This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Cranwood St needs a contra flow.

I've been working on the Tower Scheme for this area.
The site identified for a tall-tower (c. 30+ storeys) is between City Road, Cranwood St and the Roundabout. Where the row of shops currently is.
In fact the entire area from City Road to Pitfield Street is being proposed for redevelopment (primarily 10+ Storeys)
Nothing goes on the roundabout at the moment.

Good info, thanks!

I'm in the process of changing from fixed to 3 speed hub, because older and need my mojo back. Put a wheel with a Sturmey Archer AW on yesterday but the fulcrum and pulley didn't fit around the frame tubes. Ordered bigger ones and rode in this morning. Realised relatively quickly that I would be in third gear all the way but carried on... was absolutely knackered by the time I arrived in the office. Just calculated gi ... 95.7. At least it's more downhill on the way back! #idiot

Christ! I think I'd have resorted to pushing it.

Hopefully the developers find a way to incorporate Best Kebab into their design. Love that place.

Kings Cross, the amount of peds that just walk out across the junctions there is ridiculous. I literally had to stop on the green light because so many of them had started crossing without looking. Then while I had stopped, some guy had the nerve to mutter at me about running red lights...

some guy had the nerve to mutter at me about running red lights

Haha makes me laugh when people do that!

Usually me too however for whatever reason this time it really pissed me off

Commuting on my new 32c tyres is making me smile every single time. Lovely.

Scenes at the temporary traffic lights on the junction of Coldharbour Lane and Barrington Road. I was busenger but watched a tipper truck speed down the oncoming lane, through a red and down Gresham Road. Luckily there weren’t any schoolchildren crossing at the time, but many others later had to dodge irate drivers who’d been inspired by the tipper tempest.

Who should it be reported to?

meanwhile, plod standing around telling cyclists it's their fault if they get flattened by a giant truck because blind spots in E&C.

"you should probably go and set up shop on the A3 - you'd make a mint handing out fines to people using phones and you might actually save a life or two"

"we do that every other day of the week"

no you fucking don't.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the standard of riding by motorcyclists is getting worse and worse?

tbh it's been rock bottom for years.

A very polite low speed dooring this morning. Cyclist fine and more concerned for the welfare of the teenager who'd hopped out in the queue to get to school. Driver fine with the scratches to their door. Teenager embarrassed and grumpy.

yeah, had a massive argument with one yesterday on Old Street when he cut me up mid roundabout having already close passed me on Great Eastern Street just to get caught at the lights.

I have spent the week riding into work with my misses so she can learn the commute. She isn't very confident with it but is a good rider. Trying to convince her that being confident and holding your position is key. It easier said than done though and I am noticing so many dick moves by people that i guess i usually just accept.

The best is a bloke coming to the bike traffic lights on Q2 at angel and running straight to the front of the Q... then getting is phone out and blocking everyone as the lights change to green while he picks the next playlist on his spotify... peoples self importance astonishes me.

It seems that the 30mph speed limit is not applicable to motorcyclists. Since they have been allowed in bus lanes I routinely get overtaken by them at 50/60 even 70mph. It's getting to the point now where it is starting to stress me out and I'm questioning the wisdom of letting them use bus lanes.

Drivers being c$%ts.
Busses being c$%ts.
Motorcyclists being c$%ts.
Cyclists being c$%ts.
Pedestrians being c$%ts.
C$%ts.

Bit sweary

I hate that word but sometimes there is nothing else that will do.

I live next to all of this mess. I've witnessed the roadworks cause all sorts of stupid behavior and now just walk over to Barrington road instead of trying to cycle. TfL have a complaint form here about road works if you fancy? Every little helps. Pretty sure someone's going to get hurt pretty soon...

I said this aloud a few times but still can't make any sense of it... cdollarpercentts, cdollarpercentts...

Letting them in the bus lanes is probably the lesser of two evils. The greater evil being then hammering down the wrong side of the road and traffic islands at 50/60 past a queue of stationary traffic then barging in at junctions.

Having said that, some of those on bicycles are guilty of the above. When I walk to the tube station in the morning I cross the Clapham road around oval - more often than not there's bicycle traffic going around both sides of the road island.

Opinion on Motorbikes forever changing, there's a lot of them on the OKR and a bit of give and take seems to go a long way. One thing that really irks is the fuckwitery i see when they filter to the front but stop before they ASL (as they can and should?). Usually it's a bright yellow jacket on a hybrid that awkwardly squeezes past so the motorbike has to then find there way around them when the lights change. It seems like this is why i see some fairly sane looking motorbikerers using the ASL box as they're screwed either way. Unless there's a clear route where i won't be blocking people i'll sit behind them, don't think i've ever had a motorbike try and squeeze past when i'm sitting at the lights.

In other OKR news: Purple Charge Plug, fluro Concor saddle, brakeless, freewheeling?! Could not spot coaster - think of the children...

Usually it's a bright yellow jacket on a hybrid that awkwardly squeezes past so the motorbike has to then find there way around them when the lights change.

That's what the ASL is for, Motorcyclists should really get in line with other traffic to wait for lights, not at the front or to the right. The ASL is there for the safety of the slowest "traffic" ie cyclists, not the quickest, motorcyclists.