On the commute today

[mrcharly-YHT]

Unbelievable. I'm met you on several occasions, and you are just not a challenging or aggressive chap. The last person I would have thought would attract trouble.

Maybe you need to go the opposite, become Mad Max on a bicycle.

[LindaG]

This bullying on the roads is a disgrace.   I hope you well and truly get your mojo back on the commute Clarion.  Luck.

[alexb]

...complete arsehole of a bus driver, who was so keen to get out and assault me that he knocked a cyclist down leaping off the bus

Wanker.

Maybe more later.

I've been OK about this.  Although I was actually assaulted by the driver, and had a plastic PC tell me all about how all cyclists jump red lights etc, I've managed to write most of a report on the incident, and make a complaint about the PCSO/traffic warden/officious ignorant twat in yellow/whatever.  And, I'll give credit to Wandsworth Police, that they did call me back this morning to say that the team who deal with complaints wouldn't be in till this afternoon, and I've just had a very sympathetic call from one of that team.

But I'm just having a massive wibble.  I've got to go out on those roads again in less than an hour, and, if people are going to use buses as weapons, and people in positions of power are prepared to make up things about me, I don't feel very safe at all.

I'll just hide under my desk till its time to leave.

I'm leaving in about 15 minutes, if you're still around we could meet up and ride back to the edge of Streatham together.

[citoyen]

Guerilla knitting.

I've heard of it happening in Whitstable and Herne Bay - but never in London.  

As if to prove you correct, here are some knitted bikes in Whitstable:


d.

[citoyen]

But I'm just having a massive wibble.  I've got to go out on those roads again in less than an hour, and, if people are going to use buses as weapons, and people in positions of power are prepared to make up things about me, I don't feel very safe at all.

Good luck out there, Clarion. You do seem to attract more than your share of nastiness, which I'm sure is just bad luck on your part rather than you doing anything wrong - for the reasons mrcharly says.

Not fair! 

d.

[Jurek]

Guerilla knitting.

I've heard of it happening in Whitstable and Herne Bay - but never in London.  

As if to prove you correct, here are some knitted bikes in Whitstable:


d.

That's just outside The Cheesebox on Harbour Street, isn't it?
I have a friend who lives in Whitstable who first told me about guerilla knitting and, yet, she refuses to confide in me as to whether she is or she isn't a guerilla knitter  

[citoyen]

That's just outside The Cheesebox on Harbour Street, isn't it?

Certainly is.

d.

[rower40]

I used the 'bent to ride to work today.  Headwind on the way in (so it was slow), and big uphill on the way home (ditto).
No aggro to report.

[teethgrinder]

On a Milton Keynes Redway going home, I saw two kids coming towards me side by side. A girl on foot and a boy on a bike. They were side by side, so I slowed so we could sort out how we would pass each other.
The boy on the bike said, "Don't run me over, run her over, she won't be missed."
Judging by her laughter, she took it in good spirits.
I didn't run anyone over.

[benborp]

After having checked that everything that is supposed to still revolves, I ride along the the outside of a queue of traffic and stop alongside the driver's window of a car-

Me: What happened there then?

Driver: I don't know.

Me: You ran into the back of me.

Driver: I didn't hear or feel anything. Sorry.

Me: You didn't see anything either?

I ride off muttering darkly.

FFS! I'd had to get off my bike because it was wedged upright and immobile under his front numberplate and tell the myopic twat to reverse off my rear wheel.

Edit to add:  for Mavic Ellipse wheels. That's four cars now that have sat on my rear wheel as far as I can remember. The only time that they have needed truing is after they received a kicking and that was minimal.


Five minutes later on a 20mph road 'calmed' with speed bumps I was fifth in a stream of traffic. At the head was a large white transit taking it easy over the bumps but getting up to twenty in between. Too slow for the driver of the 4x4 Merc sitting in third though. Floors it and overtakes the two vehicles ahead, really clumsily though as they have to brake for another speed bump as they are alongside. Best not mention the double white lines, the left hand bend or the crest or that it is really obvious that the nursery and prep school has obviously just ended its day by the presence of all the really small people all over the place. Or that the overtake was almost completely pointless as the driver didn't have time to regain their side of the road before turning off into the prep school car park!

