The daily "I cycled to work" thread

The daily "I cycled to work" thread

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JQ

5,691 posts

178 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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S10GTA said:
Got soaked tonight frown
Me too. It was dry as I left the office at 6:45pm. At 6:47pm the heavens opened and it was torrential all the way home.

Gizmoish

18,150 posts

208 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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JQ said:
Me too. It was dry as I left the office at 6:45pm. At 6:47pm the heavens opened and it was torrential all the way home.
Love the work.

LOVE the work.

Rule 9 all the way.

louiebaby

10,651 posts

190 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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Made it in just before the rain started. My boss commented negatively on my attire, which consists of an old rowing suit and a baggy t-shirt. I suggested if he paid me more, I'd buy more cycling kit. biggrin

For the record, I have some cycling kit, but I save it for longer weekend rides. I'm not using an £80 pair of bib shorts on a 5 mile commute to work.

Gizmoish

18,150 posts

208 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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There's a guy in my office who wears bibs for his Brompton trip of no more than two miles from the station to the office. hehe

XitUp

7,690 posts

203 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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I've got some Craft bike boxers that I wear.

louiebaby

10,651 posts

190 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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Gizmoish said:
There's a guy in my office who wears bibs for his Brompton trip of no more than two miles from the station to the office. hehe
Maybe he's training for:

http://www.brompton.co.uk/bwc/2012/

But probably not. hehe

Killboy

7,159 posts

201 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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I've nearly hit 5000km on the odo with my bike. The tube ride last year was about just over a fiver a day, and was 7km each way. Total was around 3000 km last year. I had worked out I saved around £1500 after factoring in brake pads, 2 tubes, etc I had used.

However, proportional cost savings are moot. I eat like a mofo then, and my Starbucks/MS bill went up.

The reason I ride is my commute is the best part of my day now. It is even more fun than my motorbike in central London.

ewenm

28,506 posts

244 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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I'm going to briefly squat in this thread as I think starting The daily "I ran to work" thread would be rather lonely, and I should start commuting by bike in 2013 (~15 miles each way).

Ran the 4.5 miles to work this morning in what felt like March/April conditions of squally showers. 33 mins with a rucksack on (haven't worked out how to fit panniers to my legs yet hehe).

S10GTA

Original Poster:

12,645 posts

166 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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ewenm said:
I'm going to briefly squat in this thread as I think starting The daily "I ran to work" thread would be rather lonely, and I should start commuting by bike in 2013 (~15 miles each way).

Ran the 4.5 miles to work this morning in what felt like March/April conditions of squally showers. 33 mins with a rucksack on (haven't worked out how to fit panniers to my legs yet hehe).
clap

I drove today. I have ridden every day for the last 2 weeks, thought I should have a rest day before a week off work (and lots of cycling)

Justin Cyder

12,624 posts

148 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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Bit fair weather me. I've ridden in once this week and then I waited for the least windy day. OTOH I have just bought a new car, so it's the Magpie shiny new things effect for now. 4miles each way, right along the seaside. Very beautiful, flat, but a bit wind prone.

AyBee

10,522 posts

201 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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lepetitoeuf said:
Lovely quick swift dry ride home last night (14 miles).

Then this morning I had a slow, wet, hard, crap slog back into a headwind.
Any chance you live in North London and work in Central? Had a huge headwind heading home, felt like the brakes were on.

Kermit power

28,634 posts

212 months

Saturday 23rd June 2012
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Gizmoish said:
There's a guy in my office who wears bibs for his Brompton trip of no more than two miles from the station to the office. hehe
Given that it's a Brompton, might he have a significantly longer ride from home to the station at the other end?

