Thanks for the thought - not keen though for the many reasons discussed at length in my Brompton thread
Tales from today's commute....
- Thread starter martint235
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Thanks for the thought - not keen though for the many reasons discussed at length in my Brompton thread
skudupnorth
Cycling Skoda lover
- Location
- Astley,Manchester
It might be grim cycling in this weather but the looks on all the trapped gridlockers in their cars just makes it worthwhile. I’ve never known it so bad regarding traffic jams, even the normally quieter Monday’s and Friday’s are just manic ! What is it like in your respective areas ?
Now that was hard work. Very strong headwind. It was also quite mild and I was a tad overdressed which didn't help. Couldn't be arsed to stop and take the jacket off so just put up with it. Slightest of drizzle in the air but not enough to get wet
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
Well that was all change again.
A slightly different route to the station this morning which avoids the stupidly big dual carriageway roundabout. It means I have to take an unfinished bit of the building site path network which is a bit rough and muddy. When its finished it'll be ideal it connects the houses and a primary school straight to a secondary school as it saves me 0.4miles (Folk with school kids it probably a 5mins walk as opposed to at least a 0.5 mile drive through two congested 4 way signalled junctions. They've opened another part of the house estate path network before the muddy bit which makes it viable to slow down for the muddy bit. It was tailwind assisted after that too.
That meant it was a headwind for most of my post train commute. The wind wasn't that strong though and I made it the 12.5miles before the light sporadic rain turned to heavy and consistent. I could have took the more direct route and avoided the rain altogether but I wanted a recovery ride and that's easiest to do on quiet roads, especially when its a headwind.
I did take the direct route from the office at night it was lighter rain again thank goodness and being wind assisted I didn't mind being on the main road which saves me 1.5miles.
The wind had really got up when I got off the train so I took an even more off road route to avoid the big roundabout and a lot of traffic in general.
A slightly different route to the station this morning which avoids the stupidly big dual carriageway roundabout. It means I have to take an unfinished bit of the building site path network which is a bit rough and muddy. When its finished it'll be ideal it connects the houses and a primary school straight to a secondary school as it saves me 0.4miles (Folk with school kids it probably a 5mins walk as opposed to at least a 0.5 mile drive through two congested 4 way signalled junctions. They've opened another part of the house estate path network before the muddy bit which makes it viable to slow down for the muddy bit. It was tailwind assisted after that too.
That meant it was a headwind for most of my post train commute. The wind wasn't that strong though and I made it the 12.5miles before the light sporadic rain turned to heavy and consistent. I could have took the more direct route and avoided the rain altogether but I wanted a recovery ride and that's easiest to do on quiet roads, especially when its a headwind.
I did take the direct route from the office at night it was lighter rain again thank goodness and being wind assisted I didn't mind being on the main road which saves me 1.5miles.
The wind had really got up when I got off the train so I took an even more off road route to avoid the big roundabout and a lot of traffic in general.
united4ever
Veteran
Back on it after a week on the train due to the ice last week. Went an hour early to beat the wall of rain that was forecast which conveniently stopped for my return journey. Serious head wind coming back though. Legs a touch achey but great to have blown the cobwebs off.
Can't wait for the first signs of spring. First light commute home, First daffodil sighting etc.
Can't wait for the first signs of spring. First light commute home, First daffodil sighting etc.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Dry but breezy ride home last night. This morning was a challenge though. Strong gusts made progress interesting - going from a decent speed to crawling in a split of a second, then back at a decent speed again. Fair amount of debris from trees, local park covered in branches. Lots of wheelie bin victims.
biking_fox
Legendary Member
- Location
- Manchester
Manchester too - no worse than usual, seems very time dependent, if I'm a little late I have to pass more stationary cars (or meet them earlier on) than when I leave earlier.
Very swirly gusty wind, notable but not silly strong, just never sure where it was coming from.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Traffic was bad last night - it was related to a murder in the morning on A34 Kingsway down near Didsbury, apparently after an altercation between two drivers at a junction. Road still shut last night ! A6 was chocca.
Arjimlad
Tights of Cydonia
- Location
- South Glos
Tough ride home last night into the headwind nearly all the way, I was sweating like a donkey too as it had warmed up a lot (air molecules friction in the wind?!)
