Stupid New Years Resolution!
Discussion
How wet the forecast was had no bearing whatsoever on how wet it actually wasn't. Shorts, jacket, carbon knuckle gloves in case of Volvo drivers and Joker mask. The return of the Joker mask meant two things. I don't have a face covered in mud, seriously women pay thousands on beauty treatment when all they need to do is ride around the Fens for a bit without crud catchers. Second wearing all the high viz' in the word riding a bike that's lit up like a council estate in December is a complete waste of effort but wear a Joker mask and every driver, passenger, pedestrian, PoB, fellow cyclist and squirrel will see you coming and get out of the bloody way. 
thiscocks said:
Liquid Knight said:
The things you miss when you're sat in a car.
SittingYep the wildlife is a highlight of many otherwise s
t rides for me.t ride" parts of the road are quarter of an inch deep in Norfolk clay and the bike looked like I had been through the Lake District this morning. This is part of rural life and it took me a good ten minutes to wash my bike before I went to bed, but slick tyres, tailwind, and varying degrees of zoning made the mud covered corners interesting to say the least. When I first put slicks on the bike someone suggested it was a pedal powered Supermoto. This morning I was riding it as such.
I'm going to write to Offcom about the weather forecasts as the 10mph headwind I'm supposed to have this evening is already bending trees. Lucky it's my last shift of fifteen and whatever the commute throws at me I'll be in a good mood later.
Still wearing my carbon fiber knuckle gloves in case my Volvo decides to try and kill me again.
I think it went from thread to blog to rant ages ago.
The new chain is starting to skip already. Normal people change gear for headwinds but I just try to push through it. Tonight is my last night and I get a weekend off to work on my Panda. Back to work Tuesday but that milestone from before will be half way home next Friday.
Provided I don't get killed, fall off due to mud or break anything else that is.
The new chain is starting to skip already. Normal people change gear for headwinds but I just try to push through it. Tonight is my last night and I get a weekend off to work on my Panda. Back to work Tuesday but that milestone from before will be half way home next Friday.
Provided I don't get killed, fall off due to mud or break anything else that is.
Well I finally lost my temper with someone today. I'm not happy about it or what I said but considering this particular driver has had three opportunities to get it right in the last three mornings and had progressively got it more and more wrong to the point that if there were more traffic today I'd certainly not be here to tell the tale.
On my night shifts I reach a busy junction at roughly the same time and this driver reached the same point within a hundred Yards or so every morning on his way to work. The only "A" road I have to cross is the A17 at a point called Market Lane. This is a staggered junction with a traffic island and light incline to the give way line.
Thursday morning this black 1996 Rover 400 passed me on the bend aproaching the junction at the "Give Way 142 Yards" sign and as there was a van coming the other way passed a bit close but I could see what was happening and braked in time for there to have been no incident. No signal, failed to stop at the Give Way line and carried on headed towards King's Lynn leaving a cloud of Diesel smoke in its wake.
Friday morning about two hundred and fifty Yards away from the junction the Rover driver decides to overtake without noticing a car was reversing out of a driveway ahead. Heavy braking, horn blasting and of course I have to avoiding action.
This morning. As I passed the "Give Way 142 Yards" sign I look over my shoulder to see the Rover about quarter of a mile away. About half way to the junction I get to the white lines (ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba dum d-dum) and start to filter right so I can turn right and then left as usual. Look over my shoulder again and the idiot driving the Rover is trying to overtake both drivers side wheels over the white lines and looking far right at the gap in the traffic. Whilst looking over my shoulder he notices me and has to brake hard to avoid hitting me into the flow of traffic on the A17. Luckily I can see the gap as well and carry on. If I had tried to stop I would have been ran over or punted on to the main road as the Rover came to rest a foot over the Give Way line.
I put the bike and my bag down in the centre island of the junction and made my way to the drivers window. Jokingly I say "that was fun are you in a hurry to get to an optometrist?"; the driver replied with "fk off you stupid ! You fking cyclists are all the fking same. You don't own the fking road. You might not be so fking lucky next time I see you! Now; fk off!"
This is where I lost my temper and said.
"You were lucky this time. I hope that when; not if: When! You hit someone you kill them, because it will take at least five years in prison for you to learn how to fkING DRIVE!"
The driver looked as if I had told him he had Cancer, put his seat belt on and drove away like he had Miss Daisy in the back.
