On the commute today

[Adrian]

Had a bacon and mushroom omelet for breakfast. The weather is warm so I thought I'd do my training protocol on the commute.  Got to the top of the penultimate hill, nicely warmed up and ready to try and beat my time up the hill past Wallaces farm when...my rear wheel went bang. 

The tyre has a cut in it 1cm long.  I booted it with a piece of plastic wrapper and gingerly finished riding to work.  Hopefully it will get me home too.  The tyre, a orange Michelin Pro Race has done less than 200 miles.  Shame, it looks preeeeddy.

This needs a separate poll, have you ever managed to wear a Pro Race 3 out or was it retired by damage.

[her_welshness]

As the song says, foggy day in London Town! Wall to wall traffic from Deptford up to Jamaica Road, they have closed off a section of the lane in both directions and it was rather crowdy.

[Deano]

It was clear this morning (and I did enjoy the mile-long tailback caused by the temporary traffic lights on Haughton Bridge), but misty and mizzly on the way back, poor visibility and greasy roads.  I nearly lost the rear wheel twice and the front wheel once.  

I had to do some shopping, but I was at the wrong entrance to the horriblemarket to lock my bike, so I simply walked it around the aisles.  Nobody batted an eyelid - I'll bet they've seen worse.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I cycled to the train station, all 600m. Better than walking. :-|

[Nuncio]

The tyre has a cut in it 1cm long.  I booted it with a piece of plastic wrapper and gingerly finished riding to work.  Hopefully it will get me home too.

...and...?

Shorts!

S

Uvavu! Shorts! indeed.  But only going home last night at 13^o, not coming in this morning at 5^o

[clarion]

Not shorts this morning, but I was rather warm.

Lovely ride, if it weren't for the heaps of scrap metal dumped in the middle of the roads getting in the way.  They even had people sat in them.  Most odd.

Felt fast, but I didn't make it within the hour - partly because I'm still unwell, but mainly because of those bloody drivers.

[Andrij]

A rather quiet morning, but spoiled by a two incidents.

Bloke on the white Willier with deep rim wheels jumped a red light in front of me (no danger to me - he did it during the pedestrian phase).  One thing cheered me: he looked my way after I expressed my opinion on his road skills.  Good to know he heard me.    I've seen him before and can't say I've ever been been impressed.

A motorist cut across me as he jumped a red light.  I 'digitally' expressed my opinion of his lack of regard for the LAW.  I know he understood the message as I saw him shouting at me - through a closed window - as he made his turn.  It's a reaction I'll never understand: do something wrong, get caught, vent furiously at the person who caught you. 
 

[clarion]

I always take it as an admission of guilt.

[jogler]

.  It's a reaction I'll never understand: do something wrong, get caught, vent furiously at the person who caught you. 
 

litlle dick man syndrome

[alexb]

I saw a guy in a Volvo this morning, who's driving was exemplary, but clearly he was not having a good day. He was clearly indicating right, had a clear junction, but had to do a near emergency stop to avoid the Borris Bike who had decided to nip up his inside and go straight on.
Volvo man then carried on up the road, only to find the car he had stopped behind was actually intending to reverse into a parking space, but hadn't indicated. Cue lots of reversing and juggling lanes. The poor guy was a nervous wreck by the time I arrived alongside him.

Nice day for a bike ride though...

[vorsprung]

The tyre has a cut in it 1cm long.  I booted it with a piece of plastic wrapper and gingerly finished riding to work.  Hopefully it will get me home too.

...and...?

I made it home.  It was a loverly evening with a low red sun and little fluffy lambs in the fields

On the Roadrat today.  I'll sort out the Orbea at the weekend

[clarion]

Nice day for a bike ride though...

Repeat daily.

[TheLurker]

*Does happy dance*

There was white paint all over the road between the top of Fowler's Hill in Quenington and the end of Hambidge Lane in Lechlade last night.

It's still there this morning.

Every single pothole, even the small ones, for about 5 miles is marked up for repair and, it gets better, this isn't just your circles of paint that indicate a dab of low grade toffee will be dolloped over the crater.  This white paint is your proper "road plane the surface off and reinstate it properly" white paint.

