This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Or leave earlier.

All of us share the road bro. You don't get to call the shots just cos you're in a hurry and don't work in an office.

And I don't say a word to anybody wishing to use it slower than me. I safely overtake and stop at reds. I'm glad more people are getting into cycling but I'm allowed to have an opinion without being told to fuck off.

calm down princess, you're not the only one being told to fuck off.

Alright, but you're no longer invited to my birthday party

Three things that have happened recently, in no particular order:

1. Stopped by a 'siding' on the canal towpath and rolled backwards into it to show off my clipped-in reversing skills to a friend. Fell over. Couldn't get up without help.

2. Told a guy who was weaving all over the road and RLJing on a cargo bike that he made me "ashamed to be a cyclist". He told me I'd "get over it pretty soon." He was right, I have.

3. Passed the 15,000 trouble-free miles mark since I started using Gator Hardshells (more than one pair, obviously). Sorry Hippy, but I think they're awesome.

Hoping for an extended commute tonight to go pick up a CNOC 16 for MiniGB.
12/10 if eBay person gets back to me. 2/10 if not.

SE1 to SW15 to TW11 to SW18 to SW15.

12/10.

Ha, nodders! LOL.

There's a sign just west of the cedars junction for eastbound traffic. Completely choked this morning. A run of 137 busses decided to queue nose to bumper right through the intersection, the last one only able to push his way 2m through the red light before peds started crossing, forced to weave around the front of the bus, which then edged forward on crossers until the one of them pounded on his front window to make him stop, pon which the bus driver waved his hands like he wasn't fucking driving his double decker AT a pedestrian while they crossed on a green light. By this time the bus was so close to the one in front I couldn't have got a registration number if I'd tried.

Stopped by a 'siding' on the canal towpath and rolled backwards into it to show off my clipped-in reversing skills to a friend. Fell over. Couldn't get up without help.

Almost Darwin awards stuff.. Kudos

nice patronising sexism - have you considered a job on top gear?

@greenhell and others on the nodder conversation...

To me the nodder thing is a bit of fun, as it always is to play with stereotypes and pigeon hole people. I don't really have anything against them; very low down my list of annoying road users, but, other than of course bobbing their heads at speed as if it'll make a difference, there's really only one thing they do which pisses me off.

I'm very careful to overtake safely, sometimes waiting several minutes for a good opportunity to do so smoothly with plenty of room... all the while of course looking behind me to make sure there isn't another cat6 warrior like me going past. So it's discourteous when they pull up ahead of me at the next traffic light and make me go through the whole thing again.

Some favourite nodder things:

• Do you take the bus when it's raining?
  
• Have you invested in fluoro everything but still use a crappy 99p rear light with an almost dead battery?
  
• Does a squeaky chain not bother you?
  
• Do you ride on flat ground in the small ring?
  
• Does your bike get left at your office gathering dust clogging up the bike room all winter?
  
• Do you ride in lycra running trousers blissfully unaware of the builder's crack you're displaying?
  

make yourself useful and put the kettle on love.

/slaps arse.

My favourite nodder thing is the type who power past in the big ring and small sprocket on the approach to a junction only to try and pull away still in the big ring and small sprocket. The ensuing deep nod is a joy to behold and makes it well worth sitting behind them in anticipation of a chain jump.

Great, the hivemind now thinks the use of "nodders" is a bit archaic right after I bothered to google it.

Re the commute: stayed in bed after eating something dodgy last night.

Tell you what.

Let's put everyone off cycling. Sneer at them until they sell their bikes for scrap. Give the roads back to cars. Then there'll be no nodders and you can dice with the traffic safe in the knowledge that nobody in fluorescent gear on a shitty hybrid is going to have the temerity to stop in front of you at the traffic lights.

Or, alternatively, you could accept that the rise in acceptability of cycling is going to mean a lot more less-experienced cyclists on the road, remember that once upon a time you too probably had a shitty hybrid or conversion that you were desperately proud of at the time and woefully inept at maintaining, and be happy that some other souls have decided to take it upon themselves to at least try this cycling lark - because now that there's a critical mass, the politicians are beginning to give a shit about our safety on the roads, however falteringly.

And bikes are supposed to be fun, m'kay?

Tl,dr

Such a nodder mistake.

Sorry, should I be making boring jokes about tags or the ethnicity of football supporters to make it more accessible?

but how will people on the internet know how srsbsns i am about my niche-as-fuck predeliction for an otherwise utterly benign transport choice? THIS BAR TAPE COST MOAR THAN YOUR WHOLE BIKE!

I used to be a nodder. Specialized Sirrus hybrid with a Hump backpack cover.

Confessions thread

Now I'm a Cat 6 promuter.

#iwasanodder

Dawes hardtail MTB. Swapped it on to skinny slicks and flipped the stem for xtreme commuting speed.

High horses must be cheap these days

We have some of the most expensive fares compared to Europe, but also some of the cheapest. It's just walk up fares during peak times where we generally come out worst:-

seat61.com/uk-europe-train-fa­res-comparison.html#.VP8lY0SG3UM

That's a bizarre site - the owner seems to try really hard to imply he's impartial but then goes out of his way to bend the stats to "show" that our tickets aren't that bad. I suppose it might have something to do with the fact he's worked in rail all his life and most recently in fare regulation.

Look at how he says "The big picture is that Britain has the most commercially aggressive fares in Europe, with the highest fares designed to get maximum revenue from business travel"

Then

"and some of the lowest fares designed to get more revenue by filling more seats." which is completely contradicted by his own info which he chooses to ignore "For travel today, bought at the station, immediate departure, off peak".

High horses must be cheap these days

Like the one you sit on when you look down at the other cyclists on the road? Yeah, seems it.

Nice day for a commute, so many cyclists. Some nodding, some skidding, a few trackstanding and a couple going very fast on very expensive bike. Everyone was sneering at each other and I even muttered wanker under my breath on 2 occasions. We are all destroying cycling, there will be none of us left soon.

I wish everyone would fuck off so I can walk the seven miles from my house to my workplace in peace, down the centre of the road, wearing only a fluorescent orange helmet cover and bobbing like a pigeon.

Where's my superhighway?!?!