Tales from today's commute....

[KneesUp]

There's a couple of lights like that near where I live. One set I went through onto the cycle path because it's a small road for access for the houses but then turns into a oneway over a bridge so I would have sat there for hours. These lights. The other is going over another bridge by my house where it seems to pick up bikes riding on the pavement but not bikes riding up to the lights on the road.

It seems like it might be a common complaint. The ones at our supermarket don't detect you on a bike either, although I usually approach that from the other direction. Last time I waited in an empty road (it was about 11pm) for a while before I just went anyway. Only for me to be passed on the inside by a police car ...

 

[Arjimlad]

I had to go in via the DIY shop this morning, which meant a longer ride and busier roads. I discovered a new (to me) cycle path which ends with no warning, giving you a choice of riding on the pavement, riding across the grass verge and dropping off the kerb onto a three lane main road - if like me you are going straight on you have a few metres to get across lane 1, or getting off and walking. I opted for 1, thinking that surely the bike lane would carry on after the underpass. It doesn't, so I still had to join the main road just in time for a major junction. Still, at least I didn't get in the way of motorists on the long straight bit which does have a bike path, and that's the main thing.

I also discovered that the lights for turning right into the DIY store don't detect cyclists, so you sit there through lights-cycle after lights-cycle until a car stops behind you.

Why are so many cycle paths like that ? The aliens who design them seem to assume the Mother Ship beams you up at the end !

I have found that stopping on the magnetic cut-outs in the road will trigger lights. These are usually NOT in any ASL so I end up stopping on the cut-out lines, and if a car comes up behind me, rolling forwards into the ASL section.

 

[KneesUp]

These lights seemed to have a camera on top of them - I assume it detects heat and movement, but the heat target has to be quite big, so the lights aren't triggered by foxes and so on. The lights in question don't have an ASL, so I was in the correct place - I obviously wasn't hot enough - must try harder

 

[summerdays]

These lights seemed to have a camera on top of them - I assume it detects heat and movement, but the heat target has to be quite big, so the lights aren't triggered by foxes and so on. The lights in question don't have an ASL, so I was in the correct place - I obviously wasn't hot enough - must try harder

I think sometimes what seems to be on top for detecting movement of cars is actually to detect whether there are pedestrians still crops sing crossing the road. If the road sensors fail to detect you then an email to the council has seemed to result in them changing the settings.

 

[HarryTheDog]

Today was chat to other cyclists day for me, on the way in, another cyclist struck up a conversation with me in Hornchurch. Then in Barking I ran into an old SCR combatant, we chatted for 4 miles instead of beating each other up. Then on the way home some guy caught me up for a 8 mile chat as he knew me through someone else and wanted to make my aquaintence. Strangley the main topic of conversation was the guy I chatted with this morning. ( he is famously fast,competitive and stubborn).
Not looking forward to tomorrow I will have to do a half drive half cycle, robbing me of miles ( I need to make my meagre quota) as I have to go to a marshalling briefing tomorrow night. If any of you want to see some top XC racing on the weekend there is a UCI race at Hadliegh ( near Southend) If you go I will be the hobbit like character at the bottom of Snake Hill annoying the dog walkers and ramblers by stopping them amble across the course whilst people are racing. ( done it before my record is 6 stroppy so and so's in a day)

 

[RoubaixCube]

Nice ride home, missed the rain! first few mins were quite G'narly - I did a shoulder check before pushing off and a speeding cyclist came at me like a rocket and almost collided with me, After that the traffic was all over the place and there wasnt much space for me to filter at all. Drivers in their steel cages were honking at each other like there was plenty of space to move.

Half way through the ride I stopped at a set of traffic lights and a guy on what seemed to be a fairly new Ribble bike pulled up beside me. I unconsciously decided to race him for some reason and was faster than him pulling away, I think i was doing a steady 22-23mph up a small incline (200ft?) but he still breezed past me effortlessly. I pretty much got smoked

I think it would be good if i got a turbo and did some interval training.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I also discovered that the lights for turning right into the DIY store don't detect cyclists, so you sit there through lights-cycle after lights-cycle until a car stops behind you.

In Australia, one of the road rules allows you to proceed through a signalled intersection if you've waited a few cycles without the lights changing. Does the UK have similar?

As for my commute this morning, my legs are feeling the effects of that big hill I've ridden up 3 times this week (and plan to tackle again this afternoon). They're aching a lot, but I can almost feel the muscles growing.

 

[summerdays]

In Australia, one of the road rules allows you to proceed through a signalled intersection if you've waited a few cycles without the lights changing. Does the UK have similar?

As for my commute this morning, my legs are feeling the effects of that big hill I've ridden up 3 times this week (and plan to tackle again this afternoon). They're aching a lot, but I can almost feel the muscles growing.

You can go through a red light if it won't change for you as its deemed to be not working (at least for you). In practice normally a car comes along behind and will trigger it for you. I used to have one set of lights that didn't work for me and 95% of the time it was fine as it was a busy road so usually cars, then every now and again you would get caught out and have to wait a cycle. Even now it's been fixed a long time, I'm still in the habit of checking to see if there is a car behind me.

 

[RoubaixCube]

Got caught up in the prudential Surrey 100 ride. Had to wheel my bike all the way to holborn from st pauls. I hope the road blocks are lifted before i finish work tonight

 

[Nigel182]

Got caught up in the prudential Surrey 100 ride. Had to wheel my bike all the way to holborn from st pauls. I hope the road blocks are lifted before i finish work tonight

hope you ain't working tomorrow as it's the Prudential 100 and was the Freecycle today think some road closures are different for each of them.

 

[RoubaixCube]

hope you ain't working tomorrow as it's the Prudential 100 and was the Freecycle today think some road closures are different for each of them.

I am actually but I'll be based somewhere more local to me, I'll be fine

 

[die_aufopferung]

No ride in to work today as I was picking up a new bike to ride home. Apart from the shock to the system riding a bike with 23s was after years of somewhat plusher tyres, biggest issue with the new bike on the way home was accidentally downshifting to the little ring a ludicrous five times whilst playing with the "trim" of these 11 speed shifters. Awesome idea but it's going to take some getting used to.

Also despite the obvious desire to take it easy on a bike for it's first ride (plus I hadn't had time to set the saddle position up perfectly), still managed to average a little under 2mph faster. Turns out carbon aero bikes are pretty easy to ride.

 

[TrishE]

I did usual commute this morning using train and bike to Lincoln but I finished work an hour later so instead of waiting ages for a train I cycled back to metheringham. Found a quiet route on lanes took 1.5hrs as I missed a turning and had to go back so should be much quicker next time. Google said it was 11 miles. Will be cycling to and from work from now on feeling very chuffed

 

[die_aufopferung]

Saw a couple cars stopped on the roundabout that links the A61 with the A617 on the way home today - thinking one or both had broken down, I stopped to offer to help them push as they were causing a bit of a traffic problem. Turns out one had cut the other up leading to the only RTC I've ever seen that left no obvious damage to either vehicle. I'm not really sure why they decided to park on the roundabout at that point - no damage was apparent and no-one was hurt (at least, not according to the driver I spoke to).

 

[Arjimlad]

BMW X5 thought a T-junction was a good place to overtake me as we both pulled out turning right. He didn't factor the cars coming round the bend towards us into his MGIF calculations though. He ended up accelerating very hard to get past me without pranging them.