This morning's commute and other commuting stories

I had an amazing exchange with a dude in a van yesterday who pulled up to a junction and just stopped, without indicating, and idled there for a while. I rode alongside him and OF COURSE he was on his phone, so I knocked on his window and asked what the fuck he thought he was doing to which he said "I can do whatever I like" and when I called him out on not indicating / obstructing the road / being on his phone he wheeled out the old road tax bollocks and told me to fuck off :D

Forgot my bike was at work so had to walk from waterloo which sucked. Did see someone on the shared pavement where all the boris bikes are ram into the back of a ped cos their brakes weren't working at all - they looked like a kid learning to ride a bike by using their feet on the pavement to brake while slowly coming to a stop. They thought it was all ok because: "I shouted really loudly and you didn't move so it's not my fault". I suggested getting they might want to get their brakes repaired: "I know they haven't worked for ages mind your own business". WAC.

I rode eight miles across Leeds carrying another bike last year. A friend caught me on Kirkstall Road. That said, I wouldn't recommend this approach.

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the shared pavement

Which one are you referring to? Aren't there quite a few segregated or otherwise marked cycle lanes in the Waterloo area?

Positive related news.

errrrrr....wow!

so other side of the coin today, i was driving in due to it being my last day

2 cyclists together, i passed them ok, then as we got a little slower in traffic but approaching a round about, 1 went one side of me and 1 went the other, both trying to over/undertake me on the roundabout

come on chaps - you might think it fun to see who gets through first but if i was a nobber not indicating.....well....

He means the very much shared use path outside the station (where the Boris bikes are). Turns cycle lane specific at the bottom.

ah the one that is immediately outside of the station on Cab Road...it's down the hill from where all of the bike racks are...

that's the one

twat in a van

Cock au van

Oh Jesus I never realised that was supposed to by a cycling lane too... terrible design. I just use the roads around there, these days I pretty much refuse to use 'shared use' paths unless they are very wide and not crowded.

Classic!

I had a red faced chump in a van try and beep me out the way because I was riding primary.
I didn't move so he overtook right into a red light and stopped inside an ASL.
I knocked on his window and asked him what he thought he was doing and he went bat shit crazy. He didn't see how ridiculous his comments about cyclists thinking they own the road when I pointed out he was the only road user here demanding people get out of HIS way.
I thought his head was going to explode.

never understand this, personally... doesn't a front rack make a bike steer like a supermarket trolley?

(I use a Wildcat seat pack, occasionally a small backpack).

Yeah, if I was carrying any real weight I'd probably go seatpack or even framebag.

Yes I don't ever use it and shake my head at the people that actually do try to - I see them every day getting all hauty and what not dinging their little bells and saying snide remarks about sharing the pavement. As if peds are actually going to do that, it's peak time ya bellend. What's the point anyway? There is a practically empty road right next to it!

I use a bridge street saddlebag and klickfix mount for the commute. It's like having a small parachute on the back, but I like not having weight on my back and getting a little less sweaty. That said, no reason for OP to change anything if it's working.

Clement xplor 35mm

Despite checking the tyre as much as I could in the dark there was a small sliver of glass in the tread which nicked every inner tube after a mile or two.

check the punctured inner tube, find the puncture on the tube and then locate the problem in the tyre by cross referencing the inner tube and tyre

So one puncture that you didn't fix properly ;)

I hate that. I always take more time than most people with flat repairs because there's NOTHING worse than riding off and 100m down the road having the tyre go flat again, because actually there was still shit in the tyre. I always run my fingers around the inside of the tyre to find any sharps. The odd inspection would help too but it's hard with mudguards on.

This is the reason you should always line your tyre logos up with your valves. Makes it much quicker/easier to narrow down the location on the tyre where the problem is if you can line the tube up quickly.

Puncture?

Buy a new bike.

I've taken to patching on the road, if possible, saves pulling the whole tube out and leaves my hands a bit cleaner. #csb

this is what I should say to my gf when I am considering N+1

Better still, for newbies line up the psi values with the valve. Same reference point but always a handy reminder on how much air to push in.