This morning's commute and other commuting stories

blowing a hoolie

Where does this phrase come from?
Went on a date with someone from Largs who insisted it was Scottish, but my Glaswegian girlfriend has never heard of it.

I first heard the phrase in Norfolk but fairly sure it doesn't come from there.

Internet says it's from the Orkneys.

Google say variously : Irish (word for blowout party), French 'houle' (meaning large wave) or from a notoriously windy river in India.

Must admit I thought it was Scottish.

It's used all the time down in Dorset where I'm from too.

I was waiting behind what clearly looked like a mini cab on bishopsgate last night in the rain at a ped crossing. The lights turned green and 5 seconds later he's not moved so annoyed i squeezed up the inside (thinking he's messing with a fare) and tapped / banged the side panel and shouted wtf.

He then moved out and i as i went past in a thick cockney accent (the kind you associate with a scumbag type taxi driver) he shouts pull over, pull over, i'm a policeman... Instinctively i carried on thinking (shiat) something wasn't right and lost him straight away going past a bus. For a few seconds i was waiting for the sirens and lights to start. WAC

I was waiting behind what clearly looked like a bloke on a bicycle on bishopsgate last night in the rain at a ped crossing. The lights turned green and 5 seconds later he's not moved so annoyed i squeezed up the inside (thinking he's messing with his phone) and tapped / banged his helmet and shouted wtf.

Calm down mate.

Lady in an Audi or BMW tried to kill me going from inside lane of roundabout to turning off, as I was signalling to continue around the roundabout and after I'd looked back and made eye contact with her. Got it on handlebar mounted gopro, will see what the footage is like/whether I got a reg when I got home.

In other news, a nice tailwind, relatively clear roads and the odd jolt of adrenaline (see above) meant 20mph average for the first 20.2mi of my commute :)

Hypocrite

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/13792010/

Well done, forum police.

Oi, calm it.

Ha. No that's what the taxi driver said.

Many lols at the ranting lorry driver at E&C this morning. He was being blocked from turning down St Georges road by a van waiting at the lights. He went on and on and on wouldlistenagain/10.

yolo

Why o why did people thinks it ok to cross a road wherever they like? Guy pops out from between parked cars, stops in the road gives me a stop sign, just so wife and children could cross the road, even though about 25 metres away was a ped crossing. Van driver not impressed but I was impressed with his 'you're not a family of fucking ducks.

Because it is ok to cross a road wherever you like.

I take it the 15 seconds you had to wait have really messed up your schedule?

I appreciate you can cross where you like, the fact I was making he just stepped out into road where there was traffic, there weren't huge gaps he just hoped that people would stop, they could have walked the 30 seconds to a proper crossing. His kids well might grow up thinking that they can just step out and people will stop for them.

With robocars coming perhaps they will!

Disagree with that... you can't cross the road wherever you want... that's what ped crossings are for, especially if you've got kids with you

Not this again... You can; so we as cyclists should expect that people will. However, just because peds can cross anywhere, it doesn't mean they should.

But can you though?

Not this again...

Quite. We are very fortunate in this country to have very liberal laws in relation to walking. Walking is the default human mode of transport, cycling an indulgent luxury that only the shameless would prioritise over people walking. Sail before steam, but of course sailors raising the canvas shouldn't engage in foolish manoeuvres. The function of pedestrian crossings is to facilitate crossing at certain difficult spots, e.g. at junctions, not by implication to prohibit it elsewhere.

Except America.

And maybe others. But defo America.

We're not in America

I parse 'we' as everyone in the world.

#noborders.

I suppose that's why I said 'in this country'. The meaning of that phrase will obviously vary depending on which country the reader is in.