Tube strike, London

Closed access off Parliament Square to Victoria Street northbound, for the pavement widening works outside Westminster Abbey, was really not helping this morning. Lots of pedestrians everywhere outside Waterloo, so I walked bike down to the road and then got on, rather than coasting down the hill. Boris Bike racks were nearly empty at 07:50.

Main traffic lane on Westminster Bridge was solid, probably back to the St Thomas's Hospital lights at least. Thank god for the bus lane. If the roadworks hadn't been on Parliament Square, wouldn't have been much worse than normal.

Birdcage Walk northbound was okay as no commercial vehicles allowed anyway (I usually go down Tothill Street and by St James Park station), but southbound was one long queue of cars and taxis all the way back to Buckingham Palace.

All in all not really that bad, but then I am in leafy SW1, I imagine it might be worse in the City.

Sounds like you work where I do ^

and still the road priorities are entirely in favor of motorised traffic. Most cars i passed this morning had a driver and no one else.

Much cars.
So bus.
Very flouro.
So undertake.
Much Curb Scoot.

Ride home will be fun. Bring on the rain.

All the nodders seemed as well/badly behaved as normal, all the cars seemed to be stationary, the only added difficulty I experienced was a sharp increase in the number of suicidal peds leaping before they look.

Headwind was a fucker tho.

Very flouro.
So undertake.

Borough High St to City was hell on earth.

Yeah what is it with the headwind. Why never a tailwind?

Spent 15 minutes suppressing an ear-to-ear shit eating grin listening to my colleagues talk about their journey in.

Yeah what is it with the headwind. Why never a tailwind?

Because as the sun tracks across the Earth through the day it generates East/West air currents which eventually reverse as the sun goes down. This is known as solar wind.

Christ the wind blowing in my face up the A10 seemed determined to blow me back towards Tottenham (no thanks!)

That's "Christ, the wind...", rather than Christ The Wind, who hasn't wrestled in years

^ SummerSlam '96 never forget.

colliers wood to City was hell on earth.

#fuckCS7

That was no fun. Millions of cars wallowing in their own traffic jam filth, terrifyingly bad cycling (up the left of all kinds of massive lorries and trucks for no obvious reason), not a single fucking shoulder check from one of the bastards, cabbies and assorted other bellends U-turning with no warning.

Still better than public transport though.

Yep, comfortably the worst commute I've ever had.

Some dumb bitch on a Boris bike, sans helmet swings in front of me to jump up the curb and just stopped side-on grunting because she couldn't get it up onto the pavement.

Many retard.

if she was wearing a helmet would you have minded less?

also... retard?

Mmm, side-on grunting

Grim ride in today - people wandering about in the road, boris bikers going the wrong way down one way streets, cars not indicating and pulling late turns, buses attempting to weave in and out of traffic. And the wind. That can fuck back off on to the tube too.

1. Shoulder check
   
2. indicate
   
3. repeat 1 frequently
   
4. manouvre
   
   

Other than that, and a punish pass for no reason by a taxi on waterloo bridge (me in bus lane, him ultimately going through tunnel anyway...WAC),pleasant ride in. Nice chat with a chap on a gorgeous dark green Mercian with wooden mudguards+basket. More rides like that please.

Sounds like you work where I do ^

Grosvenor Place.

Look out for mad lady in black, red lipstick, on black Brompton S type. Various woolly hats at this time of year.

I did wear some fluoro today though, just the vest over normal black coat as I knew it might be quite busy. I apologise for my lack of sartorial elegance.

Seeing as i work in a none unionised, feudal industry where if someone doesn't like the cut of your jib otherwise known as 'face doesn't fit' you can be summarily dismissed and career ruined, all i can say is... Up the workers!

Grim ride in today - people wandering about in the road, boris bikers going the wrong way down one way streets, cars not indicating and pulling late turns, buses attempting to weave in and out of traffic. And the wind. That can fuck back off on to the tube too.

I think there's probably just as many people not used to driving in central london during a strike as there are those getting on their bikes and not being used to it.

^^blimey fignon, do you work in the same place as me by any chance?

Didn't really notice much change in terms of travels into work today, yes there was a lot of traffic within Shoreditch area to king's cross, but aside from that I was surprise to see the lack cyclist traveling on the road.

On the plus side there I had a nice tail wind and occasional cross wind aiding me to work! ONLY benefit living in Beckton I guess...Happy days! =)

^^^ Yeah I think so too. Why they've been given buses to drive I don't know.