A little less windy this morning thankfully, although I had to gesture the driver of an old Audi A3 to back off my wheel as she tailgated me very close up a hill. Why don't people respect the 2-second rule for cyclists when we have no crumple zones?
Very aggressive behaviour with V signs etc... despite the Passpixi sign.. she is about to find out what the camera sign means when the police act on the report.
A little less windy this morning thankfully, although I had to gesture the driver of an old Audi A3 to back off my wheel as she tailgated me very close up a hill. Why don't people respect the 2-second rule for cyclists when we have no crumple zones?
Very aggressive behaviour with V signs etc... despite the Passpixi sign.. she is about to find out what the camera sign means when the police act on the report.
Absolutely - I don't think I've yet seen conditions bad enough to make me look at those miserable, trapped faces stuck in a miles-long tailback and think "I wish I'd brought the car today".
Traffic's all over the place here; anywhere near the city around rush hour will be gridlock. Often there are significant delays on top of the usual due to roadworks, while there also seem to be a significant amount more accidents causing issues - perhaps not surprising as people become more frustrated / aggressive / desperate in the face of the traffic as well as the general state of the world.
Seems that almost daily the local press are reporting significant delays on / around the ring road due to an accident - the "best" so far creating a five hour delay
Thankfully when taking the bike my exposure to the city's most traffic-laden roads is limited so I don't see most of it first hand.An absolutely miserable way to live; one that I lack the fortitude to endure and am very, very happy to opt out of!
Assuming that most are thick / selfish / arrogant usually covers most bases.. glad you nailed her with the camera!
Back to the usual routine today; out of bed thick-headed and puffy eyed thanks to last night's allergens, struggled to get going and left later than ideal. Mood was set by some muppet in a van needlessly blocking the route away from my parking spot - his initial reaction to my short burst of horn was to shrug in indifference; however he evidently thought better of it and begrudgingly slithered back to his cab and got out of my way.
This morning brought the full rainbow of muppets; on foot, bike, car... as always I still felt better for the ride though and had a few positive interactions with decent folk too.
Today's journey was won by a dude on the tow path in a glorious deep green barley corn tweed double-breasted overcoat with big peak lapels.. evidently en-route to his job in the 1940s. I said nowt although wish I had more confidence to complement people as it usually improves everyones' mood
Thanks to mood and lateness the journey in was a little quicker than usual and I managed to sneak a sausage stop in, arriving at work just about on time.
Not the best ride in but still infintely superior to biting chunks out of the steering wheel in traffic..
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
A little damp on the way in today. Talking to one of my colleagues that I've not seen since before Christmas, appears he's been off the bike with a broken hand. His pedal axel snapped and dumped him on the ground in December. Oof.
I'd like to remember last night's commute by a single, small interaction on the Cowley rd.
Approaching red lights with peds crossing, bloke and son cut across the cycle box to cross the road as I'm approaching. I scowel as I slow down to give them room, dad waves and says thanks. Buoyed by this somewhat unusual civility, I say no worries and have a good evening. He returns the same.
Net win, everyone goes away happier - wouldn't it be great if everyone treated each other like this..?
Approaching red lights with peds crossing, bloke and son cut across the cycle box to cross the road as I'm approaching. I scowel as I slow down to give them room, dad waves and says thanks. Buoyed by this somewhat unusual civility, I say no worries and have a good evening. He returns the same.
Net win, everyone goes away happier - wouldn't it be great if everyone treated each other like this..?
Last edited:
Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
Spring is on its way, was still light when I left work tonight 
though I did need to turn the lights on before I got home.
though I did need to turn the lights on before I got home.
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
Wish I had a camera tonight to capture the lack of bad driving or any driving for that matter. There was a crash or something on the A1 or M1 resulting in massive traffic jams on the rural roads. The poor drivers were probably an hour late, I was a minute early 😉
Cleaned my bike at the weekend- took off the lights, two rear and the rechargeable front. Put them on a garden table while I was working. Assumed I'd put them back on. This morning no lights attached! Checked the garden, obvious places. I have a third extra rear light on the mudguard and Dynamo front so I could still ride but it's annoying (one of those rears was my camera, the other my 'fog light', and the front was an MTB style rechargeable with a separate battery pack).
Sometimes if I leave shoes outside a fox runs off with them. Do foxes run off with bike lights too?
Sometimes if I leave shoes outside a fox runs off with them. Do foxes run off with bike lights too?
