Tales from today's commute....

[ukoldschool]

I managed to break the 100km mark last week for the first time

Lovely day today here in the big smoke, trains empty, roads feel emptier

 

[HarryTheDog]

The wind seemed to have eased this morning, first time in what seems ages. Not a lot of traffic, it was bliss!. Got to work only me the receptionist and one other in out of over 60 odd people.

 

[ManiaMuse]

Popped into the shops today enroute to work.
Geez people have been loosing their heads around the shops, one bloke pulled out of a T juntion without even looking right. I could have been a double decker and he wouldnt have seen, some daft old biddy pulled a u-turn across me in the high street.

Anyway I was locking the bike up, to the only cycle rack in town when a kindly looking old couple (70s) dressed like they were crossing the Himalayas ambled over and then detoured around rack.
The owd codger turned back and said jovially enough

Him - "We've just come back from a holiday in Devon.."
Me - "ooooh I love Devon and Cornwall, its fantastic."
Him - "Bloody cyclists were a pissing nuisance there too getting in the way in all the narrow lanes"
He then walks off...
All I could do was catch him up and reply, "Well you wont have to worry about cyclists much longer, you'll soon be dead, was it your farewell holiday?" He didn't miss a beat but his Mrs face was a picture.

A little bit bitter and unkind, but it was all could manage after being wrong footed by his approach.

I've been tittering about it all day cheered me right up. I suppose they represent the babyboomer car-car-car generation, something we have to break.

Still on the other side I think spring has sprung. The number of kids I've seen on bikes today was heartening.

Ha brilliant, though you should have asked if he was towing a caravan.

I'm off work today as getting the car serviced (hopefully not too costly as just sits on the drive all the time) but interested to see if the usually awful traffic is any better tomorrow.

 

[rivers]

The sun was shining this morning, no wind and only a slight chill in the air, which meant I took my summer bike out. The first 7 miles were really hard work and my legs felt like lead. I thought I might have been cycling too much, and might need to take the rest of the week off and use the car or bus, just to give myself a break. But no, it was just my brake block rubbing on my rim. Once that was sorted, I was flying. One more day of cycling this week on Wednesday (I have a 14 hour of day tomorrow so taking the car, and Thursday I have a trial working from home day so we'll see how it goes).

 

[ManiaMuse]

Bloody windy again cycling home today (although of course no sign of a tailwind in the morning).

Tomorrow looks wet again but looks like Spring might finally start to appear from next week.

 

[Magpies]

Dodging the occasional snot rocket has become graver than just a nuisance in these troubled times of Covid-19. I'm taking evasive action as if they were live ammo .....!

 

[ukoldschool]

lovely ride back to Blackfriars last night
Trains in and home are fantastic! don't need to fold the bike at the mo and always a seat.
long live COVID

 

[Shut Up Legs]

My legs are aching a lot. My new bicycle commute is a lot tougher than I thought it would be: it seems I've moved to a much hillier area of Melbourne.
The old commute is about 57km / day with 670m climbing, and the new is 53.5km / day with 875m climbing (based on 7 commutes out of 10 so far). My legs are going to take a few more weeks to get used to it. Not that they'll get a chance, since I will start working from home very shortly, and won't return to the regular home/work/home commutes for at least a month.

 

[ManiaMuse]

Roads starting to quieten down now, 5 minutes quicker than my average cycling home this evening (got lucky with traffic light sequences admittedly). Lucking forward to all the school run tractors disappearing off the roads soon as well.

 

[Magpies]

it seems I've moved to a much hillier area of Melbourne.

Brings back fond memories of a bike ride from the Melbourne CBD down past MCG and the Botanic Gardens, along the river to visit a friend in Yarra Bend. Wonderful flora and fauna all the way! Including trees along the river hung thick with flying foxes, and the odd snake (or two). Makes my current daily commute in Cambridge seem very tame indeed ☹️

 

[Arjimlad]

Is it just me or is the general angst coming out in a worsening of driving standards at commuting times ?

This clot blazed up behind me & didn't stop until he was inches from my rear wheel, he proceeded to tailgate me around some blind bends where there's no chance of a safe overtake. I took primary to deter him.

Another driver just before this left me very little room on a close pass.

Both have been reported & in both cases Police say that they will be sending advice letter, or FPN or prosecuting (your guess as to which is as good as mine but from recent experience I'd guess advice for the close pass and FPN/course for the tailgating).

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Yesterday, when I was almost home, some idiot in a ridiculously large 4WD with ridiculously bright headlights decided to turn them on to high beam as he approached me, then yelled something garbled at me as I rode past. I'd raised my hand to shield my eyes because his headlight beams were too bright. I had my headlights and taillights on, as I always use them, even during the day. If he thought my headlights were too bright, then he's a bloody hypocrite. My headlights are about average for brightness compared to other cyclists' lights, and they're also angled down so that the main beam hits the road several metres in front of me.

Anyway, today's ride home will be my last bicycle commute for a while, as I'll be working from home starting next week. I'm lucky to work for a company that supports its employees with very good technology for this, not surprising, really, because its a software/hardware engineering company, and I develop ATC (air traffic control) software in my job role.

 

[HarryTheDog]

A glorious day for a ride, tailwind and bright sunshine had me whooshing in, in good spirits. Cars and cyclist numbers down, made for a swift commute. Got to work its going to be me and one other work colleague and the security guard until Wednesday in a 5 storey building. Then no one Thursday+Friday. I started emtying some of the gone off milk out of the fridge ( milk for over 60 people).

 

[ianrauk]

It was like a sunday morning out there on the roads this morning. Only 1 other cycle commuter to been seen.
Glorious sunny blue sky day too.

 

[Maverick Goose]

My last commute for a while today, as the hotel where I work in the Lakes is shutting for a month thanks to the Peroni virus-I've been expecting something like this for a while now, so while it's not great, I'm going to get out on the fells or on my bike as much as I can. And I'll even have time to read the whole of the Mundane Thread...not to mention lots of baking.