On the commute today

[jane]

I got buzzed by an Audi too, yesterday, as I struggled up Peckham Rye through blasts of wind and rain.  As you cross quite a wide junction, the road up the side of the Rye is pretty narrow and busy. Sometimes, it's hard to maintain primary consistently as you leave the wide junction and head onto the narrower road.  I had left a touch too much space, obviously, (although, nobody else tried to get through after him) and he had accelerated away from the lights pretty fast.  The wind was blasting across the open Rye here,  so I was struggling to maintain a straight line in the unpredictable, powerful crosswinds.  It was not pleasant.  I came close to being Audi-squidged.  Following cars waited till there was no oncoming traffic to pass.  I gave them a friendly wave.  I used to give a thumbs up when passed considerately.  However, on one occasion, I became embroiled in an unpleasant argument at traffic lights, having caught up the driver I had thanked just a few seconds earlier.  He thought I had given him the finger.  He was both puzzled and annoyed and not totally convinced by my explanation.  So, now I employ a royal style wave, to avoid further confusions.

[Ashaman42]

He was both puzzled and annoyed and not totally convinced by my explanation.  So, now I employ a royal style wave, to avoid further confusions.

They'll probably just think you're calling them a wanker. 

Saying that I've had someone I waved at jump out of their van mid road and run at me swinging their fists so who knows how people will react.

[jane]

He was both puzzled and annoyed and not totally convinced by my explanation.  So, now I employ a royal style wave, to avoid further confusions.

They'll probably just think you're calling them a wanker. 

Saying that I've had someone I waved at jump out of their van mid road and run at me swinging their fists so who knows how people will react.

I hadn't thought of that! 
As my commute is so early, I rarely conflict with anyone else out there on the roads,  in the morning at least.  Quiet and plenty of space for all.  However, today was a bit of an exception.  Cheltenham Rd first (narrow residential road) and then Peckham Rye again, which considering it is part of LCN 22,(an otherwise peach of a cycle route into town, from a calm and quiet pont of view)  is not the safest of roads for cyclists- narrow, peppered with pinch points all the way along it (maybe ten pedestrian refuges- I'll count tonight) and parked cars at one end.  So I'm proceeding between two rows of parked cars on Cheltenham Rd and hear a car, screech round the bend, then accelerating, behind me.  There's an electronic speed check indicator here, so I look up.  it's registering 45mph (which I realise is not me, but the car fast approaching).  No room to pass, surely, he'll slow down.  Actually no, so I surrender primary in the last seconds and hunker into the parked cars.  Oh well, stuff happens.  Then as I descend the Rye, I hear two cars approaching very fast again, no sight or sound of deceleration.  I make a last minute decision to surrender primary at the pinch point, as my usual approach of no driver will actually deliberately run you over doesn't seem to be appropriate here and they come squealing through past me.  I have a feeling they were racing.

[Andrij]

I think I earned my breakfast* today — 22km at 24.6kph avg.  I really must get back into the habit of leaving early as the nearly empty roads are so much more pleasant.

* egg & bacon on toasty granary with brown sauce

[TimC]

'Twas like a spring day out there this morning.

It wasn't in darkest Suffolk - lots of black ice! Mrs C came a cropper while turning right at the bottom of a hill (fortunately no traffic around), and copped a couple of bruises though no damage to clothing or bike. Very shocked though. A (planned) day off the bike today for her.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

All throughout the icy conditions have had no near misses from careless drivers.  Today two.  Small car overtakes and immediately turns left.  *&^% in a Mercedes Sports car overtakes me when I'm following another car down Western Elms Avenue forcing me to brake hard.  Must be the rain.  So I overtook him back in a fit of pique.  All was then well with the world, especially as he turned off the other way down Oxford Rd.  Almost made me forget the wonderful tailwind.

[FatBloke]

On my commute this morning I was accompanied by the gentle tinkle of disintegrating front wheel bearings.   

[Gandalf]

Oh well it had to happen.  As the Contour Roam is somewhat less discreet than the old Veho Muvi I was wondering when it would attract unsolicited and ignorant comment.

