On the commute today

[clarion]

That's by far the coldest morning we've had so far this autumn.  But it was OK.  I rode at a decent pace and kept warm.  Many fewer riders on the road than the last few weeks.

[DrMekon]

I left the house at 5.30am, and inadvertently did 46km. Damn it was cold. Sealskinz winter gloves appear to be unable to resist windchill, even with the extra merino liners. All I can remember of the ride is the piercing cold and my nose running so much the buff became frosty. Had my first "why am I doing this" moment in a long time.

[mrcharly-YHT]

First sub-zero ride of this winter. Slightly spoiled by the puncture.

[alexb]

What is it about cold weather and car drivers with punctures. I saw two drivers with flat tyres this morning. One passed across my path and I was unable to do anything to alert them, thoe other was stopped at lights ahead of me, so I was able to warn her that she had a completely flat front driver's side tyre and two rear tyres that were very low. so three flat tyres and she was completely unaware of it, despite the car sounding like a rolling fart!

[MattH]

To be fair, some modern cars have very good sound insulation so she may not have been able to hear from inside.
On my wife's car, you really can't feel a difference in handling with tyre pressures between 10psi and 40psi, unless you are driving enthusiastically (we had a slow puncture). Totally flat may be a different matter.

[clarion]

I get disturbed by the number of cars in London driving on spacesaver emergency tyres which themselves are flat.

I've seen cars entering motorways driving on them, and passing at 100mph or thereabouts. 

I've also seen a car with at least two spacesavers on.

[Wendy]

Had a nice enough pair of round-trip commutes this weekend, with the exception of a p*&&$£re on arrival on Sunday morning.  Not a big problem, except that it occurred just as I was about to film two students to analyse their technique.  Even then, it was more annoying than serious, thanks to having a spare vehicle stored in the boot of my bike (aka skates). 

[L CC]

Cold cold cold. When are my granny knickers coming? There was that unmistakable sparkle on the road and I was reminded of January's offs, but I told myself to HTFU and did the mind over matter fight the fear thing and was only a little bit slower than usual.

[The Seldom Killer]

A little caution was warranted this morning. I had a bit of a fishtail moment this morning as I hit a patch of heavy frost.

[Nuncio]

Heavy frost round my parts too.  The Neath/Talbot authority roads had been gritted for the first time this season, the Swansea ones had not.  I was cautious and had no problems.  I'd forgotten the experience of my hands suffering on the first descent and gradually warming up over the course of the commute as my toes go in the other direction, if you see what I mean.  Anyone else get this?

[The Seldom Killer]

Yep.

Time to crack out the shoe covers.

I've also heard that a thin layer of bluetack between insoles and cleat plates can help as well.

[rower40]

Powers That Be:
When you change a law so comprehensively and fundamentally, can you please inform ALL road users?
Only 3/4 of the car drivers I saw on Pr*d* P*rk in D*rby were obeying the new rule, that mobile phone use is now MANDATORY.
 

[itsbruce]

Heavy frost round my parts too.

Bit late in the year for nude cycling, surely.

My commute took me across the Ku'damm, past the Zoologischer Garten, through the Kindergarten and the Brandenburger Tor, along Under den Linen...  oh, that's right, I'm not at work and have no business posting in this thread.

Cycling around Berlin is fun. Also, I was given a Dashing Tweeds cap as a present. Result.

[Diver300]

Powers That Be:
When you change a law so comprehensively and fundamentally, can you please inform ALL road users?
Only 3/4 of the car drivers I saw on Pr*d* P*rk in D*rby were obeying the new rule, that mobile phone use is now MANDATORY.
 

Surely the remaining 1/4 were at least complying in spirit by using a hands free phone so that their thoughts could be elsewhere?

[clarion]

That was quite a ride!  Just got faster & faster.  Final moving average 24.6kph*, which included a loop round at the end to round up the distance a bit.

I'd thought I might have had a tailwind, but the loop suggested otherwise, and the Met Office say not as well.

Great stuff.




* Yeah, yeah, I know.  There's loads of you ride faster than that every day.  But not me.  And I'm still not well.

[Greenbank]

At the traffic lights by the pedestrian crossing on York Road near Waterloo station.

Other cyclist: "Loads of twats on the road today isn't there."

Me: "What? Like that cab driver by St Thomas's? He only beeped you because you swerved out to overtake the cyclist in front without signaling or looking behind you, you almost swerved into *his* path, he wasn't passing you closely as he was completely in the other lane, I was behind watching you both. Then you pull in front¹ of me at the lights rather than queuing behind me, then you jump those lights by 5 seconds or so², then you jump the lights on York Road which were clearly going to change before you stamped on the pedals, they'd been red for 3 seconds when you went through. And then, after all of that, you moan at a fellow cyclist because you think that everyone else on the roads is a twat? I've only seen one real twat on the roads this morning so far..."

Him: "..."

1. I passed him whilst he was calling the cabbie names.
2. Lucky for him, otherwise he'd have held me up and I'd have been delving deep into the large economy bag of stab.

[The Seldom Killer]

Today is wet, which means stupid. Today's prime example was an SUV (what a shock). Mother and kids, none of whom seemed to be wearing a seatbelt, gunned it wide to get past me before a pinchpoint. Very wide actually, pretty much to the other kerb. The result being that she clipped the pinch point and seemed to lose control. Luckily she managed to retain control when she careened into the left hand kerb.

I'm learning a lot about parenting, should I ever have kids.

[vorsprung]

Wet n warm n very windy

Legs are good though

[Wendy]

At the traffic lights by the pedestrian crossing on York Road near Waterloo station.

LOL, really?  That's awesome!

[clarion]

Very impressed with a rider last night.  On a Giant MTB with fat tyres and a power meter hub.

Kept pace all the way up from Stockwell to Tooting Broadway.  I was pushing a bit; there was no way I could have managed that pace on an MTB.

Good to ride with people who are a shade faster.

[urban_biker]

I expected to get wet this morning - but didn't. Rain started 15 minutes after I arrived at work and I had a superb commute and came the long way in.  I suspect they'll be a headwind as I head West on the way home though.

Legs finally coming back online after some kind of cold/bug that didn't really make me feel unwell, but just so crap and tired on the bike. Either that or I am just fat and unfit

[Nuncio]

Well it was very wet round my parts* this morning and promises to be equally moist on the return.  First use of incontinence waterproof trousers for some time.

*itsbruce - It's an aged R4 'Radio Active' reference from when they spoofed the (also now long defunct) 'Down Your Way' with a show called 'Round Your Parts'.

[RJ]

Chased an RLJ-ing Discovery for just shy of 2km (Bruntsfield - Royal Mile via Victoria Street*) - and caught up with it in a queue of traffic at the top of the Mound.

I was polite 

* - up the way

[urban_biker]

Well it was very wet round my parts* this morning and promises to be equally moist on the return.  First use of incontinence waterproof trousers for some time.

*itsbruce - It's an aged R4 'Radio Active' reference from when they spoofed the (also now long defunct) 'Down Your Way' with a show called 'Round Your Parts'.

I did love Radio Active. And of course KYTV which was also excellent. My kind of humour.

[clarion]

Oh yes, stunningly beautiful pink sky over Croydon at sunrise.  Wonderful.