd noticed any cyclists. A little less tread on my tyre now.

Still, it's not like Network Rail would be the sort of organization that you'd think would have safety part of their culture.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20685 on: 16 April, 2019, 12:08:21 pm »
Flatted on the way home and was in an area with a high Jewish population. i could have sold tickets to me changing the tube with kids (boys) asking me about tools/tubes/patches/pumps. The regular locals would have been asking the £value of everything and thinking how to steal something so made a nice change to have some interest shown

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20686 on: 16 April, 2019, 03:51:01 pm »
The Harry Quinn track bike has its new wheels, with 1st-gen Campag Record track hubs, Exal silver rims, very thin spokes, super-light Vittoria 22mm folding tyres and latex tubes.  I have no idea what causes it but it makes the most amazing "swishing" noise of any bike I've ever ridden.  Probably the tyres.  It's a great commuting bike for dry weather and the colossal toe overlap isn't an issue on the normal route.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20687 on: 17 April, 2019, 08:33:58 am »
Well I had the choice of either riding or playing taxi driver to an injured Miss S tonight, so I let Mrs S have the pleasure of the latter and rode in, that wind is stronger than it looks and I've got numb toes in my summer shoes, might just be the windchill.

Steph

  • Fast. Fast and bulbous. But fluffy.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20688 on: 21 April, 2019, 06:33:00 am »
Odd experience. REALLY warm on the ride home yesterday, finger-hurting cold on the ride in this morning (mitts instead of gloves). Mind you, the ride home is at 1730 hrs, the ride in at 0530, passing the 'Riverside Lake' in Horley, where the temperature always takes a nose dive.
Mae angen arnaf i byw, a fe fydda'i

Riggers

  • Mine's a pipe, er… pint!
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20689 on: 23 April, 2019, 08:45:51 am »
Schools are back. Need I say more?
Certainly never seen cycling south of Sussex

Edd

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20690 on: 23 April, 2019, 09:15:22 am »
Schools are back. Need I say more?

Not in Wales ;D easy ride in, could take the most direct route to work without squeezing past long double queues of cars. Although, given the nice weather, I may take the circuitous route back home later and poodle along by the river

Riggers

  • Mine's a pipe, er… pint!
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20691 on: 23 April, 2019, 01:38:36 pm »
You lucky chap. This morning felt like mothers-driving-their-kids-to-school were perhaps, on an anti-anti-climate change protest, by doubling up the amount of cars that regularly jam up the roads. Perhaps they think none of this applies to them?
Certainly never seen cycling south of Sussex

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20692 on: 23 April, 2019, 05:24:25 pm »
You lucky chap. This morning felt like mothers-driving-their-kids-to-school were perhaps, on an anti-anti-climate change protest, by doubling up the amount of cars that regularly jam up the roads. Perhaps they think none of this applies to them?

That's literally what the taxi drivers are doing in Middle Earth:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-48021881
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/live-updates-birmingham-taxi-drivers-16165780

I'm not sure how effective a strategy it's likely to be, as key Birmingham junctions blocked by slow-moving taxis is almost indistinguishable from normal rush-hour traffic.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20693 on: 23 April, 2019, 09:05:49 pm »
A scooter rider overtook me whilst I was riding up Penistone Road at a steady 30km/h, once in front she popped on her left indicator. I braked to avoid the obvious hazard ahead, she awkwardly hovered as if to let me go.

I ended up coming to a full stop on a 40mph dual carriageway because someone who is propelled an engine is able to read the road as well as a 2 y/o can read Tolkien

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20694 on: 23 April, 2019, 09:32:57 pm »
You lucky chap. This morning felt like mothers-driving-their-kids-to-school were perhaps, on an anti-anti-climate change protest, by doubling up the amount of cars that regularly jam up the roads. Perhaps they think none of this applies to them?

That's literally what the taxi drivers are doing in Middle Earth:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-48021881
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/live-updates-birmingham-taxi-drivers-16165780

I'm not sure how effective a strategy it's likely to be, as key Birmingham junctions blocked by slow-moving taxis is almost indistinguishable from normal rush-hour traffic.

It always makes me laugh when they do it in London, also because slow-moving taxis (often empty of passengers) aren't an inconsiderable cause of congestion. And the blessing of being a cyclist is that you can scoot past them, so they're mostly just holding themselves and other vehicles up.

Still, I admire their optimism that none of this will affect their families.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20695 on: 26 April, 2019, 08:24:12 am »
Pootling out of the estate thinking this bike feels weird, something up with the steering, checked the headset at the first junction, all's well, took me another 3 miles to remember I put a longer stem on it last week then took another bike  :facepalm:

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20696 on: 26 April, 2019, 12:54:02 pm »
At the station bike shed this morning was a man in his pants.
It isn't the first time I've found a cyclist changing before getting the train, but they usually make some effort to be discreet - it's got glass walls after all.

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20697 on: 26 April, 2019, 02:26:33 pm »
A deliberately slow, relaxed ride in this morning.

Close pass by a motorcyclist, felt the bag strap of their pillion passenger whip my back. Not hurt, but goodness did my heart go!

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Steph

  • Fast. Fast and bulbous. But fluffy.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20698 on: 30 April, 2019, 08:21:03 pm »
Ride home this morning after nights, and two of the greylag pairs have now got goslings. Deffo Spring!

Put a camera in my bag for tomorrow morning.

Rather more pleasant as a commute, though three times the distance, than my old one.
Mae angen arnaf i byw, a fe fydda'i

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20699 on: 02 May, 2019, 08:31:43 am »
Last night had a brommie rider sitting on my wheel though Stretford, when the road opened up he came past giving it the full beans to be hit by the wind, at the temporary lights a few hundred yards later he asked if I'd lead again. 

Laundry based clothing decisions this morning, ultra thin socks and thermal 3/4's, body failed to find way to transfer heat from under-carriage to toes.