This morning's commute and other commuting stories

...or solid tyres...

Thanks for the tips,

I new I’d ballsed up but just couldn’t see the shard in the dark.

Packed the helmet torch for this morning

bloke on a boris bike using his phone not looking where hes going, suddenly turns in front of me without looking causing me to skid and turn sharply

me - look at what your doing not your bloody phone
Him - what are you talking about I wasn't on my phone - phone still in hand

These are the kind of people who automatically assume its your fault when they smash their car into you

Packed the helmet torch for this morning

I keep one of these in with my tools for just those moments.

That would fail the Forum Aesthetics are Important Laws™ ie FAIL™

When I remember I use those on audaxes. Wouldn't bother on commutes as I could find a street light.

Yeah, I leave it there precisely for when I forget and do need it on an audax/tour

NEW ROUTES (why caps?)

i have to get from penge to swiss cottage now for training, on tuesday, then from penge to holloway on Wednesdays. i have commitments until around 8 in penge and need to arrive ideally before 9.30 tues/ 10.00 wed, any route advice after camberwell?

I should just pack a bag onto the bike and leave it. As it is I have a backpack for commutes and all the audax/race gear gets unpacked (read: scattered everywhere around the house).

Yeah, it's what I try to do. It just gets tricky when you have many bikes/want to lock up in public.

I could just grab my tool bag and throw that in my backpack but I try and keep any unnecessary weight off my back.

I wear a lezyne helmet light for commuting. It's nodder gold, but I punctured last night on an unlit lane and it was absolutely priceless for locating the bit of flint and sorting the puncture.

Got to ride into a time warp and found myself by a blockbuster.

Should have grabbed the gloves this morning...

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Bermondsey still has that Wimpy

@Skülly

Streatham has the best Wimpy.

Ahhh, the days of going to a video rental shop if you wanted to watch a film.
Going to Blockbusters just to look around with no real intention of renting anything was an actual past time.

Lewisham or GTFO

I think LewisHam had the pancakes once.

It must be closed, only way to improve them.

Fair fucking play to the fella on a fixie that was skitching on the back of a pickup over Waterloo bridge this morning. I looked up and thought that he was doing well to keep up the the van as it accelerated up the hill from the massive roundabout. feet up on the cross bar and pedals flying round was pretty nuts!

Utter dick move. Pothole or anything else and they could be down on the ground in serious trouble.

yea you either have to be really brave or really stupid.

I've played Russian Roulette 5 times and nothing has happened to me! It's perfectly safe!

Hard braking manoeuvre at a zebra crossing as there was a lady going across that had been hidden by a van - no issue, good brake test, bit of back tyre skidding though I do most of my braking with my front brake. Then I slip first time I want to clip in again, and at the same time a lorry going in the opposite direction starts beeping. I'm now clipped in and look up, and there's the driver leaning out of the window... cheering me on? Making fun of me? I think he was thumb-upsing me, but... why? Was it done ironically? Was he making fun of me slipping off the pedal? Was he congratulating me for stopping for a pedestrian? Was he mistaking me for some TV star?

The lorry was going past at a normal city speed, and I was accelerating too, so I only saw him for a split second. This is the type of thing that really is utterly meaningless, but I just want to know, goddammit!