Tube strike, London

I was looking forward to a gentle commute when a nodder steamed past me on a pristine looking road bike and a very clean and underused looking ensemble of cycling clothing the like of which I have never seen before. Had to punch the pedals to catch and pass him before I turned off and from then I kept going. Lucky with reds until just outside the Foundry where my progress into the rjl/asl was blocked by motorcyclists. Managed to barge my way through and then sprinted. Had to stop at the junction with Shoreditch/Bishopsgate as the rjl/asl box was occupied by a police vehicle. Manged to get in front of him, trackstand and then cycle off in the middle of the lane preventing him from passing me.

All in all, a quick commute but best done early. The Paedos are the problem now apparently.

vietnam man. it's like vietnam out there.

not really. it was a bit hectic. more cars in a lumpen non moving mass. some cyclists.
still. i was on a bike. it was nicer than being in a car. or a bus. or being chased by the janjaweed.

the post i thought it was funny,
i replied in such then I saw it twice and hit the edit button ;)

@ scrapper
new york new york so good they names it twice
wanted to make sure the whole forum got my witty innovative post !!
BIG SMILEY FACE ;-)

nice thought on the spare tyres
thats real cycling community attitude
good on yer

The Paedos are the problem now apparently.

Shit, I thought that was Gary Glitter I saw hanging around outside a school. I should have mown him down

I got to give my road bike a serious go today for the first time - Therese at Bike Yard East redid my hub bearings and trued the rim. I did Bethnal Green to Chiswick in 45 mins, which is pretty good considering the masses of extra traffic. Oddly I thought there were far fewer motorcycles today.

I did see a dude at Farringdon on a cheap-arse "mountain" bike with the flatest tyres ever. He looked knackered and I'm not surprised.

Wools & co moaning about undertaking - ride faster, then they can't undertake :-)

There was a bloke that stayed with me from TCR to Shepherds Bush on a full sus mountain bike, which was bloody impressive as I was doing between 20 and 30 mph for most of it (OK the 30 was downhill). If he was on a road bike he would have smoked me.

S.E = No tube line = No problems

Back routes through central London = No problems.

Me = No worries.

I was trackstanding.

Yeah Yeah....

S.E = No tube line = No problems

Back routes through central London = No problems.

Me = No worries.

SE- I went New Cross/Peckham/Camberwell/Kennington/Southwark and it was chaos Mr Brick.

What time did you go through?

it was a bit of a zen moment when i opened the door, took a deep breath and let loose to get dragged with the slow but heavy mass moving past on the street. 8:20 chislehurst this morning. i rode fast, yet more aware of I_use_my_old_bike_instead_ppl and found me in synch with my bike, the gearing worked perfectly together with my fitness and feelgood speed, i swerved a bit more, but each with a smile, i passed more cars then usual, still smiling, dividing the peds herds crossing infront of me i tried to look real grim but failed. my route to work went down smooth via ldn bridge, bank up to old street stn and i made a rather quick time, too. still i noticed some confusion and bad vibes out there today. never seen me so many ppl congesting the sidewalks before, wow. on days like these i really love it on my bike.

i loved it. so much so i did an extra 20 mile and will do again later.. bring it!

Great Eastern Street was carnage.

Deepest SE London (Lee, Blackheath, Greenwich etc) no different from normal. In fact, a little lighter traffic if anything.

Arriving at work in Angel at 9am was quite interesting, complete traffic meltdown from Barnsbury Road/Penton Street onwards, cars everywhere. Lots more cyclists than usual, none that really caused me any problems but there was a few points where they were all over the road and getting past was a bit tricky. Did quite a lot of riding down the wrong side of the road this morning, which was nice. Huge numbers of peds walking up Pentonville Road, like some kind of walking critical mass.

Plus I saw a guy on a white unipack with a frame mounted air horn! Honk!

whatever your views about the rmt, and many, like me, have not lime for them, kudos to the fella picketing 55 broadway (LUHQ) on his own today. think it's gonna be pretty torrid...

Just went to get my breakfast and he offered me a flyer. No thanks mate.

At least he's ridden his bike in.

