This morning's commute and other commuting stories

First ride in on a new leather Spa Cycles saddle.

It's hard.

I've broken in a couple of Brooks before with minor discomfort but this is a whole different story. Gonna be a painful few weeks. Half the price though!

And.... that's me done for the year.
London tmw. Hell yeah!

Nah - not that - just for shouting at folks who have already clearly indicated they don't give a sh*t. I could know better.... a few folks waiting to cross were shocked and very helpful - maybe I bought us pedallers a few brownie points.....

My fantasy - on a wheelchair watched by a dog..........

Probably the wrong thread.........

I pass the same cyclists everyday for 6 months cycling up the hill towards manor house station, they do this segment every day and never get any faster, struggling up e.v.e.r.y morning. How can this be?
Sometimes I can't pass as traffic is so heavy and it's frustrating.
I feel like taking their bars when I find the op to pass and dragging them along.

Annoyed.

Maybe you're all getting faster but the relative speed differential remains the same!

*edit (I have no idea if 'relative speed differential' is the correct term for this or any other situation)

Every morning I set off on the winter commuter bike (mad heavy 37c marathon plus pannier rack mudguard job) with the intent
'do not race other riders'

Yet within 5 minutes, target acquired, engage big ring, 110rpm, power band, reel them in*

*then stop at the lights like a good little boy, only for them to sail right on through the lights.... only means I can chase them down again :D

I'm kind of hoping that dragging this mad heavy bike around all winter will make me faster for spring.

The only outstanding aspect of my commute today was a guy who took all the risks. Everytime I caught up with him he seemed to duck inside another truck or switch lanes without looking.

Sometimes it is just truly terrifying seeing how people operate.

My rear mech seems to have developed a mind of its own so for the last three days I haven't changed gears, meaning the bike is a singlespeed with lots of superfluous weight. Kicking it doesn't seemed to have solved the problem.

I got overtaken on the outside of a roundabout the other day. I'm sure the driver thought he was doing nothing wrong and performing a safe maneuver, and he was well clear of me, but the uncertainty it created in me made it unsafe, as I needed to move from the inside to the outside to exit, and had to wait until he completed his maneuver, and was generally wobbling a bit as I was having to cycle with my head over my should, looking back at the car. I wish I had one of those really loud horns at that point. Dickhead: all for a few seconds.

10-12 degree s felt lovely this morning. I had my mitts out and was in just a jersey. Positively balmy.

It's commuter fartlek.

I'm buying MTBs in order to slow me down for the same amount of effort. What happens? I ride home last night and just increase effort..

You shouldn't be on the road you tax-dodging lycra lout.

I'm buying MTBs in order to slow me down for the same amount of effort. What happens? I ride home last night and just increase effort..

You should get one of them dutch shoppers with a basket in the front for your ales. Relaxing!

It would be. I'd never actually make it to work though. :)

relative speed differential

like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLuI118nhzc

saw this scene on Monday on the commute through Bloomsbury,

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(the second such sighting of traffic light flattening of late...!)

hardly surprising. NONE of those road tax dodging traffic lights wear hi-viz or helmets. fair game i say.

@greenhell they do have high vis around the light, the lamp post part tho fuck em.

yeah - it doesn't help when the sodding things come out of NOWHERE!

I once saw a bus driver do that. He just got his line round a corner completely wrong and folded the front panel of the bus.

I watched it happen and I've never seen a man's face fall so drastically.

Dark, cold, pissing wet, headwinds, crosswinds, you name it.
I don't care, last commute for the year. Now 3 weeks of holidays.
10/10

I rode my Spa Cycles Wharfe saddle for over 2000 miles without it breaking in properly. It went from feeling like it was made of concrete to feeling like it was made of softwood, but that was it.

Gave up in the end, and went back to a Brooks B17. They may be expensive, but there is no alternative.

My old Kennedy City bike had (still has, just being ridden by the geebag who nicked it/the chap who bought it off the geebag who nicked it) a really nice, unbranded leather saddle. Looks like a B15 and was very comfy after slowly making friends with my special area over a period of 8 weeks or so.

Evening pootle, interrupted by a cyclist trying to get by a scooter at the lights between Colliers Wood and Sainsburys heading towards South Wimbledon at about 17.30 the evening. Then the pair of them had a frightful to do - both behaved like whoppers, but the cyclist looked the bigger one to me, I'm sure they both love their mum's.