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If you read the Daily Mail you're bound to be really angry about something - that or you really give a shit about the royal family.
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I am not sure if I should continue to watch this. It'll either fuck me off or just make me depressed. Bad things either way....
Edit: 'Why did you RLJ?'
'It was green for pedestrians.'
HA!
Edit x2 I am sure it's been said but the clip in which the HGV cuts off the Glaswegian lad....I am literally gob smacked. Terrified.
Yeah that HGV roundabout clip was horrible. It made me shudder. So did the clip where Trafficdroid was overtaken and undertaken simultaneously by a van and another van with a trailer.
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I just watched it, thought it was reasonable enough. Yeah the Ally Cats stuff is unfair, but I've never seen anyone get out of a car and punch a cyclist in real life either.
My balls nearly went through the floor when I saw that HGV pulling out on the guy on the roundabout.
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Had a very similar incident with a moped on the bottom of Camden road just after mornington crescent. I was in the bus lane and he turned left and swiped across me leaving me absolutely nowhere to go. Luckily I wasn't clipped in and managed to slow down enough so I just touched him at low speed, we both wobbled a bit but neither came off.
Pizza delivery boy. He said to me didn't you see me indicate? he'd indicated as he started turning and clearly hadn't looked around. I lost it, made no difference at all, he was convinced he was right. The thing I took from that was that you need to concentrate and anticipate 100% of the time on the bike - there are some proper stupid arseholes out there on every form of transport, even foot. They won't change, so you have to be really aware.
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Haha! I would go back tomorrow. Really enjoyed Bandon. Beautiful place.
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Old commute:
Best - getting a clear run north on Tottenham Court Road taking you all the way to Camden - if you get the lights you can absolutely fly, especially coming up to Mornington Crescent. Love stopping at the lights by Camden Tube with your heart bursting out your chest :-)
Worst - Kentish Town High Street. Busy, dangerous, woeful surface, puncture central, often a huge pallet of veg in the road by the station in the mornings as well. Plenty of crazy cyclists doing strange things in the traffic as well. Also hate Shaftsbury Avenue, so busy!
New commute:
Best - belting up the bus lane on Archway Road from the roundabout to Highgate tube. Sometimes end up with someone cheeky hanging off my back wheel... Never too sure about that!
Worst - Holloway road is never a massive attraction, lots of traffic, never feels safe, and you have to wait at the lights for ages in places. -
Hiya mate, sorry for the slow reply. Replied to your questions below:
-I'd really appreciate a list of spots/towns on the trip that shouldn't be missed.
To be honest I loved the whole trip, but you have to see Big Sur, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz is beautiful - and there is a great hostel there, I also loved Moro Bay, Portland Oregon, Eureka, Fort Bragg in Northern California was lovely, Santa Monica is class, make sure you take in some of the Oregon coast as well, it's very beautiful if a bit colder. The redwoods in northern california were spectacular. Mate I could talk all day, the whole trip was amazing. I think the one thing I'm most pleased about was crossing the Golden Gate bridge on the bike. Don't miss that.
-I'd prefer travelling light and fast so would rather stay in motels ... how much did you pay for a night on average?
That is exactly what I did and it cost me about $60ish a night. Taxes aren't included in the price quoted on websites so it always works out a bit more. You can get motel 6's for a bit less than $60 but they are proper basic and there is no breakfast offering at all so you end up spending more than you save on going out for breakfast. I found the Super 8's quite good. They usually had breakfast included and they weren't too expensive. In tourist hot spots you pay a fair wack, I paid well over 100 in Big Sur, there is camping there which might have worked out better.
-Did you see how full the campgrounds were? ... in case I decide to use them
didn't use campgrounds to be honest. Most of the other touring cyclists did and found them very cost effective. some were $5 a night. showers there as well. I just didn't want to carry a tent but if you have a bit more time it might be a great way to save money.
-How far did you travel each day?
I did about 80 miles a day. Some days I flew along like an express train, other days I crawled. Washington and Oregon are fucking hilly. The early part of the trip was very hard, lots of steep climbs, swollen ankles, sore knees. Plan your route carefully. I had booked a load of motels in advance so just had to ibuprofen my way through it but I had one or two days where I wanted to lash my bike off the side of a mountain!
-How was the weather at that time of the year?
Really good, I arrived early Sep and got back early Oct, no rain, mostly clear, hot off the coast, then a little chilly on the coast until I got South of San Francisco. Most go slightly earlier in the year. I was happy with the way I did it.-Did you prepare in advance with smaller tours?
I had gone across France earlier in the summer with a couple of mates, but I'd say if you're cycling regularly, even commuting that would get you 80% ready. Maybe do a couple of longer trips on a weekend to prepare. I met a couple doing coast to coast - all they had done was one training ride over 80 miles.-Any general advices?
-yeah, don't book too many motels in advance in case you want a rest day or run into trouble
-travel as light as possible. My total baggage was under 8kg - just one non cycling outfit, travel docs, then my cycling clothes. even lugging that up some of those brutal hills was hard. don't take a laptop, just a smartphone, if there is anywhere you can save weight, do it.
-check out the adventure cyclists of america - I bumped into a big group on a trip with an RV as a support vehicle, they were doing the whole west coast and camping along the way. luggage in the RV - about 15 of them. every now and again notices go up on their boards for people doing mad stuff like that. Worth keeping an eye on.Have fun :-)
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Finish with a pic... Trinidad, California. A local guy told me about a minor road I should take back "the most beautiful bike ride in the world" he said. I was skeptical, until I did it. F*cking awesome! Clifftop minor road through a forest with that view. Would have totally missed it if not for that guy. Just amazing. But then again, so was the whole trip :-)
Workstand - I agree, I've thought about getting a helmet cam to film mad descents on long rides. I've spent plenty of time watching people get up and down famous hills on Youtube, before having a go at the myself. I probably wouldn't use it to film myself telling someone off for running a red light though, or if a car cut me up. I'd just take my normal approach of making an OTT gesticulation, being a bit annoyed for a minute then forgetting about it and carrying on with my day.