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@blighty
Going along Chelsea Embankment last night, there's a couple, he's got one of those assume-the-position-for-a-cavity-search knock-kneed wide handlebar setups on a downhiller and she's got a cast iron townie two sizes too big, struggling to keep up with him like an overenthusiastic puppy, him not noticing her struggling, what a guy.
They overtook me twice, only to slow down immediately, ride abreast and chat.
If you want to hold hands, get the tube.
I don't mind the riding abreast if you're mindful that other people have got places to go and things to do, and let me pass. I don't mind being overtaken by people moving much faster. I don't overtake unless I know I can maintain the pace, if I come up on you slowly then I'm not going much faster and will stay behind. If you overtake me and then immediately slow down so you are cruising along just in front of me, I WILL overtake you again. Every time. Until one of us has a heart attack. Unless there's a headwind, in which case, after you.
That's bad enough but after I'd got past them I was doing good time up to the Albert Bridge. There's Superhighway about halfway up the slope next to the stationary traffic then it cuts out, you've got than a meter on the left of the traffic, there's drains, it's practically off-road. As I was about nip down the side of a bus as the road narrowed, I hear a shout - she's actually berating me for swinging out a bit, thereby preventing her from overtaking me right behind the bus, where we have less than a metre. Is this a joke? This isn't the first time. These people actually think they can nip just in front of you when you're already down the side of stationary traffic. These people in full street clothes on wrought-iron behemoths, who you've just sped past at twice their speed in shorts on a lightweight bike, think they need to be in front of you when the lights change.
I can't wait until its snowing again.