This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Out of work slightly early, no psychotic vans, light rain, fine.

just done kings cross to norbury in the absolute pissing rain. on a lopro with front spinergy revx and rear tubular track disc, brklz. was a lot of fun but at the same time just the complete opposite of fun. all of a sudden a tourist with an umbrella walked out into the road on new oxford street, and my face collided with the umbrella and got soaked. didnt even have time to dodge her properly :(

@JSSR please fit a brake, your riding worries me when I see you about norbury

Got properly rained on, got snarled up in traffic, got beeped at by a cunt on the OKR just for being on the road and when I went to have a not very quiet word with him at the next lights, some other fucker on a bike started having a go at him so he didn't get the full force of my finely honed invective. Mind you, I caught up with him again down by Ilderton Road and shared my thoughts with him then. Top day.

#rep

#nerg

So you rode brakeless in the wet and crashed into someone?

Fail thread >>>>>>>>>

@dancing james @Clockwise guys i didnt crash into her i hit the umbrella, any brakes at that point wouldnt have helped it was too sudden. i looked back and that time she looked before crossing the road. im not gonna drill undrilled tarck bykes. also used to hertfordshire roads recently...

@JSSR if you commute brakeless all winter in wet/rain/dark you will for sure get a driver pull out of a side turn "without seeing you" and you go slam into the side of them, even with brakes it's a common thing but without you just leave yourself open to an instant and huge amount of abuse from all involved as no brakes is seen as an instant win for the drivers insurance and case closed by any police involvement. Should seriously consider adding a winter/beater bike or second set of forks to your collection.

Nice uneventful ride in this morning. No manic drivers looking to kill, only saw one other cyclist on CS2, damp roads but no rain, and felt surprisingly warm for this time of year too.

This makes me nervous that this evening it will be chucking it down, freezing cold, I will get undertaken by a series of rusty chain MTBs and accosted by every grumpy van driver who's had a bad day.

Quiet roads and sunshine this morning. Bliss!

Damp, but nice ride, arm warmers were off halfway again. Still too warm for any type of jacket.

Do you wear arm warmers but not knee warmers?

I wear 3/4 so no need to knee warmers. My knees are always warm.

purposefully driven at and then swerved towards by a fat, bacon sandwich eating cunt in a van as i was filtering down the outside of traffic on a rammed to the rafters croxted road this morning. fuck you, i hope your foetid, grease lined arteries explode and you drive off a cliff.

Very pleasant ride in except for the prick who left-hooked me on Kennington road. It was only through a moment of Sagan-like bike handling that I managed to avoid him.

I turned round and gestured "WHAT THE FUCK?!" at him. He just waved me off dismissively and sped off. Didn't even get his plates.

Lovely ride

Really nice roll in this morning, except being shunted from behind by a cab driver whilst I was stopped at the front of an ASL box, on a red light. Then about 60 horses cloppity clopping up Constitution Hill drowing out the dulcit tones of a lone piper wafting over Buckingham Palace garden walls...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHFXG3r_0B8

I'm sure there's a law against that...

Didn't even realise "fasted commutes" were a thing until recently.

The latest in a long line of utterly credulous bollocks.

I do.

Bite me.

Who the fuck is the hipster bulb I keep seeing on the run between Bank and Holborn...?

Green Mercx
White deep rims
Single speed
Two flat tyres
Brakeless.

Absolutely mind boggling and a sure fire way to an expensive dentistry bill.

Don't listen to the mean people - h8trs gonna h8

The decision to ride a bike that you're not good enough to handle is your choice.

Others may think that it's moronic, but you shouldn't let that influence you.

Yesterday some brainy fuckwit moved my shirt into the shower so my genius plan of actually bringing in a jacket to wear on the ride home last night was foiled before I even touched the bike as the shirt was soaked so no point using a jacket. Stupid cunts. Time for hidden camera to watch the door and some crafty revenge..

When it comes to pedestrian strikes there's usually never enough time to do anything. Whatever happens, don't try to pull an emergency stop.

I had an accident earlier this year on Whitehall involving an pedestrian and a cyclist. A ped walked out on me on a green light for traffic, I pulled a massive emergency stop which left me dead still at 45 degrees in the road only for a second later to be struck by a cyclist. I initially thought that he had clipped my back wheel so I felt really guilty about my stopping technique, 2 days later a massive yellow/black/blue tyre mark bruise on my leg appeared that lasted for two months. This put him right on my rear wheel, he was drafting me. The crash trapped my leg between his front tyre and me top tube, couldn't walk properly for about 3 weeks. Oh and the ped fled the scene.

I learnt the hard way, try to avoid the best you can without swerving into other traffic, just don't stop, I'd rather take a ped strike on the shoulder than get run over again.

Quite poor advice. Emergency stop is best used for moving hazards as you can't predict where they are going to move. Pedestrians tend to do the idiot dance of death, and then leap in the direction you have chosen to swerve. Swerve should be used for static hazards (potholes etc).

You should cycle at a speed where you can stop safely, ride far enough from the pavement/ parked cars so that you are visible to pedestrians and they can see you. Even then accidents do occur. Also beware that braking distance is increased in the rain.

However riding a bike without proper brakes, especially the front one which helps most with sudden braking raises your liability considerably.

If someone crashed into you, then you should have got their details.