Tales from today's commute....

[Andy in Germany]

Start of the last lockdown traffic was at England vs Germany levels.

I remember that: the roads were empty and I could ride for hours without seeing more than a handful of cars.

Mind you, for the half hour before the match it was a nightmare of speeding drivers trying to get to a TV in time...

 

[MrGrumpy]

Hopefully back on the bike from Monday. To get milder so all the black ice will do one

 

[palinurus]

A little bit quieter yesterday evening and this morning. Maybe Germany vs. Croatia, early stages, England still in competition.

Lockdown #1 I almost never had to push the button on the crossing to get across the A412 or wait for traffic while turning right into work. Had to do both this morning.

Still substantially quieter than usual of course, I've noticed the bus drivers waiting at stops to keep to the timetable as they are ahead of schedule due to lighter traffic.

Wind similar to yesterday, from the North, touch of easterly. Cold. Dense. Hard work.

 

[Jenkins]

Dry

 

[palinurus]

That wind has dropped, makes quite a difference.

Much less traffic today.

Yesterday evening I left about 40 minutes after sunset, 10 minutes later once I got out of town and onto the Bedmond road there was a fantastic swath of the deepest red across the horizon- don't get to see that in June.

 

[ianrauk]

That wind has dropped, makes quite a difference.

Much less traffic today.

Yesterday evening I left about 40 minutes after sunset, 10 minutes later once I got out of town and onto the Bedmond road there was a fantastic swath of the deepest red across the horizon- don't get to see that in June.

Same here. It was hovering just about 0° when I left for work this morning.
Nice and dry, non busy roads. Made for a quite pleasant commute.

 

[AndreaJ]

Coldest commute of the winter for me -6 here this morning, beautiful morning but very cold.

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Coldest commute of the winter for me -6 here this morning, beautiful morning but very cold.

-6? There must have been lots of ice everywhere

 

[AndreaJ]

-6? There must have been lots of ice everywhere

Lots of frost but the lanes are now dry so no ice apart from the occasional puddle on the side.

 

[JhnBssll]

0 Degrees here this morning for my first bicycle commute of the year 😊 I realised it was quite cold but I'm glad I didn't check the temperature before I left as I would probably have jumped in the car It was the first outing for the Charge since I fettled the brakes to stop the rub due to non-square post mount facing and knackered discs. It rides much better and no irritating brake rub anymore

It was 1 whole degree on the way home at about 6pm, positively barmy. I do need to fettle my front light as its drifting up as I go over bumps, I'll try and remember to do that later this evening

She's not a dainty beast but she sure is comfy and does a cracking job of carting heavy stuff about on the back

 

[palinurus]

Tiny flakes of snow blowing around this morning so opted for the old 'cross bike just in case.

I've heard that stuff about riding fixed giving you 'souplesse' but it doesn't work for me, I had to re-learn to pedal this morning- I was so mashy it felt like both my cranks had simultaneously come loose on the first hill.

Later an extra-special commute: I plan to leave at four, and sunset is ten past.

 

[Arjimlad]

0 Degrees here this morning for my first bicycle commute of the year 😊 I realised it was quite cold but I'm glad I didn't check the temperature before I left as I would probably have jumped in the car It was the first outing for the Charge since I fettled the brakes to stop the rub due to non-square post mount facing and knackered discs. It rides much better and no irritating brake rub anymore

It was 1 whole degree on the way home at about 6pm, positively barmy. I do need to fettle my front light as its drifting up as I go over bumps, I'll try and remember to do that later this evening

View attachment 567769

She's not a dainty beast but she sure is comfy and does a cracking job of carting heavy stuff about on the back

Beautiful bike - how would you get a D-lock on that stand though? Sad she's so lonely during the day, too.. does she have any more company in the warmer months ?

 

[JhnBssll]

Beautiful bike - how would you get a D-lock on that stand though? Sad she's so lonely during the day, too.. does she have any more company in the warmer months ?

Thanks, she's running really nicely now and really looks the part Sadly the bike stands are now relatively empty all year round, even pre-Covid. We closed our manufacturing plant and laid off over 100 staff at the end of 2019, prior to that the bike racks were generally full all year round. Now they've fallen in to disrepair and are largely rotten - even if you could fit a D-lock to them it would be pretty easy to pull the rack apart to take the bike We do have the benefit of 24hr security on site and a big empty factory building to repurpose - I'm going to suggest some secure indoor bike storage at the next management meeting

 

[skudupnorth]

Not been a bad week commuting even with the ice. Lockdown hasn’t decreased traffic like the first so spidey senses are still required. Caught two shady characters eyeing my bike up at work as well 😆

 

[MrGrumpy]

Managed yesterday by bike as it was very mild compared to last few weeks. Ice was gone however short lived ! Black ice and frost is back again , sleet snow etc all forecasted .Car back in action and it’s looking like that till end of the month !!