Hello from Bolton

[MrHappyCyclist]

Hi. This is my second post actually, but I thought I'd introduce myself.

I restarted commuting from Bolton to Salford (25 miles round trip) about 6 months ago, 3 or 4 times a week. I used to do it for a while before, but stopped about 14 years ago when I heard someone got killed on the main road near us. My daughter got me started again when she suggested we do the Manchester-to-Blackpool ride last year.

I still ride my 20 year old Peugeot Surfer. It's a bit knackered now, but I'm waiting until my employer joins the Cycle-to-Work scheme (if that ever happens) before replacing it.

I started wearing a video camera (Chilli Technologies Action Cam - £35 on Amazon. Good for the price but pretty crap compared to the Contour HD, for example). You can find my YouTube channel under the same username, which reflects the fact that I am approaching the age when I can legitimately be called a grumpy old man. Also started a blog at www.mrgrumpycyclist.org, but there's not much there yet.

Enjoying the cycling, and feel great, but the downside is that my clothes are all miles too big for me now. :-(

 

[numbnuts]

Hi & to CC

 

[cyberknight]

Welcome to the forums !

If your employer does not join the C2W then maybe look into some retailers that offer interest free credit? A lot have old stock that they want to shift and you could be saving the same sort of amount you would save on C2W.

Alternatively there's always Ebay, i picked up a perfectly good commuter for £100 a few months back, a 2 year old carrera TDF that is perfect as it is not the best bike in the sheds next to the boardmans that people get on our scheme but fast and sturdy enough for the job.

 

[skudupnorth]

Welcome ! I work in Bolton but it's only a weezly 6 mile commute from where i live.I try to make up for it by doing a big run at the weekend (82 today from Tyldesley the Bae Woodford and back if the cycle route planner is correct)

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Thank you for the greetings venerable executive and seniors. Seems like a nice friendly place

 

[Ibbots]

Hello Mr Grumpy, having looked through your You Tube channel it seems that we share parts of our commute although I turn off and head off to Horwich and tend to risk the dual carriageway on the East Lancs. I was surpised that there wasn't more footage of the usually obstructed cycle lane in the run up to the roundabout flying over the East Lancs - a real pet hate of mine. Had a good look for myself in your videos, thankfully it appears I am not I'm not there but Kevin, a chap I sometimes ride in with, is one of your RLJs! I'll tell next time I see him.

Say hello if you see a chap on a red On-One single speed.

 

[trio25]

I'm Bolton based as well and sometimes commute to Salford, depends where I am working. Great riding round here!

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Hello Mr Grumpy, having looked through your You Tube channel it seems that we share parts of our commute although I turn off and head off to Horwich and tend to risk the dual carriageway on the East Lancs. I was surpised that there wasn't more footage of the usually obstructed cycle lane in the run up to the roundabout flying over the East Lancs - a real pet hate of mine.

There are some, though. I actually posted one last night!

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktVmdYr2X1Y


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u86JZSXsCg

Had a good look for myself in your videos, thankfully it appears I am not I'm not there but Kevin, a chap I sometimes ride in with, is one of your RLJs! I'll tell next time I see him.

Oops. He's not a big guy is he?

Say hello if you see a chap on a red On-One single speed.

That's not you on the edge of the frame here is it?

 

[Ibbots]

There are some, though. I actually posted one last night!
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=ktVmdYr2X1Y
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=8u86JZSXsCg


Oops. He's not a big guy is he?


That's not you on the edge of the frame here is it?
[attachment=2469:cyclist.jpg]

Nope, that's Kevin again. At least he's not running a red light this time.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Nope, that's Kevin again. At least he's not running a red light this time.

Oh dear; I just had a quick look and he's on at least two of my videos in addition to this one. Hope he doesn't think I'm stalking him! (It really is nothing personal.)

Edit: It gets worse. I think 4 out of the 5 RJL cyclists I have posted may be Kevin!

