Tales from today's commute....

[donnydave]

Let me guess; the B1050 road between Earith and Willingham?

Yep. Same type of incidents nearly every day, especially on the long straight bit where it should be easy to spot a cyclist and plan a nice overtake as generally everyone is heading in the same direction but everyone is trying to overtake each other to get to the A14 car park 5 seconds quicker, then the other favourite bit is where the river runs next to the road and there's a nice blind bend. I groan inwardly with "not another one!" as I hear the person behind slowly gain revs to pass 10 yards before the blind corner (and they always try and do it in 5th gear from 20mph). If I take primary it still doesn't completely deter them so often I have to stick an arm out and take what I call "mega-primary" and 90% of the time my actions are proved correct as we meet someone coming the other way around said blind corner. My reward for taking positive action in order to not get squished? BEEP BEEP SHOUTY SHOUTY and a punishment pass just as close as if I'd done nothing and allowed them to bully through in the first place

 

[MisterStan]

Yep. Same type of incidents nearly every day, especially on the long straight bit where it should be easy to spot a cyclist and plan a nice overtake as generally everyone is heading in the same direction but everyone is trying to overtake each other to get to the A14 car park 5 seconds quicker, then the other favourite bit is where the river runs next to the road and there's a nice blind bend. I groan inwardly with "not another one!" as I hear the person behind slowly gain revs to pass 10 yards before the blind corner (and they always try and do it in 5th gear from 20mph). If I take primary it still doesn't completely deter them so often I have to stick an arm out and take what I call "mega-primary" and 90% of the time my actions are proved correct as we meet someone coming the other way around said blind corner. My reward for taking positive action in order to not get squished? BEEP BEEP SHOUTY SHOUTY and a punishment pass just as close as if I'd done nothing and allowed them to bully through in the first place

Went that way home the other day and remembered why I don't do it more often!

 

[donnydave]

Went that way home the other day and remembered why I don't do it more often!

The only other possibilities for me is to go to St Ives first to get on the busway and I can forsee just as much misery Earith to Bluntisham and them Blunt to St Ives on the road. I could go the other way and end up coming down twenty pence road to cottenham but again thats a lot of road miles which is exactly what I want to avoid so I don't think it would be any better.

 

[MisterStan]

The only other possibilities for me is to go to St Ives first to get on the busway and I can forsee just as much misery Earith to Bluntisham and them Blunt to St Ives on the road. I could go the other way and end up coming down twenty pence road to cottenham but again thats a lot of road miles which is exactly what I want to avoid so I don't think it would be any better.

I continued through Blunt. to St Ives etc and can confirm the standard of driving was similar!

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I continued through Blunt. to St Ives etc and can confirm the standard of driving was similar!

The only other possibilities for me is to go to St Ives first to get on the busway and I can forsee just as much misery Earith to Bluntisham and them Blunt to St Ives on the road. I could go the other way and end up coming down twenty pence road to cottenham but again thats a lot of road miles which is exactly what I want to avoid so I don't think it would be any better.

This is where I think they people that look after the cash get it all wrong, sod painting ASL on anything near a traffic light, build the infrastructure to get people from places to places. The busway has demonstrated, that if you build a dedicated car free cycle way people will be all over it.
If you build it they will come!
Were dying out for stuff from Ely to Cambridge or things like that.

 

[Archeress]

Had my protein this morning that is I swallowed a fly

Hugs
Archeress x

 

[EthelF]

This is gitting silly, for the second morning running I witness 2 bikes and a car unsuccessfully trying to occupy a single lane at a pinch point on the Embankment. This time the main culprit was a nobber on a bike forcing the lady in front of me to the right, but frankly the taxi to her right was passing too close. Thankfully the wing mirror just cleared her shoulder so the only contact was door vs pannier and she managed to stay upright.
I am pleased to say she also left the nobber in absolutely no doubt about what she thought of him.

General advice: avoid riding anywhere near me this week, I seem to have turned into an idiot-magnet!

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Had my protein this morning that is I swallowed a fly

Likewise, fortunately only a little one, I'm on a diet.

Also had a guy in a green Renault Laguna almost push me in to a road works sign, then when I continued to hold secondary announce through his open passenger window "get over", so I got in front of him in the traffic and rode primary for the next half a mile until things had calmed down. I know, neither big, nor clever, but it made me smile and him marginally later to blast past me and pull off in to a petrol station.

 

[Effyb4]

First commute for me today. It's only 6 miles each way and I am used to riding reasonable distances at weekends. Boy was it hot.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Old bloke. Wooly cap and scruffy old jacket & trousers a-la Compo from Last of the Summer Wine.
Roll-up fag hanging from his mouth
On a tidy ridgeback.
Doing a pretty passable trackstand
Whilst sat down


See him nearly every morning, pedalling away with the rollup hanging from his mouth but the trackstandsit just completed the look!

Trackstand-sitting old fella out again today, heading up one of Sheffield's steeper hills.

Fag still hanging out of his mouth

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Quite foggy in Warwickshire this morning though the sun has come through now. I shouldn't be saying this on the 17th July but it almost felt like the start of autumn. The first time I've had my lights on in the morning for a few months. Other than that it was a lovely ride along the backroads, then into Cov along the Binley Road

Yes I was surprised to wake up to a misty moisty morning, it had faded away by the time I left for work at twenty past seven, saw no sign of it all the way to Nuneaton, it was cooler than its been of late and I needed a jersey.

 

[robjh]

Yes I was surprised to wake up to a misty moisty morning, it had faded away by the time I left for work at twenty past seven, saw no sign of it all the way to Nuneaton, it was cooler than its been of late and I needed a jersey.

It started clearing for me about 7.30 as I got closer to town, but was still pretty thick when I set out.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Very misty in the sticks around Leicester as well this morning, was very patchy though.

A bit to warm for tonight's ride home.

 

[Spartak]

Took advantage of some spare time & the good weather to ride a slighty longer route into work at lunchtime today

Via Winterborne, Gypsy Patch Lane & skirted the Mall shopping centre, before dropping down to Berwick Lane and heading towards Avonmouth passing one of many wind turbines .......

............... however you then have to ride along the very ( HGV ) busy St.Andrews Road.

It was then back to my usual route crossing over the M5 bridge & heading to Portbury dock.

Very pleasant ride home this evening, although it still seemed very warm, and for some reason Strava seemed to lose me for a section of my ride tonight ??? http://www.strava.com/activities/167341936

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

So it's going to be one of those days is it! Had a collision with a deer and then a half mile later I pop the rear gear cable! I did think about turning round as I was only about 4 miles from home but it started to rain so I carried on. Really wish I'd of gone back now, it's going to be a struggle going home in 28deg stuck on an 11t cog!