So I'd like to apologise to the complete stranger who's life I threatened to make a point. As for the driver; I see no reason to apologise or take back what I said. If he'd have said "Sorry I wasn't paying attention" or something similar I wouldn't have lost it and like the previous two events they wouldn't have made it to the blog. I don't write up every bad driver I see as it would crash the forum server and as I've mentioned before I don't want to be a Magnatom or Cycling Mikey, but this guy and his attitude annoyed me enough to react.
Anyway I'm of until Tuesday and need to get some work done on my Panda.
On my night shifts I reach a busy junction at roughly the same time and this driver reached the same point within a hundred Yards or so every morning on his way to work. The only "A" road I have to cross is the A17 at a point called Market Lane. This is a staggered junction with a traffic island and light incline to the give way line.
Thursday morning this black 1996 Rover 400 passed me on the bend aproaching the junction at the "Give Way 142 Yards" sign and as there was a van coming the other way passed a bit close but I could see what was happening and braked in time for there to have been no incident. No signal, failed to stop at the Give Way line and carried on headed towards King's Lynn leaving a cloud of Diesel smoke in its wake.
Friday morning about two hundred and fifty Yards away from the junction the Rover driver decides to overtake without noticing a car was reversing out of a driveway ahead. Heavy braking, horn blasting and of course I have to avoiding action.
This morning. As I passed the "Give Way 142 Yards" sign I look over my shoulder to see the Rover about quarter of a mile away. About half way to the junction I get to the white lines (ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba dum d-dum) and start to filter right so I can turn right and then left as usual. Look over my shoulder again and the idiot driving the Rover is trying to overtake both drivers side wheels over the white lines and looking far right at the gap in the traffic. Whilst looking over my shoulder he notices me and has to brake hard to avoid hitting me into the flow of traffic on the A17. Luckily I can see the gap as well and carry on. If I had tried to stop I would have been ran over or punted on to the main road as the Rover came to rest a foot over the Give Way line.
I put the bike and my bag down in the centre island of the junction and made my way to the drivers window. Jokingly I say "that was fun are you in a hurry to get to an optometrist?"; the driver replied with "f
k off you stupid ! You fking cyclists are all the fking same. You don't own the fking road. You might not be so fking lucky next time I see you! Now; fk off!"This is where I lost my temper and said.
"You were lucky this time. I hope that when; not if: When! You hit someone you kill them, because it will take at least five years in prison for you to learn how to f
kING DRIVE!"The driver looked as if I had told him he had Cancer, put his seat belt on and drove away like he had Miss Daisy in the back.
So I'd like to apologise to the complete stranger who's life I threatened to make a point. As for the driver; I see no reason to apologise or take back what I said. If he'd have said "Sorry I wasn't paying attention" or something similar I wouldn't have lost it and like the previous two events they wouldn't have made it to the blog. I don't write up every bad driver I see as it would crash the forum server and as I've mentioned before I don't want to be a Magnatom or Cycling Mikey, but this guy and his attitude annoyed me enough to react.
Anyway I'm of until Tuesday and need to get some work done on my Panda.
Edited by Liquid Knight on Saturday 13th October 14:02
joe58 said:
Are they legal? Audi are developing something similar for cars.
I have no idea about the legality. I think they "show lights only" at the moment. Most of the ones I've seen are Chinese imports and the ones for sale in the UK are a little sketchy as whether they are "E" marked or not (not that bike lights need to be "E" marked at all but it has made them panic a bit when you ask). 380 sold and more than 10 available. Mine is in the post.
This morning was a blow out; literally. The weather forecast lied to me again and I underestimated the near Gale force headwind. Twenty minutes to get less than a third of the way and it took five minutes to get home and in the car.
Sorry but there are only two things in the world I hate. Being late and Folk Music.
Well there are probably a load more but for comedy value I'll stick to the Sir Thomas Beecham reverence.
This morning was a blow out; literally. The weather forecast lied to me again and I underestimated the near Gale force headwind. Twenty minutes to get less than a third of the way and it took five minutes to get home and in the car.
Sorry but there are only two things in the world I hate. Being late and Folk Music.
Well there are probably a load more but for comedy value I'll stick to the Sir Thomas Beecham reverence.
Letting the side down today. I borrowed dads car again. Not because I got a few miles into my journey and turned back in the torrential driving wind and rain. No; I looked out the window and really couldn't be arsed.
Sorry.
The first time in a month the weather forecast has been right though.
Sorry.
The first time in a month the weather forecast has been right though.
I think a new front light to go with the laser rear.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultrafire-3800-Lumen-3x-...
That'll do.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultrafire-3800-Lumen-3x-...
That'll do.
