On the commute today

[rower40]

There and Back yesterday. 10.3 miles each way.
First time (since moving to the wrong side of the Trent) that I've not taken a car or train for some portion of either morning or evening commute.

[Butterfly]

There and Back yesterday. 10.3 miles each way.
First time (since moving to the wrong side of the Trent) that I've not taken a car or train for some portion of either morning or evening commute.

Yay!
*waves at Rower40*

I was thinking about you the other day when we were building the brio. 

[mcshroom]

I came off on thick leaf mulch going down a hill this morning. The bike went out from under me and I no have a sore right shoulder, tenderised right hip and some big rips in some of my favourite cycle shorts.

The bike seems to have come off ok, with the shifter being knocked round, front mudguard a bit knocked about and the rear light broken (but should glue back together)

I also managed to cut my left elbow but not damage the cycling jersey As it's the same jersey I broke my arm in a few years ago I'm starting to distrust it, but it does say something about the durability of the Owayo YACF Jerseys.

I get the impression this is going to sting in the morning. Being cut up and unable to go into active areas won't make me popular at work right now either

[Kim]

I suppose that means chutney season is officially open...

GWS.

[mcshroom]

I'm blaming Brian (and Ophelia)

[Si S]

GWS mcshroom.

It appears to be the season for offensive lights, I think the guy behind me was trying to use some sort of primitive thumb to flag down passing spaceships. FFS when your light is preventing me looking behind and you're 250m back I think you're overdoing it.

[Ham]

Aten't that the troof, seems the same each year. I put it down to the new commuters learning the ropes. Maybe. I was Driving Mrs Ham last night (bit like Driving Miss Daisy only with more criticism) southbound along Woodford High Road and an oncoming cyclist (who may well have been headed up Epping New Road - a proper bit of shitty essex road to cycle  any time, cf DunRun) with two searchlights strapped to his bars and a frikkin' laser on his nut, waving around in the manner of head movement you see from a.... less experienced? cyclist. I thought, "someone soon is gonna learn him".

[TimO]

I think I'm finally giving up, on trying to solve the squeaky left hand crank, on the commuter.  Over the last couple of weeks, I've tried almost everything, but I've come to the conclusion that the crank is distorted enough (but not visibly) that it's going to creak regardless of everything I can reasonably try.

Whilst judicious use of a file on the crank tapers will probably work (inside, so not really a taper, but you know what I mean!) , I suspect it's going to be a lot faster to find the spare left hand crank, that I know that I have somewhere, rather than spend two weeks repeatedly adjusting the shape !

The noise has gone from irritating, to really really irritating, for 12 miles.   On the plus side, by pushing slightly harder on the left hand pedal, I can make a completely unignorable sound, that even the stupidest pedestrian can't fail to notice.

[sg37409]

System crash meant my commute home was at 10:30PM: Traffic was a lot different.  Much lighter, less predictable and faster.
I guess I was also less predictable, I was in a really p1ssed off mood. Went through a couple of reds and got mad at some drivers before having a word with myself.

Stopping for chips was what calmed me down a bit.

[TheLurker]

Short sleeved jersey and shorts? At the fag end of October?  Bit of a treat for me that.

[Paul]

Unsettling overtake on the way home last night: a truck pulled out sharply but only after it was level with, and inches from me. There was nothing coming the other way which might have stopped driver beginning manoeuvre earlier*. I suspect that the driver hadn't seen me until s/he was practically on top of me.

Tired? Poor eyesight? Distracted by something? Who knows.

Clean pants, please.

(*Because braking is rarely an option in this case )

[SoreTween]

When putting clean cycling gear away at the weekend I glanced at my winter gloves and balaclava but decided it wouldn't be that cold for weeks yet.
This morning I almost picked up a 2nd jumper to wear but nah, it'll not be that cold.

This post perhaps belongs in the "I'm such a fecking div" thread.

[CAMRAMan]

I stumbled across my winter bib tights yesterday, luckily. I also found my lobster claw goves and my fleece buff - when I got home! I saw my BCFC top lying next to the pile of washing and decided it wasn't too dirty/smelly to be a second layer this morning. That was a good move. 0.6C when I set out and frost on the garage roofs at the bottom of the garden told me it was going to be fresh out.

[clarion]

Nippy this morning!  Managed to fight my lungs all the way to the station, then have a surprisingly fast short section in to work.

Got a meeting later somewhere new.  Hope I get there OK.

[mcshroom]

Yesterday was my first commute after coming off last week. It was a little scary going downhill in the dark near trees but reasonably ok.

Today I used the hybrid though as my shoulder is still not 100% so I thought the uproght position might help. It's even slower than I remembered (though that may be the rider's fault)

[SteveC]

Lovely ride home tonight. There may have been a bit of a tail wind, both sets of temporary traffic lights were in my favour, and the roads seemed very quiet.
Not bad for the first dark ride of the winter (not that it's really dark at ten past five just yet).

[SoreTween]

So much warmer today
Cycled to the gym after work only to find I've lost my padlock again So I went for a gentle ride instead

[Si S]

Last night experienced the downside of running two Hope vision 1's, the originals, both lights cutout, fortunately a mate caught me up just at that point and I sat on his wheel for most of the way home, before playing musical cells with the rears to get enough juice for the remainder, must re-fit the dynamo.

[Andrij]

It's getting nippy out there.  I may need to start covering my knees soon.

[TheLurker]

I wore my longs today and a long sleeve jersey and I was glad I did, even for the trip home.  Sunrise was a bit of a non-event what with mist, but sunset was absolutely lovely.  Just a shame it was so bloody early.

[Jakob]

Going home yesterday. I'm on cyclepaths 90% of way and along it, it passes by the Science Museum.  There's a zebra crossing across the cycle path and in the last year or so, they've put in lots of warning signs to cyclists to slow down, including 'speed bumps', etc. Anyways. Pedestrians crossing and I stop. One kid stops and looks at me and as I don't move, starts running across...just as another numbty on a MTB comes screaming down the other direction and just manages to throw the brakes on and stops inches before the kid. (Who got the fright of his life).
I gave him a few choice words as a I passed by, but that was close!!!!.

[clarion]

Idiot!

Fortunately, I don't have many traffic interactions on my commute.  I started this morning feeling very weary, but, as has happened so many times before, a ride starting like that turned into a surprisingly swift time. 

Yesterday was the first day in more than a week that I managed all four sections of the commute on the bike.  I think that calls for some celebration

[lahoski]

Showed off my sexy frog belly, replete in Rapha, for today's commute. It seemed to keep people at a reasonable overtaking distance. The plan was that commuting would help reduce the size of it, but maybe I should keep it fed with additional beer and crisps each evening.

[rogerzilla]

Got moaned at by an unlit POB because my front light shone at him, the snowflake.

[Feanor]

Second day this week it's been sub-zero on part of my commute.