Author Topic: On the commute today  (Read 2462028 times)

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20825 on: 21 August, 2019, 10:58:55 pm »
There is a real Bah Road too! https://www.makaan.com/agra-residential-property/buy-land-in-agra-bah-road-153762-lcudn
If that's on ian's commute, he's probably lost.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

bludger

  • Randonneur and bargain hunter
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20826 on: 21 August, 2019, 11:26:04 pm »
to be fair I'm a Londoner and I'd only known of the Bath Road when I moved to Berkshire as that was the site of the local TT speed demons.
YACF touring/audax bargain basement:
https://bit.ly/2Xg8pRD



Ban cars.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20827 on: 22 August, 2019, 08:34:40 am »
Very pleasant one this morning after a soaking last night.  :)  But it looks like I'll get a soaking again this evening   :(

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20828 on: 22 August, 2019, 09:59:25 am »
I've no idea where Bath Road is. Somewhere near Bath would be my guess.


And you call yourself a londoner! Bath Rd = A4 through west london e.g Hounslow.

Hmm, I might have known that – I did use to live in Ealing – but I'm a Souther now. It's a long way to Bath from Hounslow though.

Anyway, I didn't get to ride along the runway (which is mostly fallen to bits) because the glider people were still packing up.

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20829 on: 06 September, 2019, 10:38:11 pm »
Alas, the day is drawing its shades on my longer summer commute. The final league was decidedly crepuscular this evening. There was even a special guest owl. A deer nearly ran into me (fortunately I was going uphill at 0.1 mph, it wouldn't have been so lucky has it been one of the usual Friday-night chavrockets). Popped straight out of the hedgerow, stopped for a moment (green cross what?), then bounded off. Later a cat ran out in front of me and stopped. I stopped. We did the stand-off. No really, you go. Then it bolted back the way it came and up a fence. It really should have looked where it was going then it would have seen the other cat sitting right there on top of that fence. Oh well, that's what happens when you collide large feline hadrons. A very loud interaction. The runway was empty so I did my Spitfire thing. Come get me, MOD. Next stop, Area 51. Beer. Bath. Beer. Sovereign, Deadly, Perfect on the radiogram. It might be 30km on a Brompton, but it sure beats the train and good god, the scrunched and miserable faces in the cars.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20830 on: 08 September, 2019, 12:28:53 am »
Commuting on the speedmachine for [reasons].  Lots of laughs from the kids at the FE college.  I noticed on Thursday a couple instances of repeated beeping from cars; not aggressive (I don't think) more like exuberant oafs after England have won at the 11-a-side.

Also, cyclist SMIDSY'd me, pulling out to turn right across me.  I was going apace and had just had the thought of "there's a road ahead to my left with poor visibility, maybe I should coast a bit", which probably helped.  I reckon he clocked me and misjudged the time he needed to get past me.
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

telstarbox

  • Loving the lanes
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20831 on: 16 September, 2019, 08:03:41 pm »
Lights were deployed.
2019 🏅 R1000 and B1000

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20832 on: 16 September, 2019, 08:18:10 pm »
My commute was a tad different today



That's an ordinary bike path,  in between a quiet road and  a motorway. Really hard to get used to how good it is over here, even away from the main towns. (Netherlands)

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20833 on: 16 September, 2019, 08:47:54 pm »
Last week but memorable. While stopped at the only level crossing on the way to work, the Union of South Africa chuffed past with some happy passengers.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

caerau

  • SR x 3 - PBP fail but 1090 km - hey - not too bad
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20834 on: 16 September, 2019, 08:57:32 pm »
I saw TWO tractors going through the city centre the other day.  One would be unusual but two was magnificent.  I'm sure the other local drivers were livid.


No though, that was not what was that remarkable.  What raised the bar was, that the first one, on Castle Street itself - the centre of the universe in Cardiff - was seen by lots of small children and was greeted with lots of cheering, jumping up and down and general excitement of those little tots on their way to school.  This made me smile a lot :)
It's a reverse Elvis thing.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20835 on: 17 September, 2019, 09:11:40 am »
Beautiful morning today. It was cool when I left the house, but when I went down the hill to the canal path, you could feel the drop in temperature. It was around 5.5C on the canal path this morning.

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20836 on: 21 September, 2019, 03:52:54 am »
The past week was my first full house of cycle commutes this year. ‘Something’ has always got in the way to date and working away probably means no cycling next week at all.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20837 on: 24 September, 2019, 08:31:26 pm »
Cyclist overtook me clambering slowly up Fountain Drive, one of the delightful cheeks of Mount Crystal Palace. It was only belatedly I noted he was emblazoned with the word YACF. Now he could have been advertising everyone's favourite long-player Sounds from the Feline Vomitarium: 101 Tracks Guaranteed to Make Your Overstaying Dinner Guests Leave or one of you has escaped.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20838 on: 25 September, 2019, 06:21:45 pm »
First commute on the df fixed after three weeks on the sm laidback.  Felt like I was riding a tall bike or ordinary!
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

rr

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20839 on: 25 September, 2019, 08:47:53 pm »
Had a visitation as I approached home, flint through a marathon plus.
Got the tyre on and off no problem though.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk


Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20840 on: 25 September, 2019, 09:55:29 pm »
Two bloody punctures on the way in today. Bah !!
Rust never sleeps

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20841 on: 26 September, 2019, 08:24:21 am »
I went through a spate of punctures but the durano's I was using were pretty worn and seem to cut up very easily on the canal.  I've gone on to gatorskins. I've not tried these (or any continentals) before.

