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She fell off her bike and broke her collarbone. A mandatory helmet laws is not yet on the cards. A Conservative government certainly wouldn't introduce one.

Yeah, I totally agree. Was only trying to say it's more likely to be used as leverage by groups that want to mandate 'cycle safety' rather than safe cycling conditions.

The helmet question was asked, and positively answered, in the House of Lords recently:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/111213w0001.htm#11121379001151

Feel bad that she's been injured on a bicycle but I can't help feeling the fallout will be things like mandatory helmet laws, not better infrastructure. Although she's still been injured and these aren't really the threads to discuss such things.

Sure she's a nice lady, despite being a Tory, and wishing her a speedy recovery!

Guy on Twitter (https://twitter.com/JoeDunthorne) has had his bike stolen, it's quite recognisable if you see it around London. Last seen in Epping Forest area.

Just had an email back from Roadsafe and as the coach actually 'hit' me they want me to report it to the police proper. Means one of those traffic incident forms again and then probably a letter a few months later saying they were not able to 'detect' anybody...maybe I'm cynical though.

Passenger being a doozy and forgetting to press the request stop button earlier to let the driver know, that what I was told by one of the driver thought.

Sounds like a bit of an excuse to me. I mean, I'd like to ask that driver what generally happens when buses reach a bus stop?

Best thing to do, ride further out more to prevent the bus from overtaking at all when nearing a bus stop.

Great advice, yes. Think it's sometimes pretty scary to get out there in the lane but being assertive to be seen is the best plan. If you hug the kerb (which I used to do a lot more) you just get ignored.

I'm really envious - it's really beautiful!

I got pushed off the road by a bus the other day, reported it to TFL but haven't heard anything back as yet. Normally they’re pretty good at replying (not that I complain to them all the time, just when one of their drivers makes it clear they’re trying to kill me through malice or negligence).

Yeah, TfL seem to be pretty good. Although why is that so many buses have to overtake and then immediately pull in in front of you?

^ Sounds nasty, hope you are ok. Did you get a photo of the idiot driver typing on his phone?

Unfortunately not so sure it's can't be proved, but even if he wasn't on the phone it definitely was without due care and attention! Just as well I could leap onto the pavement even though it's a pretty high kerb. If there had been any barriers there I'd have been under a coach. Was quite shaken but it was only afterwards I felt quite angry about it all.

Have had a quiet few months on London's roads but heading down Bayswater Road this morning I was actually ran off the road by a tour coach. Pretty much no traffic around but this coach just swung in towards me. Actually hit the side of the coach a few times and shouted but it still kept coming so I had to jump off my bike onto the pavement. He stopped just in front of me at the end of a line of traffic.

When I wheeled my bicycle up to the door of the coach I could see he was typing away on a mobile phone on his lap!

Load of dodgy driving happens in London, but this was ridiculous! Reported to the cops and to Westbus coaches.

Current suggestion is to buy a replacement lock, cut this one off, lock up the other bike with the new lock and take the key leaving a note to not lock other people's bikes up.

This girl's actually stuck in Covent Garden right now as somebody has locked their bike to hers:

https://twitter.com/#!/Jude_Burke/status/159292179754401792/photo/1

This one turned up on Twitter...

Dibs these - will PM.

BBC report on this incident: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16002888

Maybe it's worth marking Brooks saddles underneath with a 'symbol' or something then photographing it on your bicycle and keeping a copy of it on your phone. As they're leather, a permanent marker should be enough to indelibly mark it - doesn't have to be your name or anything, just a unique mark. At least if you have to get the law involved, you have something you can show them then and there. I know i doesn't help with already lost saddles though...

Yeah, unfortunately he didn't get the registration of the HGV so is trying to find out who the driver is. Bit of a longshot, I agree.

As an aside, I was nearly hit by a black people-carrier taxi this morning and noted his registration number down. I checked online and the registration comes back to a blue Porche Boxster, so not entirely sure what that's about...

