And today's commuting highlight is...
Discussion
F*** me that was sh** this morning, got blown all over the place on the elevated section of the M4, then again on the elevated section of the A40 just east of Grenfell (still sends a chill when I see that) and all in all it was a nasty, cold, wet, windy October commute, on the last day of April .....
Almost washed out on the run from Westfield to the A40 when you get on the curved ramp onto the A40 and they have that stupid metal strip that runs across the road .... idiot architect ........
Apologies to the guy on the black R1 I held up for a bit but had nowhere to escape to to let you through for a bit .....
Almost washed out on the run from Westfield to the A40 when you get on the curved ramp onto the A40 and they have that stupid metal strip that runs across the road .... idiot architect ........
Apologies to the guy on the black R1 I held up for a bit but had nowhere to escape to to let you through for a bit .....
bgunn said:
Gosh, that was a fun ride in this morning. Tad gusty - the roads seemed rather light of traffic, and the number of bikes was minimal compared to last week. Funny that!
Yeah, none of the shiney shiney stuff in the bays here today !!!! and no hipsters getting their ankles wet where their jeans don't meet their shoes ......dibblecorse said:
bgunn said:
Gosh, that was a fun ride in this morning. Tad gusty - the roads seemed rather light of traffic, and the number of bikes was minimal compared to last week. Funny that!
Yeah, none of the shiney shiney stuff in the bays here today !!!! and no hipsters getting their ankles wet where their jeans don't meet their shoes ......My HG gortex gear whilst old and failing in terms of zips etc it is amazingly on the whole still waterproof.. got a proper test this morning. My newer HG jacket main zip failed so I'm back with my now 10 year old HG backup. I must get out and buy some new kit soon.
sjtscott said:
Yep agreed, crap weather strong gusting wind and cold again - I should have dug my heated gloves out. Hardly any traffic compared to normal. Minimal other bikes today and def no shiny/noisy/posing types lol
My HG gortex gear whilst old and failing in terms of zips etc it is amazingly on the whole still waterproof.. got a proper test this morning. My newer HG jacket main zip failed so I'm back with my now 10 year old HG backup. I must get out and buy some new kit soon.
My Furygan kit is nearly four years old and starting to fail, wet balls, stomach and armpits on Friday morning when it pissed it down; so I'll be looking for some new kit towards the end of summer (if we ever get one)..My HG gortex gear whilst old and failing in terms of zips etc it is amazingly on the whole still waterproof.. got a proper test this morning. My newer HG jacket main zip failed so I'm back with my now 10 year old HG backup. I must get out and buy some new kit soon.
Cbull said:
The clear sky fooled me this morning. Arrived to work with frozen fingers. Is it time to start looking forward to next years weather yet.
I was not fooled, was a thin layer of ice on the car windscreen when I rolled the bike out ... so balaclava, warm gloves and heated grips on ..... was nice to be in the sun though, unlike yesterday !!!
CAPP0 said:
Possibly not commuting but did anyone see the biker nearly smear himself all over the front of Savid Javid's BMW on the BBC yesterday? Lucky boy that the car driver was on the ball!
No, but there was a proper 'hero' in Shepherds Bush last night on an MV750 with a pillion in jeans and wedges slicing through traffic doing his best to smear himself and his pillion all over the road ... do hope they made it home ...dibblecorse said:
CAPP0 said:
Possibly not commuting but did anyone see the biker nearly smear himself all over the front of Savid Javid's BMW on the BBC yesterday? Lucky boy that the car driver was on the ball!
No, but there was a proper 'hero' in Shepherds Bush last night on an MV750 with a pillion in jeans and wedges slicing through traffic doing his best to smear himself and his pillion all over the road ... do hope they made it home ...It certainly wasn't a piece of road I'd chance my arm crossing on foot at that place.. he wasn't at a ped crossing or traffic island either. As there were so many others about helping out I didn't stop as I only saw the aftermath.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5084328,-0.07023... Approx this area between the cab and oncoming grey car was where they seemed to be crossing. You'd never speed on this part heading East because of the 30limit camera. It does usually get quite busy at peak time heading east but was relatively empty for a change.
First day back on the bike for me and the first proper day's commuting on the new bike.
Left 5 minutes earlier than I would do normally to get petrol but the bloody petrol station at Sainsbury's lower Sydenham was closed so managed to limp to the shell near Lewisham hospital, being late on your second day wouldn't have been a good look!
This evening only highlight was a scateboarder who completely failed to look as i was turning onto minories, thing is I totally expected it so had already slowed in anticipation else he'd have clocked me side on.
Getting on fine with the new bike though, only thing of note is the CBF seems to be wider than my old CBR, exaggerated by bar/mirror height relative to cars which isn't ideal, but leaving Beckenham at 6 and the city at 19:30 has its advantages, no traffic and the journey done in 25-30 minutes which is ideal, not as slow as I'd feared either which is a bonus
Left 5 minutes earlier than I would do normally to get petrol but the bloody petrol station at Sainsbury's lower Sydenham was closed so managed to limp to the shell near Lewisham hospital, being late on your second day wouldn't have been a good look!
This evening only highlight was a scateboarder who completely failed to look as i was turning onto minories, thing is I totally expected it so had already slowed in anticipation else he'd have clocked me side on.
