Author Topic: On the commute today  (Read 2462273 times)

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20775 on: 15 June, 2019, 12:11:14 am »
To be honest, while I accept the safety argument in principle – if there's someone revving hard behind me and I pretty much know it's an aggressive twunt in Audi or a lorry driver on the phone telling his mate about the epic hangover he has, yeah, I'm gone. But the majority of lights I see jumped aren't because of safety, it's impatience because the person on a bike can't be bothered waiting a minute or so. Which is same reason drivers do it, of course.

The smell of sweet Mary J is strong the Mad Max re-enactment zone that is Croydon. I suppose it takes the sting out of living there.

There's another reason that red lights get jumped. Bad design.

Often a junction will have sensors, either inductive, or motion, to detect that a vehicle is waiting at a particular light. Unfortunately not all sensors will detect a bike. I've had numerous occasions where after several minutes of watching the whole junction cycle through, without my side getting a green, I've given up and cycled across when it seemed safest.

I'm riding a steel bike, you'd think it'd be enough to trigger an inductive sensor, how carbon bikes fair, I've no idea. Yet in both the UK, and Netherlands, I've had to jump red lights because they just didn't change.

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20776 on: 15 June, 2019, 09:06:41 am »

There's another reason that red lights get jumped. Bad design...


We had this problem at some temporary traffic lights on my commute last week.

First car was miles back from the lights, and I'm pretty sure they only changed when the system 'got bored' and set our lights to green. I was about to dismount, walk back to the car and explain that he needs to be nearer to me! That would be a first.  :)

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20777 on: 15 June, 2019, 12:10:49 pm »
Traffic lights should have a time element as well as a sensor, so that each direction gets a green light once every n minutes if it hasn't been triggered anyway. This isn't always present but it sounds like it was in your case. I expect there's a standard for the value of n but what it is, whether it's satisfactory and whether it's always followed, I don't know.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20778 on: 15 June, 2019, 05:10:49 pm »
Artic in front of me at conjested roundabout. I’m 2m behind it, in the middle because there’s no choice: parked cars to the left and just enough room for oncoming traffic to the right. There’s a line of cars behind me and we’re all waiting for the lorry to move.

Suddenly, the truck’s reversing lights come on and I realise my predicament: I’m in the detention level garbage-masher.

I stood still for a moment: sometimes reverse lights just come on (I don’t know why that is). But the lights stay on and then, incredibly (because the circumstances are far from conducive for such a manoeuvre), the lorry starts reversing.

I was off the bike sharpish and looking for my exit when it promptly stops, and starts to pull forward.

Phew.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20779 on: 20 June, 2019, 02:58:38 pm »
Turns out that this morning was "drive like a dick" day in Birmingham, with more cars than usual on the road.
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20780 on: 20 June, 2019, 05:21:21 pm »
Turns out that this morning was "drive like a dick" day in Birmingham, with more cars than usual on the road.

#CleanAirDay

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20781 on: 21 June, 2019, 11:35:14 pm »
#ffs
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20782 on: 27 June, 2019, 10:30:28 am »
On the commute yesterday, mad skillz on display: hooded gentleman riding hands free and texting with both hands.  Well done sir!
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20783 on: 27 June, 2019, 11:25:51 am »
Car drifting over very close every time it passed me. I was going to ascribe intent till I noticed the driver was (a) high as a fucking kite and (b) shouting into the phone she was gripping in the hand that wasn't holding her odoriferous cigarette. As a bonus, her young kid (I'd guess about 10) was in the passenger seat.

Welcome, my friends, to badlands of Wild West Croydon.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20784 on: 28 June, 2019, 02:01:51 pm »
I had a new experience on a bike yesterday; when whizzing down hill the air was so hot that the faster I went the hotter it felt, instead of the usual cooling effect.

mcshroom

  • Mushroom
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20785 on: 28 June, 2019, 10:39:24 pm »
I discovered a downside of playing around on bridleways for a commute is when you meet the local herd of bulls being moved back to their farmyard!
Climbs like a sprinter, sprints like a climber!

