And today's commuting highlight is...

[ClaphamGT3]

SuddsyMcFoam said:

I got my ass handed to me by some bloke on one of those horrible 3 wheel piaggio things on the South circular - fair play to him, he was just quicker than me (without any outrageously non Highway Code manoeuvres)

I had a bit of that tonight with a Polish dude on a knackered old SV650

[308mate]

SuddsyMcFoam said:

I got my ass handed to me by some bloke on one of those horrible 3 wheel piaggio things on the South circular - fair play to him, he was just quicker than me (without any outrageously non Highway Code manoeuvres)

I think I see your problem.

[mitzy]

I got buzzed and jumped by some wker on a TRX850 last night
He scared me.

I was poodling listening to Kiss FM

[fergus]

mitzy said:

I was poodling listening to Kiss FM

Did the dog like the music as well?

[Dr Jekyll]

Eastbound A40 held up by a nasty looking incident at Park Royal at about 6:45, then another more minor looking one near Regent's park. Anyone know what happened at Park Royal?

[Fleegle]

I noticed that the mornings are really starting to pull. What a difference a weekend makes.....it was pitch black when I left this morning.

My last commute for 3 weeks. It's going to be a bit of a shock to the system when I get back on the bike at 06:50. Best crack out the winter goodies in preparation

[CAPP0]

Unfortunately, today's "highlight" was a bike lying on it's side just by the old Royal Mint at Tower Bridge, with a private-hire-stickered black Ford Galaxy halfway through completing a U-turn right next to it. Pretty much a classic "sorry mate, I didn't even think of checking before I swung round" from the looks of it. Are drivers really still that dopey?

Sadly it looked like they were carting the biker off in an ambulance - that headed off just as I got there, with police in attendance and the bike still lying under the side of the Galaxy, but no biker standing around. Couldn't quite see but from the colour I suspect it was a Triumph, possibly a Sprint.

Hope the fella is OK.

[Fleegle]

CAPP0 said:

, with a private-hire-stickered black Ford Galaxy halfway through completing a U-turn right next to it. Pretty much a classic "sorry mate, I didn't even think of checking before I swung round" from the looks of it. Are drivers really still that dopey?

The driver will have a questionable licence, obtained by handing over a goat in exchange for a pass with flying colours having never even sat behind the wheel of a car(t)

[sjtscott]

CAPP0 said:

Unfortunately, today's "highlight" was a bike lying on it's side just by the old Royal Mint at Tower Bridge, with a private-hire-stickered black Ford Galaxy halfway through completing a U-turn right next to it. Pretty much a classic "sorry mate, I didn't even think of checking before I swung round" from the looks of it. Are drivers really still that dopey?

Sadly it looked like they were carting the biker off in an ambulance - that headed off just as I got there, with police in attendance and the bike still lying under the side of the Galaxy, but no biker standing around. Couldn't quite see but from the colour I suspect it was a Triumph, possibly a Sprint.

Hope the fella is OK.

Yes drivers esp those with the special **** stickers front and rear, at least they give you a sporting chance because you'll be expecting this sort of move even if the thing is unbranded.
This is near my usual route, i see some crazy u turns being pulled generally by the black cabs though.
I see a couple of guys on sprints most mornings. Hope the rider is ok too.

[308mate]

CAPP0 said:

Unfortunately, today's "highlight" was a bike lying on it's side just by the old Royal Mint at Tower Bridge, with a private-hire-stickered black Ford Galaxy halfway through completing a U-turn right next to it. Pretty much a classic "sorry mate, I didn't even think of checking before I swung round" from the looks of it. Are drivers really still that dopey?

Sadly it looked like they were carting the biker off in an ambulance - that headed off just as I got there, with police in attendance and the bike still lying under the side of the Galaxy, but no biker standing around. Couldn't quite see but from the colour I suspect it was a Triumph, possibly a Sprint.

Hope the fella is OK.

I went west through that accident not long after it occurred. It did look like a u-turn issue. The bike was something large with indicators in the mirrors, it looked to me like a k1200s but I couldn't be sure. Anyway when I went by, traffic was being directed around it and the rider was sitting upright, leaning against the Galaxy, flip top up and talking, though he looked like he was a bit sore from some of the facials. Looked like he wasn't too beaten up though.

The highlight today was getting dressed for the ride home, packing my goretex textile trousers into the top box and setting off home in just my jeans and textile jacket, only for it to start properly pissing down before I even got through the limehouse link. All that weather protection on the RT only works when you're moving, so at no point the between Canary Wharf and Putney then. The very cold water running off the jacket into the jeans and seeping through to my bks was an especially exhilarating moment. Mercifully, the heated seat solved that problem so it only felt like I'd pissed my pants all the way home.

