I confess...

I just recieved an Email from a Herr Knobloch.

Been giggling for ages.

Hes a fellow chemist, with a Company we buy from.

I'm supposed to Call him.

I cant.

I'm such a child.

I was in asda and got myself into this state as i realllly wanted to buy pirate bubble bath, ARRGh ;)

If I have to say knob block to a receptionist. I will wet myself.

I just recieved an Email from a Herr Knobloch.

It's quite a common name in Germany, sounds much like 'garlic' ("Knoblauch"). I don't know if it's the same etymology.

That sounds familiar. My German isnt as good as it should be.

But the urban dictionary disagrees.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cock+block

I love cycling on big A roads.

I got a police escort along the A1(M), for the last half a mile before it turned into the A1 after riding from Hatfield.
Ignorance was bliss in the massive hard shoulder of the A1(M). Bit more terrifying on the legal hard shoulder-less 60mph A1.

Top work. I used to, er, "gently" ride up the A1(M) on the motorbike most days and, over the years, I saw quite a few cyclists on the bit after the Galleria.[1]

1. Once I exited said tunnel doing 70+mumble mph only to find an inch of slush over the road (it was clear blue skies to the South). Decelerating from 70+mumble mph to 40mph was "interesting". By the time I got onto the A505 from Baldock towards Cambridge it was a full on blizzard. Happy days.
   

70+mumble. Good speed.

if some impressionable teenager reads last few posts, oh my. I don't ride on A roads because they are dangerous, there is no space for cyclists on them and cars ride at higher speeds constantly.

Maybe an impressionable teenager wrote some of those posts, what you say isn't necessarily true either. Many A roads do have space for cyclists* and low speed limits.

*Partial or full cycle lane and ASL box.

Nearly all roads have space for cyclists (except motorways and a few with very specific restrictions), ride in the fucking lane, hold your line, communicate with other road users.

Though I have nearly given up with the A3, on more than one occasion I have been on that road on the inside lane, with only one other car coming up from behind and yet the driver chooses to do a punishment pass - when there are 2 more lanes they could use.

True, I sort of just guessed that zaurbek meant dedicated space.

In which case he is very limited in how he gets about!

We are always happy when we think of more people riding bikes, but in the case expressed above I start to think the only option is just less people living in this planet

^^ He's also going to find it awfully difficult if he ever wants to do any time trials.

if some impressionable teenager reads last few posts, oh my. I don't ride on A roads because they are dangerous, there is no space for cyclists on them and cars ride at higher speeds constantly.

There are only a few A roads that I won't go near[1]:-

The A47 (Acle Straight).
Large chunks of the A3 from West Hill (approaching Tibbets Corner) out into the sticks (there are much nicer alternatives)

otherwise I've done plenty of A-road bashing in my time.

There are plenty of shittiter an nastier B and unclassified (C-roads, remember them?) roads. The A15 in Lincolnshire is fine compared to the B1188 that runs kind of parallel to it.

1. Of course, I've not ridden on the majority of A-roads in the country. But I've done a far number all around the country due to riding many an Audax[2].

2. I really should upload all of the GPX files to Strava so I can show how slow I am and get one of those heatmap images...

Maybe an impressionable teenager wrote some of those posts, what you say isn't necessarily true either. Many A roads do have space for cyclists* and low speed limits.

*Partial or full cycle lane and ASL box.

I was just messing about, you know. Yes, many A roads have space for cyclists and as others say, if we stop riding there, there is not much anywhere we can ride.

Ok :) I particularly love the A5, A406 and A40.

ha, we should do a stand up comedy together tomorrow in some north london comedy club.

Oddly, I love the A4.

The Severn Across 400 has a control at Membury Services (on the M4, ingress/egress via the access road obv.). The next control is the finish in Chalfont St Peter. Free route between controls mean you can follow the official laney route[1] or sneak over to the A4 through Wickham, joining at Newbury, and then blat the ~40 miles along the A4 all the way to Taplow during the night (it's usually midnight when I leave Membury Services).

Going the other way I've done the A4 from Brentford to Maidenhead on my way to a weekend piss up in Witney (Oxon).

The A30 is good too as most of the traffic goes on the A303. I've done ~90 miles of it from Stockbridge to Honiton on my way from London to Cornwall.

1. http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Severn-Across-Audax-2009
   
   
   
   

I've done most of the A470 too. Cracking road.

I'm only funny when I fall over :( ^^

^ I've been thinking about doing the whole north+south circular one day, just because.

I've done most of the A470 too. Cracking road.

Ooh, Cardiff to Llandudno is ~300km along the A470 going through Pontypridd, Merthyr, Brecon, Builth Wells, Rhyader, Llanidoes, Caersws, Dolgellau, past the nuclear power station at Trasfwynydd, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Betws-y-Coed, Conwy and up to Llandudno.

That'd make a possible DIY 300 (and therefore a possible DIY 600 for Cardiff-Llandudno-Cardiff) although probably not great having a city centre finish on a Sunday evening...

Nearly all roads have space for cyclists (except motorways and a few with very specific restrictions), ride in the fucking lane, hold your line, communicate with other road users.

Though I have nearly given up with the A3, on more than one occasion I have been on that road on the inside lane, with only one other car coming up from behind and yet the driver chooses to do a punishment pass - when there are 2 more lanes they could use.

There are only a few A roads that I won't go near[1]:-

The A47 (Acle Straight).
Large chunks of the A3 from West Hill (approaching Tibbets Corner) out into the sticks (there are much nicer alternatives)

otherwise I've done plenty of A-road bashing in my time.

There are plenty of shittiter an nastier B and unclassified (C-roads, remember them?) roads. The A15 in Lincolnshire is fine compared to the B1188 that runs kind of parallel to it.

1. Of course, I've not ridden on the majority of A-roads in the country. But I've done a far number all around the country due to riding many an Audax[2].

2. I really should upload all of the GPX files to Strava so I can show how slow I am and get one of those heatmap images...

We are talking about exactly the same bit of the A3.

Greenbank, you are one brave man. would love to see your heatmap pics in "this morning and other commuting stories thread."

Indraripper. I will go out tonight and create a series of man-made hazards on london roads for you trip over and put up video cameras there. we will show the footage as an introduction to our act.

Just cameras, I manage to fall over enough by myself!