Tales from today's commute....

[roubaixtuesday]

Freezing cold; soaking wet.

Much improved on the way home - cold; wet.

 

[blackrat]

Thanks both

I do have the luxury of taking the tow / cycle paths both in and out but I like to take the road in one direction to avoid things becoming overly stagnant. That said the road also takes me past the shop of perpetually-piss-poor parking, which is even more infuriating since I've emailed the council maybe five times in less than two weeks with supporting photographic evidence of why they need to get a traffic warden out here regularly, and they've not even bothered to respond.

While it shouldn't be the case we all know that simply daring to venture onto the roads at all will bring us into contact (hopefully not literally) with an inevitable amount of bellends. Really I'm lucky compared to some (yourself included judging by the mugging risk ) in that people round here are generally OK and I think there are a lot of cyclists in my area given its location / distance from the city centre... but of course it only takes one muppet to ruin one's day.

Really today's road-based complaints were small fry; just very unwelcome on top of everything else.



Thanks - glad to hear it

I appreciate your concern but it is what it is... nothing to be done and it would be unreasonable for everyone to all be having a great day all of the time!

I believe that how one is able to overcome the crap that the outside world dishes out is mainly a factor of how much control one has over one's daily existence. If we are in control, top of the pile, nothing can upset us, if we are subject to the whims of others, almost every little niggle can become a major negative downer. I also believe that if we are peons in our work, a positive life outside work where we are respected and where we make a difference, is essential. An upbeat attitude and an understanding that employers are a bunch of prats, helps.

 

[HLaB]

Almost daylight this morning which I maybe could have done without. It meant the temperature had dropped and it was on the edge of frosty so I was a bit cautious out of the estate. The estate actually seemed busy with traffic or maybe it was because I was slower. Once out though I got most of the traffic lights on half empty roads, except the toucan crossing of the dual carriageway which had little but though traffic that peds trying to cross without pushing the button had got caught. If they had pressed it I would have been green all the way and they wouldn't have become stuck!

 

[ianrauk]

No rain. I got soaked again on last nights commute home. Rain's been replaced with cold, blue, sunny skies. Half term too so both train and roads not so busy. The only thing blighting the ride in was that cold headwind.

 

[biking_fox]

Clear frosty morning, thought I'd take the SS in on the empty half-term roads. Mostly I ride on M+ commuter, and don't think about tyres. Forgot how much more effected the SS is when the tyres are just a little soft. Stopped half way in to get them properly hard, makes a huge difference. Fun after that.

 

[wafter]

Thankfully a far better ride than yesterday - left late but feeling OK despite the usual sleep deficit.

The morning was cold but gloriously sunny, the apparant remnants of grit on the road reminding me to take it steady.

Maintained an uncharacteristically high speed in despite the partial headwind, thankfully encountering no proper bellends on the roads.

My resolve faltered in the face of today's absolutely sublime sausages; scoring three and a big bag of proper pork scratchings.

Left the covered market three minutes after tow-path-curfew but took that route anyway hoping that the wind would assist my swift egress from the city.

Turns out that wasn't really the case but had a relatively nice ride anyway, cutting it short and taking one of the more recently discovered routes to work and arriving just on time to a thankfully closed and warm office.

Think I've just spotted a treecreeper out the window too - I'm very grateful for the world looking very different to how it did this time yesterday...

 

[fossyant]

WFH again, full of a cold. Wouldn't have ridden as it's icy anyway. Got to drive in tomorrow as daughter needs a lift, so hopefully above zero for Thursday. Got to test out the re-greased headset and new front straddle wire.

 

[cyberknight]

Got the bike out and managed maybe 1/4 mile to a junction where I found out my brake pads had glazed so I braked and kept going.i tried adjusting but they were rubbing but still had no power so I had to turn around and get the car 😕

 

[EltonFrog]

I dip into this thread from time to time, and I’m genuinely in awe of how you all do it day in, day out. The frustrations, the tiny triumphs, the full emotional rollercoaster that comes with a cycling commute — you lot document it better than any documentary ever could.

At the risk of sounding a bit soft, you really are heroes in your own way, keeping roofs over your heads and food on the table while dodging potholes, weather systems, and the occasional motorist who appears to be navigating via echolocation.

I’ve never had a proper cycling commute myself, and honestly, when I read some of the stories on here, I’m not entirely sure whether to applaud you or wrap you all in bubble wrap.

Massive respect to every one of you.