This morning's commute and other commuting stories

My commute this morning.

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Woaaaaaaaaaaa............ creepy compliments!

I heard you like bikes

Thumbs up from scooter guy after I sat all for large chunk of open road. No mate, thumbs up to you, I don't get enough motorpacing time in London. :)

A bit of bike on bike action, who doesn't like that.

not a single commute / ride this week - work sending me to ireland. pah. back today with a case load of stuff driving past riders enjoying a lovely autumn sunny day.....

although sun was blindingly low ! :-/

I once got my front wheel nicked from outside my work, some 5 miles from my house. In the flat below us lived a gang of wee scrotes whose parents enacted minimal parental control whilst the kids would harvest whatever bits they could easily pinch. I make it home eventually and my actual wheel is sitting outside their front door along with one of their own shitty Halfords nedmobiles, so I get my wheel back and “borrow” theirs. Flatmate and I completely disassemble their bike and leave it outside the front door, probably just making it easier for them to part it out rather than exacting sweet revenge.

Had two near misses with pedestrians in as many days.

Coming home from nursery with a 3yo on the back - school kid blithely stroll out from next to a van and clips my arm. He’s fine but I only just manage to keep the bike upright. Lots of swearing at an 11 year old - not my finest hour.

This morning I’m coming off a roundabout through a green light - many peds waiting and I slow from quite fast to just fast (yes, wiser me and would have slowed more) and make much eye contact. Apart from with some bright spark who wanders out looking the other way. Cue locked back wheel, much shouting, and probably a pavement full of people assuming I was in the wrong...

Look Tarquin, I kinda get it when some grubby fluro nodder ignores the pedestrian phase at the shit show that is Praed Street / London Street junction by Paddington station - they might have some bullshit zero hours contract job they've been told to attend last minute. But you Tarquin, you in your suit and slacks on your retro cool dutch bike have no fucking excuse for ignoring the red, going straight over the ped crossing against the lights, weaving amongst the great unwashed pouring out of paddington station and coming so close to some old dear that she turns round and shouts in your ear about what a fucking cunt you are.

Have a word with yourself.

do old dears say "that" word ?

There are several on here who do.

She probably meant to say ‘aunt’ but got autocorrected

Ha.

Cracked my dt Swiss hub last night pulling away for some lights, too much power, or something like. It’s old but hasn’t been used much.

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That chain is far too clean. Where's the black gloop?

New build man(old hub), its only done 100 miles!

^ warranty?

I can't sustain daily double run commutes or afford (time & money) for public transport so am back on bike. Today's ride in was not bad, hope it stays that way.

What larks:

Pull off from lights, car half overtakes, then has to stop for queuing traffic, and starts drifting left into me, squeezing me between a parked car and her, so I give a tap on the door to say: "I'm here, don't squash me." Then she drives around the next queue of traffic to find me at the next set of lights, gets out, give me a shove and says "don't touch my private property. Wait your turn" (which I thought was ironic.) Gets back in and drives off. Lights have since changed, queue of traffic behind thoroughly annoyed.

What larks.

Wow, sounds like she hasn't moved on since primary school.

Sounds like assault.

How strange, my knee appears to be making significant contact with my top tube, I wonder why. Oh, its because the bearing cover has undone itself and the pedal now has about 1cm of side to side play, rad.

People out in the sticks do not like cyclists-especially when the roads are narrow enough that they can't even close pass you. Had all sorts of close passes, revving behind me since moving and the general feeling that I shouldn't be on the road. Last night on my way back home, someone over took me and beeped his horn, which I thought was a "fuck you, you shouldn't be on the road". So I naturally gave them the one finger salute and gestured them to stop and say it to my face etc. Turns out it's the person I bought a car off last week saying hello/being neighborly. Whoops!

three incidents in 24 hours...

1. last night at Clapham Common, driver turning left at the last minute - signalling/turning when I had nowhere to go. Exchange of opinions. Much angry.

2. later at Clapham South motorbike in the cycle 'box' to my right, beeps angrily because he wants to turn left and I've pushed off. He gives me a look, I give him a cheery 'wanker' sign and bid him'fuck offffff'.

3. this morning at Clapham South (yes!) an out-of-townie in a Luton van, pulls into the cycle lane because he's lost. I slammed the brakes on, but contact with my front wheel takes me out. I feel really lucky to have a scraped knee, ripped shorts and a busted brake lever. (I caught up with him at the lights by Clapham Common station where he said "oh that was you was it? yeah, I was lost and..." I think I was too shocked to do anything). Annoyed with myself for not getting his reg &c

tl;dr - avoid Clapham

Wait until she's back in the car then punch her mirror off. Ride behind something solid while cackling.

Shit, I forgot to get the footage of the douchbag that drove me off the road.