Navigating the lovely Morden Town centre one way nightmare this morning, in primary for survival, when Mr Merc sounds his horn.  He catches up with me at the lights and goes over the stop line in order to pull alongside " just because you have a camera doesn't mean you can ride in the middle of the road".

I put him straight on a few things. I did ask him how many miles he cycled, whilst trying to point lights & camera at his huge belly. Hoping video comes out OK for Youtube fun!

[TimC]

On my commute this morning I was accompanied by the gentle tinkle of disintegrating front wheel bearings.   

Diet not going well, Fatters?

[ian]

Peckham Rye is always a battle of wills. A long straight road punctuated by pinch points (really, just who thought they were a good idea). Even though I take primary through the pinch points there's a subset of drivers who think that they can squeeze through the next pinch point ahead of me. Well, perhaps they don't, but they just have to try anyway. Must. Overtake. Cyclist. Usually, I just have to brake and let them through. I note that the majority of times this happens on the way downhill, I meet them again waiting at the lights. I like to think that they see the irony in this, but I suspect that's like expecting an amoeba to understand string theory. Drivers are usually better behaved on the uphill, probably because I wobble more. It's one of those places where there is always a headwind.

Lawrie Park Road near me encourages similar behaviour, though there's fewer pinch points. The Air Ambulance seems to get a lot of landing practice thereabouts (mostly cars and bikers investigating the grimer corollaries of Newton's laws of motion). In fact, I came home the other day to see a remains of a car embedded in the front of a bus on the main road by my house. Really, that's the fight you're not going to win (despite it being main road, there's a section with residential parking for some flats, so if there's a bus coming there's rarely room to get by, but as it's another straight road drivers think they have some kind of afterburner; needless to say it's another blackspot, at least two fatalities in the time I've lived here).

[citoyen]

Mahoosive tailwind on the way home tonight 

It'll be a bugger in the morning though 

Other way round for me - mahoosive headwind on the way home last night (and rain) but glorious tailwind this morning.

The only downside was just as I was about to start crossing the road BECAUSE THE LIGHTS HAD CHANGED a fucking motorist decided my life was less important than him saving a couple of seconds on his journey. 

d.

[Notsototalnewbie]

I had to hunker down on the Brommie yesterday, there was a horrible headwind.

Also on the usual narrow bit of road with a narrow segregated contraflow going the other way (where drivers sometimes get very impatient because there’s not really enough room to overtake unless you ride in the gutter) it was me and two other cyclists. There was a car behind us but it didn’t go screaming past us at the lights and hung back most considerately. Nevertheless one of the cyclists veered into the segregated lane (on the other side of the road ie going the wrong way) to let the car get past (except it didn’t, because I was riding to stop any squeezing past, and it hung back a decent distance anyway).

I understand it might have been a newbie cyclist who was intimidated, but doing that is counterproductive. For one thing if they’d met a cyclist going the other way that would have been interesting, for another it gives drivers the wrong message)

[alexb]

Last night was the first ride in a few days, so in the absence of ice and being too lazy to swap out the studded tyres I just maxed out the pressure. Wow! It's amazing what a few days rest and a suddenly responsive bike can do for your speed! It's just a shame that the constant buffeting sidewind was blowing me around so much, but otherwise it was so much fun to be back in the saddle!

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

On my commute this morning I was accompanied by the gentle tinkle of disintegrating front wheel bearings.   

I have some sympathy.  Rear mech is on its last legs, hopefully Action Bikes will be able to breathe enough life into it to get me home as otherwise it will be all the way back into headwind in the big ring 

[CJBrewer]

Last night was the first ride in a few days, so in the absence of ice and being too lazy to swap out the studded tyres I just maxed out the pressure. Wow! It's amazing what a few days rest and a suddenly responsive bike can do for your speed! It's just a shame that the constant buffeting sidewind was blowing me around so much, but otherwise it was so much fun to be back in the saddle!

