This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Heard about this. There was also a big crash in the inner circle on Tuesday. The sooner they close Regents Park to through traffic during rush hour the better.

https://twitter.com/Cycle_Whamp/status/1159396454944923648

yeah i saw that, pretty dramatic. The driver seemed ok though

Also i saw Steven Fry on my way home from regents this morning which was cool

yeah i was impressed with the damage the lampost did to the car, not quite sure how she missed the bend but mistakes happen i guess.

luckily noone got hurt

Coming to the end of my first week of commuting from Paddington to Shoreditch and have been really pleasantly surprised. I was preparing for a horror show of close passes and drivers trying to kill me at every opportunity, but actually I have felt far safer than I do getting to and from the station in Reading. Moorgate is a bit hairy but otherwise it's pretty much all separated cycle routes and now I've managed to do the trip without getting lost it's about 35 mins, so no difference to the tube and considerably less stress. No doubt I've jinxed it now but a very promising start.

I honestly feel much safer cycling in central London than I do in most other places in the UK. Vehicle speed is (on the whole) much slower.

Moorgate is shit - horrible road surface and narrow roads with impatient drivers. There are some good back roads which are far nicer on a bike. What's your current route?

happy anniversary.

I wish i could give up the petrol engine and just cycle everywhere. I'm close enough for work and could do without the car which i'm not a fan of, not sure i could give up my motorbike though.

Who is the best authority to ask about this situation? Lea Bridge cycle lane ends just at the canal and every morning the same car is parked at the end of the lane, meaning all the cycle traffic has to filter out into heavy traffic and back into the lane where it starts about 10m further down.

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(it's slap bang on the boundary)

Nearest signage attached.

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It would be a shame if your bar ends caught that paintwork or anything

I'm getting off CS3 by Southwark Bridge then Queen Vic street up to Bank and left onto Moorgate, then cutting across to Curtain Road which thus far has been by trial and error. One day I really cocked it up and ended up having to walk through Liverpool Street, which was fun! On the way back I go down Paul Street and Wilson Street and join Moorgate just north of the station but I somehow haven't worked out how to do that in reverse yet.

Try taking Q11. Cross straight over Queen Victoria instead of turning right. Follow it up to Gresham Street, then up Wood St to Moor Ln. Right turn at Finsbury Square > Wilson St > Worship > Curtain Rd.

For the ride home take Paul Street down to Wilson and do the reverse. Much nicer than Moorgate.

Ah I see, looks a much nicer route, thanks! I'll give that a go tonight.

Thanks for the kind comments, Lfgss has kept me going 😊

My morning ride in is only a couple of miles, and it was absolutely lashing down today.
Jacket 100% waterproof,
Trousers 100% waterproof
Trainers 0% waterproof.... soggy socks when i got changed for work.
Still a belting ride in, went through every puddle after the first as the damage was done.

So nice this morning with a bit of rain, mudguards and shoe covers on and the rain seems to have scared off quite a few cyclists (I know more cyclists is a good thing etc but no undertaking this morning and everyone generally going at the same leisurely pace).

someone recommended some fishing shoes from sports direct once

https://www.sportsdirect.com/diem-waterproof-mens-shoes-140191

Got left hooked by a range rover this morning in Leyton. Indicated at the same time he turned when he saw a place to park even though it was blocked off due to road works and the road have been narrowed to one lane with temporary lights. luckily his front door caught me haha

Would be a shame if you scraped some paint off the side of their car on your way down... It’s impulsive decisions like that where someone doesn’t check their mirrors and people get hurt

There was a good popping sound of the door flexing haha

I should have girvn a bit more space cos a. Greasley roads and b. Range rover

I had something similar down the High Road about a year ago. No contact between me and the car because I emergency stopped onto my elbow, but I managed to claim the cost of my smashed Garmin watch off his insurance.

The funny thing is that he has kids at the same school as mine and we often say hello, he is a police officer, and he thanked me for not claiming whiplash etc. He drives a Lexus with a personalised number plate - I mentioned it in one of my many emails to his insurance company

Encountered a right prick last night. I was cycling through a bit of a pinch point where I've had people try and squeeze past before, so I was in the centre of the (effectively) one lane. A guy coming towards me decided there was plenty of room and just went for it anyway, coming within a couple of inches of my handlebar and earning a slap on his rear side window. I heard him slam his brakes on but I rode on and down a side street. He actually chases me down, leaps out of his car and proceeds to get an inch from my face.

Apparently I shouldn't touch other people's property and I shouldn't cycle in the middle of the road etc. (No mention of road tax and I was wearing a helmet, so not a full house unfortunately)

His wife gets out and starts shouting at me because I apparently woke their daughter up in the back by banging on their car (the husband seemed more concerned that his car had been touched).
He's about to chin me and he's got a kid in the back - nice.

This guy is SO angry! I managed to get off my bike just before he gave me a shove - he then goes to punch me but doesn't (his wife takes credit for this - "you're lucky I was here, dickhead!"), and he then proceeds to spout off some stuff about he could have had a knife.

Number plate was memorised. Police were called. Cheers to the guy who came out his house to check I was ok.

If either of my daughters saw me act like this man-child had, I'd be fucking mortified.

Wow. That could have gone bad quickly. Are the police going to take any action?

Who knows. I think I played it down a bit in the name of 'not wanting to cause a fuss', but the operator I spoke to reminded me it's technically assault(?). She asked if there was a weapon or if he mentioned one and I told her he did mention a knife, but immediately regretted is as I'm 99% sure he was just making some sort of a point rather than it being any sort of a threat. I tried to make this as clear as I could.

My main motivation for calling it in was that he seemed very quick to anger in that sort of situation: I would imagine it's likely to have happened before or happen again.