This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Some militant pedestrian called me a wanker because he was 2 paces away from stepping on to a zebra crossing, and I didn't stop. I nearly went back to explain the rules to him, but thought better of it

Yeah I had that a couple of days ago. I arrived at an empty crossing with the lights flashing amber for peds and vehicles alike. A guy on the pavement must have been three or four metres shy of the crossing (and had shown absolutely no interest in crossing the road up to that point) when I began riding through it, but he trotted up to it as I crossed and waved an angry arm at me to get my attention, shouting “it’s my right of way”. He actually broke into a run to make his point... like Donald Trump with a black Sharpie.

I have had this, and pedestrians stepping off the pavement before they have got to the zebra crossing as a short cut and then react with outrage that I am not stopping for them.

A woman on Hackney Road was stood slap bang at the zebra motionless so I stopped. "I ain't waiting" she said.

Schools must be back as the traffic this morning was ridiculous. Also, people just crossing wherever the fuck they wanted to, makes for fun filtering...

Rode back via Brixton this evening and from Elephant and Castle to Oval there was a guy doing celebratory arm throw, fist pump at each light after winning(?!) Either taking some perceived commuter racing way too seriously, super stoked on new Strava PBs, or trolling everyone. Whatever the reason it was really very amusing to watch. Is he a regular feature on that road?

Must find another route that avoids London Bridge. If it's not taxis/buses/vans blocking you from filtering its pillocks on bikes who see the tiniest gap and throw themselves in it regardless of whether there's another cyclist there or not!

yeah, it was especially bad this morning.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/sep/10/police-hunt-cyclist-who-headbutted-pedestrian-in-london

what a cunt!

As much as I can’t really see any justification for his actions, it does feel like there’s an alternative side of the story missing there!

like what, the guy in the suit had goosed his girlfriend?

^^I'm struggling to see what could possibly excuse that kind of assault...

suit guy had every right to give the rider some verbal IMO - massively disproportional response

Many thanks to the lady who decided to helpfully swipe right across/into me turning left down a side road from Tooting High Street this morning. I especially appreciated the classic 'indicator on once turning has begun'. Textbook stuff!

Fortunately after years of living/riding down that road I've developed a sixth-sense for cuntery that enabled me to turn into the road with her so she very narrowly avoided wiping me out completely. Lots of shouting and swearing completely disregarded, I even got a helpful honk from the lorry driver behind who seemed to suggest it was my fault. Joy.

I cycle down Farringdon, it can be a bit mad (it wasn't me)

I agree- very uncalled for; though it must be said- poor defensive effort on the pedestrian's part

Like i said - I can’t see what would either

is that a shove?

No idea if I'm correct blaming this, but there was a lorry parked in the left just after the works/bang in the left turning bit at King William. Seemed to be blocking any vehicles getting into the filter lane, and backing it up right across the bridge.
Also need to find alternative route, losing sanity with the bridge

Traffic built up there stopping anyone filtering is nothing new but it was the people on bikes with no filtering etiquette whatsover that made this morning particularly bad. Rolling up to a (small) gap and the two cyclists behind me decide they wanted to get there ahead of me, one up the inside and one up the outside then trying to squeeze into said gap and both before fully passing me causing all involved to have to brake and unclip and slow everything down.

Life was so much simpler when the bridge was only open to cyclists taxis and buses

Had a hairy moment this morning near Angel when a mum pushing a pram walked out into the bike lane without looking. I came so, so close to crashing into a baby. I couldn't even get angry at her, I was just in disbelief that someone would walk across a road like that.

Ok - the video hadn’t loaded so when I read it, there was a lot of context I wasn’t getting!

Although my point wasn’t that suit guy deserved it, just that the words made no mention of any verbal interaction or anything like that.

the words also say it was on a pedestrian crossing, when that is not a pedestrian crossing.

Everywhere is a pedestrian crossing

Lol.

Blows my mind the way some people seem to push their prams into the road without being sure it's clear. Sub-conscious desire to kill offspring?..............