Just when you thought it was safe to drive on the country lanes of Norfolk...
Okay I cycled to work this morning. I'm fed up of driving dads car. It's not a proper car in my opinion. ABS, power steering and gutless. Seriously my 999cc Panda is a better drivers car than the 1.5 Hyundai Accent coupe (three door hatchback).
Having said that any car is safer in fog than cycling.
Until now.
The laser light is really good. The laser reflecting off the floor isn't as good as the photo's suggest but the novelty of it means I have drivers attention from behind as much as the Joker mask does up front. So much so one driver opened his window and asked me where I'd got it from at a set of traffic lights. The five LED light is also very good. Three rear facing and two at about a thirty degree angle are as good as my old cateye. Two problems, with the lasers on the batteries don't last very long and the light is quite bulky and bounces about a bit. If the light switch hits anything it goes to mode two that is a very illegal strobe light. Red strobes and lasers it's like cycling through 1992.
Apart from that a good bargain priced light and it looks a bit like an alien head from War of the Worlds, that's never a bad thing.
Okay I cycled to work this morning. I'm fed up of driving dads car. It's not a proper car in my opinion. ABS, power steering and gutless. Seriously my 999cc Panda is a better drivers car than the 1.5 Hyundai Accent coupe (three door hatchback).
Having said that any car is safer in fog than cycling.
Until now.
The laser light is really good. The laser reflecting off the floor isn't as good as the photo's suggest but the novelty of it means I have drivers attention from behind as much as the Joker mask does up front. So much so one driver opened his window and asked me where I'd got it from at a set of traffic lights. The five LED light is also very good. Three rear facing and two at about a thirty degree angle are as good as my old cateye. Two problems, with the lasers on the batteries don't last very long and the light is quite bulky and bounces about a bit. If the light switch hits anything it goes to mode two that is a very illegal strobe light. Red strobes and lasers it's like cycling through 1992.
Apart from that a good bargain priced light and it looks a bit like an alien head from War of the Worlds, that's never a bad thing.
Ho-ray for fkwit Thursday.
1/ My dust caps were clean and tyres 10-15Psi lower than when I left it.
2/ I think I can overtake this cyclist ten feet away from a red traffic light.
3/ That cyclist on a red a white bike with three front lights and a rider wearing bright yellow and orange is far enough away for me to pull out of this junction. Whoops! Maybe not.
4/ I think I'll overtake this cyclist and park in the cycle lane.
5/ That red bit past the stop line of a junction with a bicycle painted on the floor must be for my Citroen Picasso.
6/ I think it's safe to overtake this cyclist stop in front of a shop and open the door without looking.
7/ Three Inches is more than enough room to overtake a cyclist an a national speed limit road.
8/ I don't need to dip my headlights to cyclists x5 (just wait).
9/ If I overtake this cyclist just before I turn left it will save 0.6 seconds from my journey.
10/ I can overtake this cyclist on a blind bend. Oh, hang on he's going just below the speed limit. Oh carp! there's someone coming the other way. Never mind I can cut the cyclist up instead of having a head on. It's his fault for going too fast anyway.
Thank you to the driver of the Fiat Punto who waited behind me a whole fifty Yards before turning left behind me. I was so busy waving to the driver in appreciation I nearly hit the curb.
kwit Thursday. 1/ My dust caps were clean and tyres 10-15Psi lower than when I left it.
2/ I think I can overtake this cyclist ten feet away from a red traffic light.
3/ That cyclist on a red a white bike with three front lights and a rider wearing bright yellow and orange is far enough away for me to pull out of this junction. Whoops! Maybe not.
4/ I think I'll overtake this cyclist and park in the cycle lane.
5/ That red bit past the stop line of a junction with a bicycle painted on the floor must be for my Citroen Picasso.
6/ I think it's safe to overtake this cyclist stop in front of a shop and open the door without looking.
7/ Three Inches is more than enough room to overtake a cyclist an a national speed limit road.
8/ I don't need to dip my headlights to cyclists x5 (just wait).
9/ If I overtake this cyclist just before I turn left it will save 0.6 seconds from my journey.
10/ I can overtake this cyclist on a blind bend. Oh, hang on he's going just below the speed limit. Oh carp! there's someone coming the other way. Never mind I can cut the cyclist up instead of having a head on. It's his fault for going too fast anyway.
Thank you to the driver of the Fiat Punto who waited behind me a whole fifty Yards before turning left behind me. I was so busy waving to the driver in appreciation I nearly hit the curb.