I'm posting for a cyclist called James, who I met while we were involved with putting together Deep Lee's ghost bike, had an incident this morning on the roads. James isan exceptionally measured and safe cyclist although had a very close call this morning with an HGV. Just posting here in case anybody saw anything this morning, on Farringdon Road, or recognises the driver.

After cutting in on James he caught up with the driver to which the driver responded “the roads are dangerous you should get out of the way”.

Do you know him?

More info here:

http://cycling-intelligence.com/2011/11/30/dangerous-driving-who-knows-this-royal-mail-hgv-driver/

Thanks!!

I reckon your 'safety margin' is shorter than his idea of a safety margin.

That's maybe true.

Oh, so in future if someone smiles and waves, and then pulls out from a minor road in front of me on a major road that is all fine?

Acknowledging you are about to pull a dick move, does not make it any less of a dick move.

Well that's not what I was saying at all; there was a safe distance between us. The only thing that the other cyclist was saying to me was that he thought I hadn't looked, but he missed me doing just that - not that I pulled out too close in front of him.

I didn't 'pull a dick move' but was suggesting that communication is an important thing and that I could have done more to let him know I actually had seen him.

Even if you were sure it was safe it's not really on to pull out in front of someone.

There is a difference between right in front of them and a good distance away, although when we talked I did say it wasn't a huge distance away. Nothing, at all, different to cyclists joining a road in front of me numerous times on my journey, which is fine with me. I think we can all merge and unmerge pretty safely. The issue was that this guy thought I hadn't bothered to look, which was what upset him I think.

He just said the guy spat over his shoulder not necessarily at him.

Her. :) While it wasn't directly at me, it was close enough and was definitely a 'comment on my riding'. Like I say, we chatted afterwards and it was all double rainbows all the way after that...

Yesterday I turned onto a quiet street after having seen a cyclist coming down the street. Wasn't a huge distance between us but plenty of space on an empty road. Few seconds later the guy passes me and shouts something at me, which I didn't hear. Asked him what he shouted but he shouted something else I didn't hear, spat over his shoulder and pedaled off.

As I was quite close to where I work, I smiled at the thought that he might be headed there too and sure enough I turned into the ramp to the garage right behind him. He locked his bike up and then walked past me to the exit so I said to him I couldn't hear what he was saying to me. Quite angrily he told me I'd just pulled out in front of him and that if he was a few seconds earlier he'd have killed me. I replied that I had seen him, he was wearing a lot of day-glo, which seemed to calm him down. We had a bit of a chat and left with a smile.

He did tell me he needs to calm down a bit but somebody had just walked right out in front of him so he was a bit worked up. The lesson I'm taking away from this is to remember to acknowledge people. I often gesture my intentions to other cyclists, but a quick wave would have told him I had seen him and I wasn't just pulling out without looking.

Was nice to sort it out in a friendly way and I was glad of the chance to chat about it. If we'd just headed our separate ways we might have just felt angry about it all. He seemed a nice guy...still don't like spitting though...

Lovely! Looks the same as my frame and that's 126mm

The Met are calling for witnesses to this incident, if people have heard anybody talking about this maybe you could suggest they contact them? Sounds like they may be preparing a case of dangerous driving against the HGV driver.

http://road.cc/content/news/48176-fresh-witness-appeal-issued-connection-death-second-cyclist-bow-roundabout

I know people like to know how bikes are locked when they get nicked. She had it locked with a Kryptonite D (grey one) through the frame and rear wheel and a cable through the front

Was it locked to one of the bike racks too? Just wondering how it was taken even with such a good lock.

"...You all over-take on the left and the right. I don't know."

Lots of car-drivers do mention 'overtaking' on the left, although it's not really overtaking - it's filtering and it's completely legal. There is only one type of overtake and that's (in the UK) on the right. But it does illustrate the point that lots of London's roads aren't working for the traffic that is using it. Boris is doing next to nothing about this.

Absolutely agree with the comments above though; the vitriol shown against cyclists is absolutely disproportionate to the risk.