Last night I was on a quite narrow winding road where cars will pass close and quite fast.   They did but I recognised a motocyclist coming the other way and we waved at each other. This seems to make drivers treat you with more respect, its like they now recognise you as a person rather than an inconvience.  I've noticed this often, to the extent that when I happen to meet my wife at the sets of traffic lights in Kirky on her way back from work (quite often) I make sure its obvious I am seen to be chatting in a friendly way with her in the car.


Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20842 on: 26 September, 2019, 10:21:07 am »
I saw TWO tractors going through the city centre the other day.  One would be unusual but two was magnificent.  I'm sure the other local drivers were livid.


No though, that was not what was that remarkable.  What raised the bar was, that the first one, on Castle Street itself - the centre of the universe in Cardiff - was seen by lots of small children and was greeted with lots of cheering, jumping up and down and general excitement of those little tots on their way to school.  This made me smile a lot :)
:thumbsup:
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20843 on: 26 September, 2019, 04:56:19 pm »
Dickhead tried to overtake and turn left all at once, straight into a single lane road with traffic coming in the opposite direction.  Ended up in the middle of the intersection, unsure what to do, looking like a ...
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20844 on: 26 September, 2019, 06:47:14 pm »
After a fairly benign spell, yesterday evening was horrible. Two drivers simply turned across my path forcing me to skid to a halt. One because she simply must get that parking space, the other, who knows, I doubt she even noticed my existence as she simply overtook and immediately turned left. Coming down South Norwood Hill, a mini-cab simply stopped with the preamble of pulling over and the door swung wide so someone could leap out into my path causing another emergency deceleration. She at least apologized, but yeah, not bright on behalf of her or the driver.

Obligatory aggressive overtake by a monster truck I'd held up for approximately four seconds in South Croydon. And then almost, on the local over-parked and least favourite road (well documented elsewhere) a bunch of idiots revving about an inch from my back wheel to a chorus of shouted abuse. I eventually (an entire ten seconds later) turned off and a moment later an empty glass bottle flew by my head into the hedgerow. Then they sped off, only screech to a halt about fifty metres down the road. At that point, I opted not to hang around for a chat.

It really shouldn't be like this.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20845 on: 27 September, 2019, 06:05:53 pm »
Ian, that sucks!
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

ian

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20846 on: 27 September, 2019, 06:25:23 pm »
It was. And to make it worse, it wasn't even a craft beer bottle.

I do feel bad now about not calling the police, but really what did I expect them to do. Some blokes that I didn't actually see in a car that I can't identify. Even if the police gave a shit, which I doubt.

It's really the impotence of being unable to do anything about it. I have a quaint notion that one should be able to cycle down a road and not expect to be abused and threatened.

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20847 on: 27 September, 2019, 09:16:40 pm »
Virtual hug and good vibes to you sir.
I suggest getting really grumpy about it for the evening, then tomorrow recall the 364 good days where you are thankful not to travel in a cage or cattle class.
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20848 on: 01 October, 2019, 01:31:50 pm »
Carrying the cool tool around paid off last night. I came upon a young cyclist in the rain, bike upside down, explaining to someone on the phone that the chain wouldn't stay on. When she finished her call (I think it was a she, but it was dark, my glasses were wet, and she was so wrapped up I couldn't be sure), I asked if I could help. She explained that she'd come off her bike and now the chain wouldn't stay on. On inspecting the single chain ring, it was bent, and deviating from true by about 1cm. The plastic chain guards either side were cracked and unable to keep the chain on the wobbly ring.

Another cyclist turned up to help. I said to the first that I might be able to straighten the ring but there was a risk it could break instead of bend. She said it was okay to try it because her folks didn't have a car so her only alternative was walking home the 12 miles. (That wouldn't have been necessary: I was only 2 miles from home and I would have cycled home and come back in the car for her and bike if I hadn't been able to fix it). She had started at college the previous week and was cycle commuting.

I got my cool tool (with adjustable spanner) out and adjusted it to the width of the ring. She held her front light so I could see what I was doing (it was properly dark by now) while the other cyclist braced the bike. It took about 5 minutes of gently 'cold setting' the ring back to a straight enough shape that the chain would stay on it. The other guy suggested changing gear on the back to get as straight a chainline as possible, and advised her to stay in that gear. I asked her if she was okay to ride and she said yes - her knee was a bit sore, but she said she could manage.

The three of us set off and the chain stayed on for the next 1.2 miles: the point at which me and the other cyclist parted ways with the YP. Before we did so I said she should get her bike checked out before her next journey, and she said her dad could do that. I hope she made it home. I think she should have done: everything was in tact and - barring another incident - it looked robust enough.

I've occasionally thought about dropping the cool tool from my armoury: I have a full-length 15mm ring spanner for the nuts on the wheels of the fixed bike, and pedal removal with the adjustable spanner would be so hard that I'm not sure it would even work. But I'm fond of it, and you never know when an adjustable spanner might come in handy - like last night.

 :thumbsup:
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: On the commute today
« Reply #20849 on: 01 October, 2019, 04:33:27 pm »
Paul the hero!

Anyone else fed up with getting absolutely drenched?
<i>Marmite slave</i>