Gizmoish

18,150 posts

208 months

Saturday 23rd June 2012
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Kermit power said:
Gizmoish said:
There's a guy in my office who wears bibs for his Brompton trip of no more than two miles from the station to the office. hehe
Given that it's a Brompton, might he have a significantly longer ride from home to the station at the other end?
He might, but he doesn't. smile

wotnot

383 posts

173 months

Tuesday 26th June 2012
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I normally ride about 30 miles a day on my daily commute for no other reason than I love it. It's a little bit of 'me' time and it keeps me (relatively) fit. Between the bike, kit and shiny bits it certainly isn't saving me money!
However, of late I have been thinking of retreating back into my car.
I seem to be having near death experiences on an almost daily basis these days. I had another one tonight when some cretin in a car pulled around me at a roundabout to turn left as I was going straight across - no indicators and not a care in the world!
I know we all get them once in a while but it's getting out of hand!
Hopefully, it's just a blip, I'd hate to have to sit in traffic jams again frown

Kermit power

28,634 posts

212 months

Tuesday 26th June 2012
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wotnot said:
I normally ride about 30 miles a day on my daily commute for no other reason than I love it. It's a little bit of 'me' time and it keeps me (relatively) fit. Between the bike, kit and shiny bits it certainly isn't saving me money!
However, of late I have been thinking of retreating back into my car.
I seem to be having near death experiences on an almost daily basis these days. I had another one tonight when some cretin in a car pulled around me at a roundabout to turn left as I was going straight across - no indicators and not a care in the world!
I know we all get them once in a while but it's getting out of hand!
Hopefully, it's just a blip, I'd hate to have to sit in traffic jams again frown
Posts like this worry me a bit, as I'm not sure of the reason for my lack of such experiences is because:

a) I'm a hopeless cyclist and am completely unaware of all the near misses I've had.

b) I'm just so goddamned fking stunning on two wheels that I've anticipated what every driver is going to do in every situation before they've even got in to their cars in the morning.

c) There are just so many cyclists on CS7 in to Central London that it's almost impossible even for the doziest of motorists not to notice us.

Overall, having now been commuting regularly for 14 months in and out of London, I'm actually really surprised at how rarely I see any sort of incident. Riding past some poor chap who looked to have popped his collar bone on the A3 in what appeared from the aftermath to have been a collision with another cyclist just after Stockwell Tube station yesterday got me thinking on this.... I can only really remember seeing one other such accident, and the only one I've had myself was purely down to myself and the rain at walking speed, with nobody else contributing in any way.

Gizmoish

18,150 posts

208 months

Wednesday 27th June 2012
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Same here KP. I get irritated by cars nosing out from junctions into cycle lanes, people seeing me coming, pulling out but not accelerating out of the way... But nothing that you don't get in the car anyway.

louiebaby

10,651 posts

190 months

Wednesday 27th June 2012
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Gizmoish said:
Same here KP. I get irritated by cars nosing out from junctions into cycle lanes, people seeing me coming, pulling out but not accelerating out of the way... But nothing that you don't get in the car anyway.
If they just nosed out into the cycle lane, that would be fine, it's the idiots I see pulling right out into a lane to turn right, completely blocking one lane, and waiting there for a gap in the traffic. I see it almost daily now.

Anyway, lovely ride in this morning, a perfect example of what a summer morning should be like. (And she wasn't faster than me, which was nice.)

wotnot

383 posts

173 months

Wednesday 27th June 2012
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louiebaby said:
Anyway, lovely ride in this morning, a perfect example of what a summer morning should be like.
Had one of them yesterday morning. Met up with another roadie with about six miles still to do and we drafted one another all the way to work. Just how a fast ride in the country should be. smile

Makes up for the morons trying to kill me!

Kermit power

28,634 posts

212 months

Wednesday 27th June 2012
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louiebaby said:
If they just nosed out into the cycle lane, that would be fine, it's the idiots I see pulling right out into a lane to turn right, completely blocking one lane, and waiting there for a gap in the traffic. I see it almost daily now.
I have far more sympathy in that situation, as on most busy London roads, if you waited for both lanes to be clear before turning right, you'd be say there until you ran out of fuel!

ewenm

28,506 posts

244 months

Wednesday 27th June 2012
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Kermit power said:
louiebaby said:
If they just nosed out into the cycle lane, that would be fine, it's the idiots I see pulling right out into a lane to turn right, completely blocking one lane, and waiting there for a gap in the traffic. I see it almost daily now.
I have far more sympathy in that situation, as on most busy London roads, if you waited for both lanes to be clear before turning right, you'd be say there until you ran out of fuel!
yes That's just part of the give and take of urban travel. Usually you can nip round the back of them while they are waiting anyway.
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