Tales from today's commute....

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

donnydave

Über Member
Location
Cambridge
Commute wasn't too bad this morning, I'm giving a friend some lifts to work in the car while he recovers from knee surgery. I accidentally went for the clutch with my left foot, forgetting that my every day car is now an automatic so we both headbutted the dashboard. Saw quite a few cyclists out this morning and it was interesting to see how people dealt with them from the viewpoint of my car instead of on the bike for a change.

It was also good to use the opportunity to explain to my friend some of the pitfalls of the route (same route I take on my bike). He commented on how bad part of the road is getting and I replied that yes its awful and my choice is either go left of the potholes ride an inch from the grass verge or go right of the potholes and ride in the middle of the lane, and then explained the pitfalls of both choices and he did say "hmm never thought about it like that before, its rubbish isn't it!"

By small steps we will hopefully improve the world!

(we did later both cry out "BLOODY CYCLISTS!" at some nutter who hopped off the kerb into our path without looking)
 

jahlive905

Senior Member
Had my first knock off last night. A car ran a red while I was waiting to turn right. I got off lightly, bruised arse and a cut hand. Bike's in worse shape. The derailleur has come apart. Such a bad day for cycling yesterday. Gave it a rest today. Sad.
 

400bhp

Guru
Bus driver decided that, as there was no one around but me, he would pull out from a side road in front of me.

He forgot to think that I may work for the same company and know the specific depot is just round the corner and on my commute in.

I had a polite word with his superiors.
 

Schneil

Veteran
Location
Stockport
I am a firm believer of fight fire with fire in these situations. The majority of the time I let these things go. But if there has been a really shyty incident then I'm not going to go all softly softly.

Of course there are situation's that may call for a softer approach. Where a driver has genuinely made a mistake. But if it's deliberate then they get both barrels.
@ianrauk , thanks for the suppport I actually had second thoughts about posting the incident at all, I was half expecting the first comment to be I was completely wrong to react. I am a small greying cyclist and this seems to make gangs of bloody teenagers want to have a pop as well. Thats where a lot of my trouble on commutes seems to come from.

I've always found these idiots will only be the bully in a fight they think they will win.
You never hear in the press, of a taxi driver having surgery to remove a d-lock from their large intestine, after cutting up a 20 stone ex-paratrooper.....
 

L Q

Über Member
Location
Woodhall Spa
Great ride home tonight, 23 miles and went a different route to normal down some country lanes and not the cycle route.

Had a grand total of zero cars overtake me till I got 1 mile from home. Couldn't believe my luck.
 

13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
Saturday morning commute . Bit Chilly :cold: first thing need longer socks I have a gap between socks and new Aldi long tights mine you still in summer socks. 11 miles through the very quiet villages Anstey to Quorn got overtaken by 3 cars but one was a close pass :angry: on a stretch of s bends . new rechargeable lights gave out 3/4 of the way in but I had the old battery lights as back up . At least I now know how long a charge lasts and how long I got when the warning charge light comes on .
 

RoubaixCube

~Tribanese~
Location
London, UK
Left home around 10am.nice bit of sunshine. A little chilly but things warm up nicely after a 3-5min sprint. Wasnt sure about cycling but i know deep down in my heart that id be looking out the window while at work and wishing i had my bike for the ride home instead of the hot and sweaty rip off tfl tube. London underground us a waste of money when im just a little faster on the same routeon my bike
 

Tin Pot

Guru
Had my first knock off last night. A car ran a red while I was waiting to turn right. I got off lightly, bruised arse and a cut hand. Bike's in worse shape. The derailleur has come apart. Such a bad day for cycling yesterday. Gave it a rest today. Sad.

Bar stewards!

I hope they pay for their crimes.
 

13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
Finished at lunch ride home in glorious sunshine glad I took my shorts with me . 8.6 miles would have been more but sweaty back syndrome got to me I must sort out rack and pannier ruck sack getting on my nerves
 

RoubaixCube

~Tribanese~
Location
London, UK
Commute home was business as usual, two close passes, An idiot cyclist who probably thought he was some pro cyclist overtook and cut across in front of me to turn left without even indicating, He was gone before i could shout "what the f**k do you think you are doing???!!"

Private mini-cab suddenly pulled out and stopped on the bus lane without even sticking his hazard lights on. He was completely stationary. I went past him at 17mph and he went apes**t on the horn, Im not too sure if it was directed at my rather close pass or if he honking to let his passenger know he was ready and waiting. he didnt chase me anyway so i guess it wasnt me he was beeping at.

Saw a few cyclists head to toe in black clothing with a red blinker attached to their rucksack or seatpost that looked so anemic that I could barely see them flash. Neither of these cyclists had front lights. They did have helmets on though, so they we'rent completely stupid - if worst comes to worst at least their heads will be relatively ok upon impact with a windshield, car bonnet or the tarmac - which ever comes first.
 

Shut Up Legs

Down Under Member
I got harassed by police on my ride to work just now. :sad: I was riding in the pre-dawn darkness, with no other vehicles on the road but my bike and the police car, on a road with 2 lanes heading in my direction. I was in the exact middle of the left lane, and as the police car passed me, they used their siren for a second. There was no justification for using it, as I was nowhere near the right lane and was riding perfectly straight. Further evidence (not that I really needed it) that even the police in Australia are biased against cyclists.
 
Top Bottom