Author Topic: On the commute today  (Read 2462395 times)

bludger

  • Randonneur and bargain hunter
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20900 on: 26 November, 2019, 10:15:23 pm »
Had a few bits happen today.

Firstly, in the morning when I got into work, I noticed that my right shoe's sole had split near the cleat. They're a pair of Spanish luck shoes I've had for about 19 months. After a quick chat with Katie on the live chat, Planet X are going to honour the warranty and have given me a paid-for postage sticker to send them back them with, which is good of them. I have given them a good febreeze-ing to try to spare them the worst of the whiff  :P

Secondly, on the way home, it became clear my left crank had come loose. Tightened it back up, the bike's done about 9,500 kilometres and stubbornly refuses to do anything wrong. I will be glad to be rid of it but amazingly I have still yet to have a puncture on the bike so can't moan about it that much. I have been through more wheelsets on this bike than I have inner tubes (the ones that came with wore out). Madness.
YACF touring/audax bargain basement:
https://bit.ly/2Xg8pRD



Ban cars.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20901 on: 28 November, 2019, 02:20:20 pm »
Last night the elderley motorist who insisted on two thirds of his car occupying the cycle lane. He had a great quantity of my lumens thro' his back window but he didn't move over. Got past eventually and after that I could have sold tickets for the motoring antics (luckily away from me) that were going on

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20902 on: 28 November, 2019, 07:35:17 pm »
I'd like to recognise the courtesy of the many drivers last night who reacted to my outstretched hand as I indicated to pull out to avoid yet another oceanic puddle by slowing down and letting me perform said manoeuvre rather than simply hammering their horn and trying to barge by the first opportunity.

Well, I'd have liked to.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20903 on: 28 November, 2019, 11:21:56 pm »
Motorist in blue car stopped to let me out and then passed with masses of space.

Cheers!
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20904 on: 29 November, 2019, 05:17:52 pm »
Turning and stopping as a car pulled out of their drive - did not realise I did this on ice.

Next thing I knew I was running down the road with my bike skidding alongside me.  Never did that before and wouldn't have managed if I had tried.
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20905 on: 03 December, 2019, 08:33:06 pm »
More stylish than my falling off, standing back up, slipping over and having the bike fall on me then. I did manage to lose the wheel at some speed on some autumnal leaf slush the other week we're I somehow did much the same as you, by landing on my feet while the bike flipped and landed next to me so I could hop back on, no bother. Audience of nil, mind.

I was naughty this morning and bypassed the scaresomely rimed road surface by cycling on the pavement.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20906 on: 04 December, 2019, 08:45:21 am »
Nice morning today, with my new front light. (cateye ampp500) My previous cateye volt200's didnt seem to be holding charge long enough for journey home and back, and they were hopelessly out-gunned by the mega-lights I meet coming along the canal.

My commuting has been a bit irregular recently because of nights out and loss of mojo.  Hoping to get back into the routine now.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20907 on: 04 December, 2019, 06:13:58 pm »
Last week stopped to offer a guy who was struggling to with a puncture a CO2 canister.  Rushed off after to pick up kids.

Yesterday morning's note to self.  When you have your own puncture (on Marathon winter spikes which are a b****d to get off, but easy as pie to put on), make sure you have closed the valve on the C02 device before screwing in the canister...

Further ignominy on returning to the bike after working late to find that the other tyre was punctured. Finally admitting defeat, I took the train home.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20908 on: 06 December, 2019, 05:23:55 pm »
My chosen longer route home had to be aborted due to the large fresh diesel slick that had been leaking from a bus or truck some way ahead of me.

Seemed to be particularly bad on the downhill bits. I came off due to a similar leak a few weeks ago and injured my wrist.
Mind of a cyclist, body of a dart player.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20909 on: 09 December, 2019, 10:25:29 pm »
Probably my slowest ride in to work this morning - something to do with 18 miles of 30 knot headwinds.

Alas the wind had dropped this afternoon.  ::-)

However today did bring my total bike commute on this job (since May) to over 1,000 miles. Quite pleased since this is with working from home 2 days a week, and not riding if it's pissing with rain  (don't really want to spend 1 1/4 hours getting soaked).

All in all a  :) day.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20910 on: 11 December, 2019, 09:26:49 am »
Yesterday was the first day in a very long time that the FRB was closed for the commute in both directions.  Brilliant service for walkers/cyclists with flat bed trucks waiting at both ends to take you and your bike across. 

Yellow warnings for wind and rain and gusts up to 60mph+, so rule #9 applied. Proper horizontal rain at times on the way home.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20911 on: 16 December, 2019, 10:29:02 am »
Had to walk some bits this morning.   Very icy so was riding really slowly which meant I was freezing cold. 

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20912 on: 16 December, 2019, 10:36:00 am »
Had to walk some bits this morning.   Very icy so was riding really slowly which meant I was freezing cold.