 

[Ibbots]

yep...saw him the other day and told him about his second life as a you tube star. He was quite pleased, but we also swapped recent cycle related fight stories (mine will come in handy for any discussion about dog walkers, bridleways and impotent rage) and it seems he has a bit of a temper.

I passed you in my car this morning - not going to tell you what I was driving as I might feature in your channel of shame but I did find myslef passing quite close! This got me thinking about your videos because I remember in quite a few I couldn't really see what the problem was (not just in yours but in others I have looked at once I got interested in getting amy own camera), particularly the close passing....

1) does the film not really capture how close the actual near miss is, or your perception of how close, as it does not cover what must be going on in your peripheral vision and the camera only captures the incident once the car is ahead of you?

2) after over 8 years of commuting through the centre of Bolton and into Manchester am I desensitised to close passing and risks? I generally only notice these days if there's likelyhood of actual impact, either a car pulling out, cutting across, crushing me into some other mass or just aiming at me.

I think it is probably both but as you are I think relatively new to bike commuting I would be interested in your view. Whilst I am apparently oblivious to half of what is going on about me, I think my ability to read the road and traffic - 6th sense - and the way I ride in traffic has improved with experience. Traffic conditions have certainly not improved and most recently I tend to be riding at the busiest times but, other than t-boning a Renault Espace that ran a red a few weeks ago, I have not had a collision in over 5 years. I was however knocked off my bike 5 times in the first 3 years, which included 3 trips over the top of bonnets and, in one case, over the roof of a car - never seriously injured, thankfully.

Anyway, my little camera came this morning so I'll see what it shows up.

Ibbots

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Hi Ibbots.

Oh dear, perhaps I should worry about the Kevin videos. I'll remove then if he gets angry.

I actually posted a message on Facebook today saying how pleasant the rides to and from work were because I didn't encounter a single problem with any driver, so your close pass must not have been close enough to worry me.

You ask some interesting questions and ones that I have asked myself a lot. I find the videos most useful for learning purposes, both from my own analysis and from other people's comments. However, there are several reasons, which I have tried to summarise here.

I tend to be quite critical before posting my videos, but in many cases, the pass was worse than it looks on the video. Many of my "close pass" posts are of cars that passed too close unnecessarily; either there was another lane available that they didn't use, or there was lots of space in the same lane, which they didn't use. Some of them are just ridiculous, though this is a smaller proportion. I would like to get another camera and, like others here, have a rear mounted one as well, but I really can't justify it at the moment.

I'd be interested to see your experiences, though, now that you also have a camera.

 

[Ibbots]

Hi Mr Grumpy

Thanks for the reply, interesting comments on your blog about reasons for filming. I thought my reasons for getting a camera were simpler, evidence if necessary and filming the odd off road charge. That said someone cut me up today close to home and having the film to post on You Tube was satisfying - not that it'll do me any goodin the long run, managed to delete it by accident trying to figure out my channel! It's all been a little traumatic, but here's my link should you be interested in future efforts

http://www.youtube.com/user/AntIbbots

Ibbots

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

That said someone cut me up today close to home and having the film to post on You Tube was satisfying

That's a particularly bad left hook for your first post!

You clearly paid more for your camera than I did for mine. The quality looks pretty good.

 

[Ibbots]

That's a particularly bad left hook for your first post!

You clearly paid more for your camera than I did for mine. The quality looks pretty good.

Thanks for the comment on you tube, I am surprised there's interest in my postings. Had a worse event this morning but unfortunatley I am having some problem getting the mount set up right and the camera was pointing at the sky most of the way in this morning.


Camera is a £100 Dogcam Bullet HD. Very small and decent rechargeable battery which is why I picked it instead of say the Tachyon MicroXC. Comes with lots of mounting options although, as noted above, I am still struggling to get it set up right. Battery last over 1 1/2 hours and charges in minutes, jury still out on useability eg it's very difficult to tell if it is recording.