Tales from today's commute....

[ianrauk]

A cold, bright and dry commute for this morning with a stunning sunrise.
Lovely compared to yesterday evenings wet, dark and grimy ride home.
Rainy commute #3 for the year.
Same period last year. No rainy commutes (no rain reported until early February)

 

[ianrauk]

@HLaB
Looks a different train to your usual.

 

[palinurus]

Forgot to put a shirt in my bag, sitting in the office wearing a fleece over my baselayer.

 

[fossyant]

Forgot to put a shirt in my bag, sitting in the office wearing a fleece over my baselayer.

I've done similar. Got to work, no shirt. Jumped on bike, rode home and rode back. Then someone says why didn't you pop in Asda - doh... It's literally down the road from work and I pass it !

 

[fossyant]

Bailed, took the van. Icy at home, car frozen and road very slippy. Live to fight another day. Not wrecking my year with an accident.

 

[fossyant]

Decision was correct. Colleague in the office has just come in battered and bruised - lost the bike on ice outside work - these roads are gritted.

 

[biking_fox]

No ice here, just a frost. Fine riding. Sun actually above the horizon now as well which is a bonus.

I have a CooSport cadence sensor for xmas. It's just rubbish. I think I've had 1 ride where it's recorded any data. Anyone else ever used these?

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Frosty morning and made stupid decision to go on the normal road bike rather than MTB with ice tyres. Don't ask me why.

Very tentative ride on extremely frosty backroads followed. Beautiful sunrise though.

Should all be melted for return.

 

[HLaB]

@HLaB
Looks a different train to your usual.

Its the one I usually get back it was the train I was getting out before Christmas too. The first stop out of London is Stevenage and it only stops at 4 stations instead of 7 so it tends to be less rammed. Only draw back is that it rarely has cycle storage. In the morning if I get it because it starts in Stevenage, I can walk down the outside of the train and easily get the seat opposite the toilets if I'm early. With it starting in London I usually just get on at the end carriage which tends to be less busy. Occasionally they do put other rolling stock on to with a bike carriage and the end carriage is the bike carriage when they do. I might try getting on the disabled carriage but it stops just by the stairs at a narrow point not ideal for waiting 🤔

 

[wafter]

After the recent mild spell I half-failed to account for today's conditions and made the mistake of wearing lightweight trousers instead of the heavier cotton combats I've come to appreciate in the cold.

A later departure and shorter route appealed for all the usual reasons; "enjoying" shonky cold eggs on dry toast as I unsuccessfully tried to juggle creation of breakfast and lunch whilst getting everything else together.

It looked a bit murky given the light coming through the window but when I got out I could see the sun trying to make it through the thick mist.

A very picturesque morning, although I had neither the time or gear to record any of it. Very cold thanks to the low air temp and lingering moisture; frost on everything and patchy ice on the untreated cycle paths.

I took it very steady and had no real scares although did feel the back kick out a little a couple of times on slow corners. This year marks the most I've ridden in such conditions and while it's been somewhat confidence-inspiring I've very conscious not to get complacent.

Got to work late to a bloody cold office; looks like it'll be home-time before I can feel my feet again. Very much looking forward to getting back down my warm, dark burrow and shutting the world out.

 

[HLaB]

Forgot to put a shirt in my bag, sitting in the office wearing a fleece over my baselayer.

I thought for a moment I'd forgot my boxer shorts in my bag. And thought I'd have to put my work trousers on ontop of the bib longs. Just as I was doing so I remembered where I'd packed the boxer shorts.

I have actually forgotten the boxer shorts in the past but that was over 7 years ago when I had a chronic iron deficiency that made me forget things. Touchwood, I never have once since I got that sorted out.

 

[Arjimlad]

3rd commute and 1st flat , farmer cutting the hedgerows and when I got the wheel back in the brakes are rubbing and couldn't fix it on the road so I had to loosen the brakes and not tighten the QR to much in an attempt to get it so it was rideable. It was raining too so I was in full wet weather gear 😡

Water always seems to make it worse, for getting a flat in the first place and then for standing out in the rain fixing it!

 

[Arjimlad]

Icy today, so the studded tyres went on last night & I added a fleece jumper under my jacket. Popped the heated gloves on too.

HGV driver had attempted a U-turn out of a layby on the opposite side of the road, and had put his cab up on the soft verge and got it utterly stuck. The trailer was blocking all of my side of the A38 and more than half of the opposite side, where drivers were bumping up on the kerb to get around it. I got off and used the pavement to get round before carrying on with my ride on a nearly deserted southbound road.

One close pass to report, he chose the narrowest bit of a narrow bit of road to squeeze past because, well, MGIF, and there's a nice straight wide bit around the bend. Windows open b/c he hadn't bothered to defrost them, so he probably heard my squawk. Avon & Somerset police will take "positive action" of a warning letter, conditional offer of a course, or FPN (without telling me which).

Beautiful sunrise across the fields too.

 

[HLaB]

Decision was correct. Colleague in the office has just come in battered and bruised - lost the bike on ice outside work - these roads are gritted.

OT, My old club up north tends to still go out in numbers and some ride at a good speed when its just below freezing as the roads are treated well. Folk down here never go out, even on gritted roads down here, they're not comprehensively gritted and ungritted road (the majority) are just lethal! Maybe the gritted teams up north are more practiced 🤔

 

[Mazz]

Tiredness, rain forecast all day and yesterday's lacklustre sausage experience made it an easy decision to take the shorter route.

No offence mate, but have you ever thought about changing your avatar to a sausage disappearing up a tube?