Tales from today's commute....

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MrGrumpy

Huge Member
Location
Fly Fifer
A soggy ride in so broke out the winter commuter with full mudguards. I was catching another cyclist on a two way cycle lane on a raised pavement right next to the A13. He was riding in a perfectly straight line so had no qualms about going past, he suddenly veered right towards me,

Did you not shout or ring the bell before over taking :eek: I assume there was some avoidance going on ?
 
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@MrGrumpy very rarely does anyone around these parts ring or shout to overtake as there are so many cyclists and people expect to get overtaken. I had been following the guy for a while he was riding straight as a arrow in the wet so from behind looked like a savvy regular commuter who should not be alarmed at all by a overtake, if he had wandered about swerving to miss minor imperfections in the path etc I would have had alarm bells ringing and dinged my bell/coughed etc at him from a appropriate distance. Nowadays with the advent of unrestricted e-bikes and e-scooters banging down the cycle paths at 30mph I expect overtakers to appear out of the woodwork at any second ( defo never had a e-scooter bod ring a bell at me)
 

Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
Great school run in the morning on the school bikes.

However this afternoon was sullied by a local council worker parking his van on double yellows and over the dropped kerb. When I asked him to move he refused, leaving us no option but to step out onto the main road. But that wasn’t going to happen so I stood my ground and carried on badgering him. He said the traffic warden said it was fine. It was only when I started filming him while asking him to confirm this BS story, clarify his name and explain how pushchairs and wheel chairs could also hope to get past he gave in.

I rung the local council office and explained the embarrassing situation. They were very apologetic and have promised a phone call from the Town Clerk in the morning.

I shouldn’t have to get involved in a confrontation with another adult and speak to him like a child to ensure the safety of my daughter and myself. We have a right to use the highway safely and legally and if someone is going to break the law I’m going to sound off.
 
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Jenkins

Legendary Member
Location
Felixstowe
Very wet on the way in this morning, but no problems as virtually no traffic at 6am around here and a good drying unit to get everything (including shoes) dry for home time.

However I went to get the bike out of the lock-up to go home and found a flat rear tyre. Whipped the wheel off and back into the locker room where I keep a pump, patches and tyre levers, out with the tube and ... nothing. no leak found at all. put the tube back in, pumped it up to around 80 psi, still nothing, disconnected the pump and instant deflation! Tube back out and it turned out that the valve stem had detached itself from the tube and was made worse when I pulled the pump head off the valve, so it was back out to the bike and retrieved the spare tube from the saddle pack. All fitted and ready for home about 15 minutes later than expected.
 

lazybloke

Considering a new username
Location
Leafy Surrey
Not my best commuting today.

Expectation: glorious sunshine and empty roads for the last day of school hols.

Reality: heavy rain this morning. Traffic jams this evening and usual careless drivers. Plus a puncture on the way home (when already late).

Other pertinent info: Sunset somehow feels suspiciously early at the moment.

Diagnosis: Denial (of summer drawing to a close).

Worse to come tomorrow, probably.
 

Zanelad

Guru
Location
Aylesbury
I got caught out in some proper rain this morning. Boo. Has the odd light shower, but if rain is forecast I usually take the car or the bus. Mind you, the very close and very bright rainbow that greeted me when I opened the front door should have been a bit of a clue.

Note to self, look out of the window before deciding on which means of transport to use to get to work.

My clothes are hanging up and should be dry by 14.30 ( I hope). Wet lycra seems as pleasant to put on as wet neoprene.
 

dhd.evans

Veteran
Location
Dundee
Gave the steed a good ol' clean last night, drove off all the muck, grime and grease with Morgan Blue cleaner (FYI, it is the dogs bollocks for cleaning stuff).

This morning some interesting 'clackety clack' noises from the chain. Sounded like a couple of links snagging but can't pinpoint the issue. Will take it into the LBS for a quick check over...
 

Arjimlad

Tights of Cydonia
Location
South Glos
Reported a close pass and a persistent determined mobile phone addict from today's ride to work. The Audi was followed by a motorcyclist who rev-bombed me whilst gesturing at the gutter. Otherwise a nice sunny 12 miles to work!
IMG_20190905_095615.jpg
 

Sixmile

Veteran
Location
N Ireland
What an absolutely horrid commute last night. Freezing rain and wind in the face for an hour. It didn't help that I'd taken the fat bike to work, which is grand in the mornings when it's mostly a downhill float into the city. On the way home it's uphill and much harder work, but manageable on a decent day. On a heavy cold windy evening though, I now know it's brutal. The only silver lining is that last night, i arranged to collect up my regular commuter bike as it was in getting some tlc including new SKS guards.

So this morning, I completed my first ever bike ride with full mudguards and even without overshoes my feet were dry. Why wasn't I told about these things sooner?! :laugh:
 

dhd.evans

Veteran
Location
Dundee
Two near misses in one week on the same junction and road - should i changed my route to compensate?



Edit: Admittedly, before someone points it out, i was doing a 'fair lick'. Minimum of 28mph here.
 
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C R

Guru
Location
Worcester
First time with long sleeves since spring. Was hoping to keep using short sleeves a while longer, but the temperature has dropped really quickly.
 

Sixmile

Veteran
Location
N Ireland
I'd a ridiculously easy and short 2 mile cross city commute this morning. I'd booked a hotel room and forgot to cancel it which meant after the N Ireland match last night, I'd a sleep in a city centre hotel on my todd. Well, not totally alone, the bike stayed in the room too obviously. ^_^
 
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