This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Apparently hazard lights void all road rules.

Just like putting on the blinker half-way through an ill-considered turning manoeuvre automatically and retroactively gives you right of way.

It is known.

Long stretch in Chelsea Embankment closed to road traffic, nice peaceful ride. Might have a bike commuter drag race later on I suppose. 9/10

Yeah enjoyed that too, quite nice. They don't need to unblock the road any time soon on my account.

Magic push in orange!

Looks like I’m due a pasting on the Q1 from some badman drivist after I flipped him the bird. He stops in the middle of a junction to have it out with me, I keep riding. He must’ve swung a fast U cos next minute he hared down Willow Walk after me, tooting and yelling. He caught up with me just as I sailed through the bollards before Tower Bridge Road. He was out the car again trying to catch me! Yikes. Note to self: don’t upset the natives in Bermondsey.

dayum, i had a similar thing happen last year, when i gave some vanman the finger and he waited for me up the road and tried to door me

Excellent

No, scary adrenaline not good. I’m stressed as it is.

What's the commute on the A11 like?

Currently live in E17 and work in N1. Work moving to EC2.

Current commute via Victoria Park > London Fields > Middleton Road > Pitfield Street

Wondering whether to continue doing that and then work my way through, or divert from Vic Park and come down to the A11 and come in/out that way...

No longer commute along the A11 but when I did (4 years ago) it was pretty horrific. Even when the cycle path opened it was often litter and pedestrian strewn. Also had to be wary of cars turning left into the cycle lane at junctions.

Pretty horrible with the bus stop islands, cars pulling out, rubbish as mentioned above. Going through Vic Pk and around is much more pleasant.

Thanks - (and @nonowt). I'll avoid. I think I can just keep coming down Pitfield Street and across to Paul Street / Wilson Street.

Nearly got taken out by a suicidal grey squirrel near Southwark Bridge this morning.

I do it every day. From East to West is mostly good, but West to East less so.

Not actually today, but from Tuesday morning when I ran to work: some confused-looking older man backing his estate out of the bidirectional bike lane going over Vauxhall Bridge.

That kind of thing is always my worst nightmare, if he went in there at speed he could maim or kill a dozen cyclists easily.

Quiteway 2

Spotted this morning: delivery driver using the bike lane and pavement opposite Mount Pleasant to cut through from Wren St to Calthorpe St. Doing it at about 30mph was presumably to limit the time that oncoming cyclists would be in danger.

Looks like Jeremy Vine was there also https://twitter.com/theJeremyVine/status/1228323114053984256

I mean, that really is just supremely shit. Sure, just completely block the fucking path so people have to go into oncoming traffic. Fuck those guys.

Forced to go into traffic or forced to wait for a gap in traffic? Or get off and walk past it. It's only dangerous if you're too impatient to deal with it safely.

Shit situation, but I don't see how else they could collect rubbish along there.

As I understand it is not lawful to park there but there were some kamikazes going into oncoming traffic.

Clearly happens regularly: https://goo.gl/maps/LcG4T4GhtZvJocyv8

It's blocking the entire fucking bike lane
they could stop in the road
reschedule collection times
change where the pick ups are
redesign the road
anything but block the fucking lane and endanger cyclists

Exactly that. It's completely fucking unacceptable, since when is it OK to drive in oncoming traffic and on top of that just stop whenever you feel like it? Fucking stay on the road and stop there, at least they'd be pointing the right direction. Oh but then it'd inconvenience car drivers, eh?

I’ve see a few things that I have wanted to share with you guys for a while now and they have been building up. since I have found this forum & thread I feel like I’m commuting with you so thanks for that

there was a woman on a Pendleton type ‘ladies bike’ shunting it over Farringdon Bridge, like- I would have guessed she was a total snail but I had to work to keep up. she was doing the nod and everything & was dressed for the office

Uber eats cyclist on a carrera style MTB going west along the strand, I’d pass him only to meet up again at the next set of lights or traffic obstruction. it was like he was hardwired into the motion of the city, he cruised in perfect harmony and wasted no effort.

surly cross check, converted to single speed, hatever the biggest size those frames come in- it was that size. guy must have bought out all the stem raisers at his LBS, the bars were 10” off the top tube and the extenders were piled high. rear child seat, it clamped to the seat stays with a bracket and then it clamped to the chains stays too. this didn’t seem like a wise way to load?

as an aside, I have resolved just not to react at all to road incidents, it is kind of liberating, not being pissed off anymore

the nutter on the fixie has the right idea.