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20786 on: 01 July, 2019, 08:50:01 am »

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20787 on: 01 July, 2019, 09:17:54 am »
Ah, that's where I parked it.

Not really commute, but took the long route back from one of my wife's gigs on the common of Clapham yesterday, which was pleasant. For me, not the for the guy in the Enterprise luton van on the lane just up from the church in Chaldon, who'd managed the snag the back on a tree limb, wrenching it off and distributing the contents of someone (from the look on his face, his) house move over the road). Judging by the advanced state of cleanup, he'd been sitting there wedged across the lane for some time, he'd found some cones for other drivers to ignore at the end of the lane. I hope he ponied up for all the insurance options when he hired that van.

Just because GPS says it's a good idea, it doesn't make it so.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20788 on: 02 July, 2019, 02:57:19 pm »
Knew someone whose husband drove their removal van under a low bridge. I was told the debris field was spectacular  :)

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20789 on: 02 July, 2019, 05:09:54 pm »
I forgot from my Adventures in Wild West Croydon collection – traffic was snarled up on Friday evening. The cause eventually became obvious, a driver had stopped up by the station to wait for a parking space. Now there wasn't actually a parking space, she was just waiting. Nothing could get by. Honk. Honk. Beep. Beep.

She was having a full-on row with the other drivers and refusing to budge, yelling 'I NEED TO PARK HERE!'

Rumour has it that even the four horsemen of the apocalypse detour the area.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20790 on: 05 July, 2019, 08:15:34 am »
First full house of 2019, don't really know why, got lazy I guess, part of the idea was that if I did less commuting I'd do more riding for fun, in the end I just did less riding.

Got complimented on my signals by a chap from Seamons last night who wanted know which club taught me them. Errr......Osmosis Wheelers?

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20791 on: 05 July, 2019, 10:11:14 am »
On the ride home yesterday (on the laidback) won a game of chicken against an uncoof of yoofs who wheelied at me taking up the whole path travelling in the other direction.  I have been informed on a couple occasions that I need to take the bike to the doctors, because it is ill*.

*the word "sick" may have been used
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20792 on: 05 July, 2019, 10:23:46 am »
First full house of 2019,
Don't you have to get home first before you can call it a full house?

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20793 on: 05 July, 2019, 07:15:15 pm »
First full house of 2019, don't really know why, got lazy I guess, part of the idea was that if I did less commuting I'd do more riding for fun, in the end I just did less riding.

Got complimented on my signals by a chap from Seamons last night who wanted know which club taught me them. Errr......Osmosis Wheelers?
I only managed my third of the year two weeks ago. I must be slacking.
Rust never sleeps

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20794 on: 06 July, 2019, 05:00:12 am »
First full house of 2019,
Don't you have to get home first before you can call it a full house?

True, but I wasn't going leave the bike in the middle of Manchester all weekend

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20795 on: 06 July, 2019, 11:14:58 am »
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20796 on: 06 July, 2019, 11:42:12 am »
Probably 'ridden to/ from work every day of the working week'.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20797 on: 06 July, 2019, 08:02:01 pm »
Not a game for me to play; I’m about 4 miles from work and the only other option would be walking (there’s a ym comic about what I do whe;it snows).
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20798 on: 08 July, 2019, 09:48:18 am »
Probably 'ridden to/ from work every day of the working week'.

Yes, that. I went for years with hardly a day missed, a lot of the pleasure has gone from it.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20799 on: 08 July, 2019, 06:33:08 pm »
Because my OH was away I had to do the school run and then get myself to Wolverhampton to do some lectures, then get back again for the school sports day. Took the Brompton, thinking I'd cycle from school to the bus station then get the bus, but decided I didn't want to risk being late, so just decided to cycle all the way. Was pretty ok - the roads weren't too busy, drivers were surprisingly good as passing, and if the industrial estates weren't all that picturesque, the sun was out. 15 miles on a Brompton was more tiring than I'd expected, mind, but I think I'll do the same again later in the week when I have to be in Wolves again.