I've not been out of the saddle, but having put the MWs back up to about 70psi instead of a squishy 35, the folder feels SO fast and nippy

[jane]

Peckham Rye is always a battle of wills. A long straight road punctuated by pinch points (really, just who thought they were a good idea). Even though I take primary through the pinch points there's a subset of drivers who think that they can squeeze through the next pinch point ahead of me. Well, perhaps they don't, but they just have to try anyway. Must. Overtake. Cyclist. Usually, I just have to brake and let them through. I note that the majority of times this happens on the way downhill, I meet them again waiting at the lights. I like to think that they see the irony in this, but I suspect that's like expecting an amoeba to understand string theory. Drivers are usually better behaved on the uphill, probably because I wobble more. It's one of those places where there is always a headwind.

Lawrie Park Road near me encourages similar behaviour, though there's fewer pinch points. The Air Ambulance seems to get a lot of landing practice thereabouts (mostly cars and bikers investigating the grimer corollaries of Newton's laws of motion). In fact, I came home the other day to see a remains of a car embedded in the front of a bus on the main road by my house. Really, that's the fight you're not going to win (despite it being main road, there's a section with residential parking for some flats, so if there's a bus coming there's rarely room to get by, but as it's another straight road drivers think they have some kind of afterburner; needless to say it's another blackspot, at least two fatalities in the time I've lived here).

We have had lots of arguments with Southwark about the road alongside Peckham Rye east side.  It really spoils LCN 22, which is a pretty good example of how to put together a decent safe, quiet route through London.  The pinch points are a nightmare, although, if you live in the flats opposite the Rye, they are absolutely necessary to get across the road, especially with buggies, elderly neighbours, small children etc . Believe me, I know this from experience.  So, even though with my cyclist hat on, I hate them, I appreciate they are needed. 
We have suggested a cycle path down the Rye, which could use the lights at the bottom to reintegrate cycle traffic into the main traffic flow again.  Unfortunately, there is apparently quite powerful opposition to tampering in any way with the Rye.  Personally, I can't see how a cycle path would cause any problem,  aesthetic or otherwise, especially compared to the car carrying road which slices the Rye in half anyway.  To me it seems the perfect solution and would enable many young people to use this route to cycle to school (two large secondary schools on two sides of the Rye, whose pupils swamp local bus stops and buses at hometime.  So much better to have their energies used up cycling to and from school, than getting bored and mildly disruptive at the bus stops.

[Jurek]

Must confess I have to agree with Jane about pinch points.
As a cyclist their use needs to be stage managed, even though to do so may require formidable resolve.
As a pedestrian they're often a life saver.
Not far from me on Perry Vale there's a very busy crossing point opposite some shops and, crucially, an off licence where, at 17:30 or thereabouts, the traffic is relentless, and probably concentrating on how it's about to engage to win supremacy of the mini roundabout 50 metres away.
You could be stood there waiting for five minutes or more while the cars flow past unabated.
They've since installed pavement build-outs on both sides of the road, which slows the traffic effectively - presumably electrically heated door mirrors are quite spendy to replace - making the sprint across the road to the offy, considerably shorter and safer.
On reflection, as a cyclist, I think I prefer the built out pavement over the traffic island in the middle of the road, as a traffic calming measure.
At least with the build out, you can sometimes have the opposing traffic working in your favour.

[PaulR]

Yeah, but it's the world's worst offie now, isn't it?  And I'm not so sure about the chips at Sabah either.  Mind you, the dry cleaner's a nice chap.

[Jurek]

Yeah, but it's the world's worst offie now, isn't it?  And I'm not so sure about the chips at Sabah either.  Mind you, the dry cleaner's a nice chap.

Yep, I curtailed my cross-road sprints when the shop became a mini-market and stopped stocking Sauvignon Blanc.
A crime for which there should've been nothing short of a custodial sentence. I've not had the Sabah (ranks) chip, but the cafe over the road is pretty good - if only they did eggs benedict....

[PaulR]

By way of clarification, neither Jurek nor I have, as our (sole) daily commute, the walk to the local off-licence.

