Tales from today's commute....

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
A bit of a doh moment this evening. Someone stuck a pointless meeting in my diary for last thing. The organiser was WfH and wouldn't worry but I was in the office, so I was late leaving. I got out to a soft tyre. So I pumped it up with the track pump workstation that came from the old office. The doh moment came a minute later when I realised the pump handle hadn't been re connected to the hose after the move and all I had succeeded in doing was unseating my tyre. Before wasting CO2 cannister I tried my mini pump. Amazingly with some rapid pumps it seated and I was on my way and I managed to catch the train that I was going for.
 
Antoher quiet trip in no one on the road hardly nice sunny start feels like a warm day a head last day cycling as usual Friday work got in the way of cycling. Only managed one full week cycling in this year. Roll on nice sweat bath ride home in 30 plus.
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
A lovely, relatively swift ride in this morning on the Fuji again after leaving a bit late. Despite the shortcomings of its handlebar arrangement in this enviroment it currently remains preferable to the Brompton; whose upright position and less forgiving ride continue to punish my high-mileage arse.

I think I'm going to look to switch to the Fuji full time (until I sort a more urban-appropriate replacement) as this would bring a number of advantages including easing the logistics of moving the bikes around inside the flat if I'm only using one regularly. In which case the Brompton would be rendered largely redundant, so can be cleaned and tucked away somewhere pending the cycling-centric city breaks I'll probably never do..
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Nearly come to blows with an illegal e-bike rider this morning which made for a pleasant commute in. In short, he cut me up at the lights twice. The second time I said what the fek.. he blew up instantly, calling me every name under the sun including the C word.. Of course he got back what he was giving me and more. Effing dick head.
I've had more problems with shoot e-bike riders over the last couple of years then I have had with car drivers over many, many years, it's insane and they are out of control. The sooner hooky e-bikes are banned outright, the better. But we all know that's unenforceable.
 

captain nemo1701

Space cadet. Deck 42 Main Engineering.
Location
Bristol
Nearly come to blows with an illegal e-bike rider this morning which made for a pleasant commute in. In short, he cut me up at the lights twice. The second time I said what the fek.. he blew up instantly, calling me every name under the sun including the C word.. Of course he got back what he was giving me and more. Effing dick head.
I've had more problems with shoot e-bike riders over the last couple of years then I have had with car drivers over many, many years, it's insane and they are out of control. The sooner hooky e-bikes are banned outright, the better. But we all know that's unenforceable.

Saw local ebike 'yoof' in their ninja masks come bombing down the Railway Path here at warp factor ten last night on the way home.
I so want to see 'em getting busted in public. I'd stop & laugh. Overclocked ebikes are a bl**dy nuisance, I agree. Too fast & ridden by moronic A-holes who think they're on a race track. One eejit even tried undertaking me once on the inside at speed....he ended up skidding along the verge, swerving back behind me as a tree came up really quickly!.
 

straas

Matt
Location
Manchester
I absolutely despise the delivery riders on e bikes, undertake you at red lights nearly taking you out only to slow to a crawl 30 seconds later and eventually just stop in the middle of a bike lane to read their mobile.

Go to overtake when they're doing 10mph just to have them accelerate to 30 and pull right at 90 degrees without looking.

Have had choice words with a few of them, get bemused looks in return.
 

katiewlx

Well-Known Member
today seemed very fraught, not sure why, traffic levels werent much different than normal, I was just fending off so many vehicles whose drivers seemed to want to get uncomfortably close, one even made me flinch so it was pretty close, or they were just doing stupid things.

like there was a van blocking my side of the road, and a car coming the other way, so slowed down so that I was moving still but not having to stop & unclip, and the driver behind me decided to overtake, then had to emergency stop infront of me, because oh yes that car coming towards us. another one divebombed me through a roundabout, only to turn at the next right turn.

way home wasnt much better, I had some slow meandering cyclists to deal with, basically just weaving left to right all the time, which doesnt half make it hard to pick a safe point to overtake, at one point one of them veered so far right they got to the middle of the road and I actually thought they were heading to join the cycle path on the right hand side of the road when without warning or signalling they veered suddenly left down a side road instead, they were just I dont know trying to create an angle to the turn or some crazy thing.

then to cap it off just as I got near home Id taken prime to avoid any more surprises for the day as there was lots of queuing traffic about, still had a learner driver and another cyclist pull out in front of me as I approached the exit of a roundabout, so I just went touch wider to pass the cyclist to give them some room, and kept there to avoid some drain covers too, when a driver in a flatbed truck on the opposite side of the road queuing going completely the opposite direction to me, leant out the window and swore at me for riding too far across the road holding up traffic, 5 secs later I catch up with the learner driver again.

apart from that the ride was great I think had tailwinds both ways for a change, must have done coming home as I set a really good time and felt I could push all the way which isnt often the case I find.

looking forward to tomorrow, perhaps.
 
I absolutely despise the delivery riders on e bikes, undertake you at red lights nearly taking you out only to slow to a crawl 30 seconds later and eventually just stop in the middle of a bike lane to read their mobile.

Go to overtake when they're doing 10mph just to have them accelerate to 30 and pull right at 90 degrees without looking.

Have had choice words with a few of them, get bemused looks in return.

They're stuck in a cr*ppy job with no future and possibly less than minimum wage in all weathers, and treated like dirt by their customers who expect everything to be delivered, like, now, or I'll call your boss and get you fired et c...

I agree that's no excuse for breaking road laws, but I see motorists do the same sort of nonsense with much less excuse.
 
2025_07_09_Neckar_valley.jpg


Approaching Rottenburg yesterday evening.
 
Nice warm start, p*ssed off not cycling in tomorrow as wont be cycling this weekend (not by choice). Looking foward to a 99 ice cream on the beach sunday :smile:. No trafffic, slightly earlier start seems to be avoding cock wombles and co. Looking forward to trip home and end to very quiet communting week. Long may it continue.
 

biking_fox

Legendary Member
Location
Manchester
Already really warm. I like to take the SS out on dry roads, but it does need more effort than cruising at low gear, so perhaps should have reconsidered my choice.
 

straas

Matt
Location
Manchester
Bit more of a directive to be in the office at the moment, so using it as an excuse for a few commutes in.

Lots of benefits to WFH, but a big negative has been my huge drop in fitness. Young kids mean weekend or evening rides are difficult and involve planning and negotiations so the commutes were a lifeline for me before covid. I've risen from around 78kg to 95kg+ in the last few years :ohmy:.

Hopefully a few commutes a week will start to reverse the process!
 
Bit more of a directive to be in the office at the moment, so using it as an excuse for a few commutes in.

Lots of benefits to WFH, but a big negative has been my huge drop in fitness. Young kids mean weekend or evening rides are difficult and involve planning and negotiations so the commutes were a lifeline for me before covid. I've risen from around 78kg to 95kg+ in the last few years :ohmy:.

Hopefully a few commutes a week will start to reverse the process!

I have the same problem, less because of lockdown, fortunately I was working throughout, but because my place of work moved from 15km away to less than 1 km. I'm also trying to build up stamina and reduce waitsline.
 
Top Bottom