Getting on fine with the new bike though, only thing of note is the CBF seems to be wider than my old CBR, exaggerated by bar/mirror height relative to cars which isn't ideal, but leaving Beckenham at 6 and the city at 19:30 has its advantages, no traffic and the journey done in 25-30 minutes which is ideal, not as slow as I'd feared either which is a bonus
I had a proper giggle coming off the M20 tonight. I filtered up to the lights at the top of the slip road, where a be-Corona'd Gixxer was sitting behind the front two cars, despite there being a gap of literally 5' between them. Rather than force my way past him, I let him go first. He set off behind the two cars and it quickly became apparent that the big scary left-hander off the lights was the reason for his fear and trepidation. He wobbled slowly towards it (in his fetching fleece-over-leathers combo), so I stuck my 300kg RT on it's ear and shot around the outside of him.
This upset him massively! As soon as the road straightened, he gunned it and screamed past me making sure he passed me as close as he dared get. Big. Clever. Impressive. Unfortunately he was so busy teaching me 'ow much 'arder his bike was than mine that he misjudged his speed vs the stationary traffic at the next set of lights. Just after he passed me, he realised that the empty road was disappearing and stood the thing on its nose, arse in the air, wobbling about all over the place. He couldn't get it stopped before reaching the back of the traffic and ended up stuffing it up a little gap inside the line of cars where he came to an ignominious halt.
Probably wished he'd bought 2 piece leathers instead of one piece, they'd have been quicker to get out of to relieve the big brown stain he was wearing by that point.
My how I chuckled as I rode past him. What a f
king twerp! 
This upset him massively! As soon as the road straightened, he gunned it and screamed past me making sure he passed me as close as he dared get. Big. Clever. Impressive. Unfortunately he was so busy teaching me 'ow much 'arder his bike was than mine that he misjudged his speed vs the stationary traffic at the next set of lights. Just after he passed me, he realised that the empty road was disappearing and stood the thing on its nose, arse in the air, wobbling about all over the place. He couldn't get it stopped before reaching the back of the traffic and ended up stuffing it up a little gap inside the line of cars where he came to an ignominious halt.
Probably wished he'd bought 2 piece leathers instead of one piece, they'd have been quicker to get out of to relieve the big brown stain he was wearing by that point.
My how I chuckled as I rode past him. What a f
king twerp! Thats not unusual this time of year though Cappo but always amusing ...
I'm sat at my desk this morning looking like I'm mourning the passing of a puppy ... in fact i've managed to collect a scratch on my cornea on the way in, did most the journey with one eye shut hoping it would clear, but local optician has relieved me of 40 quid and told me its a scratch .... 7 quid later for eye drops and im now back at my desk ....
Had visor cracked open due to the weather so very unlucky to get hammered !!!
Ride home will be fun !!
I'm sat at my desk this morning looking like I'm mourning the passing of a puppy ... in fact i've managed to collect a scratch on my cornea on the way in, did most the journey with one eye shut hoping it would clear, but local optician has relieved me of 40 quid and told me its a scratch .... 7 quid later for eye drops and im now back at my desk ....
Had visor cracked open due to the weather so very unlucky to get hammered !!!
Ride home will be fun !!
dibblecorse said:
Thats not unusual this time of year though Cappo but always amusing ...
I'm sat at my desk this morning looking like I'm mourning the passing of a puppy ... in fact i've managed to collect a scratch on my cornea on the way in, did most the journey with one eye shut hoping it would clear, but local optician has relieved me of 40 quid and told me its a scratch .... 7 quid later for eye drops and im now back at my desk ....
Had visor cracked open due to the weather so very unlucky to get hammered !!!
Ride home will be fun !!
Ahhh yes, the scratched cornea! It's like arc eye but lasts weeks. I picked one up on the bike even with glasses on! £40! I used the local free walk in clinic. Doc put yellow dye in my eye and saw the scratch, total cost was the (I'm guessing the same) eye drop prescription circa £8. Was horrendous trying to get to sleep for 2 weeks. The temptation to rub your eye is overwhelming, have fun with that!. I'm sat at my desk this morning looking like I'm mourning the passing of a puppy ... in fact i've managed to collect a scratch on my cornea on the way in, did most the journey with one eye shut hoping it would clear, but local optician has relieved me of 40 quid and told me its a scratch .... 7 quid later for eye drops and im now back at my desk ....
Had visor cracked open due to the weather so very unlucky to get hammered !!!
Ride home will be fun !!
1st wearing of my new helmet today. The first hour was fine but I was really glad to get it off when I arrived at work. It'll take another couple of trips before it's broken in. I'll also need to move the intercom speakers as the left one was beginning to become painful on my ear.
Quiet traffic today and sunshine (even if I did see -1 on the thermometer as I left home) made for a good ride in.
Quiet traffic today and sunshine (even if I did see -1 on the thermometer as I left home) made for a good ride in.
The Selfish Gene said:
how far is too far as a commute?
I've just seen my dream house - but it is 125 miles from the office :-)
currently I do 12 miles each day.........................so it's a bit of an increase
That would be brutal Oct - March ....... and tough the rest of the time ......... I could get a much better house if I moved another 80 miles out giving me a 125 commute but not worth it ....I've just seen my dream house - but it is 125 miles from the office :-)
currently I do 12 miles each day.........................so it's a bit of an increase
My highlight today .. well there isn't one, my bike is still at the office all chained up after my scratched cornea from my ride in yesterday left me unable to ride home safely, so got the train, means no Multi all weekend as not back at the office until next week !!!
The Selfish Gene said:
how far is too far as a commute?
I've just seen my dream house - but it is 125 miles from the office :-)
currently I do 12 miles each day.........................so it's a bit of an increase
Sod that. I’d only want to do that once or twice a week if you can work from home for the remainder.I've just seen my dream house - but it is 125 miles from the office :-)
currently I do 12 miles each day.........................so it's a bit of an increase
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