This morning's commute and other commuting stories

chain was making a horrid sound after all the rain/muck. sprayed the fuck out of the drive train with wd40 just before i set off. good as gold.

sprayed the fuck out of the drive train with wd40

The horror.

... I would strongly suggest putting some actual lube back on really soon.

i felt ashamed when i was doing it.

I prefer to just reapply a nice layer of lube on top of the existing shit and grime. I really do feel for my bike at this time of year. Consistent abuse. The last thing you want to do after getting in after an hour and a half in the dark/rain/traffic is to clean it

I'm no expert but a friend recommended this one: https://www.ribblecycles.com/au/morgan-blue-syn-lube-course/. It's awesome. 2/3 weeks of commuting in wet weather and no sound to be heard. It gets dirty tho, just wipe it down with a rag and reapply. I also don't like cleaning my drivetrain when I'm freezing my ass off.

Its a revelation

I prefer to just reapply a nice layer of lube on top of the existing shit and grime

This. The proper way to maintain your drivechain.

Just buy a new bike

Not even a cursory chain wipe down with an old t-shirt? Even I'm not that harsh.
Also, the more water I can take off the bike outside the less ends up all over the house.

My wife recently threw away my stash of old t-shirts: I'm planning to protest by wearing the one I'd been using as an oily rag next time we meet up with friends.

It gets a little wipe down aye. Luckily its chucked in the shed and never has to enter the house, I wouldn't be happy with that. Looking for a new house at the moment and the first thing on the list is garage/shed - priorities :)

My wife recently threw away my stash of old t-shirts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=912DKxD0H1U

All my bikes are in my place. I have started waxing chains though to help reduce the incidents of "hippy, you've walked black spots all across the lounge carpet again!"

Just get a black carpet

it's quite atmospheric after dark during autumn and winter.

steaming sewage vents

My bike gets quieter the less I clean it..

Could've done a haiku there:

It's atmospheric
After dark during autumn
Steaming sewage vents

What imagery, that last line

Double visit from the puncture fairy yessterday - once on the way in at Blackfriars Bridge, the other one leaving the pub last night at about 10.45 in N16. Luckily I’d picked up another tube, so stuffed it in and spent several minutes huffing and puffing with a mini-pump, only to unscrew the pump and rip the valve core out. Frantically bodged the core back in with grips on a Swiss Army knife and pumped madly again for several minutes, by which time I was pissed off and cold and trundled to Canonbury and got the overground home instead.
I think a pair of 32c Marathons may be in order for the winter....

@doubleodavey
i reckon we should organise a luminati ride before christmas aka festival of lights for our ends.. swarming bugs on bikes.. dirty fireflies.. to celebrate the moody after dark route of greenway / sewer ways.. with tramp beers and stab vests.. in?

Have been going through the Hyde Park Corner underpass this week which is closed to traffic at the moment, bliss.
Was thinking this morning that it would make a good impromptu drag race @|³|MA3K

I'll be up for that.

I got a flat up there once, and whilst I was fixing it, I put my wheel in some poo. It was about 1am. Oh how I laughed

Spent half an hour cleaning my winter bike after its shameful wd40 bath. Then it pissed down and got filthy again. Fml

Didnt realise the road was rideable at all. Just assumed theyd torn it up or something. Whys it blocked off if theyre not doing work on it?

apeman cameras up and running for the first time. nothing interesting in the upside down footage except me nearly getting taken out by a chopper on a brompton.

do people tend to mount of handlebars or helmet? now on my handelbars and not sure i can bring myself to stick it on my helmet