Tales from today's commute....

[Jenkins]

Missed a couple of days this week as I was working away - beautiful cold, crisp mornings which would have been perfect for a ride, but the traffic on the A41 around Bicester...

Back to normal today however - more rain on the way in and a stiff North Westerly on the way home. Need to change the brake blocks yet again thanks to the cr4p state of the roads.

 

[cosmicbike]

Really quite chilly this morning when I left home at 0530hrs. At least it was dry though, which doesn't look like it's going to be th ecase come going home time

 

[Bazzer]

Better than rain, but not by much.
First 8 or so miles, the roads were untreated and what patches were not ice, were covered in a layer of frozen snow. Also got caught in a hail shower. Once on suburban roads there was a noticeable increase in temperature and although the snow still remained, it was much softer and due to traffic, was forming slush on the roads. The overwhelming majority of traffic either accepted or appreciated why I was cycling in the channel created by car tyres and gave me plenty of room as they passed. But had a couple of dickheads, a lorry driver in particular who didn't give me room and whose tyres ran straight through the slush in the middle of the lane, with the inevitable splashing.

 

[Arjimlad]

Ice ice baby !

Lovely sunny morning but very glad of the Schwalbe winter studs. Sometimes you get forced onto the icy bits by oncoming cars. Came a cropper at this spot a couple of years ago.

 

[si_c]

Steady run in this morning, most of the way in was treated, but there were a couple of roundabouts with a lot of ice in the gutter, and the last section downhill into work I was mostly riding on a thick half-refrozen slush.

 

[palinurus]

Crunchy studded tyre commute today (only really needed for the first bit where I cut through some minor roads though)

 

[Dec66]

Bright and sunny, if chilly, ride in this morning, enlivened by a nobber in an M-Class Merc on Denmark Hill, who pulled across me to turn right from the opposite side of the road, without looking, whilst on his phone, as I was descending. The crisp morning air was shattered by working class Merseyside invective.

Having spent ages ripping up the roads around Dulwich Village, it seems that TFL and/or Southwark Council have got a bit bored, so they are doing it again. This means that both my routes home (the other being through Forest Hill) now have road closures on them. This is rather irksome.

 

[KneesUp]

Swapped wheels before setting off - slicks for 'mud' tyres because we live at the bottom of a short steep hill that becomes a long steep hill downwards to the main road once you get to the top, and the whole lot was covered in snow that had frozen then got fresh snow on top before just begining to melt.

It would have been quicker to just walk to the main road as everywhere else is fine. Enjoyed the buzz of tread blocks on tarmac for the first five minutes.

 

[Tom B]

Not today's commute but last week decided to take the scenic route home which takes me over a golf course (via paths and roads) and into the sheep fields and onto a bridleway. Half way along the path turns into a road for access to a house, halfway along this driveway, is a gate to keep the golfers off the sheep field. The gate is kept closed.

As I approached a horse rider was remounting her nag, upon seeing me she moved to the middle of the road and stuck her crop out. As I approached she bengan shouting at me to "slow down you ignorant person" "give me some space" etc etc. I told her that i didnt speak English (my standard response) and carried on, as she continued to gob off looking behind her as her horse walked off onto the golf course.

Now the surface of the road is full of gritty gravel, off camber and I was approaching a dead stop on skinnyish wheels. Fast i was not. I've just had a look at the GPS track which shows that I slowed from 19mph to 9mph, then as i approached the gate 4mph! I think this was perfectly acceptable and i've ridden a fair few horses.

I wonder if crazy horselady moves closer to joggers and screams at them to slow down? I think the horse was more likely to by put on edge and spooked by her anxious state and yelling! Rather than my 9mph decreasing to 4mph speed.

 

[Hop3y]

I opted to walk after getting stuck on the M65 last night.

 

[Tom B]

I put the snow tyres on! I cycled to work. Best twenty quid ice spent.

 

[skudupnorth]

No snow tyres for me.... actually no gears either

 

[Dec66]

Oh, this is marvellous... Second near miss in one day, this time coming down Westwood Hill from Crystal Palace, private hire driver in a black Zafira, pulled out from the kerb, no signal, and obviously no checking the mirror as he pulled out right in front of me.

I fear The Reaper is hovering.

 

[si_c]

Got a bit wet on the way in this morning. Also had a convoy of white vans go past, none of which gave me more than about 18" space. Bellends.

 

[Leaway2]

A strong head wind all the way. Strength sapping.