This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Haven't been using the barbells I took to work so decided to bring them home.

I took them to work when I had a car.

8kg in my back pack on the motorbike last night wasn't too bad.

Wasn't so great in the front panniers on the cycle home tonight, especially combined with 40+mph headwinds.

I notice that cyclists are particularly tricky to spot if they have their front light on steady for some reason. Not an excuse though as JWestland said.

This is why I ride with one steady light and one superbrightdiscolight.

^^^ And now I have to fucking run to work with a tube in my pocket because of p*nctures.

It's warm. Too warm for December.

Might have a look at some new blinkies to go with my big'un.

Encountered my first "salmoning" cyclist today on the Mall. Had to swerve to avoid him creeping along by the curb towards me as I couldn't see him from behind another rider. WTF is wrong with people?

Bad cyclists thread >>>>>

Had the manners put on me on my commute this morning by a very tall gent who I surmise works for Rapha given his attire. I've seen him out before riding Zipp 404s but he's swapped to a winter wheelset, probably wise given the prevailing conditions. I'll get him next time. Shakes fist - Sicks a bit

No gloves in December. It's wrong.

Heading down to the Olympic park the other evening a small red car attempted a couple of side swipes at me. Naturally I clocked the red lights up ahead and raced after it intending on going apeshit at the driver. They get out and it's a young girl, maybe early 20s, dyed green hair etc... My natural inclinations tell me that she looks pretty 'alternative' (what is, the 90s?) and that I must have done something pretty stupid to have pissed her off.

But no. She starts screaming (literally) at me for... CYCLING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! Apparently the roads were built for cars not bikes and I have no right to be on it blah blah blah.

So of course I change tack to my usual start laughing and tell her to get a fucking grip. But yeah, I kind of expect this off angry middle aged men, not lefty student looking types. Lesson learned? Slipknot had it right - People=Shit.

I made the mistake of putting my gloves on anyway. 'It's December - I couldn't possibly go without gloves'.

Mistake.

Ran into work with spare tube. Left my fucking pump at home. I'm not doing this right.

Broke a spoke last night.
Got the train this morning.
Would bang.

Punch her in the cock.

Even I can ride with a broken spoke without tacoing a wheel. How fat are you these days?

Strangely we had eaxctly same pattern for last week of November last year and year before where temps rose to 12/13 C over the week.

Depends how many spokes he's got left.

#monospoke

70ish Kilos.
Approx a quarter of you?

(i couldn't be fucked riding in)

https://vimeo.com/1021081

Quarter of my cock

('couldn't be fucked' is the correct response)

Fucking hell. That's a monster.

Very warm for this time of the year, nothing special about the ride in today until I got to the bottom of Pentonville road where a cyclist ran a red light and almost took out an old pensioner, where my response was 'it's a red light mate'

I checked the old man was alright before going my day, where I caught up to the guy at Euston road, where I gave a shake of my head of my disproval and just rode off, then when I was waiting at the lights he then had to cheek to say 'what colour is the light now?'

Where I said 'you should know, you almost took out a old man cross the street, so you tell me what colour it is?' and the dick said 'he shouldn't be in my way!' I gave him the look of 'you're dead to me' and rode off. People like that really f**** me off and definitely ruined my ride into work.

4/10

All my new winter gear still firmly stuck in the cupboard, even the quarter lengths have been relegated.

Nice chat to a cabbie while we both waited at the lights at the north side of London Bridge thanked me for actually being one of those decent cyclist who know how to ride on the road.

10/10

Are you Studio 54? ;)

I love it when drivers show solidarity with one another despite either not seeing wtf happened or not caring that the driver was at fault. All levels of cuntage this morning. Cycling up a bus/cycle lane quite happily when suddenly a picasso type car just swerves straight across my path, no signalling, nothing, forcing me not only to slow but to stop as he pulls over to work out where the fuck he is supposed to be going. I go round to the drivers side and politely ask him if he's crazy, He totally ignores me (perhaps the most infuriating reaction, especially as a simple wave of the hand or any apologetic gesture would have had me cycling on with no further comment). He's a guy in his 50's, the kind that cannot possibly be in the wrong. I ask him "can you see me!? I'm right here" carries on as if I don't exist. So I readjust his wing mirror, not violently or aggressively and not causing any damage but just to bring his attention to the fact that I exist and that his fucking mirrors are for using and at that point he lurches his car towards me aggressively, so I stop my bike in front of him and invite him to complete the job. He calms slightly I give him space and he accelerates up the road dangerously all the way to the next set of lights 60 metres up the road. I see him up there, I ask him what his problem is and finally he understands that his situation isn't that great and apologizes & I tell him that that is all I wanted and that he should be careful in future & go through the lights. A Taxi then accelerates past me shouting something, I then go to the next lights on amber and another taxi sounds his horn at me. Around the corner I'm on another cycle path next to a right turn (France) I see the woman behind me is indicating & I carry on so she has to wait for me for about 1.5 seconds. She sounds her horn so once again I give chase and patiently explain to her that just because she is indicating doesn't mean the whole world stops for her especially someone who is front of her. Cue everyone else around getting involved and shouting at me despite not seeing anything that happened. Fucking fucking annoying! Some days it seems that there is something in the water.

Good work for calling him out on his dick behaviour. He clearly needs a cockpunch.