Tales from today's commute....

[Bodhbh]

Howling headwind, telegraph cables whistling, leaves and branches blowing all around. Best ride in ages. Sometimes you forget if you didn't have to do this, you'd pay for it anyhow. Beat the 30 quid I spent on a half hours gokarting a month ago by a long shot. More life afferming commutes please!

 

[PJ79LIZARD]

that was another epic adventure, hammering it down like machine gun fire on my face, wind blowing a gud un! roads flooded, drains over flowing, one junction I had to guess where the kerb would be as I couldnt see the pavement, luckily my foot found the top of the kerb, or I would have been shin high in shite! altura night vision gloves held up til about 8 mile in. but still kept my hands warm. waterproofs did there job so all in all wasnt too bad

 

[subaqua]

headwind all the way home. Tooley street was interesting. a headwind and then gusts between the More London buildings pushing me diagonally. the shard doesn't help as it channels the wind down a strange way

 

[Nocode]

Crazy headwind on the way home! Ouch, felt like I was cycling through treacle at points.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Crazy headwind on the way home! Ouch, felt like I was cycling through treacle at points.

Same here, was murder in Leicester tonight, didn't matter which direction I headed, wind seemed to be pushing me back.

 

[ianrauk]

Very tough ride home this evening, Can't remember as strong winds on my commute like tonight.
Though I did sneak in an extra couple of miles tailwind riding, the headwind to get there was worth it...

 

[Darcy]

My commute was by car, but whilst stuck in traffic noticed a bloke on an all white bike. White frame, white cables, white handle bar tape, white tyres no branding or go faster stripes. I think I like it!

 

[Hacienda71]

Apart from the normal silly Strava racing, I had a run with a middle aged lady who decided to drive at me at a junction where I had right of way, she then blew her horn, swore, gesticulated and then drove about 6 inches from me. I decided for the first time in my 38 years of cycling that was too much of an invasion of my personal space and gave her car a bit of a firm slap. Caught her up at the next set of lights. She was still gesticulating and shouting at me so I told her in what was quite a restrained way considering the circumstances that she should read the procreating highway code.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Powered by porridge instead of petrol today, ride in with a tail wind was good and quick, ride home was hard and slow, head wind most of the way, when I was catching the wind from the side it was shaking the handlebars and pushing the bike sideways, I'm sure that at times I was travelling sideways more than forward, when the wind was in my face I was flat out but not going very fast, sometimes almost stopping, the good thing was that the rain didn't arrive till after I got home.

 

[martint235]

Quite a nice run in again today. Operation Kalm is still working although I did curse under my breath a couple of times, once at a driver who suddenly appeared on my right hand side at some traffic lights. My 6th sense kicked in and told me he wasn't going to be turning right but would be racing me into the pinch point opposite. I let him get on with it. The other was an RLJ.

On that note, in a completely unscientific experiment, I saw 2 cyclists on my route this morning (that's a lot, I can go a week with no one!) and both RLJ'd. So that makes 66% of cyclists between Welling and Croydon RLJ.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Last nights ride home in pouring rain and I see more cyclists than in the dry, is it that the hosepipe ban still on and we're all trying to wash our bikes or what!

 

[Beebo]

As i rode through Deptford/Rotherhithe this morning i passed 4,000 commuter miles for the year! I am now at 4,003.75 miles.
My mileage target is broken with a whole month to go.

 

[Edwards80]

Tailwind all the way home last night. Should have been a flyer. 17mph - It was basically a 10 mile filter through traffic.

Strangely lots and lots of cars moved out of the way as I was filtering, guessing they think anyone on a bicycle in that weather must be nuts

Colleague who drives the same route said she got home at 7. I was home for 18:40 and I played badminton after work

 

[Graham]

Lovely ride in today until I got to the big roundabout in Manchester city centre on the A56 (you know, with the old church next to it where the traffic goes through the middle). Rollling gently up to the lights (which were red), some middle aged woman decides that she's still got to get past me - Front passenger side wing slides up my leg (to push me to one side) and then hits me with the wing mirror for good measure. Then starts shouting at me through the windscreen. Thought I was restrained with my language and only called her stupid beach twice. And before someone says it, "yes", I had taken a decent primary.

200 yards later, I indicate and move into the right hand lane to turn right (on to Deansgate Locks) and black BMW 3 series man comes steaming up behind me beeping his horn - obviously annoyed that I was in his lane when he wanted to do 50 in a 30 - Again, red lights and queing traffic in front of him.

Thanks to the fellow Orbea rider for the moral support at the roundabout. Who I'd also drafted from Old Trafford

Oh and I can definitely recommend Bontrager RLX split finger gloves - Incredibly warm - I had to switch to my Endura Strikes part way through. Got them off ebay for £20. Although they have not been tested in the wet yet - I'll leave someone else to do that!

 

[400bhp]

Avoid that r'about mate - feckin awful.