This morning's commute and other commuting stories

This doesn't match my recall of the road layout, having taken a good look at it.

A big guy on a motorbike pulled out on me the other day. He mistimed it quite badly, or just severely underestimated my speed and ended up right in front of me. He realised he was too close and tried to accelerate out of it but lost control of the bike which sent him and the bike spinning off down the road in front of me. I had to brake pretty quickly to avoid running the whole tangle over.

I pulled over to see if he was ok and he seemed shocked and confused by the whole thing.

Probably a bit embarrassed too.
Lucky he didn't stuff it into anything else.

And why exactly are there still many of these behemoths on tiny fucking roads grrr.

Yet for some reason, they're not allowed on country road which tend to be of similar width.

+1

I will be getting spat out on the wrong side of St Georges Rd so I wont likely be using the cycle lane for my own safety.

I just hope I wont be getting grief from motorists that presume I have to be in the cycle lane.

leisurely heading back from way out west, had a single decker bus indicate to pull away from the bus stop, I'm in the center of the lane as I was going to overtake and then see them indicate so slow to let them pull away. They start to pull away see me and stop, forcing me to stop to wave at them to say no you go first. Driver then starts furiously waving at me to get me to go first.
Which for some reason makes me really angry and I shout at him to drive his bus.
He then pulls away and I follow slowly behind.

Not sure what the point of behaving like traffic is, if traffic wants to ignore the fact that you are traffic and patronisingly pat you on the head whilst going ahhhh.

Cycling up past Waterloo this morning I watched a suit on a boris make a few really dangerous manoeuvrings, without any shoulder checks or indications (cutting me off twice in the process, at close distance considering my speed). When the bus went to change lanes into him it wasn't quite the horror channel but as I caught him up I shouted politely he needs to be more careful, he said "excuse me?" and I quickly explained alongside him that it's best not to cut between buses, that I wasn't being a dick, just he nearly got taken out.

He thanked me, and carried on...

...going through two red lights on the Waterloo Bridge roundabout.

Also, have been cut up too many times to count this past 24 hours or so.... but I felt for the young roadie as I cruised up Denmark Hill earlier, a car overtook us, then swung in front to pull in to a side road. I'd hung back in anticipation, the young guy didn't, but stopped in time. I said "what a dick" and the young guy chatted to me a bit, then said at least he had his wits about him (or something).

Always mildly infuriating that as what should be a smooth: touch on the brakes from you, nod/hand signal when the bus driver mirror checks, bus pulls off and you all go merrily on your way becomes: brake, nod, wave, stop, wave again, get waved at by the bus driver, get honked at from behind, slowly slink past the bus.

I like to think that maybe the driver is just panicked and doesn't want a cyclist anywhere near their vehicle as opposed to being patronising, but probably isn't always that!

I like to think that maybe the driver is just panicked and doesn't want a cyclist anywhere near their vehicle as opposed to being patronising, but probably isn't always that!

It's so pointless and stupid when they do it. They're only going to overtake you again as soon as you're in front, so you've then got to worry about what they're doing behind you and how they're going to overtake, and they've got to worry about... whatever it is they worry about. Instead of just having them in front of you where you can see them easily and them just... going. Drives me mad.

Same with left indicators turning accross a cycle lane to go from a major to a minor.

They indicate.
You hang back because no way am I going up the inside of a left turning vehicle.
They stop dead in the road.
You stop dead in the cycle lane.

Then some yoot flys past and up the inside and through.

20+ miles of countryside this morning. Looked warm out, was not. No arm/knee warmers, and no sunglasses meant a cold and blinded ride. Passed one guy riding wearing a parker jacket, wooly hat and sunglasses, he looked smug.

It always seems to be the days when I am hungover, or I promise myself an easy spin, that I end up smashing it at pace and PB'ing everything.

Sepia toned sunglasses were a good shout today. Hummed this most of the way in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LdIL5WCso8

I may have RLJ'd for the first time in years today - I just don't know, however. It was through the new Oval lights, I went on the new cycle path and could not work out which lights applied to me, turning left.

Awethume commuter conditions on the way in today. No wind (environmental), sun out, not too hot and empty roads for the 1st 16 miles. 1Hr 16Min 49secs. "That Friday Feeling".

Thankfully my brief regular commute is along Westferry Road on the Isle of Dogs, where the bus stops are spaced about every fifty yards, so even on a Boris I don't have to play bus tag, and can stay in front if I get past.

Had a wobble as I moved around stationary cars earlier (TB was up, much traffic). No idea how or why. Felt like a dick. Got to the gates as they opened. Got a nice distance minus cars, then a movistar wearing guy had to sprint past with zero checks or signals to prove a point it seemed. He kept ahead but made zero time gap, later lagging behind as I passed on commercial st. 6/10. New chain and chainring on the kuota on the ride back 10/10

Told the drivers of motorized vehicles in London to all Eff Off very loudly at E&C this morning. It was 6am and I was fed up with them all buzzing around and being in the way that early on a Friday.

I felt better afterward.

Was complimented by a roadie on his crabon Trek at some lights after I had overtaken him and out paced him through Kingston on my westlondonfoldingbiek. He then noted the garmin on my bike, and I explained it was my shopping ride.

Do many of you commute along Rye Lane? Am I the only one who thinks that the (absolutely fucking pointless) bike lane that passes the Aylesham centre should be paved in a different colour to the pavement? Currently people just walk along/across it. Saying that, I have at least 10 near misses whenever I'm going through any part of Rye Lane. I get looked at, in the eye, and walked out on. All the time. Every single day. Often by parents nonchalantly leading their children into the busy road. I'm surprised more people aren't hit by cars on that street. Truly amazing

I go along Rye Lane every day and yes, it is pretty much the inferno of ambling-around-in-the highway, boxes of fish, etc, you describe.

Having said all that, a lot of the people on bikes I see then go on to ride up the 'canal path' like massive and unredeemable whoppers, so honours are about even I think. I often go up Sumner Road instead.

There is a parallel route to Rye Lane but I keep getting lost on it.

Rye Lane is the worst, every single time you ride down it someone walks into the road anytime night or day.

@ajo1989 "I get looked at, in the eye, and walked out on"
Bang on!

Having seen this thread as I ate my scrambled eggs on toast I decided to take the Rye Lane route. It demands a bit of alertness, but I like the way there's no sense that the tarmac is the exclusive domain of wheeled vehicles, and that people who happen to travel on foot feel entitled to move freely. But it would be handy if they looked before stepping out, to be sure.

8/10 as it was a bit whiffy

Thank god for the 28" tires on the CX bike, Brixton was a mass of glass, rubbish and suicidal plastic bags.

Witness my first accident at the new Oval clusterfuck. It just makes no sense, so you have the lights for the cyclist to go straight on and also the lights for cars to go left, most cyclist this morning when straight on through the green and continue forward. Now the bikes lights and the correct go straight on lights are in sync, so this morning when the lights went green and the cyclist went straight on lo and behold the bus that was at the normal green moved all the way left cutting off the cyclist as he pulled into the bus stop. This poor lady was quite quick enough to stop so ended up having to clipping the pavement and coming off.

Also if you are coming from Brixton to join the new bit you seem to get stuck waiting for the people that have join from outside Oval tube.

Are they planning to have a an island bus stop or is this it?

Not sure I feel safe using so will take chances on the normal road.