And today's commuting highlight is...

[E91 Gaz]

Nc750, you aren't that wide. Hurry up and filter at anything other than 1st gear or move over..

Classic slight bit of rain and everyone drives like they've forgotten how to, adding an extra 25 mins on my journey. Got alot of extra practice of my filtering skills though !

[supercommuter]

E91 Gaz said:

Nc750, you aren't that wide. Hurry up and filter at anything other than 1st gear or move over..

Classic slight bit of rain and everyone drives like they've forgotten how to, adding an extra 25 mins on my journey. Got alot of extra practice of my filtering skills though !

Actually had to move over yesterday for some nut case on a scooter filtering. Found my feet on the Africa Twin now and back to my usual speed of filtering.

This scooter rider was just dragging it down the side of car full throttle, it was quite a sight.

[kiethton]

supercommuter said:

Actually had to move over yesterday for some nut case on a scooter filtering. Found my feet on the Africa Twin now and back to my usual speed of filtering.

This scooter rider was just dragging it down the side of car full throttle, it was quite a sight.

about 30mph then

[supercommuter]

kiethton said:

supercommuter said:

Actually had to move over yesterday for some nut case on a scooter filtering. Found my feet on the Africa Twin now and back to my usual speed of filtering.

This scooter rider was just dragging it down the side of car full throttle, it was quite a sight.

about 30mph then

Haha, first time i have had to move over for another person! He obviously had somewhere to be

[Biker 1]

E91 Gaz said:

Nc750, you aren't that wide.

Aren't those the 'thinking man's' sensible bike??

[LemonParty]

Biker 1 said:

E91 Gaz said:

Nc750, you aren't that wide.

Aren't those the 'thinking man's' sensible bike??

I had one as a hire bike for four weeks - the NC750X if it makes any difference. The bars / mirrors are surprising wide - it certainly slowed my filtering down considerably. Glad to have given it back and got back to full speed filtering again!!

[sjtscott]

supercommuter said:

Haha, first time i have had to move over for another person! He obviously had somewhere to be

I guess thats the ride expecting nothing to happen or worry about - a trait I see in a lot of scooter riders and cyclists making ZERO allowances for reacting to anything let alone being able to stop in the line of sight they can see.
People like this are fine until something they arn't planning for (because they don't do any planning) happens.. bang and they're down.
That defines a level of skill that sets apart the top level commuters being able to ride and fast/brisk speed and still react (within reason) to the randomness occurring.
Any useless idiot can max a scooter on the stop down the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of traffic islands or keep left signs.. that requires no skill LOL For many this is the ONLY way they keep up with you riding defensively and making allowances for stuff that could happen.

[black-k1]

sjtscott said:

I guess thats the ride expecting nothing to happen or worry about - a trait I see in a lot of scooter riders and cyclists making ZERO allowances for reacting to anything let alone being able to stop in the line of sight they can see.
People like this are fine until something they arn't planning for (because they don't do any planning) happens.. bang and they're down.
That defines a level of skill that sets apart the top level commuters being able to ride and fast/brisk speed and still react (within reason) to the randomness occurring.
Any useless idiot can max a scooter on the stop down the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of traffic islands or keep left signs.. that requires no skill LOL For many this is the ONLY way they keep up with you riding defensively and making allowances for stuff that could happen.

An appropriate quote:

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

George Carlin

[sjtscott]

black-k1 said:

An appropriate quote:

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

George Carlin

LOL you could apply that
However as we're all experienced commuters generally on this thread you generally know who can ride and is making allowances for unexpected stuff and who isn't

[black-k1]

sjtscott said:

black-k1 said:

An appropriate quote:

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

George Carlin

LOL you could apply that
However as we're all experienced commuters generally on this thread you generally know who can ride and is making allowances for unexpected stuff and who isn't

Indeed, and it's often pretty easy for any/all of us to spot the safer and less safe ones out there, regardless whether they're faster or slower.

[rockford22]

First time I've used the horn on the bike and it gets used twice in the space of 1 minute, I did wonder if I'd turned invisible.

Kudos to the man in a pick up who took it upon himself to "educate" the second road user to look out for bikes. I was quite happy to leave it at a beep but appreciated the solidarity.

Thinking I should have bought a model with ABS as we go in to winter but the rear seems quite predictable in terms of lock up point...no desire to lock up the front however.

Regards, a newbie.

