This morning's commute and other commuting stories

I just keep my goretex jacket and over trousers in my Timbuk2 all the time nowadays. They weigh bugger all and chances are I’ll need them at some point.

I've been working non stop for weeks in mostly active jobs and was up a ladder all day today. Around mid afternoon my head was pounding and I started feeling really wobbly and tired. Unlocking my bike in that freezing rain storm (London), scraping my wet fingers into my gloves and lowering my gooch onto a puddly Fizik was not what I needed at all. I'm two baked spuds and three cuppas into my recovery now... I cycled a total of 4 miles - it felt like 90.

2/10 would avoid consumption in the future.

Grim. Heal up. About this time last year I cycled 12 freezing and wet miles to work with norovirus because I’d paid for my Christmas dinner and told myself I maybe just had food poisoning and if I could clear a bit out before lunch I’d be good to go. I had to stop twice to throw up and I didn’t eat anything for the next 30 hours or so, let alone a chistmas pub lunch.

Feel I should give props to the white van man who stopped before driving through a massive section of flooded road that would have totally soaked me last week. Cheers.

I’m def not that bad!

The baked spuds are doing the trick.

In on the mighty Yamaha scooter this morning which was handy as it enabled me to chase down the woman who knocked a cyclist off on the a203 jw Thorne Road and then pissed off. Apparently driving to two streets away and parking up was her making her way back - lying cunt. Made her go back and exchange details.

nice one (well your part of it at least)

good work!

I’ve been using the Shimano MW5 boots as a winter shoe.

Pros: Dry. Warm.
Cons: It looks like I am wearing spats.
OTOH: I dress like a tramp so wtf, bring it on

Now I need to get some ‘tech’ waterproof clothes!

here's a few edited highlights of yesterday's commute from Colliers Wood to Borough Market along the recently renamed Maurice Burton Way (ex-CS7)

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CJLqgLvFmSO/

Nice! My local route, so I’m totally watching this with a waiting-for-impact posture (also standing up to coast through all collected puddles).

ha ha, despite it being empty we still had a few numpties trying to take us out.

for another commuting vid from Summer 2019 try this one instead

https://www.pinkbike.com/video/502847/

Not a commute but I was picking the MIL up yesterday and then dropping her off in the evening and the standard of driving was fucking terrible.

Seems speed limits don't apply on Christmas Day and if you do find someone sticking to them you should tailgate them and then cut them up.

Also loads of cyclists who hadn't noticed that it's dark at 10pm and hadn't bothered with lights.

^ noticed the same from motorists in the city, yesterday: Lots of impatience with any drivers who weren’t off from the lights immediately. That we’re a society of thin-skinned entitled dicks isn’t news, but fucksake give it a rest for ONE day of the year eh.

Was out on the motorbike yesterday and going down Farringdon towards E&C happily doing the limit. Someone up my ass blasting horn telling me to hustle. Proceeds to overtake easily doing double the limit, followed by 4 cars who decide the same thing.

We all come to the lights 10 seconds later....

OTOH: [waldorf_and_statler.gif]

We all come to the lights 10 seconds later....

This is what really riles me up when people blast past you or squeeze past with inches to spare for you only to meet at the lights seconds later. It seems people do not have the foresight to plan even a few seconds ahead.

Yes, I saw lots of speeding and near-misses last night.

Maybe Speeding up and overtaking makes people feel like they’re going faster than you, thus accomplishing more in life in order to justify the suppressed, yet creeping realisation that their mortality is finite and drawing nearer the end with every set of lights they have to wait for?

Or they're bellends.

Or they're bellends.

nailed it.

I do wonder if people are maybe apprehensive about leaving the house and subconsciously think that if they 'get there quicker' they are less likely to catch any nasty viruses that might be floating around?

Nice way to put it.

New job has made me drive to work these days; going over the Westway, which currently has a 30mph limit due to weak expansion joints. Multiple signs declare so. Depressing to see how little fucks people give and do at least 50+

@bigshape That's very strange logic if so. It's pointless anyway, traffic lights even everyone out.

On the rare occasion I’m driving it amazes me how often the driver behind me will lose patience because I’m laying off a cyclist. There’s just no point in most urban occasions in overtaking a cyclist unless they’re going at 5mph or there’s a nice clear road ahead.

I think a lot of drivers just have this basic idea in their head: "Cyclist ahead, must take over them".

No other variables seem to be taken into account. Red light directly ahead, doesn't matter. Road narrowing at exact place I am going to overtake when it widens a few metres later, doesn't matter. Slow moving traffic ahead, doesn't matter. Bus or cycle lane just ahead where it would be safe for me to pass cyclist, doesn't matter, need to do it now!

Speed really does not get you anywhere much quicker in most areas of London, it's completely dependent on flow of the lights. Point proven by the old lady that keeps catching you up at traffic lights after you breeze past her on your expensive bike dressed in full cycling kit.

Flip side to the above is the number of cyclists who don't have the sense to realise stopping ahead of every vehicle at a red light is often completely pointless.

Really boils my piss when they then get away first and hold up both the car and me who was sensibly waiting behind it.