[clarion]

This bullying on the roads is a disgrace.   I hope you well and truly get your mojo back on the commute Clarion.  Luck.

I'm leaving in about 15 minutes, if you're still around we could meet up and ride back to the edge of Streatham together.

Good luck out there, Clarion. You do seem to attract more than your share of nastiness, which I'm sure is just bad luck on your part rather than you doing anything wrong - for the reasons mrcharly says.

Not fair! 

d.

Thanks folks.  Alex, if I'd still been online when you offered, I would have taken you up on that, but I was getting ready to leave when you posted.

As is the way of these things, I had a cracking ride home.  OK, there were the usual arseholes, but nothing really significant.

Keeping the wheels turning...

[TimO]

Guerilla knitting.

I've heard of it happening in Whitstable and Herne Bay - but never in London.  

It is rather strange though.  Since I hadn't been commuting for a while, I wondered how long it had been on the barriers near Streatham Common station, but I think I must have restarted the commute, and noticed it, very near to the time it apparently appeared.

I'm not sure that the news story leaves me any wiser about the why, but it's distinctive, and I guess that should I manage to collide with the barriers (which I haven't yet in three years of commuting through there), I will be slightly more cushioned.

I should take a camera down there tomorrow morning, and photograph it on my way to work^[1].  I normally only go through that underpass on my way home, so it's normally rather dark.

Footnote [1] The roads around Streatham are tolerable when I'm going North, but when I'm Southbound on the way home, it requires me to be in the middle of the road at a couple of busy locations, neither of which is very nice, so I use the LCN5 route, which is mostly safer, and includes going under the railway at this point.  It is ½ mile longer, but that's acceptable to avoid some fairly nasty bit of road.

[Wendy]

...and we appear to have a registered owner joining up to YouTube today to comment on driving done in his/her vehicle:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/rp18Q89RUxA&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/rp18Q89RUxA&rel=1</a>

Timing is likely, since I got the Roadsafe stock reply on Monday.

[clarion]

Nasty.

[Feline]

Sorry to hear about the fuckwittery on the roads affecting forumites today

I actually had to use my car today sadly as I had to take my kids to the dentist first thing. I think I am going to try to go for a record how long I can leave it in the garage without using it.

[perpetual dan]

There was one of the most laughably piss-poor displays of going half way across a junction and then failing to track stand until the road became clear (and the light turned green) that I've seen in a while this morning.
One idiot pulled out on me on the way home. I got an apology from the passenger when I passed them waiting for a right filter at the lights and I was carrying on. Otherwise really quite a nice, brisk ride.

[simonp]

On the way to work I scared a really very cute foreign girl crossing the road in front of me when I braked very noisly to let her go ahead of me. I should've offered to make it up to her by buying her a coffee sometime, but I'm much too thick to think of these things at the time.

On the way home, I scared a rat on the cycle path by the river. Didn't ask them out either. When I was waiting to join the road at roundabout to turn right onto Airport Way. I've taken to riding on the road again as the cycle path is one side only, and wrong side against car headlights is rubbish. I also have to cross the road to rejoin the road when I leave the path, and it's near another roundabout which makes the crossing difficult and dangerous at busy times. While I wait I spot a bike on the other side with stripes of blue/green LEDs on the front wheel.

Once I am on airport way I catch up with them. The LEDs now appear to be red, but as I draw alongside they are blue/green again. Coooool!  "Like the LEDs" I shout across, and "Thank you!" comes back in a female, American sounding voice.

