Got my MD80 through and started using it yesterday for my ~5mile each way commute. Using it mainly for judging which ways have a tradeoff of quickest/safest etc (and of course catching the odd idiot!)
At the moment I have a junction on my way home (which if I want to avoid entirely, is about a mile detour - and involves either using a a poor stretch of the NCN1 or dual carriageway).
Yesterday and Today gave me a good chance to show off both the ways I handle the junction, with yesterday being busy and today being not so busy.
As you'll see from both days no vehicles use the left lane, and everyone uses the right (probably because they don't want to filter in).
The approach is a slight incline, and runkeeper reckons I do around 10-15mph along it (from the 2nd video of me actually able to cycle all the way up).
On busy days I filter into the traffic early, since they're generally moving slower than me, and it's easy enough to find a gap in traffic, and pull in and wait up to the roundable (i.e. Vid 1). On the not so busy days I often stick to the lane (which has a typical British standard cycle lane on it.... i.e. poor), up to where the cyclelane turns into sharing with peds, and I decide to take the lane that comes from the A2 traffic, and then try to filter in to go right at the roundabout. (which is generally a bunfight of people trying to change lanes). i.e. Vid 2
There is a possible use of shared use which goes off to the right where the cyclelane ends, and follows round the pavement, I did this once, and in places the trees are overgrown and it's hardly enough room for a single bike to go round, and I don't really want to try the one going off to the left, as I would assume that's just as bad, and probably makes it difficult to cross on the other side too!
Anyway onto the vids:
Day 1 - Busy:
[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atRhC9xvtWw[/media]
Day 2 - Not so busy:
[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbEiOqYLuHI[/media]
What would you do? (I guess those who can pick up more speed would probably filter in anyway - I think at my current speed up there, I would get people undertaking, honking and all sorts ).
Ben
At the moment I have a junction on my way home (which if I want to avoid entirely, is about a mile detour - and involves either using a a poor stretch of the NCN1 or dual carriageway).
Yesterday and Today gave me a good chance to show off both the ways I handle the junction, with yesterday being busy and today being not so busy.
As you'll see from both days no vehicles use the left lane, and everyone uses the right (probably because they don't want to filter in).
The approach is a slight incline, and runkeeper reckons I do around 10-15mph along it (from the 2nd video of me actually able to cycle all the way up).
On busy days I filter into the traffic early, since they're generally moving slower than me, and it's easy enough to find a gap in traffic, and pull in and wait up to the roundable (i.e. Vid 1). On the not so busy days I often stick to the lane (which has a typical British standard cycle lane on it.... i.e. poor), up to where the cyclelane turns into sharing with peds, and I decide to take the lane that comes from the A2 traffic, and then try to filter in to go right at the roundabout. (which is generally a bunfight of people trying to change lanes). i.e. Vid 2
There is a possible use of shared use which goes off to the right where the cyclelane ends, and follows round the pavement, I did this once, and in places the trees are overgrown and it's hardly enough room for a single bike to go round, and I don't really want to try the one going off to the left, as I would assume that's just as bad, and probably makes it difficult to cross on the other side too!
Anyway onto the vids:
Day 1 - Busy:
[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atRhC9xvtWw[/media]
Day 2 - Not so busy:
[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbEiOqYLuHI[/media]
What would you do? (I guess those who can pick up more speed would probably filter in anyway - I think at my current speed up there, I would get people undertaking, honking and all sorts ).
Ben