Tales from today's commute....

[spen666]

decided to take rest of the week off from cycling. Coming home last night cycling up a tight road cars either side of me car decided it was going push through leaving me about 2 inches of clearence so of course being the south london chap I am I called him something that rhyms with runt. True to name guy folllowed me up the road reving his engine and trying to push me off the road using his car as a weapon pushing his engine in front of my bike swearing etc. So i got off the road and cycled on the pavement which seemed to annoy him more. Came to the end of the road must have thought I was going to turn left as he turned left sitting there swearing at me offering me out for a fight. I waited till traiffic built up behind him and turned right. Off to shop this weekend will be buying metal ulock fed up with these pillocks at least the ulock will give me something to fight back withS

Some people allegedly used to have a water bottle filled with paint stripper or similar and spray offending car with "water" before cycling off. Obviously they were long gone before motorist realised what had happened

 

[spen666]

Sorry to hear that - sounds like the usual pathetic, irrationally-angry smallman routine.

Have you considered getting a camera? I'm immensely triggered by interactions like this and was considering that the knowledge I could send the footage to the Police and potentially earn some repercussions for the driver might attenuate my reaction in the heat of the moment..

Good shout. I have both a front and rear camera to use as evidence if needed. Most days I never even bother to look at footage and as it loop records, no need to do anything. It did prove its worth when I was involved in an accident as it proved exactly what happened and motorist's insurers admitted liability immediately

 

[biking_fox]

Surprisingly (nice) large number of cyclists about this week, don't know what's brought them all out. Don't even look like students for the start of term. However much as I generally support cycling I did meet two of the largest idiots I've seen (possibly ever). Well after ark, no lights riding in the middle of the lane counterflow on the wrong side of the road - hardly a quiet road either, just happened to be a gap in the traffic.

 

[spen666]

After the unpleasant incident mark had to deal with last night, I am pleased to say I had a lovely commute to my workplace ( home) this morning, sun just up, air fresh, temperature perfect for riding etc
In fact I had quickly checked my work laptop before setting off and saw a couple of emails I could easily respond to. So my boss thinks I was working before 0600 this morning - win win

 

[wafter]

Good shout. I have both a front and rear camera to use as evidence if needed. Most days I never even bother to look at footage and as it loop records, no need to do anything. It did prove its worth when I was involved in an accident as it proved exactly what happened and motorist's insurers admitted liability immediately

Cheers - what sort of cameras do you use? How's the battery life?

I was idling browsing Gopro Hero 5's but the battery life seems a bit short at 2ish hrs on 1080..

 

[spen666]

Cheers - what sort of cameras do you use? How's the battery life?

I was idling browsing Gopro Hero 5's but the battery life seems a bit short at 2ish hrs on 1080..

on front I have cycliq 12 with battery life of 8 hours without light on and 4-6 hours with light on as well


On rear I use Garmin Varia 715 which is light / radar / camera and not sure of battery life, but its easily well over 4 hours

I have used Cycliq Fly 6 as well and as a camera / light it was excellent

 

[fossyant]

Surprisingly (nice) large number of cyclists about this week, don't know what's brought them all out. Don't even look like students for the start of term. However much as I generally support cycling I did meet two of the largest idiots I've seen (possibly ever). Well after ark, no lights riding in the middle of the lane counterflow on the wrong side of the road - hardly a quiet road either, just happened to be a gap in the traffic.

Nice weather and students are the answer. Loads this morning.

 

[Arjimlad]

decided to take rest of the week off from cycling. Coming home last night cycling up a tight road cars either side of me car decided it was going push through leaving me about 2 inches of clearence so of course being the south london chap I am I called him something that rhyms with runt. True to name guy folllowed me up the road reving his engine and trying to push me off the road using his car as a weapon pushing his engine in front of my bike swearing etc. So i got off the road and cycled on the pavement which seemed to annoy him more. Came to the end of the road must have thought I was going to turn left as he turned left sitting there swearing at me offering me out for a fight. I waited till traiffic built up behind him and turned right. Off to shop this weekend will be buying metal ulock fed up with these pillocks at least the ulock will give me something to fight back with.

Nasty stuff, hope you are OK. Cameras - this sort of idiocy makes them look very sheepish in court if they're dumb enough to defend it, and some of these are really that dumb.

 

[wafter]

on front I have cycliq 12 with battery life of 8 hours without light on and 4-6 hours with light on as well


On rear I use Garmin Varia 715 which is light / radar / camera and not sure of battery life, but its easily well over 4 hours

I have used Cycliq Fly 6 as well and as a camera / light it was excellent

Thanks!

The cycliq seems to be the default choice but a bit spendy for my pockets.

Will give it some thought though as the need for one only seems to increase..

 

[Arjimlad]

Thanks!

The cycliq seems to be the default choice but a bit spendy for my pockets.

Will give it some thought though as the need for one only seems to increase..

DJI Osmo will probably be my next camera but for now a Drift Ghost XL with 2015 firmware has been very useful for many years. They're fairly cheap secondhand - if you can find one on CEX it'll come with a warranty. The 2015 firmware seems to be the most stable/reliable/best for image quality. Very good battery life - 7-9 hours or so. Can be fitted on the bars with a standard tripod bush mount adapter or stuck on the side of a helmet.

 

[spen666]

Thanks!

The cycliq seems to be the default choice but a bit spendy for my pockets.

Will give it some thought though as the need for one only seems to increase..

I have nothing bad to say about the cycliq. It gives a great picture quality, long record time, and with a good light built in, its 2 items in one, so less handlebar furniture.
It is pricey, but I value my safety that highly and want a device I can rely on, if I (unfortunately) need it

The 2 cameras I use , especially the rear radar & camera give me a lot of peace of mind and the rear Garmin came about as a result of PTSD therapy after an accident

 

[cyberknight]

Off to work in a few minutes with heavy rain forecast for around midnight so i made sure i have the coat and extra gloves packed .

 

[fossyant]

The wind had definately picked up for the ride home, with a few spots of rain. Tough ride home (also generally tired by Thursday)

 

[HLaB]

I've got away with working from home the last two weeks but I'm in the office today, what a difference in lighting levels in the last few weeks. The drizzle made it extra gloomy. I'm glad I strapped on my front light last night. It was a bit busier too, probably all the fair weather and light commuter's back in their cars.

A bit of an annoyance but my route with a good tail wind doesn't necessitate it, my Varia wasn't detecting cars only it's light was working. 5 mins down the road I realised why. The Garmin 130+ had been off for a few weeks so I left before a radar and ant+ fix. Sure enough when I stopped the ride at the station and saved it, the ant+ sensors were detected.

Oh and I set everything out last night for a quick get away, apart from socks 🤦‍♂️ Thankfully the pair on the clothes rack were dry so I didn't have to spend anytime routing around for them.

Oh and I'll want the radar at night to turn right on the urban dual carriageway that is London Road. The configuration of the traffic lights mean I have to slot in early to the outside lane and folk will be trying to overtake at speed, so its good to have a situational awareness of what is there without having to constantly turn round until my actual manoeuvre.

 

[fossyant]

I bet you noticed the change in light levels. It's enough over a weekend (I WFH Mon and Friday, so those 4 days are noticeable. Going to be very strange going on holiday for 10 days next weekend, and coming back to clock's going back. Slightly lighter mornings, but dark at home time.