First commute of the year this morning

[Chris71]

I had a late start this morning so I spontaneously decided to attack the slipping gears on my road bike and ride in.

I failed pretty spectacularly with the 'pro setup' on my gears, but did get them to the state where most were usable, so I wheezed my way in.

I should know the routine by now. I don't get much chance to ride over the winter (even when I actually have the inclination) so there was that familiar feeling of overwhelming physical decay having taken place since the autumn. Next came the realisation that, no, I hadn't imagined it, North London's van drivers are [almost] all out to get me. Finally I got into work and had to clean my stinking carcass before shuffling over to the desk.

And you know what? It was so worth it.

[Chris71]

I'm feeling a roughly equal mix of anticipation for my afternoon ride and dread at facing traffic in the rush hour this time. Even wafting in at 11 o'clock I was taking my life in my hands.

[Chris71]

Obiwonkeyblokey said:

By the way that video - bunch of c**ts

I agree totally, they're the sort of idiots who give the haters in General Gassing something to moan about.

But, it has to be said, I've seen that video loads of times and I still find it strangely compelling. I think part of it's the soundtrack, I love a bit of old school cheesy metal.

I can't state how much I *don't* ride like that personally, though. I'm extremely law abiding, and if anything I'm a bit too meek (and I know this has been discussed millions of times with regards to defensive road positioning!) I've commuted for three years (okay, three summers!) now and past experience shows it takes a while to get comfortable on the roads each time. I think there's a sweet spot where you're sufficiently confident to stand your ground in a defensive road position and able to filter safely without getting too gung ho.

In some respects I reckon I'm in quite a bad situation. My route is very hilly (by local standards) so even when I'm in good shape I spend parts of it plodding, and it's right on the edge of London, which means I get London driving mentality to contend with, but out-of-town traffic speeds. Eek.