This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Yeah I saw that, I've given the plans a good read now, it's better if approaching from Camberwell but I approach from New Kent Rd every morning and head onto St Georges Rd.

I just have to get used to the idea that it's not going to take 4 seconds to cross the roundabout any more, because I suppose it wont be a roundabout.

Also as mentioned about three times in the report, these changes will increase travel times. Its quite obvious to see why.

My route looks like it will be on the carriage way from NKR to StGR as per normal traffic. At the end of StGR I have to turn left towards Westminster Bridge.

As long as I don't get forced into the cycle lane on StGR and have to cut left across 3 lanes of traffic up the road it will be fine.

I had awful wind earlier.

A bit late but had to come down to the smoke a few weeks back. In my infinite wisdow decided the train and bike combo would be better than driving from the noth east. Due to the train, and proving to work the Cyclescheme works, I used my brompton rather than my singlespeed. At this point I would like to note that I rarely see another brompton and if I ride round my town I get nothing but abuse from the dole monkeys up here. Managed to use the train to pancreas/kings cross to come headlong into engineering works and a queue the length of the station.

Fuck this, unfold the comedy bike and with no map or phone battery I set of using the force to get tot the hotel in borehamwood. I read the horror stories in the press of riding in london being akin to death race 2000. Its plain wrong, as I stopped at least three cyclists for directions when I got lost. Cars, vans and taxis were all very courteous to me and gave me loads of room. My only complaint being that next time i'll bring my climbing gear to get out the potholes.

• 3 days riding from hotel to office and grinning like a loon, hopefully ive salvaged the scheme and can blag another tax free bike this year.
  
  

9/10

subsidiaries

Discussions move on so quickly, only a moment ago we were still talking about subsidies. :)

#predictivetext

Discussions subside quickly.

Got to move with the Tim's.

The word 'subsidy' is in itself tendentious. Public transport is a public service which ought to be funded from public money. If it is publicly run, it requires less public investment than if it is privatised because private interests are kept at bay.

(There is still a danger, as eventually happened to London Transport, for instance, if a public company/corporation relies on private contractors of various kinds, e.g. for rolling stock, that the suppliers can exploit the 'captive market' (not sure if that's the right word) and costs will rise, but this is lessened the more the corporation does itself (which London Transport was very good at for a while), but it's not an insurmountable problem.)

The argument that harnessing the allegedly greater dynamic and vitality of private interests will reap benefits has hardly ever been borne out in practice.

^ this.

I've been cycling here for 3 months. Had no more near death experiences than Glasgow, cycling provisions are out of this world compared to there, 99% of road users are acutely aware of cyclists and make room, don't block lanes. Cycling here rules.

Good post.

Because privatisation.

Utilities and infrastructure (British Rail, Royal Mail, British Telecom etc...) have some very profitable bits (main line commuter bits, parcel post in big cities, city telephone networks), and some very, very expensive loss makers (off peak trains, telephone lines in the wilds of Northern Scotland, sending a letter to the Orkneys etc..)

Whichever government sells off the family silver, only the profitable stuff is wanted - any sensible purchaser would either not buy the unprofitable bits, or shut it down when they got hold of it.

Government is obliged (if not actually mandated) to ensure that the provinces & outlying services are still provided, so they sweeten the deal & pay subsidies / give tax breaks.

Solid 7/10 commute this morning. Toasting it with a Capri-Sun.

My crank nearly fell off. April Fooled myself. 4/10.

Tried fasted commuting today, and was also once of the nicest chilled out commutes I've had. Nice and quick but not frantic.

Lovely sun this morning. Rocking the brompton, natch. Took a beautiful long draft behing a cruising cement mixer #yolo up Chelsea Bridge Rd and popped out of it just perfectly timed to sprint past a few roadies over the bridge. Wonder if that's wat performance enhancing drugs feels like.

Pity the builder in his flat-bed transit coming up through Borough, getting annoyed that cyclists weren't using the "cycle lane" (bus lane), and instead passing (stationary) him on the outside and actually getting through the traffic (safely). In between his incessant honking (at each cyclist as they went by), I told him that it was perfectly legal; he called me a 'spastic', which instantly took me back to the last time I was called that (35+ years ago), and instantly felt young again. I win. 9/10.

If that was the case why does the traffic everywhere seem to decrease? The parents who would've dropped kids off in the car start using Tube? Unlikely..

It was an easy roll in, yes. The ride back out was not so easy.

tl;dr

I blame the school run drivers.

I often see cyclists going down the bus lane, come towards the back of a stationary bus, stick their arm out and sail out of the bus lane and into regular traffic with the absolute conviction that the arm gave them priority to do so.

That'll be @greenhell and his merry band of nodders.

#soOGithurts

lel.

best done whilst yelling 'CAAAAN YOU SMEEEEEEELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN!'

got taken out by a wildebeest while commuting across the masai mara this morning
1/10

So yet again we pay the shareholders for doing nothing.
I've got a cracking idea: I'm gonna privatise gas, use the same infrastaucture that you all paid for, put different badges on the bills/slogans and despite it being the same old has from the same sources, I'll convince you there is genuine competition.

Well done subjects. Keep voting for these snakes

::sloclap::

ivotedforkang.gif

Are black cabbies having another 'how close can I get' passing competition this month?

It's getting old.

I'm gonna privatise gas

Better still if you sell it to your mates at well below market price, allowing them to make a massive risk-free profit once the shares are traded on the open market.