This morning's commute and other commuting stories

It appeared to be a temporary road closure.

Phew. So, Sa Calobra tomorrow?

Pretty sure I'll be rocking it singlespeed again.

Fuuuuuu

Possibly, if wife allows

Dutch bikes have a different feel to the English roadsters and 3 speeds unless you get a seriously vintage roadster. 3 speeds still feel basically like riding a bike. A Dutch bike is more like lazily sculling an armchair. I loved my gazelle bike but retired it to my mum in a period of curiosity about what have a bike nippy enough to filter would be like. It was fine commuting Seven Sisters to St Paul's but I tended to queue with the cars a lot.

Tl; dr: Dutch bikes are lush and comfy but not that versatile.

Collided with a van on Friday morning, he pulled out of a parking space on the right side of the road into my path - it was wet so i skidded a bit and thudded into the side of his van. he carried on without stopping. At the lights further along I ask him if he always drives away after a collision, his response was "where are your lights?" (I had lights, they were on).

Did you get the reg. and have you reported? If there was a collision dibble will take it seriously.

Just remembered - on Thursday night a cat tried to kill me. I was cycling home and suddenly saw something blurry flying towards my front wheel - thought it was maybe a fox or a dog. I couldn't get out the way in time... I swerved and thought I was going down but managed to stay upright. I guess it bounced off the spokes and I felt it hit my left foot. Slowed right down and looked back and saw a cat slinking away, seems like we both escaped unscathed!

lives 8/9 @Danimal

Just part of the cat Global Dominance and Return to Power plan. You are obviously on the hit list.

went today

i hate hills! and garmin decided to lose satellites out of Sa Calobra so it appears I went swimming on my bike.

I had a cat stare me down on a cycle path once. Just sat there in the middle of the lane, looking right in my eyes till I swerved. It was chilling.

I've had that. "You get out of MY way, mate" was the impression I got from it

“I’ve got 6 lives left - how about you, pal?”

Thank you to the woman who lent me a pump last night, otherwise I would've been stranded in Clapham. Stupidly forgot mine, never again.

Also never try to get a train home on a Sunday night. It'll be quicker to walk.

How do you not attached disc pads properly? Utter moron.

Had to ride home to get a different bike. Guffaw.

Hit the deck at Old St roundabout this morning. Few people stopped to check I was ok and a lady who saw it from quite a distance away said it looked painful to watch.

Pretty sure a nitrous canister got caught between my mudguard and fork as I went straight over without any warning.

sore/10

would've been stranded in Clapham

You poor thing.

Good bike skillz from the dude in front of me on Alleyn's Rd this afternoon. Just going pass the school when a mum decided to open her car door, dude swerves just missing her. Worst thing was she saw us coming let the car that overtook us go past before she decide to open the door.

Took my front mudguard off when I got home to and low and behold there are scrape marks to confirm my suspicion of the nitrous cannister.

Some fellow ranting and raving at volume just off the Black Prince Road. Loudly raging about how bikes are more dangerous than cars and kill more people. How they are silent which makes them more dangerous and should all be banned. When I asked him if he read the Daily Mail, he was genuinely livid with disgust at being branded a Daily Mail Reader.

I suspect the gentleman may have had a bottle.

There's a lot of glass on the superhighway in the usual place near fleet street this morning, surprised I don't have a puncture.

Long sleeves in the countryside this morning. But glorious nonetheless
bright red ears

I saw the result of some kind of collision on the Embankment cycle lane this morning. Lots of blood. Looked like two ladies had somehow crashed into one another head-on. Both appeared to be bleeding from their noses/faces. Lots of cyclists already stopped and attending to them, so I didn't stick around.

I find the idea of cyclists travelling in two directions at (relatively) high speed on a pretty narrow bit of tarmac with kerbs on either side to be a ridiculous idea. Always feel like I'm seconds away from witnessing or being involved in some kind of accident along there.