This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Did you ask if he was new around these parts?

Shit week at work. Quick pint and a dram in the pub then set off home.

The rain. The sweet, sweet cleansing summer rain. Beautiful.

10/10 Would achieve nirvana again.

About 7pm in SE, gad that was wet for the last mile of my six, spitting til then. Was k-k-kerazy cruisin thru New x traffic, visibility poor, loads of water running down the pave. If I hadn't got lighting I would have wanted it so much. Amazed how many people with no lighting we're seeing on the roads caught in twilight as the nights begin to draw in.

I felt like wringing myself.
7/10 Quite happy to know I was near home.

I think someone at tulse hill coop is a fixie skidder, I keep meaning to ask them.

+1 for the weirdos walking past me up Leigham Vale who shouted "I know who you work for I applied for a job there girls chewing her hair in the queue!"

Dunno if this is of any relevance to the other incidents, but it suggests you need to ride less slowly.

Anyone here? Spotted in Chinatown

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I really hope that's not going to start up again--there was a spate of it about ten years ago. It took the police ages to crack as they weren't allowed to pursue the culprits. Back then, it was mostly laptops in Ortliebs. The scooters were all stolen and kept in lock-ups nearby.

I was stopped at lights at that point, but HA!

There's been shit loads of thefts by scroats on scooters by St John St the last 18 months. Snatching phones and bags out of hands mostly.

Nice ride in. Missed the rain. After work - couple of beers and a couple of gins. Slightly overenthusiastic on the rain-slicked streets and the bike slid out from under me. Oops. My knee is angry with me. But other than that, nice ride home.

Yes, that's been going on since at least 2007, when I think I first heard about it. It's a world away from the Essex Road stuff, though.

Essex Road isn't far away on a scooter! Or on a bike for that matter.

• for commuteuring/dopey nodders
  
• for doing standing up sprint cycles on clear last mile to work (sprint 5 seconds, cycle fast, sprint, repeat until you hurt)
  
  

Then to find cream cheese leaked on my work top. Happy Monday, 7/10 would cycle again.

Overtake BMW in traffic (deafened by the beats), passed by same BMW, overtake same BMW in traffic, passed by same BMW (tyre squealing and redlining), overtake same BMW in traffic (stereo now off), passed by same BMW (even more squealing and revving).
Go to pass same BMW in traffic and driver shouts "Get out of the fucking way you cunt, you’re holding me up", as I pass him, yet again in traffic.

It seemed like they new what they were after rather than just opportunism. I did think they looked odd out and about at that hour.

Classic BMW wanker!

Wore cap today in place of my trilby, remembered why I wear the trilby. The brim all the way round really helps protect the noggin from low branches. It's the ones which catch you across the cheek that really hurt.

Ouch/10-back to the protective headgear tomorrow.

That Willow tree just before Tottenham!

<-- Stops at traffic light
English tourist: Nice paintjob (Mr Balk and it's "acceptable in the 90s" airbrush)
<-- Tx :)
Is that a single speed?
<-- It's a fixed gear actually
Oooer I couldn't never do that

Happy tourists in Belfast city center, 10/10 would stop and chat again ;)

Way in this morning a driver helpfully cut me up on the roundabout nr St James' station. No bother, just a couple of helpful hand signals point out their error.

Coming across the the same the roundabout on the way home I hear some shouting, next thing I know this massive guy is running down the middle of the road straight at me, cars veering around him bellowing 'why you mug me off like that, I'll fucking kill you'. For a second I was worried it was the same person from this morning, until I saw a silver Merc is speeding off along the pavement that is. Hope its nothing serious.

That and the bit between lower hall road fly tip and the river.

Essex Road isn't far away on a scooter! Or on a bike for that matter.

True, but it's traditionally always been different lots doing this. Those doing it around St John Street lived locally and disappeared into local boltholes, and the same up near Essex Road. I used to work around St John Street and knew a few people who had been mugged in this way. The police knew who the perpetrators were but didn't manage to work up charges at the time. (I don't know what happened after I left.) The Essex Road problem was eventually sorted, but it took a good while.

At least the muggers around St John Street were also suspected of stealing bikes; I once nearly caught some of them in the act, but was just a bit too late. You used to see them cycling about and both police and security at my workplace knew about them, but they were pretty quick and clever and got away with it for a long time.

There are still some youngish lads snatching things around St John St, especially around the Waitrose area. They're usually on scooters. They quieten down for a bit, then work it for a few weeks, then give it a rest again.

Jolly good game of "How many cyclists can we fit down the left hand side of this left-indicating bus?" this morning. Turned out it was 9. Idiots.

Bonus points for the roadie that dashed down the left of a left-indicating lorry on Southwark Bridge Road.

Witnessed the problem with the new Oval infrastructure first hand - the first vehicle at the lights was a bus.

Other than that... 7/10.

Commuted in this morning on the fixed gear bike I've built out of an old Dawes Chevron that my neighbour was chucking away.

Have never ridden fixed before, and didn't die. Felt good.