This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Or do you go that way in the hope of seeing James?! :)

No comment.

Had some kinda Smokey and Bandit dialog going through my head as I set off in pursuit of the red light jumper for no other reason but the fact he was the only person to annoy me this morning.

Love half term traffic.
9/10

Love half term traffic.

IKR?!

Makes you realise how many people drive their kids to school. Why is this? You live in London.

First day back on my bike here in Paris after two weeks down with some nasty flu and about 500 meters from my door some dumb old twat on a Velib rides straight on into my front wheel almost knocking us both down.

Two way cycle path and this guy is ambling along, I'm not going much faster, first day back out there and new shoes , but he's going slow enough that I'll pass him no problem. So nobody is coming & I head into the opposite lane and begin to pass the guy, leaving plenty of space, when he decides he's just gonna cycle in the opposite lane too. No particular reason, no looking about him, just glides in, and then further still until it's clear he's gonna push me off the lane entirely and I'm starting to shout at him to look out - he then decides to swerve 45 degrees and head off the track entirely, goes straight into my front wheel, takes us both off the track but luckily I manage to stay on the bike.

At this point I've already shouted putain regardez , to which he offers the particularly parisian 'quoi?'. With nobody coming still I head straight back into the lane, see this idiot continuing now to ride in the opposite lane before starting to make a beeline back into the correct lane - and straight at me again, so I just get out of there at this point telling him again to fucking look where he's going.

Obviously my fault because my bell is on the other bike, that's going back on again right now.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/armed-police-called-as-two-men-arrested-in-major-swoop-in-south-london-10052334.html

A lot of parents take half term off work, so it's a reduction in commuting traffic too.

Having said that, I don't understand why anyone would want to drive into central London to go to work either...

Got up and out 15mins earlier, as I'm supposed to but never actually achieve.
Riding along thinking to myself, I need to do this more often as the roads are empty, beautifully clear and the sun's coming up and it's not too cold, and I'm loving it.
It's only when I get to work that I realise that it's Half Term, and I've only got two more days of this before it's bumper to bumper again..

Would cycle during half term again.

First day back on the bike, and what a great day to be alive! Sun was out and crisp air! Usual close shaves from a few drivers but nothing out of the ordinary. Also after a week off the bike, the legs were feeling fresh!!!

Thought for a moment the traffic had lessen due to half term, but I was wrong when I got onto commercial road and the usual traffic jams started again. Nevertheless still a great commute!

10/10

Shouted at a ped this morning, not sure if it's something about this junction but it seems every morning people cross without looking.

The rhetorical question of "Did you look mate? Come on." seemed to confuse him more than anything. Hopefully it's sunk in after a few hours and he's having a good think about his mistake.

Another glorious sunny day though so no complaints.

I do the opposite, on school days we take the bike or train, today I drove my son to the holiday club then on to work.

Controlled parking is doing it's job, even in the holidays it's quicker to cycle to the office door than drive over the speed limit and then have to park 20 mins away from office.

Still I start at 10am and the 20 min walk was lovely and quiet through teddington. 8/10 (still not driving again till Easter, when I will have forgotten all this)

Felt a bit rough this morning for some reason, chundered twice in the first 8 miles without stopping the bike. After that I perked up a little and made it to my breakfast meeting on time so the bacon butties were still warm.

4/10 but probably will repeat.

Class act as always :-)

Felt a bit rough this morning for some reason

But you packed in early you lightweight.

There are perks to a towpath commute.

I was feeling rough, shit beer at Pizza East and my food looked a bit green.

Nice ride in all apart from one person who pulled left without indicating or checking mirror, I noticed what was going on so got out ok. Really enjoying the risers.

4/10 don't pull out on me again.

Ah, the classic "must have been something I ate". Did the broccoli disagree with you?

Did it ever, we got into an argument about Campag v Shimano.

If your commute takes you down Edith Grove onto Cheyne Walk, there's a huuuge pothole (size of a bicycle wheel laid flat on the ground, about 2 inches deep, full of water and stones) on the zebra crossing at the corner, there. Placed in such a way that, if you're overtaking traffic on the outside, you may not see it until you're falling into it. Even if it doesn't dent your front wheel or give you a pinch flat, it may dump you on the ground in front of the car behind you.

This morning the protagonist of our tale was leisurely pedalling himself to his place of engagement, marvelling strenuously at his newly shod bicycle pneumatics whence a startlingly vigorous emission of sound shocked his earlobes in a most indiscreet manner.

"What's that strange clicking noise from the rear of my velocipede all of a sudden?" he pondered. To his great affront and serious chagrin, lo! A two inch nail of the kind used by uncouth labourers has penetrated its robust periphery and is protruding most precociously. "No matter" said he, "I shall push my mechanical contraption to my destination and thereupon set about repairing it's pneumatic contrivances."

To his great misfortune however, whence arrived at 'forementioned locus and it's revolving disc removed, the self-same gentleman realised that the vessel containing the vulcanising rubber solution required to splice a new section of rubber to the tubular atmospheric pressuriser was empty, all its precious and most vital contents having evaporated into thin air over the passage of time since its last employment.

"Bugger it like an impoverished male ward of the state! One shall have to propel one's self home by foot, all the while supporting the very modern implement upon which my posterior should be sat upon. 'Tis a most visceral of misfortunes."

And in pushing his velocipede homewards, our young Master Gruber did compound his misfortunes further still, as whilst lost in a reverie of intellectual nature, accidentally projecting its wheels through the self-same spot of ground occupied by a rather voluminous dog droppings, unbeknownst by he until it's unholy and distinctly displeasing odours reached his refined nostrils some time later.

Much offended by both sight of fecal matter clinging to his dear velocipede and it's positively loathesome odour, the young Sir proceeded to attempt its surreptitious removal, first by its casual introduction to pools of rainwater in his path, then by the more forcible application of friction using the braking mechanisms, and finally, by picking up the whole bicycle and rythymically performing a frottage against a hedge belonging to more lowly looking property who's proprietor was unlikely to be known to either himself or his companions.

Yet still, this base and filthy matter was still clinging to his contraption like a widow begging for alms from the hand of a distinguished Lord, and for all his ingenuity, the young Master couldn't prise its disgusting grasp away from it, let alone contemplate engaging in the necessary repairs. If only there was some tedious orphan to be engaged in its disposal for a derisory sum of monies, but alas there was none and the distinguished personage was obliged to find a suitably long stick with which he could poke at it and evict it from its comfortable residence like an unemployed milner from his hovel assailed by appropriate curses and promises of reprisal.

When finally the frightfully unpleasant episode was over, and the bicycle was able to be presented in polite society again, our dear protagonist was able to repair its workings and further engage in the more savoury and distinguished activity of transporting his person around town, ever mindful to avoid materials deleterious to both man and machine discarded upon the city's byways.

^ tl, dr

11/10 would read again.
#rep

May you be in receipt henceforth of multidinous positive reputation, good sir.

parklife.

TWO punctures this morning (clearly my own fault for not clearing the tyre of whatever sharp stuff caused the first). I also made a cack-handed job of replacing the inner tube - couldn't get the bead to sit on the rim, then managed to hook the chain up to the gap between the sprocket and hub/spokes.

didn't have a 2nd innertube, got a £15 cab. balls.