Tales from today's commute....

[HLaB]

Timed that well tonight. When I came out of the changing room it was torrential but I got held up leaving by a chatty colleague and by the time I got my bike out of the bike cage it was stopped and whilst things were quite flooded, I got treated to a very bright rainbow. The Camera doesnt do it justice.

On the train I managed to grab two of the three seats in front of the bike straps and the skies brightened up more and by the time I got off I was treated again (to a quite nice sunset).

 

[Poacher]

Timed that well tonight. When I came out of the changing room it was torrential but I got held up leaving by a chatty colleague and by the time I got my bike out of the bike cage it was stopped and whilst things were quite flooded, I got treated to a very bright rainbow. The Camera doesnt do it justice.
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On the train I managed to grab two of the three seats in front of the bike straps and the skies brightened up more and by the time I got off I was treated again (to a quite nice sunset).
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Even a faint double bow!

 

[Pgd]

An eventful week for me. I have an ageing Boardman gravel bike which is my do-it-all bike, including commuting twice a week from zone 6 into central London. The drivetrain had felt a little off for a while, so on a whim I decided to install replacement jockey wheels to see if anything improved. That was last Thursday. The next day, about a mile into my commute the derailleur hanger failed catastrophically, mangling the parallelogram and damaging the large chainring. Luckily (a) this was at low speed and with no other consequences, and (b) as i was parked a mile away in the London suburbs, I could simply walk my mangled bike back to the car and catch the train.

I think the hanger was already weak from previous incidents and corrective bendings. But I also suspect I'd over-tightened the new pulleys -- I'd read they should be tightened until resistance felt, but in hindsight should've just used a torque wrench...

Anyway, it's now back from LBS with a new chainset and rear derailleur, and a new BB for good measure, setting me back a fair bit of cash . But on the plus side, it's all nicely tuned up, so I'm clinging to the mantra that it's like a new bike but considerably cheaper. Just need to look after it better...

Finally: this week, while my usual bike was at the LBS, I borrowed my son's road-centric hybrid. Although the frame is too small for me, it's very light and nippy and rather good fun. Might borrow it again occasionally when it's nice weather. I've never owned a lightweight road bike but I can see why people do!

 

[wafter]

Awake early as usual but too late to attempt getting back to sleep so I at least had a little time in hand.

Out on time into the gloom; thankfully no rain despite the forecast and evident threat lingering above.

Fresh but thankfully mild it felt good to be in the saddle as soon as I was out of the drive.

Very little to report; traffic moderate and largely sensible; no dickheads other than some partial yellow-box-bothering muppets and some twat contractor parked on the high street obstructing the buses.

Butchers was busy today with some Polish bloke buying all of the meat and another guy who’d also dared to sneak his bike into the market.

Decent ride back out along the tow path; still basking in the novelty of the stretch that’s been re-opened after some work to the bank – removing the diversion through the bumpy / latterly slushy impromptu mandatory gravel stage in the adjacent field. Stopped to trim a few errant brambles; their encroachment thankfully slowing as temperatures fall.

At work on time, not looking forward to the day but at least I’ve been fortified by some quality sausages today (8.5/10; well-browned with a tangible crunch).

Life is pretty horrible at the moment but it would definitely be more-so if I wasn’t able to commute on the bike.

 

[biking_fox]

Milder than expected and still dry so fine riding. Even a hint of a tailwind.

One exceptionally impatient driver took off from beside me, the moment the light changed off red, round the outside of the line of stopped cars using the oncoming lane to do so, and then attempted to cut in at the zebra crossing where the hordes of school kids were, to an outrage of horns. It's quite shocking how dangerous some drivers can be.

 

[fossyant]

Milder than expected and still dry so fine riding. Even a hint of a tailwind.

Back on the commute tomorrow and just reviewed the 'wardrobe', then checked the forecast - I' better put that softshell jersey away, still pretty warm, mid teens for the rest of the week.