I picked a fine week to send my frame to get resprayed, and today having to travel from Hackney to Hammersmith, via Soho.

I'm still trying to build up the courage to leave the house.

i enjoyed it as well. found a guy sitting on the curb at the end of the mall before you get to trafalgar square who had his head between knees and was looking in a bad way. He was dressed as though he had just stepped off the tour de france and had a pricey bike propped up against the railings. Asked if he was okay thinking he may of crashed; his response - "no, just tired and out of breath."

classic

Just went to get my breakfast and he offered me a flyer. No thanks mate.

At least he's ridden his bike in.

ha I saw that. somebody with a sweet looking felt fixed knocking about down there. you?

+1 Dulwichrider
Lewisham to OKR to Waterloo to Euston was exactly the same as it always is. Left 15 minutes earlier just in case but didn't need it.

@Mabukey I had the same thing happen to me in 2007; I saw a guy pushing a brand new Bianchi Pista near New X and I stopped to offer puncture assistance and he just said "nah mate I'm just knackered"

i dont think i saw a single vehicle moving faster than walking pace my entire ride in! just started to rain as i was coming down bishopsgate, but as i passed bus stop after bus stop stacked with commuters waiting for buses unlikely to come, i couldnt help but grin!

not many cyclists this morn, but i did nearly get taken out last night on old street. riding a comfortable distance from the curb, in the bus lane, when this girl on a sit-up-and-beg comes haring up the inside. so close, she not only pretty much hits me, but she prangs her pedal on the curb! scared the shit out of me! so as we stop at the lights, we went up to her and asked, quite politely, "do you have any idea about passing people on the road?" to which she replied "you were riding too close to the curb, there was no room to go past. if i had gone on the right i would have got hit by a car" right, so no worries if you hit me and i subsequently swerve under a car? or the fact we were slowing for the lights/traffic ahead? if theres no room to pass, wait you stupid bint!! gaaah! longest post ever, but i couldnt believe how little grasp of how to ride on the road some people have!

I think I am going to catch the Northen line tonight, sounds like the best plan :)

not many cyclists this morn, but i did nearly get taken out last night on old street. riding a comfortable distance from the curb, in the bus lane, when this girl on a sit-up-and-beg comes haring up the inside. so close, she not only pretty much hits me, but she prangs her pedal on the curb! scared the shit out of me! so as we stop at the lights, we went up to her and asked, quite politely, "do you have any idea about passing people on the road?" to which she replied "you were riding too close to the curb, there was no room to go past. if i had gone on the right i would have got hit by a car" right, so no worries if you hit me and i subsequently swerve under a car? or the fact we were slowing for the lights/traffic ahead? if theres no room to pass, wait you stupid bint!! gaaah! longest post ever, but i couldnt believe how little grasp of how to ride on the road some people have!

hahaha I like the fact that she told you you were too close to the curb as she has already decided that that bit of the road was hers only.

it's like critical mass for cars out there

good call.

i'd just like to report that this morning i pumped 7 tyres up to the recommended pressure (exactly). The lowest starting pressure was less than 10psi!... for me it was a very satistfying morning. i might just carry a track pump on me from now on.

i'll also be going to my work bike storage area and guerrilla pumping up at lunchtime...maybe I’ve a problem

SE- I went New Cross/Peckham/Camberwell/Kennington/Southwark and it was chaos Mr Brick.

What time did you go through?

Not entirely sure but I was crossing over the river at about 09:00 I'd guess.

good call.

i'd just like to report that this morning i pumped 7 tyres up to the recommended pressure (exactly). The lowest starting pressure was less than 10psi!... for me it was a very satistfying morning. i might just carry a track pump on me from now on.

We should set up an LFGSS pitstop at a set of lights and selected the most knackered bike+rider for an instant service at every light change..

Two guys with track pumps, and one person each to adjust saddle height/angle, relube, re-attach V-brake cables, tighten QRs, put helmet on right way round etc.

F1 style with a STOP/GO lollipop and flame retardent suits and helmets of course.

I think you need to add forks on the right way round too. I've seen that a few times, mainly on children's bikes but also on some adults bikes.