Tales from today's commute....

[Arjimlad]

I set off home on Friday and found my front tyre was utterly flat !

Feeling round the tyre I couldn't find anything so replaced the inner tube. When I got home I found that the tube was an original from 2011 and it had just given up at the joint between the valve and the rubber.

This morning, before leaving home I did remember to put a new inner tube in my saddlebag.

 

[Gains84]

I left in beautiful, but brisk sunshine, then out in the sticks the mist/freezing fog decended and hung around through the next couple of towns i go through and by the time i got to work glad to have layered up and have my waterproof jacket on! Glad i still had all the lights on the bike too, roll on the bright warm ride home!

 

[HLaB]

Cold wet misty ride for me this morning, looks beautiful now its burnt off but I'm in the office :-/

 

[Panter]

Shame the kids are back now, the roads are back to being chaotic.
Couldn't win with clothing this morning, arrived at work dripping with sweat but frozen!

 

[fossyant]

Lovely out this am. First day back after a week off. Ruined by some stupid woman in a Fiesta. Had a stupid pull out from a side road, I was doing over 20 mph, and had a choice of through the rear window or overtake between the car and a traffic island. I swore a little. Driver then stayed behind me for about half a mile.

Unfortunately for her, I caught her up in traffic a mile later. I stopped, and started to thank her for her silly driving and I had two kids and was trying to get to work without being killed. Got the 100 mile stare until I said, 'So you are ignoring me like you did when you pulled out'. She eventually wound the window down and said - well you can quess - SMIDSY !

"What !" I said, "me dressed like this in bright red and I've got my lights on. What if I'd been a 38 ton truck, you'd be dead". All she said was, SMIDSY again and again. Unbelieveable.

Another can't be ar5ed driver. I'm going to ebay purchase some heat seeking missiles !

 

[Bazzer]

Cars covered in ice when I left this morning. Had planned on a middle section faster than normal, but there must have been a communication breakdown betwixst brain and legs as the latter pretty much disregarded all calls for more power, except on easy (legs read this as downhill), sections. Lovely sunrise though over Manchester on the approach to the city.

Think I shall be bidding against @fossyant for missiles. Nearly taken out by a tosser at a mini roundabout, when it was my right of way. He clearly had no intention of stopping and appeared to revel not only in just missing me, but giving me the V at the same time.

 

[Ciar]

Friday's ride home was awful honestly the wind and my legs just did not want to compute!

where as this morning's ride in was lovely easy going roads pretty clear and sunny, looking forward to the return journey

 

[Exile]

First day on the bike after a week recovering from a badly sprained ankle, so it probably wasn't a good idea to play a bit of SCR, but when there's four other bikes at the lights, these things happen.

I got away well for a fat lad on a CX bike, and just about held my own for the first half mile, but one of them was having none of my shenanigans and swiftly reeled me in, and was all but past me when I turned for work. I guess that's what it feels like when you don't make a break stick

Other than silly racing stuff, the commute was uneventful. Just the way I like 'em.

 

[LoftusRoadie]

One of those mornings when you wear a short sleeved jersey knowing that it will take 30 mins or so before you start to warm up. But if I had worn a long sleeved jersey then i would have been sweltering by the time I got halfway through my commute.
Did it today in 1 hour 29 mins as for me anything anything under 1:30 I consider good going and my legs felt quite heavy this morning. Definitely more people out along the towpath as well.

 

[hedder2212]

Shorts, tshirt and sunglasses weather for me today.
A very nice slow ride into work, 24 miles on canal towpath and half a mile of road.
First time ive really enjoyed riding my bike in a long long time.
Ride home was just the same. Boss let everyone go early. Had 3 punctures but didn't stop smiling just nipped into wilko and got a few spare tubes to carry in the panniers. But another leisurely 24 miles down canal towpath and half a mile of road riding. Love it.

 

[Simontm]

Lovely fast ride home in the sun.
Unfortunately numpty count 3: 1 wvm decided that although he had just turned into the narrow road I was half way down! it was his priority and drove straight at me and I had to pull into side to avoid getting hit. Second was a man pulling out into the middle of the road to try and ride the speed bumps - at the same time I was coming down the hill he was going up Third was a woman pulling out of the Berrylands sewage works who completely missed seeing me as she concentrated on another cyclist
Like I said this morning, you can tell the schools are fully back into the swing of it!

 

[J1888]

Nice both in and coming home - not too many numpties - few RLJers at a set of temporary lights on Wandsworth Rd - going through red and therefore cycling against a single lane of traffic coming from the opposite direction...why you'd do that, I honestly don't know

 

[HarryTheDog]

Windy but quite enjoyable ride home only marred by near death experiences. A young lady running across 3 lanes of moving traffic ( lights hand gone green seconds before) with a baby in her arms straight into my path. Scared the poop out of me as one I was worried about running her and her child over and I had a HGV 6 ft off my rear wheel threatening me with impending doom. Luckily the HGV rider saw her coming before I did so no lorry slamming into the back of me. I was not very polite to the young woman but she just laughed it off.
Then a mature woman tried squishing me by overtaking me and as soon as her bonnet was a foot in front of me indicated left, and immediately turned left. I had to come to a complete halt.
Then coming out of Harold Wood into the country I am sure there was a sign that told drivers, you are now in the countryside, feel free to pass cyclists with only 2 inches to spare because that's all they need.
Still got home grinning.

 

[Tomtrumps]

First ride today after two weeks off due to a problem with my foot, and a pb into work on a glorious morning and a relatively swift ride home in beautiful sunshine. In two weeks it's amazing how many more people were riding, I'd say at least twice as many between Bromley and Lewisham as usual. Being new to this myself I suppose I'm one of the fair weather types!

 

[HLaB]

Exact opposite to this morning's cold and foggy (2deg) commute, tonight was warm and sunny