First commute, first spill :-/

[dhague]

Morning all,

I thought I should record the results of my first commute to work this morning, with lessons learned.

Route: Virginia Water to Bedfont, via Staines - 8.1 miles
Time: 44 minutes
Spills: 1

The spill came at a road-to-cycle path transition - I hit the 1" kerb at too shallow an angle, so the bike went one way and I went the other. Luckily, no damage except to some rather nice trousers, which now have a couple of holes in them.

The weather was rainy, but this (rather to my surprise) did not affect how much I enjoyed the ride. A buff round the neck and another one on my head gave me windproof, wicking insulation up top, and a wicking shirt under a wool jumper with a hillwalking jacket kept my torso warm and mostly dry. Pit zips on the jacket helped with ventilation. The legs were the main problem - reasonably comfortable, but the lesson learnt here is that cotton trousers don't work well in the rain. Next time, waterproof trousers and/or Ron Hill leggings are in order - dry office trousers can go in the pannier.

The Altura Dryline 17 Briefcase pannier worked flawlessly - everything stayed nice and dry, and the pannier remained attached during the spill (it was on the non-contact side, which helped).

Looks like there's something to this cycling lark after all... :-)

- Darren

 

[Bollo]

Virtual tea and a bun in your e-gob. Hope there's no long-term damage.

Those little kerbs are a bugger - there's one on a road-cyclepath transition on my way home where layout encourages you to hit it an unhealthy angle.

There was also a story in our local rag/local TV about how the council had to spend some cash to raise a dropped kerb because it was too flush with the road. Something to do with blind people being able to feel the edge, although the whole story had a whiff of the Daily Wail about it.

 

[Tynan]

road/path transitions are always a bit fiddly, I did a front sumersault last year on one

don't do them anymore, strictly road

 

[J4CKO]

Glad you are ok, I have done that, little path near work with a wooden edge, no major damage apart from a grazed knee and bar end but it made me very wary about hitting things like that at an obtuse angle, I can get to our local shops up a kerb but turn a corner, dismount and walk it up to avoid it as it looks tricky, sometimes you think you are having got the front up but a back wheel catching can also chuck you off.

 

[Keith Oates]

Glad you enjoyed the commute Darren, the mishap will be well remembered by you and so if you're not hurt too much then no lasting harm done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MacB]

Excellent, glad to see the spill hasn't put you off

 

[Wolf04]

The spill came at a road-to-cycle path transition

No never done that before

Oh and welcome

 

[hackbike 666]

You will be able to look back at this and laugh.At least I hope so.Well done mate and hope the spill didnt upset you too much.

 

[Davywalnuts]

I actually live in Bedfont now, but I dont use the cycle paths at all there, badly designed, or is that in general? The roads there are okay, minus the pot holes and drain covers, just the tired Airports workers you need to keep an eye on! And the white van courier men!! And if you come down the Staines road too, the gravel truck drivers that fly along there to/from the gravel pit!! But keep up the good work! One less carbon poluting car on the road!

 

[Arch]

Well done, and glad the spill didn't put you off. I always try to swing out so as to approach such kerbs at as near to a right angle as possible, but obviously, you can be limited by traffic etc...

 

[purplepolly]

Bad luck on your first day - I waited about 2 weeks to skid off on ice - but there's nothing like coming off to make you more careful

 

[HLaB]

Unlucky on your fall but at least you enjoyed the rest of the ride, good luck in the future.

 

[dhague]

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone.

The journey back was uneventful and quicker (11.9mph vs 11.2mph) although a lot wetter. It was slightly scary cycling along an unlit cycle path in the rain & dark, wearing glasses - I couldn't see the kerb, only the white line on the adjacent road. My lights did a good job of telling me what was directly in front, but not so much to the sides in the rain. More learning.

I have to say, the day has been made much better by having read through most of Cyclecraft last week - it gave me a lot more confidence, and corrected a few of the things I was told 30 years ago in my Cycling Proficiency Test at school.

Thanks again,
Darren

 

[hackbike 666]

I actually live in Bedfont now, but I dont use the cycle paths at all there, badly designed, or is that in general? The roads there are okay, minus the pot holes and drain covers, just the tired Airports workers you need to keep an eye on! And the white van courier men!! And if you come down the Staines road too, the gravel truck drivers that fly along there to/from the gravel pit!! But keep up the good work! One less carbon poluting car on the road!

Bedfonts,didn't they have a stack of burnt out cars there or near there?

It was a well known fact at my depot and a big joke.We used to count out how many burnt out cars we could see.At any one time I think it was 12.

Ahhh Feltham.

It's almost bad as the wall of death apparently.

 

[purplepolly]

It was slightly scary cycling along an unlit cycle path in the rain & dark, wearing glasses

Glasses, cycling, rain. Not a good mix, but there is a range of options available that'll solve the problem:-

- rustle up a pair of glasses with windscreenwipers
- get someone to burn lasers on the back of your retinas
- contact lenses
- get a peaked cyclists cap or sun visor

The latter's probably the cheapest and easiest