Car for me. It looked as if it had rained and then turned to ice as soon as it hit the ground. My street and the route to work was like an ice rink.
Mind of a cyclist, body of a dart player.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20913 on: 16 December, 2019, 11:24:06 am »
BANG! Inner tube exploded - 2 mins from home. Back home, change wheel off we go. 7 miles later BANG - same issue. There is a hole in the sidewall caused by a brake pad that has moved prob when I hit a pothole. So new tube with a vinyl glove acting as a tyre boot and then a steady 5 miles hoping nothing else will go wrong. So 2 tubes gone and at least 1 tyre - amateur!

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20914 on: 16 December, 2019, 01:20:05 pm »
Yesterday was the first day in a very long time that the FRB was closed for the commute in both directions.  Brilliant service for walkers/cyclists with flat bed trucks waiting at both ends to take you and your bike across. 

Yellow warnings for wind and rain and gusts up to 60mph+, so rule #9 applied. Proper horizontal rain at times on the way home.
What are FRB and rule #9?
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20915 on: 16 December, 2019, 01:24:54 pm »
Forth Road Bridge and https://www.velominati.com/
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20916 on: 16 December, 2019, 01:34:35 pm »
Cheers.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

TJG

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20917 on: 16 December, 2019, 10:12:35 pm »
I am convinced the gritters this year have been using a finer grade of salt than in previous years, I have barely even felt them.  The first I met going the other way this evening even stopped and gave me a thumbs up, must have been a cyclist driving.  Lulled into a false sense of security I did not even flinch for the second I met.  That one was loaded with the more familiar buckshot! Ouch. 

I am definately not complaining though.  The side roads were starting to look dicey.

Mrs Pingu

  • Who ate all the pies? Me
    • Twitter
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20918 on: 16 December, 2019, 10:27:36 pm »
Last night everything was frosty when I went to bed. When I got up this morning the thermometer said 3C. I didn't fall down the steps of certain death outside our door and there were no signs of ice. So far, so good.

Until I got to the other side of town, turned off a ped crossing and onto a shared bike path and lost drive. Message didn't get through to my brain so I changed up a gear and promptly fell off and broke my magic hat.  :(
Importantly nobody saw me.

Pushed the bike most of the way up the big hill to work.

Assumed it would all be warm when I left for home but it was worse with more ice over much more of the route. Lost all my confidence and pushed a lot of the way home.  >:(
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20919 on: 17 December, 2019, 01:34:32 pm »
The blinky LEDs in my Lumo jacket came in handy when returning a loan bike to the LBS to pick up my own bike yesterday. I'd left work later than expected, a few minutes after sunset, and the loan bike only had reflectors on it.

Lumo seems to have gone out of business though. Nothing on their social media since May and you can't purchase anything on their website (shopify error messages). Phone line seems dead too. That's a pity.
So, after a lot of thought, I'd like to reconsider. Please, if it's not too late, make it a cheeseburger.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20920 on: 17 December, 2019, 07:26:43 pm »
On my ride home last night a driver waited patiently behind me as I approached the apex of the narrow, double solid white-lined hump back bridge.

This is something of an event, to be frank.

Then, even though there was probably enough time and clear road in the 200 yards (if the driver had accelerated hard) to overtake me before coming to a complete stop at the back of the very visible queue of traffic at the roundabout ahead, s/he decided to sit patiently behind me at 20 or so mph.

I try not to praise driving which is only of the standard one should be entitled to expect but that bar has moved so much over the years that I was happy to turn around and give this driver a big thumbs up.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20921 on: 17 December, 2019, 11:30:45 pm »
It was so foggy my helmet light beam was painting a cone in the air that obscured my vision.
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20922 on: 19 December, 2019, 08:15:58 pm »
I try not to praise driving which is only of the standard one should be entitled to expect but that bar has moved so much over the years that I was happy to turn around and give this driver a big thumbs up.

I feel that way, too. Bear in mind that you're not just acknowledging the safe driver immediately behind you, you're also demonstrating to the rest of the queue that cyclists appreciate courtesy and consideration.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20923 on: 20 December, 2019, 08:38:34 am »
Getting very weary of wet roads. Someone told me that cambridgeshire was officially arid.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20924 on: 20 December, 2019, 08:39:47 pm »
A rare cycle commute for me today due to having a company van but needed this off drive for Christmas. Thankfully the biblical rain had stopped by about lunchtime but was still very wet out. Stopped at Colchester United ground for a kit change in one of the covered cycle shelters as my waterproof trousers were really uncomfortable over shorts so work trousers went back on.

Due to tiredness and a cold the temptation to get on a train was great at Colchester and as I started to slog into wind down the A12 cycle path from Marks Tey the urge to turn back to Marks Tey Station was greater but I carried on. Found seeing the path hard but think that was due to cycling toward oncoming traffic who's lights massively outshone mine.

Glad I did persevere though