This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Two genuinely terrifying moments when some poor doddery young person tried to go up the inside of a left turning HGV - twice - along Mortimer street after the regents street junction.

Tried to take action but path was blocked by other nodders, ended up pushing through them shouting at the about-to-be squished rider, who then switched tactics and decided to pull back and overtake instead. Pulled up along side - they were completely unaware that they might have just avoided becoming another grim statistic.

Lovely weather - woke up too late to meet my normal group ride to the office, so took a solo run on a slightly different route. Ended up getting in ahead of the group. Making the most of the sub 1-hour ride as the commute is soon jumping from 15 miles to 26.

On foot still due to shoulder issue but had a lovely walk in through Burgess Park. Got to work to find ambos and police outside the building site next door, someone had broken in and hung themselves overnight and the builders had found them this morning. Grim, reminds you how up and down life can be.

Second day in a row that another cyclist has told me that my back light is on and are shocked when I say I know. The sun is glorious though!!!

yeah, your're back light's on m8.

Some chump on a poorly converted singlespeed just tootling along filtering badly up the inside while I filtered up the middle. He decides my line is better and cuts me up whilst moving to the center. No big surprise there. But then he decides to empty his right nostril into the air and I get actual splash back onto my face. Shrunk into his shell a bit as I gave him a polite "you cunt" as I cycled past. Absolutely disgusting.

Otherwise, lovely commute. Particularly the smell of freshly cut grass in Battersea Park.

For the last month I've been leaving Peckham at about 0715 to get to South Ken before the temperature got too high and traffic too bad...today I decided to have a bit of a lay in and left at 0845. Oh my god, the clusterfuck traffic and pedestrians all over the shop was shocking after not doing it for a while! I really can't believe I used to optionally cycle at that time everyday; back to the 0645 alarm I think!

yeah I know. I turned it on!

But your light are on.

Tested out a new potential route today.
https://www.strava.com/activities/586207068
Its a bit long time wise. But so pretty.
And also highly impractical any other time of the year apart from summer daylight I suspect.

I've got a jetski you can borrow if you want to try it actually-off road?
(it looks like you could genuinely do the whole thing by waterway (no idea if they've all navigable or not). My current employers used to have an employee who commuted by kayak...)

Would suggest staying on the Lee a tad longer until just beyond the Lee bridge road then graham road, balls pond road to Highbury corner.

Oh and get a Brooks Champion Flyer for that towpath. You won't appreciate why until the vibration strips the skin from you and you find blood all over your shorts*.

*after riding home anaesthetised by beer.

River Stort > Lee Navigation > Hertford Union > Grand Union (Regents Canal branch).

I'll never grow tired of seeing Bjork's pussy.

My commute was very sad I had to wheel my bike to work, as this is what somebody did to it. They could not break the lock, so they took it out on my frame and then somebody has taken my Brooks Professional and seat pin.
I hope they got as much pleasure from trashing my bike as I got from ridding her.

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That's an absolutely heartbreaking photo.

Sorry for your loss.

Enter your text here...Thanks Mate

Fuck

ing

hell

That's SHOCKING. I feel a bit traumatised seeing that.

@Robbiebee Check out Hilly Ben's thread from a couple of weeks ago, had some lovely frames for sale, maybe you could find something to replace your lovely Mercian.

I would chip in if money's tight. Maybe others could.
Skully: £10

thats is brutal

Was it a D-lock around the top tube? If it was then it looks like the bike was used as a big lever to help break the lock (pick up bike, twist bike and hope the lock breaks before the frame does), and the lock was found to be stronger.

If it wasn't then it's even more callous to destroy some of the bits they couldn't steal.

Sorry for your loss.

Locked up a while and came back to find my front rack properly loose figured someone went to steal it and got bored or scared off undoing bolts. Later riding past E+C and see a tipper truck driver get out middle of "the roundabout" fists up to fight a guy who gets out of his vw beetle, lots of workmen about shaking heads knowing the tipper truck driver is fucked when the reports of it roll in and as the area has heavy cctv for tfl has chances for getting away with it are 0. Then get upto liverpool street and go to brake, brake goes loose like cable snapped but I stop and the v brake caliper has come off and it appears while loosening the front rack they stole or loosened so they fell out my v brakes bolts.

Skully: £10
Skidlidsid: £10

Of course robbiebee may not want or need forum charidee. But hey. Serious offer.

Enter your text here...Exactly as you described :-(

Enter your text here...I felt like crying when I saw it, I could hardly believe my eyes. I certainly got some strange looks wheeling her to work this morning.
@Skully Thank for your kind offer, but there is no need as I am in a very fortunate position of having quite a few bikes in my stable and I have got another frame I can build the bits up on to. The frame was probably too big for me but it was so responsive and it always put a smile on my face when I rode her. I will get Kevin Winter to have a look at her to see if she can be repaired as it has not damaged the forks or head tube and I will list it on eBay. I just what to warn others.