[Pothole]

Thank God for spare pants in my locker. Crotch of "waterproof" trousers clearly needs attention.

[supercommuter]

Pothole said:

Thank God for spare pants in my locker. Crotch of "waterproof" trousers clearly needs attention.

I wear those goretex army overtrousers underneath my textiles and over my jeans. Apparently i am going to get drenched tonight, so be interested to see if they work.

[Pothole]

It's my own fault for washing them in a machine and not using the re-waetrproofing stuff correctly! I'll do it on Saturday before we go off on holiday, then they'll have plenty of time to dry.

Edited by Pothole on Friday 20th October 15:42

[Cbull]

Apologise for the minor rant, especially on a Friday.

Yesterdays commute home was horrid. Raining so heavy I couldn't see the speedo at one point. You know when you see people get splashed by cars, well that happened to me on the bike yesterday but I ran alongside it so it lasted a good 10 seconds, the water was muddy too so I couldn't see a thing. Scary to say the least. Got in soaked and the jacket was still drying this morning.

This morning. The app says cloudy all the way to work. I step out and there’s a slight drizzle. Get cracking and it turns to normal rain. My jacket isn’t waterproof at all, desperate for a waterproof one but sh!t keeps happening to the bike so can't get one. The soaked jacket sleeve tucked into leather gloves make them worse so my hands are soaked for most of the way. Biker jeans on (I can get away with wearing them on a Friday...if dry) so my balls are drenched for the whole day now because the bike seat seems to be perfect for holding puddles. So called waterproof Frank Thomas boots which just can't be because my socks are soaked, not put my trainers on yet to let the socks dry up a bit. Lastly my new helmet is a bag of crap, HJC IS-17, drips and dribbles right in front of my eye and due to being a retard the pin-lock doesn't even work properly so whilst I gotta put up with the rest of the rubbish I can't even see at times, especially towards the edges. It’s got to be shipped back to Ireland of which I've got to pay for to be replaced/fixed.

Been riding for about a year now and although I kind of knew it already I now fully realise you've got to have some serious money to keep it up. It's a constant struggle justifying it to the Wife. Feel like I have to get a £2k loan to get myself kitted out for a full year of different weather conditions and even then that’s getting 1 lot of best budget gear to suit.

I absolutely love riding whether it be for commuting, a long ride out with the lads for the day or just a short trip to the shops....just not so much in the cold and wet.

/rant

[supercommuter]

Cbull said:

Apologise for the minor rant, especially on a Friday.

Yesterdays commute home was horrid. Raining so heavy I couldn't see the speedo at one point. You know when you see people get splashed by cars, well that happened to me on the bike yesterday but I ran alongside it so it lasted a good 10 seconds, the water was muddy too so I couldn't see a thing. Scary to say the least. Got in soaked and the jacket was still drying this morning.

This morning. The app says cloudy all the way to work. I step out and there’s a slight drizzle. Get cracking and it turns to normal rain. My jacket isn’t waterproof at all, desperate for a waterproof one but sh!t keeps happening to the bike so can't get one. The soaked jacket sleeve tucked into leather gloves make them worse so my hands are soaked for most of the way. Biker jeans on (I can get away with wearing them on a Friday...if dry) so my balls are drenched for the whole day now because the bike seat seems to be perfect for holding puddles. So called waterproof Frank Thomas boots which just can't be because my socks are soaked, not put my trainers on yet to let the socks dry up a bit. Lastly my new helmet is a bag of crap, HJC IS-17, drips and dribbles right in front of my eye and due to being a retard the pin-lock doesn't even work properly so whilst I gotta put up with the rest of the rubbish I can't even see at times, especially towards the edges. It’s got to be shipped back to Ireland of which I've got to pay for to be replaced/fixed.

Been riding for about a year now and although I kind of knew it already I now fully realise you've got to have some serious money to keep it up. It's a constant struggle justifying it to the Wife. Feel like I have to get a £2k loan to get myself kitted out for a full year of different weather conditions and even then that’s getting 1 lot of best budget gear to suit.

I absolutely love riding whether it be for commuting, a long ride out with the lads for the day or just a short trip to the shops....just not so much in the cold and wet.

/rant

Very familiar from when i started commuting. A tip for you mate.

Buy these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-British-Army-DPM... and wear them underneath your textiles in the winter.

Buy these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SealSkinz-Socks-Cycling-... and wear them over your socks.