[ian]

...
We have had lots of arguments with Southwark about the road alongside Peckham Rye east side.  It really spoils LCN 22, which is a pretty good example of how to put together a decent safe, quiet route through London.  The pinch points are a nightmare, although, if you live in the flats opposite the Rye, they are absolutely necessary to get across the road, especially with buggies, elderly neighbours, small children etc . Believe me, I know this from experience.  So, even though with my cyclist hat on, I hate them, I appreciate they are needed. 
We have suggested a cycle path down the Rye, which could use the lights at the bottom to reintegrate cycle traffic into the main traffic flow again.  Unfortunately, there is apparently quite powerful opposition to tampering in any way with the Rye.  Personally, I can't see how a cycle path would cause any problem,  aesthetic or otherwise, especially compared to the car carrying road which slices the Rye in half anyway.  To me it seems the perfect solution and would enable many young people to use this route to cycle to school (two large secondary schools on two sides of the Rye, whose pupils swamp local bus stops and buses at hometime.  So much better to have their energies used up cycling to and from school, than getting bored and mildly disruptive at the bus stops.

Considering Peckham Rye is effectively a field, rather than a landscaped park, I'm not sure a cycle path down the side would abrade its aesthetic properties. I quite like LCN 22, which I usually join by the snowless pedestrian bridge of mystery in the deepest, darkest back corner of Brockley. I've always been of the opinion that some sensible route planning and minimal infrastructure would far surpass slapping spending millions slapping gallons of blue paint down. Admittedly less fun and you can't call it exciting things like 'superhighway'. I may have mentioned that I was very impressed with CS7. I had heard of the yellow brick road to Emerald City, but never the scabrous blue road to Tooting.

Whereas I do see the point of traffic islands, I think they fix one problem by throwing several others at it. Of course, in a perfect world, drivers would exercise a little courtesy and commonsense and hang back for a second or two, and then it would be a non-issue. Is that cold, hollow laughter I hear? If crossings are needed, crossing should be provided. I'm all for bringing back zebra crossings, which are becoming something of a rarity. Refreshing drivers that pedestrians have priority over them wouldn't be a bad thing. We're all ultimately pedestrians (apart from people without legs and Chorlton's Wheelies).

Build outs are a better of two bad options, though they do tend to encourage the game of chicken unless they're suitably wide.

I dunno, I have a wild and wacky theory that we should police our roads. I know, I know, calm down there with those outrageous beliefs. It's crazy, I know, but I'm not on drugs. There was a shooting incident up the road from me last year (of which the only casualty was a front door) which I believe attracted the entire Metropolitan Police force. When an old lady got run over a few weeks later, she got one squad car and an ambulance. There was some concern over the brief road closure.

[David Martin]

That was a bit breezy tonight on the way home..

[Jurek]

Once again, ian, you've put things so succinctly...
However, it seems you've never ventured inwardly from the periphery of the Rye to discover the delights of a beautifully landscaped park, with oriental garden, ornamental bridge and decorative waterway in the centre of what you describe as a field  .
Having said that - I'd not lose a vast amount (any) of sleep were a 3 to 4 metre tract of the east side of the park to be 'sacrificed' (Oh! The sacrifice!  ) to make a shared use / cycle path.
Others may disagree.
I use the route regularly to get into town and the amount of abuse / close passes I've experienced along there don't enhance my day.
To the point where going Crofton Park, Brockley and OK Rd seem to be my preferred choice.

Oh, and in answer to DM - Blowy as f*** man! And it's not my last day!

[jane]

Ian, we share part of a commute route and hold similar views of the possibilities for organising traffic flow in the capital including an affection for zebra crossings.  I was reading  Dick King Smith's The Hodgeheg, a novel which assumes knowledge of these cultural icons, with  a group of 6 seven year olds in the lunch break today and four of them did not know what one was at all.  The others had to be reminded, by a rather poor drawing of mine.
     
   

[jane]

Maybe, one day in the summer, those of us who commute up Peckham Rye should have a flashcoffeeandcake at the posh new cafe next to the old prisoner of war camp (aka the one o'clock club) on the Rye.