The daily "I cycled to work" thread
Discussion
Mist and fog this morning , felt the coldist morning since spring, but I prefer the cold so win for me,
Misses is 4 days overdue her birth date, so will be my last ride in for a while, so took my quickest bike in full club gear.
Schools start today and tom, traffic was quite a bit heavier
Misses is 4 days overdue her birth date, so will be my last ride in for a while, so took my quickest bike in full club gear.
Schools start today and tom, traffic was quite a bit heavier
I like the speeding silent bullet analogy more. 
Justin Cyder said:
Back in the saddle after a bout of chesty unpleasantness. Averaged 15ish which is 25% down for a week off.
The local rag is carrying demands from a newly elected UKIP councillor to restrict cycling on my route.
The local rag is carrying demands from a newly elected UKIP councillor to restrict cycling on my route.
Swivel eyed retired Colonel said:
This is not very reassuring for the pedestrians who use the path regularly and risk injury and abuse on a regular basis.”
Mr Patmore said cyclists ‘racing at full pelt ,decked out in black riding gear with all the trappings, on a racing bike travelling at the speed of a silent bullet’ were a real threat.
“The first time you realise they are upon you is when you feel the wind of their passage past you,” he said. “One step either way to avoid them and you risk a serious accident.”
“The path is not designed for budding Sir Chris Hoys or speed racing. It is not an Olympic velodrome.”
The councillor outlined one resident’s suggestion of putting chicanes at strategic intervals to slow the cyclists and accommodate mobility scooters, which he said would offer ‘cost-effective’ protection to both pedestrians and cyclists.
“Come on WSCC, let’s have a quick fix and introduce the chicanes described above before there is another serious injury,” said Mr Patmore.
I've written asking him to produce verified data on serious accidents on this stretch in the past three years. No response.Mr Patmore said cyclists ‘racing at full pelt ,decked out in black riding gear with all the trappings, on a racing bike travelling at the speed of a silent bullet’ were a real threat.
“The first time you realise they are upon you is when you feel the wind of their passage past you,” he said. “One step either way to avoid them and you risk a serious accident.”
“The path is not designed for budding Sir Chris Hoys or speed racing. It is not an Olympic velodrome.”
The councillor outlined one resident’s suggestion of putting chicanes at strategic intervals to slow the cyclists and accommodate mobility scooters, which he said would offer ‘cost-effective’ protection to both pedestrians and cyclists.
“Come on WSCC, let’s have a quick fix and introduce the chicanes described above before there is another serious injury,” said Mr Patmore.
Edited by Justin Cyder on Tuesday 2nd September 08:59
The councillor overlooks the fact that going round in a circle generally is not conducive to getting to one's destination. Ill thought out.
GarryDK said:
Unfortunately this will always be the case with shared foot paths.
maybe a more sensible recommendation would be to have the paths split in half. cyclists one side pedestrians the other.
You can split paths all you want, but you'll not persuade idiot pedestrians to stay off 'bike only' sections. There's a bike only section past Farnborough leisure centre, it's about 8 feet wide, and separated from a 20 foot wide pedestrian area by large planted beds. I copped a load of abuse from some silly Doris dragging a tartan shopping trolley along it the other day. Apparently I "shouldn't ride on the pavement", yet the pictograms painted on the floor clearly show it to be for 'cycles only'.maybe a more sensible recommendation would be to have the paths split in half. cyclists one side pedestrians the other.
Unfortunately for general peace and harmony, there are a significant number of pedestrians out there who seem to deliberately obstruct the free passage of bicycle riders along 'shared use paths'. Very often, these obstinate halfwits will be accompanied by a four legged obstacle which shows no sign of being under any sort of control at all
To be fair, though, Councillor Patmore has some backing from official safety advice, which suggests that cyclists who ride in excess of (I think) 12 (or maybe 15) miles per hour ought to consider staying on the roads. I for one would be more than happy to stay off useless "cycle facilities" if more was done to actively reclaim road space for use by cyclists on the roads. This need not involve much in the way of infrastructure projects, and could be achieved easily if drivers simply calmed the f
k down and we all displayed a little more respect for one another as 'road users' and human beings. BUT! All the while it is seen as necessary to build or alter facilities to keep bikes off carriageways, then the 'zone of conflict' will surely follow the bikes onto the shared use paths.Consider this. The walking pace of an average adult equates to about 3.1 mph. A bicycle at 12 mph is travelling at nearly four times faster than that. Now, average driving speeds in urban areas (not speed limits, but the average actually achieved) is down around 24 mph (personal experience using the trip computer in my car) even on relatively free flowing 30/40 mph roads. The average car, therefore, is likely to be travelling at only twice the speed of a commuting cyclist of average fitness. Many cyclists achieve speeds far in excess of this arbitrary '12 mph', and so any speed differential between them and pedestrians is increased, while the speed differential between these speedy riders and motorised traffic is reduced. Conclusion? It is far better for the harmonious existence (and safety) of everyone on the roads for cyclists to stay off the pavements(footways) and get back onto the roads(carriageways).