Trust me, it is the best 45 quid you will spend.

[supercommuter]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

They leak after a while. Depends how long the commute is.

You cannot go wrong with those army surplus trousers, to be honest.

[Mr OCD]

Cbull said:

Apologise for the minor rant, especially on a Friday.

Yesterdays commute home was horrid. Raining so heavy I couldn't see the speedo at one point. You know when you see people get splashed by cars, well that happened to me on the bike yesterday but I ran alongside it so it lasted a good 10 seconds, the water was muddy too so I couldn't see a thing. Scary to say the least. Got in soaked and the jacket was still drying this morning.

This morning. The app says cloudy all the way to work. I step out and there’s a slight drizzle. Get cracking and it turns to normal rain. My jacket isn’t waterproof at all, desperate for a waterproof one but sh!t keeps happening to the bike so can't get one. The soaked jacket sleeve tucked into leather gloves make them worse so my hands are soaked for most of the way. Biker jeans on (I can get away with wearing them on a Friday...if dry) so my balls are drenched for the whole day now because the bike seat seems to be perfect for holding puddles. So called waterproof Frank Thomas boots which just can't be because my socks are soaked, not put my trainers on yet to let the socks dry up a bit. Lastly my new helmet is a bag of crap, HJC IS-17, drips and dribbles right in front of my eye and due to being a retard the pin-lock doesn't even work properly so whilst I gotta put up with the rest of the rubbish I can't even see at times, especially towards the edges. It’s got to be shipped back to Ireland of which I've got to pay for to be replaced/fixed.

Been riding for about a year now and although I kind of knew it already I now fully realise you've got to have some serious money to keep it up. It's a constant struggle justifying it to the Wife. Feel like I have to get a £2k loan to get myself kitted out for a full year of different weather conditions and even then that’s getting 1 lot of best budget gear to suit.

I absolutely love riding whether it be for commuting, a long ride out with the lads for the day or just a short trip to the shops....just not so much in the cold and wet.

/rant

A friend of mine was in same position... his kit was making him wet and miserable.

The solution was to buy top end stuff from Sportsbikeshop with 0% finance and spread the cost over 6/12 months ... it got him sorted.

[Angrybiker]

Mr OCD said:

Cbull said:

Apologise for the minor rant, especially on a Friday.

Yesterdays commute home was horrid. Raining so heavy I couldn't see the speedo at one point. You know when you see people get splashed by cars, well that happened to me on the bike yesterday but I ran alongside it so it lasted a good 10 seconds, the water was muddy too so I couldn't see a thing. Scary to say the least. Got in soaked and the jacket was still drying this morning.

This morning. The app says cloudy all the way to work. I step out and there’s a slight drizzle. Get cracking and it turns to normal rain. My jacket isn’t waterproof at all, desperate for a waterproof one but sh!t keeps happening to the bike so can't get one. The soaked jacket sleeve tucked into leather gloves make them worse so my hands are soaked for most of the way. Biker jeans on (I can get away with wearing them on a Friday...if dry) so my balls are drenched for the whole day now because the bike seat seems to be perfect for holding puddles. So called waterproof Frank Thomas boots which just can't be because my socks are soaked, not put my trainers on yet to let the socks dry up a bit. Lastly my new helmet is a bag of crap, HJC IS-17, drips and dribbles right in front of my eye and due to being a retard the pin-lock doesn't even work properly so whilst I gotta put up with the rest of the rubbish I can't even see at times, especially towards the edges. It’s got to be shipped back to Ireland of which I've got to pay for to be replaced/fixed.

Been riding for about a year now and although I kind of knew it already I now fully realise you've got to have some serious money to keep it up. It's a constant struggle justifying it to the Wife. Feel like I have to get a £2k loan to get myself kitted out for a full year of different weather conditions and even then that’s getting 1 lot of best budget gear to suit.

I absolutely love riding whether it be for commuting, a long ride out with the lads for the day or just a short trip to the shops....just not so much in the cold and wet.

/rant

A friend of mine was in same position... his kit was making him wet and miserable.

The solution was to buy top end stuff from Sportsbikeshop with 0% finance and spread the cost over 6/12 months ... it got him sorted.

Seconded. It's a different world in good gear.

[Cbull]

Thanks for all the advice chaps, much appreciated

I'll certialy have a look into all of the suggestions. Still wet but feeling much better after a couple of cups of tea down me ha ha.