fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
You'd never get a push bike or a blimmin pram on our trains. No room, standing only ! Reason for not paying the £10 to get to work.
Tales from today's commute....
- Thread starter martint235
- Start date
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You'd never get a push bike or a blimmin pram on our trains. No room, standing only ! Reason for not paying the £10 to get to work.
I have no choice unless I do a daily round trip of 54 miles.
As I have mentioned before in this thread, the train I get is not usually busy due to it being the slow stopping service. The fast train before is usually standing room only.
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
A bit busy on the first leg of the commute tonight. Amazingly I got on and all the students wanted to stand together rather than taking the empty seats. They all got off at the next station and were replaced hy more students of the same ilk (standing together rather than sitting separately, even when more seats came availableat the next stop).
Andy in Germany
Legendary Member
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
Had an "interesting" conversation with a lady on the train. She started by asking about the Brompton, nothing unusual. Then she asked what my job was.
I'm computer technicians and many other professions have a similar experience: when people hear what my job is, they start telling me their story.
Actually, that's not entirely true, most people go "what?" because almost no-one has heard of my job, but when they hear I work in Psychological health care they start asking questions on behalf of relatives or friends. In this case the lady was telling me her husband is an alcoholic and was asking what she could do.
This would have been fairly poignant and in other cases has led to some pretty rewarding conversations, but in this case... well, let's say I think there was a fair bit of projection going on: I don't think her partner was the only alcoholic in the relationship...
I'm computer technicians and many other professions have a similar experience: when people hear what my job is, they start telling me their story.
Actually, that's not entirely true, most people go "what?" because almost no-one has heard of my job, but when they hear I work in Psychological health care they start asking questions on behalf of relatives or friends. In this case the lady was telling me her husband is an alcoholic and was asking what she could do.
This would have been fairly poignant and in other cases has led to some pretty rewarding conversations, but in this case... well, let's say I think there was a fair bit of projection going on: I don't think her partner was the only alcoholic in the relationship...
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HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
The train was half an hour late, but I go for the one that is 20minutes later which is usually 5 mins faster so I only arrived 15mins late. It was only 6.15pm and the Pottyboro traffic is usually still standstill but tonight beyond the typically congested station carpark & drop-off there was nothing though I had to repeatedly check my rear radar as it was too quiet!
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
A rare dry road commute home. Front tyre was soft after Xmas so I'd pumped it up early last week. Looked a bit soft on the way home so checked when home. 20 PSI (MTB tyre). Should have been 35.
Here we go, one of those hard to find pin pricks. Turned out it was easy. A 15mm thorn.
Here we go, one of those hard to find pin pricks. Turned out it was easy. A 15mm thorn.
markharry66
Guru
coming home last night noticed there is a set of lights which is two lanes which the leads to a single lane which of course leads to carnage as all the drivers fight to get ahead of each other into a single lane. There is a cycle lane either side noticed the traffic is using the bike lanes as extra lane creating two lanes whos best to report this to as its an accident wating to happen.
Your local council.
biking_fox
Legendary Member
- Location
- Manchester
Blustery last night, colder today forecast wet later. Fun time of year. Today's highlight was a right turning woman who beeped at each cyclist who had the priority of way to go straight ahead in front of her.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Uneventful commute again, back to wet roads.
At a junction near work, I filtered down the outside of a queue of cars and passed a female cyclist waiting to turn right. I usually go ahead of the cycle box as the junctions are set far back, and I turn right as soon as the lights change as I'm quicker than the cars can get to the junction. If I don't, it's a few minutes wait until the lights go red. I filtered past, and she said 'are you going right', yes I said. "Oh I am too" she said. I then said, "as soon as the lights go, I turn". Lights changed, whoosh gone. Didn't see her again as she would have been stuck.
It's one of those junctions where it's safer to be ahead of the stop line, but still behind the lights and the junction itself - especially as the cycle boxes are ignored.
At a junction near work, I filtered down the outside of a queue of cars and passed a female cyclist waiting to turn right. I usually go ahead of the cycle box as the junctions are set far back, and I turn right as soon as the lights change as I'm quicker than the cars can get to the junction. If I don't, it's a few minutes wait until the lights go red. I filtered past, and she said 'are you going right', yes I said. "Oh I am too" she said. I then said, "as soon as the lights go, I turn". Lights changed, whoosh gone. Didn't see her again as she would have been stuck.
It's one of those junctions where it's safer to be ahead of the stop line, but still behind the lights and the junction itself - especially as the cycle boxes are ignored.
