This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Am still baffled about the need to be at the front when waiting for lights. I was the first at a set of lights so at the front, by the time the lights went green I was at the back. but immediately overtook everyone.

Simply dwell in your holy almightiness at being a better road user and cyclist. The other lot are just cyclo-commuter bells who want to tell Darren in accounts that it only takes 20 mins door-to-door from Clapham.

Internet Bully!

well... screw you too, buddy!

Ha ha! Poor HGV man being shouted at.

It's commuter Fartlek training.

You're supposed to let the shoal off and then pass each one at different spots and at different speeds along the road. Mix each set of lights up with high cadence or high gear low cadence starts, sprint intervals, big gear starts, longer distance catch and release threshold efforts, etc.

Many other cyclist still dressed for minus 10 conditions.

That would be me. Should've checked the weather.

On the plus side I found that £10 aliexpress heart rate monitor works better than garmin!

I had three layers on. Didn't need 'em but who cares - heat stress is something else your body is forced to cope with = better training adaptations. Oh, what's that hippy, you were riding like a broken down 1930s Dodge because nasty s&c man did bad things to your feeble body... oh wellz suck it up bitch. Typing to myself. More coffee required.

link @amey?

I left house with merino base, gabba, windproof and gilet, took off the windproof after 2 miles.

Motorcyclist down on Elephant & Castle southbound between the exits for Newington Causeway and New Kent Road.

All exits closed except for southbound traffic diverted from London Road across E&C to Walworth Rd.

Avoid the area.

Is it still closed? Was closed when I went through at about 18:30.

Happened nearer 4pm so was fucked all evening

Yea, unfortunately the incident is a fatality now, so serious collision investigation will be under way.

Sad news RIP Rider

Rode past this today, another fatalities in the notorious Elephant and Castle.

Safer junction my arse.

You only carry one tube.

You utter belm.

Don't get me wrong, Ed, I'd be the first to say that the new layout that is emerging is a horrible, confused mess that has been designed with entirely the wrong parameters concerning almost every aspect (and I think that they will need to re-design the whole thing again very soon), but a couple of things are worth noting here.

• The Elephant and Castle consists of a couple of quite complex junctions, not just one.

• We don't have any information on how the crash was caused yet.

• The area is also still under construction. That more crashes occur near ongoing roadworks is a well-established fact. It's far too early to say anything definitive other than that.

RIP unknown rider.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/elephant-and-castle-crash-motorcyclist-injured-in-collision-outside-station-a3205171.html

Oh Hai Chris!

:-p

I may be being dumb but I can't recognise which bit of which junction that photo shows?

As you come onto the roundabout from Newington Causeway I believe

Next to no traffic this morning + no altercations = Happy cycle

Quiet roads, lots of riders. Plenty acting like idiots, but I kept the zen.
All good until I roll up at work and the dial pops off my helmet. I spend 10 minutes scrabbling around in the street trying to find it - only to discover it dropped into my jersey pocket. Such luck, so late at my desk.

It was all going so well until I got right hooked on Walworth Road. Line of slow moving traffic, bus stops ahead and no right indicating cars so I decide to filter on the right. Scottish lady in a Rav4 decides that's the best time to turn right over to a side road, moving and beginning to indicate simultaneously. I hit the rear right quarter of her car, scuffing my bar tape and denting the car with my elbow. Mad skillz keep me upright so I go and have a word with her. "I was indicating. I ride motorbikes. You must have been in my blind spot. You need to be careful." The adrenaline didn't make for too witty a conversation so I left. I'm fine, the bike's fine, everyone else is a cunt.

Exciting Garmin/Strava evidence to follow.

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If she rides motorbikes then she should probably realise that you can't just swerve into another lane without checking your blind spot. Indicator or no.

Not checking blind spots pisses me off, but I notice lots of people don't when I'm a passenger in their car. People seem to think a mirror glance suffices.

Yeah, she was adamant she had done nothing wrong. She drives that way everyday apparently so I'll just store up my coffee poo for her bonnet tomorrow morning.

@Dammit has helpfully calculated that the kinetic energy in the collision is equivalent to the calories in 16.5kg of potatoes.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!