This morning's commute and other commuting stories

fucking cyclists steam traction engines!

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Come on!

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i guess they could just about make it there on time - that event is about 100 miles away from where the photo was taken, so over 30hrs drive at 3mph! 😂

Nothing out of the ordinary yesterday except that it was probably my last work commute ever. I'm only in the office once a week now and I'm retiring next week so unlikely to be commuting again as muchos beers are on the cards for next Thursday evening.

I took some vid for posterity and seeing as GoPro now does an auto-edit of the footage here are the highlights (as selected by GoPro AI not me) of London's finest 70km of tarmac. Cold morning commute into a stiff North-Easterly and warm, sunny evening commute with a tailwind via Richmond Park .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6V--RDsHAQ

The AI loves traffic stops.

True, but at the last count there were 119 sets of lights on my journey so they are frequent occurrences

On the AI thing is that music that you've put on there or is it automatically added by GoPro? If it's GoPro does that mean that they can make the claim on the videos and any money from them or is it some kind of free for use thing that they allow?

Riding down towards the river there is a particularly rough gravel/potholed stretch and this morning there was a oldish chap pushing his bike through it. I waved and asked if he was ok. No was the reply. So I do the decent thing and stop to see if I can help. Turns out that he hit a pothole and the front wheel washed out from him and he hit the deck and had a bit of a cut hand. Oh and a flat tyre. Hey that’s not an issue. I’ve got wet wipes and a puncture kit, so he’ll be on his way in a flash. While he cleans himself up I whip out the wheel and pull off the tyre. Shit it’s got a big hole in the sidewall and the tube has an even bigger hole in it. So I get the spare tube out of my bag to fit for him. He’s riding a 26er BSO but I only have a 650b tube with the wrong sort of valve, oh well I stuff the tube into the tyre and put some strips of his tube around the slice in the tyre it’ll be fine to get him into the city and to a bike shop.
His cuts were small and he cleaned up ok. By this time I was getting late for work so after refusing his offers of cash for the tube I said bye and shot off to work.
I hope he got where he was going ok and I don’t hear about somebody dying in a horrific bike tyre related incident on the news later.
It’s nice to pay things forward when you can.

On the AI thing is that music that you've put on there or is it automatically added by GoPro?

It's automatically added by GoPro. I can edit it afterwards and select from a range of choons but I didn't bother on this one; just went with the standard auto production

If it's GoPro does that mean that they can make the claim on the videos and any money from them or is it some kind of free for use thing that they allow?

Well they (is it GoPro or is it the creator of the music; I'm not sure) register an interest against the video on YT but YT tells you this is fine and it doesn't count as a strike against me

make the claim on the videos and any money from them

I don't know, I will let you know if I ever generate any money from YT. That's not what it's about for me.

Well done!

Interesting thanks. Was more just a curiosity thing of how the process works. I imagine some content creators who make a living off it might get tempted to use it but wondered if it's something they'd have to be wary of if GoPro were actively staking claims from the get go.

Congratulations on the retirement as well btw.

Thanks, what I forgot to add was that I first cycle commuted from Epsom to Cannon Street in 2003 (March to October only) when I was purely a mountain biker but @chez_jay and I together with a few others entered the Marin Rough Ride and I decided I had better put some miles in to get fit.

Those were the days. Pre-cycle superhighways. There were only about a dozen of us and I knew everyone by name or on nodding terms....old git reminiscing fades to silence ....

nice work, i'm sure it was appreciated.
i always stop if i can when i see a rider in trouble, and have had others stop for me as well.

on my way home yesterday i saw a guy pushing a tricycle on it's back two wheels so i pulled over to see if he needed a tube or a puncture kit.
nope! his crank arm had fallen off!
i offered to give him a tow but he declined, probably for the best as trying to tow a bloke on a trike with a bungee cord would likely have ended in disaster.

That would have been 1 for YouTube!

I think what goes around comes around. I once got a lift home from a lovely couple when my rear hub exploded. They wouldn’t except any money, but dis take a jar of homemade jam. I think it was a fair price, they did go 30miles out of their way for me!
On another note I lent somebody I’d never met before my Brompton to get to the train station and on to home after they destroyed the rear mech, hanger and a few spokes just down the road from my house and saw me ride in. I was pretty sure he was going to come back to collect his bike and return mine, because it was a giant propel advanced disc with Zipp wheels.

Good work!

I should probably have made it clear that I was on my bike not in a car 😅

lending out your Brompton is a pretty trusting move, but I guess it's a fair swap for a propel!

Not understanding why sun out = more traffic. Or maybe comming back from half term + really hot weather = more cunty driving.

Twice this morning, SUVs in Kensington and Chelsea pulling proper cunt moves only to race to the back of the very long traffic que. Like to run my hand along the windows as I pass, let them think they might have been keyed. Temptation to carry a d lock is getting stronger.

stay zen / don't let the bastards grind you down

while the temptation is strong to touch people's cars, it's the kind of thing which likely infuriates the SUV drivers and makes them all the more aggressive to the next person on a bike.

Om Shanti Om

You are right on both, but it's not worth my instant gratification.. guess the sun has got to me too.

Ommm

Don't listen to the angel on your shoulder, take those motherfucker's wing mirrors.

I didn't think the traffic was too bad this morning. Funny how it varies so much these days.

Just Stop Oil doing a slow protest on Chelsea embankment this morning. Coppers trying to move them out of the road.
Traffic line about 1km long. Love to see it

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Hi guys, if you're in the area check out my art installation outside New X Gate station I'm calling "Crushed by HGVs" (aluminium and ABS plastic on tarmacadam) which explores the theme of regret at not putting a Lezyne mini pump in its bottle cage bracket and putting it in a jersey pocket.
If the tarmac warms up it could become a permanent exhibit

Currently in an Uber having just gone shoulder first into a lampost following a pedestrian stepping into the cycle lane in Deptford.
Slammed on the brake but also one foot unclipped and being a fixed gear, the other foot then kicked me up. Will be going to a&e after I get home and cleaned up