Liquid Knight said:
8/ I don't need to dip my headlights to cyclists x5 (just wait).
Woooo-Ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaa! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1800-Lumen-CREE-XML-T6-L...
Shame the delivery date is 05/11/12
Wowzers!
A few days in a tin a box and I become hypersensitive. It may well have had something to do with this...
...I've invested a whole £10 in a new kettle at work so yesterday I had coffee instead of coffee flavored cement. Seriously the inside of the old kettle looked like photos sent by the Mars Rover.
Yes there are pillocks on the road and to be honest I'm one of them. When a car fails to dip their headlights I tend to drift into the center of the road until they see me and dip them or have to stop. Knobish in the extreme but it gets the job done 98% of the time. The new light will (hopefully) solve this.
eBay update. My light is marked as dispatched and has an estimated arrival date of the 1st instead of the 5th.
A few days in a tin a box and I become hypersensitive. It may well have had something to do with this...
...I've invested a whole £10 in a new kettle at work so yesterday I had coffee instead of coffee flavored cement. Seriously the inside of the old kettle looked like photos sent by the Mars Rover.
Yes there are pillocks on the road and to be honest I'm one of them. When a car fails to dip their headlights I tend to drift into the center of the road until they see me and dip them or have to stop. Knobish in the extreme but it gets the job done 98% of the time. The new light will (hopefully) solve this.
eBay update. My light is marked as dispatched and has an estimated arrival date of the 1st instead of the 5th.
HurryUpAndWait said:
Liquid Knight said:
I bought one of these simply because having lasers is cool. I've yet to use them though - you? If so, what do you reckon?Here's another idea I've been looking into.
http://youtu.be/rMdsHVP2Ai0
$250 per wheel is a bit harsh when these...
...are £1.99 a pair and do a similar job.
So yesterday evening was a really good ride home. Head wind, cold, not much traffic and I managed a couple of good deeds. I stopped to help a chap in a Focus with a puncture and as I was being overtaken by an HGV I swerved a little to avoid a hedgehog, the driver saw what I did and why so I got a thumb up when he was in view.
The weather forecast suggested an overnight frost and little wind this morning. At half three I was woken up by biblical rain, hail, sleet, and snow being punted along by near gale force winds. So I hit the snooze button twice and took dads car.
The weather forecast suggested an overnight frost and little wind this morning. At half three I was woken up by biblical rain, hail, sleet, and snow being punted along by near gale force winds. So I hit the snooze button twice and took dads car.
I don't want to shock or cause any undue upset so if you are of a nervous disposition please look away now. I'm going commando tonight. My water resistant jacket isn't and it soaked through to my t'shirt and as my t'shirt was tucked into to waterproof trousers I got very wet underneath. Literally soaked through to the skin. So while my boxers are drying on the little heater in my plastic office I'm going without.
Now I could have taken dads car tonight but because I'm not going home until Tuesday (long story) I couldn't deprive the folks from transportation. I could have put tomorrows trolleys on instead but due to my redesigning my rear mud guard to make room for more lights than a council estate in February it guards mud and water spray about as well as my waterproof jacket. so the clothes in my bag are wetter than the ones I was wearing.
Hmmmmm... I need to rethink my lighting arrangements.
Apart from that arriving was an achievement in itself as the Betty Ford clinic road surface was extra wet and slippery when I managed to get any speed up the front was unsteady. When being the operative word there because the head wind was a pain in the cheeks. I arrived looking like Lesley Nielsen after the potters wheels scene from Naked Gun and I hadn't been off road.
So alcoholic surface wipes and a small sink with warm water later I'm almost presentable. Lucky it's Sunday and there's nobody about my little plastic office looks like a modern art installation.
Now I could have taken dads car tonight but because I'm not going home until Tuesday (long story) I couldn't deprive the folks from transportation. I could have put tomorrows trolleys on instead but due to my redesigning my rear mud guard to make room for more lights than a council estate in February it guards mud and water spray about as well as my waterproof jacket. so the clothes in my bag are wetter than the ones I was wearing.
Hmmmmm... I need to rethink my lighting arrangements.
Apart from that arriving was an achievement in itself as the Betty Ford clinic road surface was extra wet and slippery when I managed to get any speed up the front was unsteady. When being the operative word there because the head wind was a pain in the cheeks. I arrived looking like Lesley Nielsen after the potters wheels scene from Naked Gun and I hadn't been off road.
So alcoholic surface wipes and a small sink with warm water later I'm almost presentable. Lucky it's Sunday and there's nobody about my little plastic office looks like a modern art installation.
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