This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Yeah that left turn has nearly caught me out before.

They've been messing around with the bridge and up to Farringdon for so long I can't actually remember what it used to be like.

On the whole the new lanes are great - but you feel like a second class road user when cars etc. get longer on green.

Ha ha!!!! Clarty! Haven't heard that for a while! You'll be from the NE then pet? Why aye man...Alan Shearer...stotty...corned beef pie.....Ant n Dec....Newcy Broon....Tuxedo Princess....Greggs - oh what a legacy we have donated to Great Britain. All reason to get out of Europe to protect wor culture!

Used the cycle lanes at E&C today, could anyone explain to me why the cycle lanes are so bumpy compared to the road? Is it something to do with not being able to drive a big enough roller over when they tarmac it? Feeling a bit seasick/10

I haven't used them except very briefly once so don't really know what they're like, but I hope they haven't hand-rolled the tarmac. It's always been a limitation of laying non-standard carriageway widths that the normal machines can't be driven over them (too wide, obviously), but I would have expected that they would at least have purchased a few narrower machines for such large projects. They do exist; I heard a few years ago that there was at least one in London that could be hired. That said, hand-rolling normally produces a very wavy surface that wouldn't really have passed muster in any event, so it may be due to a completely different issue.

It would be great if 'facilities' were really good to start with. For instance: wtf is up with those 'speed bumps' on the Embankment? Who thought such over-steep speed bumps were appropriate for a CSH!? Bonkers.

London has some very fast bike riders, and one thing that's well known about narrow tracks is that they don't mix speeds well. They're also not just speed bumps but level passages for pedestrians crossing the tracks, e.g. at bus stops.

If I see another nodder fuckwit with one of those stupid fluorescent vests on jumping a red light without even looking at what's going on around them I'm going to go fucking postal!
I'm going to knock the fucker off their bike, strangle them with their stupid vest and then string them up to the nearest set of traffic lights with a sign nailed into their forehead saying "red light jumper"...

wtf is up with those 'speed bumps' on the Embankment?

I think you mean bunny hop points

but I hope they haven't hand-rolled the tarmac

If CS2 is anything to go by; Yes, yes they have. Its shockingly bumpy, full of dank puddles and the cycle lights at Mile End and just before Bow are forcing cyclists into the roads due to the un cycle friendly timings.

I can hardly believe that, although I have certainly noticed puddles in there when cycling past. If that's what they did, it would be really shonky.

I think you mean bunny hop points

I think you mean tiny canal.

Sky was dry but here's something for everyone complaining about the odd puddle on the road.

https://splice.gopro.com/v?id=D6nV3gk6q

I really need to check the weather report more often. Sitting in wet jeans for a day is not fun.

Bull bloke in a van this morning overtaking cyclists super-close while being absolutely fine driving on the bus lane. Then laughing at me at the traffic light when i was making a point that his behaviour was dangerous.

Zero shit given
You could tell from his face he was amused by the situation.
I mean, what if someone breaks your teeth with a screwdriver, would you find it funny still, you tw*t bag?

Having trouble to remain calm riding in London these days

Had some guy wearing a pollution mask not shoulder checking or signaling today heading up blackfriars road, mm away from knocking me off when he pulled across. Took me telling him that it's polite to apologise (plus a few other words) to get him to say a half-assed sorry. Lucky I was in a good enough mood to not turn his poncey mask into a teeth catching sack. If you're on here, you sir are a tw@t of the highest measure.

Bit testy on here today.

Oliver, this is how bad it is once you can see it in the rain;

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Yes, that looks hand-rolled. Pretty unbelievable, really.

Corrugated steel is much easier to ride on than this.

I remember when tfl did the bit by oval they made a big song and dance about the new machine.

Problem is, they don't realised that people on bicycle need as good a road surface as drivers do, thinking poor surface is fine, because bike are cheap and lighter than cars.

650b and 13psi is the only way

Just jump on the pavement and be careful to the poles you dorks. Or get the fucking bus.

What's the point of using these cycle lanes anyway.

Fackin' 'ell. That looks like a corduroy road lightly tarmacked by a bunch of insert inappropriate reference to drug-impaired and severely disabled members of ethnic groups traditionally linked with poorly executed small infrastructure projects overseen by a fat, blonde tory wankstain called Boris the Cunt.

Some of them do but it's part of a huge problem they have about how they look at things. If you look at the very often shoddy way diversions are put in place for cyclists or worse they just slap down random dismount signs it's very telling about how little cyclists are really considered. Also at the other end of it is a very clear set of rules about what a road can/can't be when finished and very clear rules about how you can/can't divert pedestrians and motorists but then for cyclsits and cycle tracks that's missing or the rules are very relaxed to allow use of gravel trails and stuff, with no specific rules broken you end up with no pressure from above to correct it beyond a vague tfl dream to improve by year 20xx maybe.

Had a lovely ride to E1 for a bit of lunch and shopping, then back home, all in some rain but lovely. No one and nothing upset me, I used a mix of roads and cycling infrastructure, some of these better designed and surfaced than others, and life is great. Oh, and I charged my phone whilst I rode.

If you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong.
#ripBarry

Shout out to all the morons this morning trying to get into gaps that weren't there.
Otherwise 8/10