This morning's commute and other commuting stories

I went through there on the way back from the Classic on Sunday. That bus stop should just be removed, there's one 100m before (South). As it stands it's a bit of a joke.

I seem to have made an enemy of a bus driver on my commute, have had a couple of moments where I have been overtaken at unsafe spots, only to watch the gap between curb and bus narrowing in front of me, not nice.

The annoying thing was how little I could have done about it.

I turn left immediately after that bus stop, so ignoring the seg lane and using the main carriageway means having to move back across the bus lane almost immediately (which means encountering the same problem as the bus driver did - a flow of cyclists and buses), so that's why I chose the seg lane.

Then when you get out of the seg lane there's no escaping into the main carriageway because there's a big ol' bus in your way. You've no option but to aim for the ever-closing gap.

Has anyone seen the new road layout at the top of Fountain Drive / Crystal Palace Parade?

WTF is that roundabout thing? I come up Fountain Drive on my way home to go right at that roundabout, and then have to cross a lane to get into the bus lane, whilst avoiding cars accelerating out of the roundabout to beat the lights down College Road. Awful design!

Can you make a point of taking more of the lane?

Both times it has happened recently I was in the middle of the lane, and within 200 yards of a junction. Both times I literally jumped a little to find a bus on my shoulder coming past.

Always been a nasty place to turn right. I turn right before it kicks up into Fountain Drive and go up College Road that runs parallel. You then have lights to protect your right turn.

Pull the emergency stop button like that chap in the YouTube video on Brixton Hill.

(Note: I'm obviously only joking... honest.)

It's a push button rather than a pull one.

Don't know without being there but I'll bang on the bus or slam on the anchors ride around and tap on the fuckwits window to have a chat if they pull that shit. If I've made it through after a squeeze they'll get the go slow for as long as necessary to engage with the shit driver. They'll eventually realise that the either drive properly to get to their bus stops on time or you will slow them the down and they'll not.

I've never done that but I have rearranged their mirrors with some super aggressive prick driver before. He kept wanting to fight but wouldn't leave his little booth. Chicken shit

I chased him down and had a go at him though the window the first time. He had two lanes to use, comes past me in my lane with me in the middle of it and starts going left before he clears me as he shapes up to go around a roundabout.

I forgot about the emergency stop button though....

Its not illegal apparently, but may endanger passengers as it cuts off power to the disabled ramps.

For thirty seconds.

Good (if suspicious) knowledge.

They wouldn't be getting off between stops anyway :)

and some many new lights to figure out, and again the cycle lane on the far side spits you out into the bus lane or as I found out on Sunday a speeding car who decided the bus lane was just for her.

he bus lad was just for her

Waaaay. Bus lads lads lads.

Can't be me, I don't even know how to ride a twocicle.

Got cut up by some wanker driver, shouted and shook fist immediately but then was too much of a coward to stop at the same lights as him - took a different route instead. non-confrontational/10

Two front tyres blowing apart in 24hrs. Turns out my brake pad was ever so slightly rubbing the tyre. Expensive commute / 10

I'm careful lining up my brake pads after having high speed blow out many years ago due to misaligned pad. I'm amazed my lazy wrenching when I was younger didn't kill me..

Luckily both were at less than 5kph so no near death experience. The pads were pretty worn. I think riding over the weekend was enough to give them a lip over the rim them then along come Monday and bang bang.

From memory mine was on the mountain bike and it'd rotated slightly when I tightened it. It was enough to wear through the sidewall and went bang on a downhill in the 'burbs somewhere.

Front on the roadie went a couple of times too for other reasons. Always managed to bring it under enough control so didn't break anything.

I had a pinch flat as I was coming down hill off-road on an old MTB, sounded like a gunshot and echoed through the valleys I was in. I duly sat down and switched out the tubes when another MTBer came down and pulled a skid next to me. I thought he might offer consolation or aid but instead he asked to move because, and I shit you not, he and his mates where about to ride down where I was 'being rad'. Now I wasn't on a trail or anything, just a hillside below a load of quarries and the like. Literally an entire fucking hill to be 'rad' on. So I did what any rational person would and took fucking ages, not moving a fucking inch. It was the slowest tube change in the entire of human history. The pump up was like it was on super slo-mo film.

[Edit] New page fail. Not a commute story, just a relevant one to what @hippy said

Haha sounds just like what I'd do, though there'd probably be a "get fucked" thrown in for good measure, especially if I've flatted. I'm never happy flatting. I mean, unless it was on a blind corner or something and he was looking out for your safety?