And today's commuting highlight is...
Discussion
CAPP0 said:
Well, my ride home became interesting. Came up behind some shonky old BMW of Y-reg vintage, with the number plate hanging at 45 degrees on one screw and a single pannier held on with a webbing strap. He pulled into lane 2 (motorway) so I passed him, whereupon he shot back out into lane 3 and parked himself under my numberplate with his headlight on full beam. Couldn't see a thing for the retina burn coming off my mirrors, so I pulled back into lane 2 whereupon he shot past me and ferked off. Most odd.
Nice to see its not just some riders in london that act odd.. I've caught up many riders over the years that appear to dislike being caught/passed because they were going so slowly and obviously paying no attention to others catching them up because of this. Was a guy tonight who had to be first in front of all the other bikes and me despite myself not holding him up at all filtering. So ok not being that bothered I let him go first at the next set of lights and carried on riding at my normal speed thus keeping pace with him with zero effort on an open part by tower bridge.. he then checked his mirror and noticed me and proceeded to give it full beans in an effort (quite poorly) to lose me LOL He did me a favour because further up the road some spectacular mini cab driving caused him to need to emergency stop it as the mini cab pulled into his lane from a garage on the highway right in his path. Again once it got busy again he went to pieces filtering so I disappeared off and didn't see him again - most odd riding.
It was the initial shock as I accelerated onto the A3 this morning that got me, I'd forgotten how cold it is to travel at motorway speeds and had to slow down until my body got used to it. Mind you, which I was travelling slowly another biker came flying past in the fast lane, obviously had a lot better winter kit on than I did.
Mr_Tickle said:
It was the initial shock as I accelerated onto the A3 this morning that got me, I'd forgotten how cold it is to travel at motorway speeds and had to slow down until my body got used to it. Mind you, which I was travelling slowly another biker came flying past in the fast lane, obviously had a lot better winter kit on than I did.
Which bit of the A3? I get on at Junction 10 of the M25 and head north to Tolworth, this morning was a bit chillyIf you do that route it always feels colder as you go through the section of open fields
British Gas rescheduled my plans to wfh today so I'm in, by bike. When I left the house the dash said 2.5 degrees, that was fine, no problem, by Sidcup it said -0.5 and that was decidedly nippy. Warmed up again as I got closer to work.
Grips and Seat both on highest setting, and I was double-merinoed.
Annoyingly, when I bought the bike in August I did ask whether they were supposed to turn over that slowly when starting, and I was assured that was completely normal. However, this morning, first cold one, it turned over double-slowly, so I think it's going to need a battery. Guess I'd better nip over to SP&L and start a thread about how much I can sue the dealer for.
Grips and Seat both on highest setting, and I was double-merinoed.
Annoyingly, when I bought the bike in August I did ask whether they were supposed to turn over that slowly when starting, and I was assured that was completely normal. However, this morning, first cold one, it turned over double-slowly, so I think it's going to need a battery. Guess I'd better nip over to SP&L and start a thread about how much I can sue the dealer for.
Dakkon said:
Well it was a risk to ride this morning and there was water across a roundabout which had turned to ice and I dropped it 
Bashed the left side fairing, snapped the clutch leaver and broken the mirror.
Oh dear, sBashed the left side fairing, snapped the clutch leaver and broken the mirror.
t start to the day.I have a little slide on a roundabout but nothing came of it.
I was in Russia for a long weekend, did a sauna and then went out into -15 to cool down, caught a cold and I commuted in today with no heated grips. But considering my condition, I did put the winter lining in my jacket and wore a gaiter and inner gloves.
Highlight therefore: - a constant 'waterfall' from my nose (lovely) until it ran out 3/4 of the way to work.
Also one fantastic L plated scooter racing past everyone this morning. I wish, after nearly 20 years riding, that I was as good as they are. Sadly no, I'm rubbish and slow and they are AWESOME. I think we should replace L plates for 'Good enough for Moto GP' plates.
Highlight therefore: - a constant 'waterfall' from my nose (lovely) until it ran out 3/4 of the way to work.
Also one fantastic L plated scooter racing past everyone this morning. I wish, after nearly 20 years riding, that I was as good as they are. Sadly no, I'm rubbish and slow and they are AWESOME. I think we should replace L plates for 'Good enough for Moto GP' plates.
Dakkon said:
Well it was a risk to ride this morning and there was water across a roundabout which had turned to ice and I dropped it
Bashed the left side fairing, snapped the clutch leaver and broken the mirror.
Unlucky, sorry to hear. Still, we've all been there. Thanks it's only a little pride and a few hundred quid.Bashed the left side fairing, snapped the clutch leaver and broken the mirror.
Checking the weather forecast and it didn't look too bad for today, tomorrow looking to be the coldest.
Had Keis heated inner gloves under my Held Score 2 gloves. 15 min down the road my fingertips were a little chilly. Switched them out for my Arctic GTX's and hands were toasty
The new bike has a nice air temperature gauge on it. As I was passing Weybridge on the A3 I looked down and thought "That looks a bit odd, I've never seen those 2 dashes before." Then I realised. Air temp was -2.
My head was freezing and for the first time my feet were pretty cold too.
With tomorrow set to be colder, I will be taking the train.
Had Keis heated inner gloves under my Held Score 2 gloves. 15 min down the road my fingertips were a little chilly. Switched them out for my Arctic GTX's and hands were toasty
The new bike has a nice air temperature gauge on it. As I was passing Weybridge on the A3 I looked down and thought "That looks a bit odd, I've never seen those 2 dashes before." Then I realised. Air temp was -2.
My head was freezing and for the first time my feet were pretty cold too.
With tomorrow set to be colder, I will be taking the train.
Dakkon said:
Well it was a risk to ride this morning and there was water across a roundabout which had turned to ice and I dropped it
Bashed the left side fairing, snapped the clutch leaver and broken the mirror.
I'm sorry to hear this but glad that you walked away from it. The bike can be fixed and is replacable.Bashed the left side fairing, snapped the clutch leaver and broken the mirror.
Not too cold on my 20 miles this morning...I'm loving my heated grips. I'd also recommend RST Pro Series kit if my new jacket is anything to go by - first really cold test this morning and toasty with just a long sleeved T and polo shirt underneath.
Question: why are 7-8am commuters so much worse at moving over to let me filter than my usual 6-7am bunch? Jealous, unhelpful lot!
Question: why are 7-8am commuters so much worse at moving over to let me filter than my usual 6-7am bunch? Jealous, unhelpful lot!
Well since the attempted theft of my scooter back in the summer ( http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... )
I now use one almax, one pragmasis, and another chain I wrap around both to limit movement of the chains (to make it more awkward to position them for their angle-grinders). Seems to have worked. Only downside is it takes me about 15 mins locking / unlocking / removing bike cover etc each day. Today the padlock metal was bloody cold on the hands!
I now use one almax, one pragmasis, and another chain I wrap around both to limit movement of the chains (to make it more awkward to position them for their angle-grinders). Seems to have worked. Only downside is it takes me about 15 mins locking / unlocking / removing bike cover etc each day. Today the padlock metal was bloody cold on the hands!
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