This morning's commute and other commuting stories

"My only observation with people riding road race bikes wearing all the gear on their commute is they feel the need to gun it everywhere and need to be in front (sweeping generalisation, obviously) ."
/\THIS
(+ they are wearing rapha pro team stuff)

The bristol > bath bike path should be a hotbed of mutual waving but I find it unpredictable at best. The general rule seems to be that if i wave, I get a stony-faced look like i'm some sort of prick. If i don't wave, they'll wave and then be morally offended at how acutely unfriendly I am, refusing to enter in to the spirit of camaraderie such a situation should foster.

I have only ridden that wonderful path a couple of times and it is a right old mix.
If you'd seen me on it a couple of weekends ago you wouldn't have got fuck all out of me as it was the tail end of riding from Brighton. My body was in full shutdown. In fact you may have thought I was having a stroke.
Two tunnels!! Glorious, glorious bit of riding that.

is this you?

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I did that path many years ago on one of the Bath > Bristol longboard pushes that Lush runs - stacked it where it crosses the railway line BUT STILL CAME IN FIRST*.

*it's not a race BUT STILL.

That sounds ruddy knackering but fun. Reckon it's doable on a standard double kick with 55mm 86As?

I have a prosthetic arm attached to my freewheel via a bevel gear that spins around to wave to my people for me.

I was gonna say the exact opposite. I've just moved out of London and have been surprised that I've had two full kit roadies wave to me on my single speed riser bar monstrosity on my 5 min cycle to the station; I've literally never been nodded or waved at in the 6 years of commuting in London so it was a pleasant suprise. Had no idea it was a thing until you just said this!

I waved at a bunch of riders outside Macas in Southall yesterday because it looked like a cycling club or at least a bunch of enthusiasts. I'm not going to wave at the other 200 people I see in London. I did compliment a guy on an old orange bike in Richmond Park on Saturday but again, he's clearly a cycling enthusiast so it's different to some random.

In the sticks it's different. There's fuck all other riders so you can wave/nod each without causing yourself an overuse injury.

That was my thought as well - I'd need neck physio if I nodded to all the cyclists in London haha. And yea, there are hardly any other people on bikes out here so I can see why it would be like that.

55mm? I’d say not, unless you mind your pushing leg being a bloodied peg by Bristol!
I did it on a homebrewed longer-than-average wheelbase slalom board. 76mm wheels with 78a rear, 80a fronts but even then, sections of the path at speed would rattle the fillings. It was also a narrow deck with ridiculous concave, so it was easy to pump when I got tired of pushing.
All said: I think you should try to skate it! If I remember it right, the Bristol end seems to be slightly downhill and you can really clip along at the end... apart from slamming, I only remember the exhilaration of the last mile or so, not the slog before : )

I should buy a longboard, you say? Well I suppose maybe I should in that case....
:-)

nodding should get less frequent when the "slight chance or rain" on the forecast starts to come in for autumn ...

What’s going on in the west end? The area at the North end of regents street was all cordoned off

much roadkill from Leyton to Colchester today.

exploded fox, rotting badger, squished rabbit pancake and other unidentifiable beings.

Also spotted a single live robin redbreast in Chappel church's graveyard

fears of a bomb near bbc
turned out to be nowt

You passed up all the ingredients of a Brexit Autumn Game Pie.

It's missing the key ingredient: a nice bit of gammon

Prisoner's commuter's dilemma.

Ha! Yes indeed. But with mild social awkwardness instead of further incarceration.

I’m up and down that most days. I’ll give you a wave!

Please do, and I’ll totally blank you! :-)

I’m usually on a light blue 70s track bike or a black Surly with a child on to the back.

10degrees this morning and glum up 'ere. still trying to rock the short sleeve shirt though, despite other riders seemingly already enjoying full outer shells

Way too many dickheads out this morning. I'm taking the cycle path tomorrow.

Agreed. Seemed especially chopperific/mental this morning. Must have had a dose of mustgetinfront with their conflakes.