*Continues happy dance*

[Nuncio]

How can you tell the difference between the different types of white paint?

Saw the person I think is Audaxer Peter Mennicke by Morriston Hospital as I was on my commute this morning.  Didn't realize it was him initially and then after he'd gone by in the other direction I started thinking that I should turn round and catch him up but then, just because it was definitely the person I think is Peter Mennicke it doesn't necessarily make him Peter Mennicke; and I'd probably have to shout something like 'Hey Peter!' to make him stop and that plan depended on his being either the Peter Mennicke or even a Peter.  By then I worked out that it was too late and if I'd turned round he'd have gone down 1 of three routes by the time I'd got into the hypothetical 'Hey Peter' hailing distance.  So I carried on.

[Wendy]

There was a time when I'd have sat left here, and then likely been passed at speed.  Not yesterday though, I took the lane and stayed in the middle, braking when I thought he wouldn't stop at first.  The driver was annoyed - although I think he had no reason to be.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/XfxW-i6mgEM&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/XfxW-i6mgEM&rel=1</a>

[TheLurker]

How can you tell the difference between the different types of white paint?
<snip>

Style of marking.   "Dollop marks" are just an irregular polygon around the crater to be "fixed".  Area resurfacing marks look not unlike square brackets at the start and end of the section to be planed. The width varies according to the width of the section to be resurfaced.  Sometimes with an arrow head to indicate which side of the "bracket" is to be redone.

[Honest John]

.  It's a reaction I'll never understand: do something wrong, get caught, vent furiously at the person who caught you.  
 

litlle dick man syndrome

Usually combined with an attempt to tell you that you were in the wrong, not matter how legally and sensibly you were behaving.

[mrcharly-YHT]

My chain snapped 4 miles in to the journey this morning. Just at an ordinary link, not the powerlink. Popped a link out and rejoined using my cranks tool, but couldn't get the rivet seated perfectly. New chain time, methinks.

In Leeds, a cyclist sails past me through a red light (I was waiting at the head of the queue). "Helloooo, red light" I sing out. He rolls through the next one as well (100m ahead).

I passed him 200m further on and stopped at the next set of lights. Sure enough, he sails past me "Do you know what red lights are for?" I call out.
He turns round, and with a face like he's had 10 pints of lager and his football team lost, screams "You, get a fucking helmet!".
Some people are wierd.

[Wendy]

That made me laugh, mrcharly!!

[her_welshness]

I passed him 200m further on and stopped at the next set of lights. Sure enough, he sails past me "Do you know what red lights are for?" I call out.
He turns round, and with a face like he's had 10 pints of lager and his football team lost, screams "You, get a fucking helmet!".
Some people are wierd.

 ::-)I had one cyclist pass me, I yelled 'Reeeeeed' and watched him gun through the red lights, just as this little old lady was crossing the road   W*nker of the Day.

Has anybody else read 'Wanker 101' blog? Brilliantly written.

[hatler]

I had to offer some practical advice to an RLJer today. Having sailed through a red he stopped half way across. Problem. From where he was stopped he couldn't see the lights change. So he doesn't get going until all the traffic is thundering past him.

I pulled alongside and suggested that if he does RLJ he might want to consider stopping somewhere he can at least see the light.

Blank stare ahead. No acknowledgement. I tried again.

"What ?"

I gave in.

[clarion]

I had bad friday legs this morning.

At least, it felt like it, but I ended up with a good average speed.  I think the amount of surprisingly clear road in between queues of traffic and numpty manoeuvres, coupled with a lucky run on traffic lights, helped.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I had bad friday legs this morning.

It's Thursday.
You are going to suffer tomorrow.

[clarion]

I know.  I sometimes get friday legs on monday, though.

[jogler]

screams "You, get a fucking helmet!".

is it going to be compulsory to wear one when fucking then? or with the emphasis on slightly different dickshun diction you could say that nature has equiped you with one,permenantly