The daily "I cycled to work" thread
Discussion
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Usget said:
I saw very few potential issues, mostly because it's hard to have an accident with a car that is stationary. The whole of West London was a carpark. Good to see a lot of newbies out, I wonder if a few of them will realise that they actually get less sweaty on a bike than they do on the Circle Line?
Newbies negotiating stationary traffic is a massive issue, popping out from between cars without looking, overtaking without looking. Lane discipline is another (why do the slowest people sit on the RHS of the lane or 3 abreast at the same speed as those on their inside? 
)SystemParanoia said:
fell victim to a selfish little indian woman today 
Heading down a pretty quick hill down a 30mph dual lane road, i hit a large pothole and lost my drinks bottle.
I pulled up pretty sharpish and turned to see where it was.. it was stationary on the kerb side of the central white line in the lane nobody drives in due to the endless line parked cars.
by the time i put my bike down and started walking to it ( lets call it 5secs from bottle drop.. ) I see this vile woman swerve deliberately to the left out of her lane and over the bottle completely destroying it in a fountain of tortured water and plastic.
I swear I saw her smirk when she did it. utterly pathetic.
Think we got the opposite sides of the luck on that one.Heading down a pretty quick hill down a 30mph dual lane road, i hit a large pothole and lost my drinks bottle.
I pulled up pretty sharpish and turned to see where it was.. it was stationary on the kerb side of the central white line in the lane nobody drives in due to the endless line parked cars.
by the time i put my bike down and started walking to it ( lets call it 5secs from bottle drop.. ) I see this vile woman swerve deliberately to the left out of her lane and over the bottle completely destroying it in a fountain of tortured water and plastic.
I swear I saw her smirk when she did it. utterly pathetic.
My fizik saddlebag evidently wasn't clipped in properly and decided to dive off. I was in traffic and going too fast to stop, so had to do a u turn at a roundabout and come back.
Where I found an Audi pulled at an angle to traffic to block it and the guy picking it up for me.
They were intending to chase me down with it :-)
(Which wouldn't have worked in a gently downhill stretch with a traffic jam on it, but the thought was there).
Well the traffic was awful on the way back and to top it off had the closest call, well I think I ever have...
In the small stretch between Mottingham and Chislehurst, filtering on the OS past traffic queuing to the Elmstead Woods crossroads...
When I was about a car length behind a VW UP decides to u-turn/pull forward to the right, full on emergency stop and final swerve left and I missed them by what must have been a single pube width. Nearly went over the top but stayed on, so glad I've got new brakes and tyres over last week though!
At least I could see the passenger having a proper go at the driver as I carried on!
In the small stretch between Mottingham and Chislehurst, filtering on the OS past traffic queuing to the Elmstead Woods crossroads...
When I was about a car length behind a VW UP decides to u-turn/pull forward to the right, full on emergency stop and final swerve left and I missed them by what must have been a single pube width. Nearly went over the top but stayed on, so glad I've got new brakes and tyres over last week though!
At least I could see the passenger having a proper go at the driver as I carried on!
Can confirm that East London was also gridlock and newbie city this morning. Lethal. Saw a lot of ambulances, hope no numpties involved.
On the upside: after deciding that no PBs would be set today I simply bumbled in barring the occasional intermediate sprint and up the col de Clapton I got my first ebike scalp. And yes, he was trying
On the upside: after deciding that no PBs would be set today I simply bumbled in barring the occasional intermediate sprint and up the col de Clapton I got my first ebike scalp. And yes, he was trying
First commute for a couple of weeks - looked foggy out the window but i thought it might be better out on the open roads, right? Wrong! 1 mile from home i realised i'd made a mistake as visibility was down to a couple of car lengths. Talking of cars, loads didnt have lights on, and there seemed to be no reduction in the amount of bellends that want to knock you off your bike. Absolutely terrifying, last time i ride in fog!
(Bracknell to Egham)
(Bracknell to Egham)
Note to anyone cycling in the fog:
Check your lights, put some fresh batteries in, and make sure they're switched on.
Oh, and grow some extra eyes, preferably in the back of your head. The state of driving in the fog locally this morning had me fearing for my life. And I was in a car FFS! Plenty of halfwits not displaying their vehicle lights at all, plenty more deciding that side lights only is fine. Visibility was great out to 40 metres, after all
Many many impatient idiots unwilling to amend their speed and spacing to match conditions too. In short, the feckers seem to be out for blood, so be careful out on them bikes, and don't give 'em any excuse to say SMIDSY.
Disappointingly, there were a number of cyclists (regular commuters, too) whose lights were looking exceedingly dim this morning. Please don't risk your safety for the price of a couple of AAA batteries, chaps
Check your lights, put some fresh batteries in, and make sure they're switched on.
Oh, and grow some extra eyes, preferably in the back of your head. The state of driving in the fog locally this morning had me fearing for my life. And I was in a car FFS! Plenty of halfwits not displaying their vehicle lights at all, plenty more deciding that side lights only is fine. Visibility was great out to 40 metres, after all
Many many impatient idiots unwilling to amend their speed and spacing to match conditions too. In short, the feckers seem to be out for blood, so be careful out on them bikes, and don't give 'em any excuse to say SMIDSY.
Disappointingly, there were a number of cyclists (regular commuters, too) whose lights were looking exceedingly dim this morning. Please don't risk your safety for the price of a couple of AAA batteries, chaps
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