This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Easter holidays are well and truly over aren't they. Horrible riding everywhere, need to get back on early starts to avoid.

#rep

Sadly anecdotes speak louder than advice, even when they are obviously unverifiable.

This could work.

Truth is people don't like being told what to do, especially by complete strangers, I know I don't. All you can really do is calmly offer your advice and not get drawn into an argument when it is rejected. Hopefully, if they survive, they will think it over later and realise it's value.

Sounds like the girl I saw park herself in the same spot in front of a lorry, and narrowly avoided getting squashed, at E&C last week. She decided it wasn't her fault that she placed herself where she couldn't be seen and berated the driver at the next set of lights for not using his eyes.

Wholeheartedly agree and 99% of the time it is easier to let people carry on. This started out as a genuine intervention and started to deteriorate into name calling, hence me backing out when it became clear she was a mental.

If anything it's just disappointing. Out of the thousands of interactions I had this morning, conscious or otherwise, that is the one that sticks out. It really is no wonder some more narrow minded people can instantly go "well that's that then, all cyclists are dicks".

Heading down OKR this morning (slowly, thankfully) when the passenger window of a van sat a couple of metres ahead of me wound down and a torrent of vomit was unleashed from its depths. Cycled past very slowly in case round two happened.

Had to come in early due to massive load of work to do today, this shifted my commute by 1h only, but cycling in the peaceful nodders-free 7am streets made up for the extra work due today!

8/10 would early bird again!

Man alive it is busy out there - some truly horrendous filtering going on over Waterloo Bridge.

Need to leave earlier.

Carnage out there, lots of new shiny bikes, lots of bad cycling. Will have to leave earlier or put the bike away until the sun goes away.

6/10

riding in primary and get called a "fucking helmet" by a cyclist as he has weaved away from the kerb, across the lane behind me, overtakes me and the car in front of me, then cuts straight back to the kerb making no concessions for the undertaking snake of nodders that line hackney road

very puzzled

A large potful of pasta e ceci last night made for a sluggish, gassy commute.

Note to self: if you start muttering at some eejit at a junction close to your workplace, be prepared to realise you actually work with them ten minutes later

I think I've met her before. They started giving grief to someone, I said she should chill out. She then started on with "don't oppress me" and started trying to take my picture.

a lot of bad cycling lately, almost every time I check to pull in there is some pleb trying to undertake me.

otherwise new short commute is amazingly lovely in the sun!

Early middle aged, purple rain jacket, hybrid contraption?

It was some time ago, hybrid deffo.
Bike a bit too big?

following a bus around a roundabout, van gives way to it, but goes immediately as it passes, forcing me to brake. Notice the uber-cunt vanman on his phone. Shouted, gesticulated, cycled away with a gnawing sense of injustice.

Yarp

Now my news. I was knocked off my bike (yeh I know) 7 weeks ago (see above) by a car driver who hit me sideways on a roundabout and broke several ribs (mine not his) and a toe and obvs some serious bruising. I checked in at AnE and they decided my resting heart rate is abnormally low (35 bpm) and after various tests and some monitoring it transpires I need to have a Pacemaker implanted. (Nothing to do with the accident). That’s happening next week. The problem is diagnosed as Complete Heart Block. The signal from my central nervous system to my heart is interrupted before it gets to my ventricles. Instead an escape mechanism cuts in and my ventricles beat at their own sweet pace which is not connected in any way to my atrial rhythm. The ECG trace tells all. Weird. The risk of not having a PM fitted is that my heart slows down further and I may blackout. Or I may suffer what they refer to as ventricular standstill which I think means dead. 

I have no symptoms – typically weariness, chest pain, breathlessness and feinting. This they put down to the fact that I have done a lot of cycling over a lot of years and that my heart pumps a lot of blood each time it does decide to pump. I’m getting enough as they say!

The PM will monitor me in situ and kick in if the beat drops below say 30bpm ish or if my heart stops. So it’s a safety net I suppose, an insurance policy of a kind.

I am fine to cycle – even encouraged to do so. In fact nothing changes except my trip thru airport security!

And here’s the bonus. I was furious with the guy who knocked me off. Bloody incandescent! Then I claimed on his car insurance and they’ve paid out a few thousand pounds for my trouble! So not only has the guy possibly saved my life but I’m getting a new bike, a holiday and other goodies too.

OK – my ribs are still sore but they’ve healed. But I’ve always got something that’s hurting. Wouldn’t be me otherwise!

So the moral of the story? stay safe – but if not – get his number!

Cheers

Wow!! Way to look on the bright side. And what a bright side. I'm glad you had such a positive outcome.

I called out 2 riders this morning. The first who who shoulder checked, saw me overtaking and pulled out anyway and then meandered his way along the clear road meaning I couldn't pass safely. The second is a guy on a red, geared Charge whom I've seen before. He rides at full pelt regardless of his surroundings. He's definitely going to get injured if he carries on that way. He had headphones on so I sang loudly that he rides like an arse as I passed him on Blackfriars Bridge. If you're on here, you ride like a tool.

TL;DR:

What a lovely morning!

I suppose that's a happy ending! Good luck with the surgery and see you on the dynamo!

Wow, quite a tale.

With a pacemaker do they install a little battery hatch or are you USB rechargeable?

Solar cell on the scalp.

Wind power up the?

Wind power up the? - I thought this might happen....is there a sympathy thread anywhere?

Sympathy: The whole forum.

Seriously though, glad it's all looking good. I have borderline bradycardia and am under surveillance so it's reassuring to know that the prognosis is to ride more.