[CAPP0]

I watched a horror film on the way in this morning. It was called "The Return of the Rail Strike Wobbler".

[SteelerSE]

Got drenched on the way home last night - thankfully today's commuting highlight is working from home. Bliss!

[Pothole]

Why does a bit of rain paralyse drivers into staying in the very middle of motorway lanes? Filtering was a mare this morning!

[lindrup119]

CAPP0 said:

I watched a horror film on the way in this morning. It was called "The Return of the Rail Strike Wobbler".

[sjtscott]

CAPP0 said:

I watched a horror film on the way in this morning. It was called "The Return of the Rail Strike Wobbler".

I had noticed some less than competent bike riding last couple of days.. Southern Rail must be partially the cause.
Almost like a return to warmer weather months noticed a number of blast it when clear, confused/useless to read/filter competently when it isn't. Following some people that were just looking or not looking at clear gaps but not taking them or reading ahead with the traffic. When stuck behind them its particularly frustrating. Grey camo jacket bloke on a shiny red framed tarted up CB1000R was a particular example of this yesterday. He'd spot you in his mirror and have to keep ahead on the more open bits and then just fall to piece at making any respectable progress through the traffic.

This morning being at the back of a snake of bikes stuck following a scooter with a what looked like a 45litre topbox the WHOLE way through the limehouse link heading west this morning! Literally all 4 scooter/bikes in front of me were proper riding miss daisy, not one of the proper bikes would overtake any of the scooters once we were out of the tunnel.

Edited by sjtscott on Wednesday 19th October 12:55

[black-k1]

The all-day meeting I was in yesterday finished early so I got out of town well ahead of my normal schedule and still while the sun was shining in an almost clear sky. The run home thus avoided the usual A120 route and instead went from Gt. Dunmow, through Finchingfield and on to Sudbury via some of the nicest roads Essex has to offer. My journey time was only slightly greater but the smile on my face when I got home showed it was a worth wile route.

This morning was back to boring roads and rain suits but tomorrow is my last bike commuting day until next spring.

[matrignano]

CAPP0 said:

Unfortunately, today's "highlight" was a bike lying on it's side just by the old Royal Mint at Tower Bridge, with a private-hire-stickered black Ford Galaxy halfway through completing a U-turn right next to it. Pretty much a classic "sorry mate, I didn't even think of checking before I swung round" from the looks of it. Are drivers really still that dopey?

Sadly it looked like they were carting the biker off in an ambulance - that headed off just as I got there, with police in attendance and the bike still lying under the side of the Galaxy, but no biker standing around. Couldn't quite see but from the colour I suspect it was a Triumph, possibly a Sprint.

Hope the fella is OK.

I think the rider was ok, the ambulance hadn't budged in those 5-10 mins it took me to approach and then go around the accident scene. If the rider had been in a bad way I'm sure the ambulance would have taken off pronto!

[ClaphamGT3]

Mine today was on the Victoria Line, sitting next to the sweating, stinking Rhinococrcodillapig oozing into my seat and smelling of last nights special-brew supper and breathing like a dying bulldog.

1. goodreminderofwhyiusethebike

[CAPP0]

An open letter to the Hoodie-and-Jeans wearing Streetfighter Rider:

Dear Hoodie fella,

I'm sure that when you crashed your Suzuki decided to turn your nice Suzuki into a street fighter, you would have decided that not only would the widest Renthals money can buy look jolly cool dahn the caff, but also that the "look" would be massively improved by fitting those w@nky bar end mirrors that widen the bars by about another eight inches.

However, I have to break it to you that those mirrors don't work. If they did, you'd be able to see the 20 bikes in line behind you as you wobble down the A102 at 10mph, because your bars/mirror combo won't fit through gaps that a fully-dressed Goldwing would sail through. You'd be able to see them weaving from side to side, you'd be able to see them flashing their lights; hell, you might even be able to see some of them yelling at you. I guess the reason you can't hear their horns is because you've got Yoof FM blaring out inside your strangely-beige helmet.

Speaking of helmets - stop being one and move out of the way, there's a good chap.

(Twice this week. I'll have to leave earlier. Or wfh).

[Dr Jekyll]

Got through Beaconsfield town centre, all the way down the M40 western avenue and Westway to Marylebone road before I had to put a foot down. Oddly satisfying.