This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Awesome. Have you seen this area? It won't make much of a difference to the overall percentage. I turn right onto Webber Street every day and without fail there is somebody blindly dandering across the road looking at their phone or looking the wrong way because they don't expect someone to turn right there. I tend to expect it now just for the sake of if it doesn't surprise me then I'm less likely to get wound up about it.

This morning I rode straight into the vicinity of the same broken kopparberg cider bottle that punctured my front tire on Saturday afternoon. It had the same effect today but a more instant impact this time which meant it I had less far to walk home and repair.

I almost rode into a woman getting off a bus into the cycle lane, at this location: https://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=51.503073,-0.104603&spn=0.000947,0.001843&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=51.503154,-0.1046&panoid=Q4q1TPM1ceInXej2MDutYQ&cbp=12,341.45,,0,16.77

She was very annoyed at me for being in this shitty cycle lane. For extra Monday morning fun, use the normal map view to see if you can find where the actual bus stop is!

(NB: the driver let about a billion passengers out long before I got to him and left his doors open for some time. I was already going very slowly, expecting somebody else to jump out, and she STILL took me by surprise because I let my guard down right as I got to the doors of the bus. Right when she jumped out at me. Almost like she was waiting for me. Gah.)

Almost ironic considering it's literally across the road from the tfl building...

Does anyone race anymore? I recently been covering fashion week so been commuting into central during rush hour. No-one wants to race anymore. I miss the old days. The Hipster Spice Route isn't what it used to be.

Whatchu talking about Willis? I've been smashing people left right and centre. Everyone wants a shot at the title. :)

There's not many actual fast commuters though so I tend to let them go for a bit and reel them back in, then repeat, for fartlek-style interval training :)

That's what I resorted to yesterday. One guy was fast, made me struggle on the straights, but his lines were terrible! Soon we hit traffic I'd be waiting for him on the other side.

Do you find people end up jumping red lights (after stopping at them with you fro two or three times) just to get away from you? Makes me laugh.

Commuter racing?

Have I logged in to the commuting section of Bike fucking Radar by mistake?

You have a bike radar login?

Ben just goes for the photo finish.

Chockablock this morning going up from Waterloo bridge. They'd closed off the Northbound stretch of road between Holborn station and Bloomsbury Square. And I was going to be on time for once :/

Indeed - a right mess.

Someone on a grey Fuji track cut across me as I was filtering up between the lanes, I nearly shouted "Chung" at him.

I'm not that bad ...
There were a whole bunch of peds jumping across cars and I almost got clobbered a couple of times.

Don't worry, it would have been meant as a friendly greeting, but it was such a clusterfuck with everyone changing their lines that my mouth stayed shut.

Does anyone race anymore? I recently been covering fashion week so been commuting into central during rush hour. No-one wants to race anymore. I miss the old days. The Hipster Spice Route isn't what it used to be.

I like racing. Racing's fun.

Wasn't feeling it this morning. Grey, dreary, damp.
Then a roadie coming the other way down a hill gave me a nod and I felt the camaraderie lift my spirits.

#justcommuterthings

I came across a guy in an Easy Jet airport van, waiting fully in the ASL berating a guy on a scooter for undertaking him.
Oh the irony

Could he have been there legally?

No. It was a clear road, no box junction, two lane carriageway. Can't see how he could have got into it without just being inconsiderate. Not that fussed to be honest. When I see people do this I still go in front of them, beyond the crossing if needs be. I just smiled at that irony of it

A real commuter would have screamed profanities at him while filming it on his gopro. Shame on you.

And then got floored with a punch?
Nope not by bag anymore. I only respond now to direct attempts on my life

Shout out to the commuter who pulled over on Hornsey road to help the runner having a seizure. You seemed really in control of the situation.

Commuter racing?
Have I logged in to the commuting section of Bike fucking Radar by mistake?

Don't pretend you don't sit there flicking tabs (notaeuph) between lfgss and your other favourite topic. I've seen your commuter racing ranking charts and the photographs of your 'conquests'.

Had my favourite ever commuting moment. At the crossroads/crossing outside Farringdon St., in the ASL leaning on the orange fencing that sits between the pavement and road.

The stream of peds crossing included people who cut the corner and realised they were on the wrong side of the fence. Most walked back or around the waiting bikes(one clipping my back wheel with a foot).

One enterprising young lady however got the 6 feet along the road to the ASL, looked at my arm holding the fence, looked at me and ducked underneath it. I couldn't stop laughing.

Folks be crazy.

So this morning, I had a lady ride across the zebra crossing at silk st-beech st, stop in the middle of the crossing to let me go around her on the left, so she could then follow me down beech st. i shook my head.

http://goo.gl/maps/McP01

My classic commutenger moment this morning: I'm stopped in primary - cranks set, one foot on the ground, family jewels on the top tube - waiting for a car to turn round in the road, in an attempt to show its driver what considerate, careful people us cyclists are.

Anyway she starts making her final turn only for some buffoon on a roadster to sail straight past me and inches in front of her front bumper, not so much as a flicker disturbing the shit-eating grin on his face. Nothing happened, but I could see her mouthing something about cyclists - another enemy made.

I would have taken the matter up with him at the next junction but I really hadn't the energy.