Thanks to the van driver...

[srw]

...who gave us a lift through the flood this morning. We'd already taken one detour because a road was closed, and were looking at the map working out what other road we could take after coming across a rather large puddle. A transit came through it (a Fiat 500 didn't try) and offered us a lift through.

 

[Scoosh]

and van-driver-man !



ps - what were you doing out riding in a flood ???

 

[Spinney]

Last year I came across a flooded road, decided to go for it but waded through carrying the bike (didn't want the chain and mech soaked in muddy water!). A van followed me through, past a car in the flooded ditch! Smaller cars were turning back. It was about calf deep - you don't realise how cold the water is until you are about halfway through, when you have little choice but to carry on suffering!

 

[Scoosh]

Last year I came across a flooded road, decided to go for it but waded through carrying the bike (didn't want the chain and mech soaked in muddy water!). A van followed me through, past a car in the flooded ditch! Smaller cars were turning back. It was about calf deep - you don't realise how cold the water is until you are about halfway through, when you have little choice but to carry on suffering!

.. and that's how you become a top cyclist - you 'embrace' the suffering ...


... or so I have read.

 

[Spinney]

.. and that's how you become a top cyclist - you 'embrace' the suffering ...


... or so I have read.

That's me out of the running for 'top cyclist' then!

I can occasionally embrace the suffering of cold feet when novelty demands it - it's the suffering of burning muscles and lungs I tend not to embrace!

 

[Scoosh]

I tend to use the definition that "embrace" = "to keep in their proper place".

 

[Easytigers]

Good on him! last van driver I noticed was the one who shouted "Get a car you pair of tw*t s" at me and my friend the other day when we were cycling in to work. Don't think we were doing anything wrong and I'm sure some people who know us might actually agree but I was a bit miffed!
Good to know there's some decent people out there!

 

[srw]

It was a her, actually.

There's only localised flooding - we were heading down from Buckinghamshire to Guildford, in glorious if slightly chilly sunshine. One of the feeder brooks that eventually become the River Wey was a little full and had decided it would rather use the road than its usual course.

I suspect we could (just) have got through both bits of flooding, albeit at the cost of wet feet. The first was under a railway bridge with an elevated but very narrow footpath - but it was flowing, so was outside my risk appetite. The second was still and probably wouldn't have reached our hubs - but again the risk was too high for me. And we didn't have the option of wading through - the tandem is a little awkward to carry.

 

[Saluki]

What a nice thing to do. Its good to know that there are still some kind people out there.

 

[Scoosh]

Ah - "her" + "tandem" ... sure winner !

 

[ianrauk]

I cycled to Ashford, Kent from home today. The flooding is very extensive. Yalding is completely cut off. Marden and Staplehurst close to being cut off. I decided to get the train part way back is didn't fancy cycling through flood waters again. The view from the train of all the flood water was eye opening. Fields as far as the eye can see are covered in water. I saw a poor horse stranded on a small mound of ground completely surrounded by flood water . I lost count of how many cars that had been left stranded.

 

[rvw]

Just to add to the story - what srw didn't say was that the van was, in fact, going the other way. In order to give us a lift, amd having already driven through the water once, she had to turn round, collect us, drive through again, stop to let us out, turn again and then drive through the water a third time. That's a lot of faffing just to help out two strangers!

 

[steveindenmark]

Just to add to the story - what srw didn't say was that the van was, in fact, going the other way. In order to give us a lift, amd having already driven through the water once, she had to turn round, collect us, drive through again, stop to let us out, turn again and then drive through the water a third time. That's a lot of faffing just to help out two strangers!

That is excellent. I would have kissed her.

Steve

 

[srw]

On the return journey today we simply headed up the main road and kept our fingers crossed. There were a far few big puddles along the whole route. We managed to time lunch impeccably - the heavens opened as we arrived in Datchet and we sheltered under the eaves of a fine wine merchant (naturally) to avoid some enormous hail and thunderstorms. Just round the corner a convenient coffee shop provided sustaining and warming refreshment. The next band of rain hit us just north of Slough, but it was fairly light. Our final country road included one road-wide puddle, but since it's a road I know well and was only 3 miles from home we just ploughed on through.

That's 77 miles done by the end of the 3rd of January.

 

[binsted]

Same sort of thing happened to me, cycling home in torrential rain and a BT van pulled alongside and asked if I would like a lift. As I was close to home I declined but there are still some decent folks out there.

EDIT: I guess this is a rare occurrence as peeps are paranoid about CRB checks and the possibility of an act of kindness being misinterpreted as something more sinister.