Tales from today's commute....

[Lovacott]

Very close pass by a double decker bus today , nearly took me out !
Now i know the bus route and it stops a lot so followed it and confronted the driver , he siad "dont shout at me " and shut the window so i took the number plate and reported him for dangerous driving to the depot who confirmed that they had that bus and would check the cctv on the bus .

I had an issue with a bus at the Triangle junction in Wembley about 20 years ago.

He started to overtake me at the junction and then cut back in sharply to pull in at a bus stop lay-by just ahead.

The last quarter of the bus rubbed along my side and pushed me over onto the pavement.

I had a couple of bruises and a grazed shin but got myself up and went to confront the driver.

I asked him why he felt the need to overtake me when if he'd waited a few seconds, he could have let me go past the lay-by before pulling in.

All I got was "you bloody cyclists shouldn't be on the bloody road".

A beat bobby (remember those?) saw me arguing with the driver and took both of our details.

I never heard a thing afterwards.

Maybe that's why the Go-Pro was invented?

 

[Lovacott]

Not a very nice day today so I've spent all of it giving the bike a thorough going over and adding in a few mods I've been thinking about for a while.

First up, I dismantled the rear wheel hub and gave the bearings and hub a good flush out in a dish of petrol.

I cleaned the freewheel with a toothbrush and petrol and put the whole lot back together again with plenty of lithium grease.

I then did a fresh gear indexing routine using the knowledge I have gained on here over the last few months (thanks folks).

One of the major problems I've had over the last few months, is road mud getting onto my drivetrain. I've been toying with the idea of building something out of plastic akin to a cars engine protector and yesterday, I got hold of a "hip support tray" which roofers use to keep hip tiles in alignment on hipped roofs.

You can buy them from any building supplies company for about two quid each (they are 1000mm x 300mm).

If you pour boiling water onto a hip tray, you will get a five second window where you can form the plastic into any shape you want before it sets back hard again. You can repeat the process over and over until you get the exact shape you are looking for.

I made this today and I am dead chuffed. It's copied from the fairings that you would get on a 1960's scooter. It works a bloody treat.

 

[Ian A]

A tale from the other side today. I was commuting on my fairly noisy motorbike, overtaking a cyclist on a road which turned to the left and had speeds bumps so I was going quite slowly and well below the legal limit. As I was about to make the pass at a sensible speed, giving the cyclist plenty of room, he turned across the front of me without looking or signalling to make a right hand turn off to a side road. Side road had junction lines and was not the same direction the road we were riding went. I stopped quickly and didn't hit the cyclist, he saw me last minute and gesticulated from the side road with the "what are you doing?" questioning arms. The answer is an emergency stop I guess . Daft thing is I was going almost as slow on my motorbike round the corner as I would when I cycle the same route due to the speed bumps but I'd be a lot quieter I when I cycle and my lights aren't as bright so would have still almost had an accident with him.

 

[Dan77]

Been commuting by car for the last week and a half. Firstly due to a cold and then new bike going on the trainer which has meant I've been doing most of my riding indoors while I get used to it all.

On my way back yesterday evening passed a cyclist with no lights. Opened my window and (politely?) shouted 'lights!' as I passed. It was about 5:15pm and already quite dark. On a busy main road too. Absolutely baffles/annoys me that people are willing to put themselves in so much danger.

 

[Lovacott]

Been commuting by car for the last week and a half. Firstly due to a cold and then new bike going on the trainer which has meant I've been doing most of my riding indoors while I get used to it all.

On my way back yesterday evening passed a cyclist with no lights. Opened my window and (politely?) shouted 'lights!' as I passed. It was about 5:15pm and already quite dark. On a busy main road too. Absolutely baffles/annoys me that people are willing to put themselves in so much danger.

Obviously they've never driven a car in their life and have no idea how hard it is to spot a cyclist without lights and Hi Viz.

I covered my bike with Hi Viz tape two weeks ago plus I have three rear lights and a Hi Viz vest.

 

[rivers]

Obviously they've never driven a car in their life and have no idea how hard it is to spot a cyclist without lights and Hi Viz.

I covered my bike with Hi Viz tape two weeks ago plus I have three rear lights and a Hi Viz vest.

Not hard at all to spot a cyclist not wearing hi viz. It's called paying attention to your surroundings.

 

[Lovacott]

Not hard at all to spot a cyclist not wearing hi viz. It's called paying attention to your surroundings.

I disagree.

On a dark road in rain, an unlit and darkly dressed cyclist is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[rivers]

I disagree.

On a dark road in rain, an unlit and darkly dressed cyclist is an accident waiting to happen.

