This morning's commute and other commuting stories

@CanonAxe I know. I should've shouted at him about that, too, but I ran out of swear words.

A full rapha roadie warrior told me to get gears today. I couldn't respond with anything cool/witty like "but thats cheating" etc. due to trying not to unclip going downhill on my first clipless installed ride. Prob on here tbh.

Also A bmw 'Punishment passed' me with rizla clearance (impressed he didnt hit me tbh), then continued to DAS round the corner of archway road/bakers lane... Suns out, dickheads out it seems.

Had Christmas songs blaring out of my speaker again today. Many smiles.

Turned away from my building by police due to a security incident. Went for coffee. Returned 20 mins later to see some chap receiving a "talking to" by the van he had parked illegally the wrong way in a one way street.

Quote: "A similar scheme was introduced in France in 2014, with mixed results. While a six-month trial found that paying people to cycle to work did increase the numbers doing so, the majority had been using public transport, rather than private vehicles."

That doesn't surprise me. I need my car to do the school run, and schools runs have such a massive variety of routes (from a home to a school and then to a work place somewhere else) they're extremely difficult/impossible without a car to do unless you're in a really big city/it's with a few miles with good cycle lanes.

Amsterdam got that nailed with cycle lanes and box bikes (which cost a bloody mint) but in most place it's near impossible.

Did you ride along Chelsea Embankment this morning?

Wet. Lots of motorists in conflict with one another. Very glad to be home, with a towel and a cup of tea.

isn't he the muppet who gave missmouse a shit ton of hassle when she was involved with southwark cyclists and had to take a step back because she was unwell? and also has a picture of himself naked trying to shove his head up his own arse on his facebook page?

Why yes, yes he is.

Isn't he also the muppet who says that he and his group will "respect the wishes of any family who don't want to take part" when he gets loads of randoms to lie in the road pretending to be dead? in a grotesque parody of the actual death of an actual person on the road a few days previously?

To be fair to him though, despite (or possibly because of) the fucking stupid campaign name and protests, he does seem to have positioned himself as the mouthpiece for London cycling soundbites in a large part of the press.

he's a fucking tosslord of the first water who likes to threaten people who disagree with him. fucker wants a good shoe-ing.

Nope, river lea

of the first water

lovely stuff

Back on the commuting trail after a 6 week break, good to see some people don't feel the need for lights yet. Also I think peds should wear lights might help spot them as they walk out in front of you or from between parked cars.

Also must learn the new layout at both Oval and E&C, almost stacked it yesterday morning getting onto the super highway thingy as I didn't notice the dropped kerb suddenly goes to a normal kerb. Then on the way home I missed the start of the super highway as a bus was in front of me so ended up going only the road and then get stuck in the new bit for going straight on for cyclist.

E&C what the fuck is going on...

Contacted TfL to raise concerns about the Oval puddle and the conflict between the CS7 and the bus stop at the end of the northbound segregated section. Response:

"I'm pleased to advise that remedial work has already been carried out on the Superhighway surface around Oval station. We're monitoring the location to check that this has resolved the problem with large puddles forming.

You've also mentioned safety concerns with the merging of cyclists and buses along Kennington Park Road.

When junctions are commissioned, our Road Safety Team carry out a comprehensive Road Safety Audit. The phasing of the lights along Kennington Park Road were signed off during the audit and no concerns were raised.

CS7 is part of our Oval triangle project, due for completion in Spring 2016. Once completed, another audit will be carried out, and we'll review the situation then."

Glad to hear they're dealing with the puddle.

Got heckled by a bus driver for using the northbound bus lane over Vauxhall Bridge - shouting out there is a cycle lane on the other side of the road.

Got called a menace today by a lady who stepped out from between two buses, not sure if she threw her coffee at me or dropped it but I was covered in the stuff. She then went on to argue with the driver of the van behind me.

In the car, finding myself getting mightily annoyed with people doing 40 in 30 zones. That and cars jumping red lights...grrrrr.

Is it just me that has the following problem with the new Oval segregation, when going southbound:

Come up Kennington Road, turn right onto Kennington Park Road and then enter the new segregated cycle lane. All nice and dandy (ish, I still think it's not wide enough and the entry is pretty sudden).

But, I then want to end up on Brixton Road, so I continue on the cycle lane until it splits at the lights and I take the left fork onto the beginning of Brixton Road. The cycle lane then finishes at the next set of lights and unceremoniously dumps you at the junction with the A202/Camberwell New Road, straight into the path of any car/motorbike wanting to turn left; i.e. straight across my path if I want to continue down Brixton Road.

I can't work out if I'm using the cycle lane wrong or if it's just a shit design...

" it's just a shit design..."

I think the technical term is "cluster fuck"

^^ all. day. long.

you're better off just using the road and positioning yourself in the right hand lane if you want to keep going straight on brixton road. you risk a serious t-boning if you don't. it's a shocking piece of design.

Lezyne pump. Continental removable core.
GET TO FUCK.

Yep, confirmed then, shit design.

I find there's often a way to ride around such shitness, but genuinely can't see how to avoid this one. Other than just riding in the road and avoiding the entire cycle lane (and getting beeped the shit out of, inevitably). Putting a different set of cyclist-specific lights in for those who want to go straight on to Brixton road might help.

" it's just a really shit design..."

I keep missing the start of it so have just been using the normal road, get beeped out but rather that then using the poxy thing.

I'd say it was a problem with segregated lanes in general (they have to dump you somewhere, right?), but actually the other southbound fork deals with this quite nicely and spits you out gently into an ASL where there isn't a left turn...