The daily "I cycled to work" thread
Discussion
The trouble with some of the commuter types I see regularly round my way is that they rely too heavily on hi-vis jackets and reflective clothing above decent lighting.
Retro-reflectives only really work well when there is a strong source of light travelling to and from said reflective material. This doesn't work in fog, because the light from the headlamps of cars is bouncing hither and thither, refracting off all the tiny water droplets in the air, so very little gets to the reflective clothing from headlamps, and even less of the available light makes it's way directly back to the driver. Bright colours are better than subdued ones, but even then, thick fog masks the shape of the object (in this case, the cyclist) for far longer than in clear conditions, making it harder to spot us, and when we are spotted it's inevitably at a later point, making any overtake far more of a rushed affair. It's one of the principal reasons why it's stupid to ignore advice to drive more slowly in fog and mist.
Be bold, be bright, be seen! And ride safe y'all...
Retro-reflectives only really work well when there is a strong source of light travelling to and from said reflective material. This doesn't work in fog, because the light from the headlamps of cars is bouncing hither and thither, refracting off all the tiny water droplets in the air, so very little gets to the reflective clothing from headlamps, and even less of the available light makes it's way directly back to the driver. Bright colours are better than subdued ones, but even then, thick fog masks the shape of the object (in this case, the cyclist) for far longer than in clear conditions, making it harder to spot us, and when we are spotted it's inevitably at a later point, making any overtake far more of a rushed affair. It's one of the principal reasons why it's stupid to ignore advice to drive more slowly in fog and mist.
Be bold, be bright, be seen! And ride safe y'all...
Well, riding home was interesting. Empty B roads a spooky in this weather. It was like cycling through the set of a horror movie, and very disorienting at times!
Fortunately not many other people around. I didn't have a single person pass me once I left the main road (and the safty of a segregated cycle lane) in 6 ish miles of county lanes.
Fortunately not many other people around. I didn't have a single person pass me once I left the main road (and the safty of a segregated cycle lane) in 6 ish miles of county lanes.
Edited by SteveSteveson on Monday 2nd November 18:49
Either it's cold in Derbyshire, or I'm a puff.
Big tights, long sleeve thin jersry, winter jeresey, thin Gilet, gloves and bootie covers for me.
Got to man up as I'm in Munich tommorow to Sunday drinking, so running before I set off home, then stopping at gym for a swim befroe I get home. Should see 3 hrs of cardio today.
Big tights, long sleeve thin jersry, winter jeresey, thin Gilet, gloves and bootie covers for me.
Got to man up as I'm in Munich tommorow to Sunday drinking, so running before I set off home, then stopping at gym for a swim befroe I get home. Should see 3 hrs of cardio today.
No cycle this morning. Not after last night. Wet, and I fell off. Low sided trying to get off the road on to a cycle lane because even though it was s
t and narrow it was better than tts overtaking me too close in bad weather. Next time I am just going to move out in to the road.
Fortunately nothing more than a few cuts to my knees and one elbow, a few scratches to my LH peddle and brifter, and a bit of rubber has come out of it, which I think should be easy to put back when I get a chance at the weekend. No real damage fortunatly.
t and narrow it was better than tts overtaking me too close in bad weather. Next time I am just going to move out in to the road.Fortunately nothing more than a few cuts to my knees and one elbow, a few scratches to my LH peddle and brifter, and a bit of rubber has come out of it, which I think should be easy to put back when I get a chance at the weekend. No real damage fortunatly.
aclivity said:
Got told off by a driver telling me to "get in the correct lane".
Difficult to work out the correct lane when there is only one there?
Another idiot who thinks you should only be in a cycle lane?Difficult to work out the correct lane when there is only one there?
SteveSteveson said:
aclivity said:
Got told off by a driver telling me to "get in the correct lane".
Difficult to work out the correct lane when there is only one there?
Another idiot who thinks you should only be in a cycle lane?Difficult to work out the correct lane when there is only one there?
k! I had to stop while she dropped her husband off at work and enquire about this total disregard for my existence:Me: 'HELLO' (her window was up)
She winds her window down.
Me: 'It's a good job I was paying attention wasn't it?!'