I'd wager my mostly black and red gilet with reflective piping and pixel covered back is more visible than a my hi vis yellow rain jacket, fluoro green helmet and fluoro green velotoze. Hi viz colours aren't anymore visible in the dark and dreary weather. Reflective material is where it's at if you want to be seen.

 

[Lovacott]

I'd wager my mostly black and red gilet with reflective piping and pixel covered back is more visible than a my hi vis yellow rain jacket, fluoro green helmet and fluoro green velotoze. Hi viz colours aren't anymore visible in the dark and dreary weather. Reflective material is where it's at if you want to be seen.

I have a works issue Hi Viz vest which has the wide reflective hoops around it. I have also added reflective tape to the bike.

When it's raining, I have a yellow cycling rain jacket with reflective piping and detail.

Today was my first day of this particular commute where I've had to cycle all the way in and back in the pitch dark.

I'm mainly on country lanes but I do have a stretch of A road and a busy town centre to negotiate on the way.

Plusses.
1. Car headlights are an early warning system which let me if know something is coming up from behind.
2. Cars coming towards me on narrow lanes slow down when they see my lights because they can't tell that I am on a bike (in daylight, they tend to just bully on past and expect me to squeeze into the hedgerows).

Minuses.
1. Potholes filled with water don't look like potholes under artificial light.
2. Being buzzed by mental Bats.

 

[skudupnorth]

Not been on bike for a couple of weeks but returned with big smile and spring in my step ( or pedals)
Return leg along the Roe Green Loop line was dark but fun. Helped a lovely lady out with a puncture at the Ellenbrook end of our guided busway so all in all it was a good commute

 

[skudupnorth]

Mojo definitely back after my break, loving dark commutes even on the Roe Green Loop line with ninja joggers and dog walkers

 

[Tom B]

Had a few fun commutes on the last set

1. Was hammering down and a car passing in opposite direction passed a rivulet over the road in such a way the it threw what seemed like gallons at me frim the other side of the road. Must have been a freak function of speed, position, water level, wind as I've been that way thousands of times and never has this happened.

2. Was flagged down in the early hours by a taxi driver who was in tears. Apparently the car in front had hit bagger (turned out to be a badger) and killed it. Turned out Tommy Brock was still lying in the middle of the road and thae taxi driver couldn't bring himself to move him. Was a bit perplexed by his upset state but I deposited Mr Brock in the hedgerow and was profusely thanked by the driver. Turned out he was upset about his own lack of manliness and at finding himself unable to touch Brock. Apparently my wife and mother should be proud.

3. Got a sudden flat and found about a 5mm square chunk of glass in my marathon tyre. Gave it a courtesy spin and found a huge inch long thorn too. Found both had holed the tube, probably one as a result of running flat for a short distance.

4. Was sworn at repeatedly by a fellow cyclist who told me to f off. My commute is up and down repeatly. I tend to spin out on the down and others slip past or away, conversely I tend to catch people on the climbs. Daydreaming down the first descent I was passed by this chap, sure enough I caught him at the foot of the next climb which is a bit of a short and sharp. In situations like this i tend to sit behind and let them go on the flat or descent. It just seems better than passing and repassing. This was what happens over the next two miles. Admittedly he didn't disappear into the distance like others do but he pulled away a bit and the gap waxed and waned.
In any event I wasn't really thinking about it and just tootling on thinking about work.
Approaching the last hill he pulled out wide said "oi do me a favour and just f.... Off past" startled of my daydream I may have suggested he should just pedal his plastic bike and castelli kit a bit faster. Then he wouldn't be caught by people in supermarket leggings with backpacks and on £400bikes. He f'd some more about peope taking the piss sitting on and turned off.
I think.he was perhaps trying to drop me up the hills and struggled to get away down hill because he was blowing a bit, but my mind was elsewhere and I wasn't really playing.
I guess I feel slightly bad I inadvertently peed him off. If I'd known I'd have tried harder.

 

[Lovacott]

I'm cheating today.

It's currently 1 degree out there and I'm not risking the lanes after all of the rain we had yesterday. There are spots on my route where the temperature is always three or four degrees below the headline number which means a good chance of ice.

So I'm taking the estuary cycle path to the train station ten miles away and catching a train which drops me two minutes from work. The cycle path generally doesn't freeze up due to the salt water spray from the estuary.

I'll commute home by the normal route because the forecast for later is sunshine and 11 degrees.

 

[ianrauk]

An absolute stunningly gorgeous blue sky sunny morning. Dry too, which makes for fantastic commuting. 2°.. so out with the winter jacket, long finger gloves and leg warmers.
Last commute before lockdown #2 so will be very interesting to see what the traffic will be like for tomorrows commute. As recently it's been back to normal pre covd levels,

 

[Lovacott]

An absolute stunningly gorgeous blue sky sunny morning. Dry too, which makes for fantastic commuting.

I'll second that..