This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Interesting first part of my commute, cab driver going mental at me as I waved him past as he was about half a bike wheel between me and his bumper and he wouldn't over take. When we stopped at the lights I told him to go past, he then lost it asking what i'd said telling me not to swear. He then continued shouting at me until I took a detour down a side ride.

Bloody weird.

Just got an email from TFL about my email to them regarding OVAL...it reads 'Sorry for the delay, we are working hard to get you a response.

Regards,

Eleanor..

yeah i'm good, cheers.

First time in bib shorts, what a revelation. No anger espoused, haven't cycled in a week so a little hard. Started cold, ended warmer

8/10 would wear close fitting lycra again

Perfect weather temperature today, arrived at work not red-faced and sweating for the first time in ages.

An otherwise pleasant - if surprisingly cold - commute early this morning was spoiled by another cyclist berating me for what he thought was going to be an RLJ at the junction of Grange Rd and Tower Bridge Rd.
As I went right to the edge of the junction so I could see the cars and the opposing lights, he started mumbling shite about red lights blah blah blah even when I'd stopped.
I politely asked him to worry about himself and not me, and that I didn't care what he thought.
Sadly it didn't stop him and just wound me up.
If you're there tomorrow mate it won't be so friendly.

Sprinted to the top of a hill and was looking forward to the spin down it when I hit a pothole and my chain bumped off my rear sprocket towards the wheel and made an awful grinding sound :/ No damage to the bike, just a little to my underwear.

NIce start this morning. Fresh and bright - that's how I felt. All tickety boo even thru the new gas/road works at Archway then a creaking sound then a louder creaking sound then a sound so creaking that I thought my bike might snap. Into the shop (Evans - I know - but there's a top mech at Spitalfields). He took a look and shook....could be seatpost - fix that for free - could be the bearings in the frame (full-suss MTB on slicks) - may need reseating - dead cheap - could be the BB - not expensive - could be a crack in the carbon frame - feckin' holy cow terminally expensive. I'm gonna throw some 3 in 1 on it tonight and see how we go.

Sorry for the delay to our 'Sorry for the delay, we are working hard to get you a response' response, we are working hard at working hard to get you response to our response.

Regards,

Eleanor..

Exactly

Alternatively, try picking a cloud and try to blow all your angry into that. #bing

I hate that rabbit cunt

"Who's your friend who likes to play?"

#earworm

Yesterday was the kind of weather that makes me look forward to the lovely cycling potential you can get in autumn.

Today...er...not so much.

The daily race up Alpe d'Southwark Bridge almost got nasty today.

A roadie had jumped the lights at the bottom of the hill, but by the time a few of us caught him up he was going at a relatively slow pace in the middle of the segregated cycle lane on the bridge itself. Fine by me - happy to sit back and admire the view of the City.

Not so fine by the GoPro-wearing chap behind me, who decided there was enough space to overtake both me and the roadie within the confines of the cycle lane - enforced by the foot-high concrete barrier separating us from the traffic. There wasn't.

I tucked in to let him past, and even when his "Excuse me!" didn't shift the roadie to the left he decided to try his luck anyway - and only barely stayed upright as he scraped his pedal on the barrier. Not pretty.

Of course, when we get to the bottom of the hill on the far side, our roadie friend jumps the lights again - and GoPro man points this out to me in a sort of "Can you believe it?" sort of tone.

Yes mate, but you just filmed yourself attempting an overtaking move that there definitely wasn't room for and almost making a complete pig's ear of it.

Wonder if I'll see myself on YouTube in the near future...

Meh

Paddington is still shit.

Going to Bristol at lunchtime so got the train, interesting to see the one day I don't cycle the bike racks where I normally use are completely empty at 08:30, normally by 07:00 when I cycle they are rammed. What gives..

So shit. It's like a fucking black hole for easy cycling around there.

People leave bikes locked in Paddington to commute on remove them from the station between 7AM and 8.30AM, thus resulting in empty racks during the day which fill up again from half 4.

I spend days and days of my life riding all over busy A roads so if I'm thinking to myself as I ride in "this is bloody dangerous" then the place has issues. We now live under the A40 so it's pretty fucked around here - 50% people just coming off basically a motorway and 50% rich, self-entitled cunts.

Sorry I'm talking about the bike racks near my office by Royal Exchange. There are normal bikes which have been left for days locked up, but today not a sausage, wonder if the older bikes have been removed by force?

That's fighting talk, Sir.

London, there was a massive consultation last year.

No, you're a massive consultation

Now that's what I call a speedy comeback.

your a speedy comeback.

Even though (or maybe because) it was pissing it down, I enjoyed this morning.

The ride itself was low stress and rendered infinitely more enjoyable by watching serious bike dude on a SuperSix Evo with a fully slammed stem fail to distance himself from the commuting hordes until the opportunity arose for an epic RLJ at the Elephant & Castle lights. Chapeau.