Arjimlad
Tights of Cydonia
- Location
- South Glos
Yeeps, it was a tough ride home into the wind last night. Had to work for every turn of the cranks.
Somewhat soggy ride in this morning, so I donned a good waterproof and gaiters over my winter boots. Pretty meh all round really, but we keep going and it has to be better than driving.
Somewhat soggy ride in this morning, so I donned a good waterproof and gaiters over my winter boots. Pretty meh all round really, but we keep going and it has to be better than driving.
roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
Got away with a dry interlude this morning, carried home oil in to refil the bottle I keep at work - now depleted after a very wet January on the roads so far.
I really should keep some oil at work- at the very least it will stop me borrowing the, no doubt very expensive, roller bearing lubricant intended for the pick & place robot.
ah but which one looks after the roads ? or is it just Suffolk that has this odd arrangement. the county council are supposed to do the roads, except the bits highways england look after, whilst the local councils pass the buck to the county council
first week back cycling this week, and the first two days, dare I say it I might even have been enjoying it as not much traffic about so no conflict, weather not too bad, apart from one dog walker letting their dark coloured dog walk off the lead on an unlit section of shared path (I avoided it) not much to report.
then came today
firstly the weather, rain, albeit not torrential but enough to give you a soaking,and a stonking head wind, which I had to basically ride the whole way into, and then due to the weather 2-3 times more traffic on the road, and boy did it feel like being a fish in a barrel surrounded by people with pointy sticks.
I hadnt even got 1/4 of a mile from my doorstep, and Id already had a taxi punish pass me, with the passenger rolling down the window (giving it was bucketing down they werent taking in the glorious weather) giving me some verbals, for simply existing I think as I hadnt done anything but ride along my road, they then turned almost immediately into the nearby doctors surgery, and I had half a mind to follow them, and give some verbals back.
but I didnt, however that adrenalin rush caused me to up the pace way into the red zone into this head wind and I was absolutely wrecked before too long, however the continued close passing from motorists at least gave me something other to think about than my legs and bursting lungs.
I genuinely dont think a single driver that passed me today, chose to give me space, by that I mean none of them went oh look a cyclist theyve got lights, hi viz, this weathers quite bad Ill give them some space.
those that gave me any space, almost all were in reaction to me getting close passed by the car in front of them, me waving my arm or various appendages, at that car driver who had close passed me, and them probably then noticing my pass pixi sign.
I even had a learner driver do a pass which was marginal, but maybe better than what everyone else was capable of doing, but as soon as they were barely past, chopped straight back in front of me.
then when I goto work found the heating in the changing rooms was broken, or some daft idiot has somehow managed to open the fanlights, so nothing was going to dry in there today and I had to have bits of kit placed strategically under my desk to make best use of the office heating.
at least the wind was with me on the way home and it wasnt raining, roads still full of crazy drivers though.
then came today
firstly the weather, rain, albeit not torrential but enough to give you a soaking,and a stonking head wind, which I had to basically ride the whole way into, and then due to the weather 2-3 times more traffic on the road, and boy did it feel like being a fish in a barrel surrounded by people with pointy sticks.
I hadnt even got 1/4 of a mile from my doorstep, and Id already had a taxi punish pass me, with the passenger rolling down the window (giving it was bucketing down they werent taking in the glorious weather) giving me some verbals, for simply existing I think as I hadnt done anything but ride along my road, they then turned almost immediately into the nearby doctors surgery, and I had half a mind to follow them, and give some verbals back.
but I didnt, however that adrenalin rush caused me to up the pace way into the red zone into this head wind and I was absolutely wrecked before too long, however the continued close passing from motorists at least gave me something other to think about than my legs and bursting lungs.
I genuinely dont think a single driver that passed me today, chose to give me space, by that I mean none of them went oh look a cyclist theyve got lights, hi viz, this weathers quite bad Ill give them some space.
those that gave me any space, almost all were in reaction to me getting close passed by the car in front of them, me waving my arm or various appendages, at that car driver who had close passed me, and them probably then noticing my pass pixi sign.
I even had a learner driver do a pass which was marginal, but maybe better than what everyone else was capable of doing, but as soon as they were barely past, chopped straight back in front of me.
then when I goto work found the heating in the changing rooms was broken, or some daft idiot has somehow managed to open the fanlights, so nothing was going to dry in there today and I had to have bits of kit placed strategically under my desk to make best use of the office heating.
at least the wind was with me on the way home and it wasnt raining, roads still full of crazy drivers though.