Woman: 'You didn't put your hand up to tell me you were coming off the round about'
Me: 'WHAT, ARE YOU FOR REAL?!'
Woman: 'Next time you should signal'
Me: 'No, you should give way to traffic on the round about. That's how it works. Thanks'
I carried onto work, I made my point and she was just sat there with a blank look on her face - her husband got out and left her to it... maybe something went in but I doubt it...
*I have to admit, I didn't signal my intention to exit the round about this morning because it was pissing down with rain and you could see the rainbow slick all over it - I didn't feel confident coming round one-handed in those conditions, plus I like to have both hands available to brake on that round about... this is the third near miss in the last six months. It's a fairly fast small/medium sized round about, especially for cars coming from the north/A47 like she was because they come strait off a NS dual carriageway onto a 40 limit dual carriageway but rarely do they do 40...
**She couldn't really claim not to have seen me, from the front I have a Cateye Volt 700 on max power, white helmet, hi viz jacket, hi viz ankle bands for my water proofs, a fibre flare at the back along with a standard 3 led rear light
Another 'Ninja' cyclist on my ride home tonight.
Up ahead of me, he's on the footpath over the motorway bridge, and round the outside of a right-hand bend. Good. Stay there, I thought. At least you're safe there. But no, as I round the same bend, I see that he's jumped down the kerb, onto the carriageway. It's dark, he's dressed in dark gear, and has only one reflector that I can see, on his r/h pedal.
No matter. There's a set of temporary traffic lights around the next bend. If they're at red, I'll tell him just how invisible he is. Red light seen ahead, but then...
...Wow! OMG! WTF? 'ninja' boy rides straight past the red, straight AT the cars at the other end, which have now begun to make their way through the pinch point. So they don't hit him. The lead car must have seen him as they closed, and held back. Probably spotted the glow from his cigarette or some such. Well, I could scarcely believe what I was seeing, and changed my mind about speaking to him. Blatant ignorance, with no regard for his own safety, or for engaging with the rest of us "road users".
The saddest part, for me, is that his behaviour is ammo enough for a certain portion of drivers to treat cyclists as second class road users.
Up ahead of me, he's on the footpath over the motorway bridge, and round the outside of a right-hand bend. Good. Stay there, I thought. At least you're safe there. But no, as I round the same bend, I see that he's jumped down the kerb, onto the carriageway. It's dark, he's dressed in dark gear, and has only one reflector that I can see, on his r/h pedal.
No matter. There's a set of temporary traffic lights around the next bend. If they're at red, I'll tell him just how invisible he is. Red light seen ahead, but then...
...Wow! OMG! WTF? 'ninja' boy rides straight past the red, straight AT the cars at the other end, which have now begun to make their way through the pinch point. So they don't hit him. The lead car must have seen him as they closed, and held back. Probably spotted the glow from his cigarette or some such. Well, I could scarcely believe what I was seeing, and changed my mind about speaking to him. Blatant ignorance, with no regard for his own safety, or for engaging with the rest of us "road users".
The saddest part, for me, is that his behaviour is ammo enough for a certain portion of drivers to treat cyclists as second class road users.
yellowjack said:
...The saddest part, for me, is that his behaviour is ammo enough for a certain portion of drivers to treat cyclists as second class road users.
This is the bit that worries me the most too, I really can't get my head round why people choose to put themselves in such danger?! Totally baffles me 
Stev said:
.
No idea - there wasn't a cycle lane there. I suspect he was annoyed because I was going over the lights and he wanted to turn left - but he was turndicating, no indication earlier on. Even me, on my bike I was faster than him!aclivity said:
Got told off by a driver telling me to "get in the correct lane".
Difficult to work out the correct lane when there is only one there?
Another idiot who thinks you should only be in a cycle lane?Difficult to work out the correct lane when there is only one there?
Craikeybaby said:
Rode on the road rather than cycle path today as there were so many leaves on it. The leave also obscure the double yellow lines, so there were loads of cars parked on it too. 
It turns out that the council can't ticket the cars parked on the double yellow lines, as the lines are obscured by fallen leaves. What is the chance of them not being able to clear the fallen leaves due to the parked cars 
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