Nice commute this morning. The grey start turned to clear skies while I was riding and there was so little traffic - weird.
I got round to fitting new tyres on the weekend (Conti 4000s II thingies) they feel really nice - subjectively less rolling resistance and more grip. 23mm vs the 25mm Vittoria slicks I had. If I didn't have a carbon frame the ride would be too buzzy for me though.
I got round to fitting new tyres on the weekend (Conti 4000s II thingies) they feel really nice - subjectively less rolling resistance and more grip. 23mm vs the 25mm Vittoria slicks I had. If I didn't have a carbon frame the ride would be too buzzy for me though.
Soft-pedalled to the office today, first time since I moved to the new apartment. We don't have showers at work, so the only way to do the commute is ride in jeans and a shirt at low speed (circa 25kph) and don full lycra and take the long route home to make up for the morning.
I'm very lucky, my commute is 16km, and totally flat with a cycle path almost all the way there so is a pretty easy ride. Even going gently it takes about the same time door to door as using the train.
I'm very lucky, my commute is 16km, and totally flat with a cycle path almost all the way there so is a pretty easy ride. Even going gently it takes about the same time door to door as using the train.
24.4 miles each way along the edge of the Lake District done today, averaged 16mph going in (1600 ft of climbing) and 14mph coming home (2000 ft of climbs coming back. First time I've done both ways in the same day, quite happy with how I got on considering I've got a knackered old hybrid. Looking forward to getting a nice new carbon bike in a couple of weeks even more now :-) shame the summer's just about over though :-(
Edited by jmb88 on Tuesday 2nd September 19:33
jmb88 said:
24.4 miles each way along the edge of the Lake District done today, averaged 16mph going in (1600 ft of climbing) and 14mph coming home (2000 ft of climbs coming back. First time I've done both ways in the same day, quite happy with how I got on considering I've got a knackered old hybrid. Looking forward to getting a nice new carbon bike in a couple of weeks even more now :-) shame the summer's just about over though :-(
Good effort. It's hard riding in that part of the World. Edited by jmb88 on Tuesday 2nd September 19:33
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Good effort. It's hard riding in that part of the World.
I love it. Need to get all the big passes ticked off before this year's out, Whinlatter is a regular one for me but I haven't had time to venture beyond yet to do Newlands, Hardknott and Honister. Days like today watching the sun rise over the hills really bring home to me how fortunate I am to live in such an amazing area. The ride to work is unlikely become too regular, just takes too much effort having to leave the house at 0600.
v15ben said:
I'm in Aylesbury at the moment.
Much prefer to ride on the main road with the cars than deal with the crazy pedestrians on the shared paths!
Also where for some bizarre reason the bike side of the divided shared use paths will be always full of pedestrians... It always seems worse in Aylesbury for some reason!Much prefer to ride on the main road with the cars than deal with the crazy pedestrians on the shared paths!
jmb88 said:
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Good effort. It's hard riding in that part of the World.
I love it. Need to get all the big passes ticked off before this year's out, Whinlatter is a regular one for me but I haven't had time to venture beyond yet to do Newlands, Hardknott and Honister. Days like today watching the sun rise over the hills really bring home to me how fortunate I am to live in such an amazing area. The ride to work is unlikely become too regular, just takes too much effort having to leave the house at 0600.
TheLemming said:
Also where for some bizarre reason the bike side of the divided shared use paths will be always full of pedestrians... It always seems worse in Aylesbury for some reason!
Think your username is appropriate in this case.People here seem to use the paths as if they were lemmings!
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