Bad morning

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jonathanw

Chorlton and the Wheelies
Location
The Frozen North
Well, I woke up with a poor attitude to the commute this am. Walked the dog in the rain at 6 am and a cold wind, but I had the cycling gear on so decided not to give in to the easy option. On the bike by 0630 for 15 mile commute to work.

I had stripped and cleaned the bike yesterday, but had not taken it for a test run after re-assembly. So I was well chuffed when the left crank came off after 2 miles. Weird feeling as it was still clipped to my shoe. My own fault and only 5 mins in the dark to remedy. Had a few choice words for myself.

After 7 miles, passed a bus depot with double decker coming out , who I have met before. He takes exception to my lights and blinds me with his full beam every time we meet, despite my 700 lumens being well down angled. Same again today. This guy drives school kids every day so should be more in tune with other road users.

At 11 miles crossed the bridge and promptly got blown into barriers by ferocious cross winds. Ouch! Winds lower than the weekend, but this caught me by surprise.

Finally, at 14 miles missed the level crossing an
d had to wait 12 mins for the train to pass leaving me a final mile with equally frustrated car drivers giving me no room at all.

Got to work, had shower and a coffee........ Much better


Bring on this evening
 

Wades

Well-Known Member
Location
Horley, Surrey
May the evening wind be on your back, the traffic light and friendly, the red lights all be green, the trains be cancelled (just to be sure) and the crank arms stay attached. Amen.
 
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jonathanw

jonathanw

Chorlton and the Wheelies
Location
The Frozen North
May the evening wind be on your back, the traffic light and friendly, the red lights all be green, the trains be cancelled (just to be sure) and the crank arms stay attached. Amen.

Amen to that

I doubt whether any of it would have bothered me had I not started with such a bad attitude.

Positive thinking goes a long way to get you going. This was my first wobble since I started commuting daily 6 months ago. I suspect if I'd driven, I would have spent the whole day wracked with guilt.
 
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jonathanw

jonathanw

Chorlton and the Wheelies
Location
The Frozen North
Well, just got home .......all well.....no drama, but someone forgot to cancel the trains (at least only a few minutes at LC tonight)

There's just a faint sound of laughter quietly fading away now.....and the dented pride

(looking forward to the adventure tomorrow am!!)

:ohmy:
 

JonnyRat

Regular
Well done JonathanW - You've put a very positive slant on what sounds a nightmare commute.
Had a similar nightmare commute this morning and still can't bring myself to laugh about it. I commute 17 miles each way and stupidly decided to risk it this morning despite gale force winds. Blown off twice and forced to walk bike through the most exposed part of route. Kept getting blown into middle of the road -far too dangerous. A journey that normally takes 60 minutes took 1 hour 45 mins. I was almost glad to see work!! Needless to say - bussed it home and bike is safely stored in my office. Won't risk biking it in those conditions again (although they were extreme).
Moral of the story - watch the weather forecast and look out the window before setting off! Feel a right numpty!
Best wishes.
 

Hip Priest

Veteran
I wish you a better day tomorrow. Though I must confess to smirking a little bit about the crank coming off whilst clipped to your shoe!
 
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jonathanw

jonathanw

Chorlton and the Wheelies
Location
The Frozen North
I wish you a better day tomorrow. Though I must confess to smirking a little bit about the crank coming off whilst clipped to your shoe!

Yes it was a really weird feeling. Took me a couple of "air-revolutions" to work out what was going on

Well done JonathanW - You've put a very positive slant on what sounds a nightmare commute.
Had a similar nightmare commute this morning and still can't bring myself to laugh about it. I commute 17 miles each way and stupidly decided to risk it this morning despite gale force winds. Blown off twice and forced to walk bike through the most exposed part of route. Kept getting blown into middle of the road -far too dangerous. A journey that normally takes 60 minutes took 1 hour 45 mins. I was almost glad to see work!! Needless to say - bussed it home and bike is safely stored in my office. Won't risk biking it in those conditions again (although they were extreme).
Moral of the story - watch the weather forecast and look out the window before setting off! Feel a right numpty!
Best wishes.

Jonny, that sounds far worse than my morning. Good on you for giving it a go. Hopefully the wind won't last forever, and you'll be back in the saddle ASAP. At least you are uninjured. I hope you didn't have to do the whole "lycra on the bus" thing
 

JonnyRat

Regular
Cheers Jonathan - yes, the experience hasn't put me off. Fortunately I did not have to inflict myself in lycra on unsuspecting bus passengers! Wore work clothes home and kept lycra safely undercover in my rucksack. Best wishes, J
 
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