[benborp]

And a fuckwit bus driver on the way home tonight. Simultaneous overtake and pull in to bus stop. Really quite scary as I was forced into cratered pot holes as I was braking.
The last time I had to report a bus it was Arriva and their response was pretty good. I also reported that event to TfL who appeared to do sod all. This evening was a Go-Ahead bus and they ask all complaints to be forwarded to TfL which I'm obviously not happy with as a solution. Anyone got any useful contacts at Go-Ahead? Or do I go straight to the top?

[TheLurker]

Hmmm. Headwinds.  Isn't it amazing how they can turn a not particularly demanding route into a swine of a 14 mile hill climb?  One's mood is not improved on seeing another cyclist, going in the opposite direction, flying along with a dirty great grin on his chops, especially as you know, deep in your bones, that by home time the wind will have either faded away to nothing or performed a complete volte-face and will be in your teeth.  Again.

Still, better than driving.  I think.

[Wendy]

And a fuckwit bus driver on the way home tonight. Simultaneous overtake and pull in to bus stop. Really quite scary as I was forced into cratered pot holes as I was braking.
The last time I had to report a bus it was Arriva and their response was pretty good. I also reported that event to TfL who appeared to do sod all. This evening was a Go-Ahead bus and they ask all complaints to be forwarded to TfL which I'm obviously not happy with as a solution. Anyone got any useful contacts at Go-Ahead? Or do I go straight to the top?

I've found reporting via TfL to be good, as they do pass the complaints onto the contracting bus company, and I like to think there's some sort of response and SLA going on around those complaints.

[rower40]

Having ridden tandem, commuter, then recumbent in to work on three successive days this week, I've decided to go for the full set.

Tourer today, Brompton tomorrow.

But this could get costly - the last time the tourer was used was the Yorkshire Puddings ride, and the chain has decided to go a crunchy shade of brown.  The brompton looks similar.  So I'm off to the LBS tonight to buy new transmissions for both.

[itsbruce]

Headwinds but a nice warm morning despite that, so I cycled in in a short-sleeve t-shirt.  That, a 6:35 start and a speedy commute have cheered me up.  See how long it lasts.

[Deano]

Anyone ever seen Duel?  It was a bit like that this morning - a massive juggernaut chased behind me for about a mile through narrow streets.  I stopped and waved him past when the roads cleared, as I wouldn't have been able to maintain his speed along the bypass even with that tailwind.  He gave me a grateful hooonk on his horn when he did overtake, which was nice.

[clarion]

And a fuckwit bus driver on the way home tonight. Simultaneous overtake and pull in to bus stop. Really quite scary as I was forced into cratered pot holes as I was braking.
The last time I had to report a bus it was Arriva and their response was pretty good. I also reported that event to TfL who appeared to do sod all. This evening was a Go-Ahead bus and they ask all complaints to be forwarded to TfL which I'm obviously not happy with as a solution. Anyone got any useful contacts at Go-Ahead? Or do I go straight to the top?

I've found reporting via TfL to be good, as they do pass the complaints onto the contracting bus company, and I like to think there's some sort of response and SLA going on around those complaints.

It's important to complain via TfL so that the stats get properly logged. Yesterday, I chased up the two complaints I'd made online last week, without any sort of acknowledgement or response.  Last night, I received an email confirming that they had identified the driver concerned in Monday's incident, and apologised for their inability to go into detail*, but assured me that he had been spoken to and dealt with appropriately.

I'm happy with that.

If you're not happy with the response via TfL, I happened across a number for TravelWatch, who are an independent appeals process.  I was given their number in error by a bus inspector who told me it was the number to call to complain.  The pleasant person at TravelWatch explained the error and their true purpose.

Call 0207 505 9000.

* The reason given for this is DPA.  However, since there is no public way I could identify the individual, it does not really apply in this case.  Not worth the argument this time; he's been dealt with**.

** and probably now has a real chip on his shoulder about all cyclists.  C'est la vie.

[her_welshness]

That was bloody hard work this morning, I am puffed out.

Clarion am glad that you got a response from TfL