And today's commuting highlight is...

[Cbull]

kiethton said:

Winning and losing:

This morning was rainy - lose
I'm currently drunk - win
I'm on a train now and tomorrow - lose
Traffic has been a lot lighter - win
The CBF is doing 9 days commuting trips to a tank, vs 4 for the CBR for £3 extra petrol - win
Nobody has tried to kill me recently - win
The CBF is too wide and boring - lose
The bay I park in now (off Old Jewry) is tiny and scooter s move your bike around - lose

Been great commuting the week or so (minus the mirror smash). Nearly went into the back of a lovely big new Merc yesterday. I was sat behind him taking the left but I was more focused on the lights around the corner which determined whether I filter through or not. Didn't notice the Mercedes suddenly stop to let a van join from a junction. Had to swerve big time, missed it by mm's. Ooops.

[308mate]

Bikesalot said:

308mate said:

The GSA would give me 220miles between refills easily, I would say.

You've got a big fuel leak if you think 220 miles is what you'll get from a GSA.

My GS gets 220, GSA will see 320, surely?

Im using my old RT as a comparison. No idea the tank capacity on the GSA.

[Pothole]

dibblecorse said:

CaptainSlow said:

dibblecorse said:

Well after last weeks scratched cornea incident and having to get a train home from work last Weds I made it back to the office yesterday and both the commute home last night and back in this morning were quite good fun ....... even got followed by a Triumph for a bit who was in full on Death Star lights with more wattage than the sun, I think he may have been worried someone was about to switch the sun off !!! Wembley has less lights ......

...fewer lights...

Really ? Thats your contribution ? Is this how you have got your post count up to where it is ? With such witty input ?

And in honesty 'fewer' or 'less' are as suited to that sentence as each other, there were other errors in there though, but then I'm not a degree edumacated individual, just a bloke from Lewisham with an O Level or two .....

Anyhow ... carry on as you were ....

Standards, dibble, standards. They're not as suited as each other. "Lights" is a countable noun, hence "fewer". Things like "milk" for instance, are uncountable, hence "less".

I have no degree, either. It's not degree level stuff.

(Nor is it that important, really. The above just for info)

[dibblecorse]

Pothole said:

dibblecorse said:

CaptainSlow said:

dibblecorse said:

Well after last weeks scratched cornea incident and having to get a train home from work last Weds I made it back to the office yesterday and both the commute home last night and back in this morning were quite good fun ....... even got followed by a Triumph for a bit who was in full on Death Star lights with more wattage than the sun, I think he may have been worried someone was about to switch the sun off !!! Wembley has less lights ......

...fewer lights...

Really ? Thats your contribution ? Is this how you have got your post count up to where it is ? With such witty input ?

And in honesty 'fewer' or 'less' are as suited to that sentence as each other, there were other errors in there though, but then I'm not a degree edumacated individual, just a bloke from Lewisham with an O Level or two .....

Anyhow ... carry on as you were ....

Standards, dibble, standards. They're not as suited as each other. "Lights" is a countable noun, hence "fewer". Things like "milk" for instance, are uncountable, hence "less".

I have no degree, either. It's not degree level stuff.

(Nor is it that important, really. The above just for info)

Oh f*** right off you pair of sanctimonious twunts, it's not like 99.9% of the english speaking world would not know what I meant ....

I was trying not to bite and I thought PHBB was better than this but maybe not .......

Another great poster with another great post count .... I sense a theme ....

[Pothole]

dibblecorse said:

Pothole said:

dibblecorse said:

CaptainSlow said:

dibblecorse said:

Well after last weeks scratched cornea incident and having to get a train home from work last Weds I made it back to the office yesterday and both the commute home last night and back in this morning were quite good fun ....... even got followed by a Triumph for a bit who was in full on Death Star lights with more wattage than the sun, I think he may have been worried someone was about to switch the sun off !!! Wembley has less lights ......

...fewer lights...

Really ? Thats your contribution ? Is this how you have got your post count up to where it is ? With such witty input ?

And in honesty 'fewer' or 'less' are as suited to that sentence as each other, there were other errors in there though, but then I'm not a degree edumacated individual, just a bloke from Lewisham with an O Level or two .....

Anyhow ... carry on as you were ....

Standards, dibble, standards. They're not as suited as each other. "Lights" is a countable noun, hence "fewer". Things like "milk" for instance, are uncountable, hence "less".

I have no degree, either. It's not degree level stuff.

(Nor is it that important, really. The above just for info)

Oh f*** right off you pair of sanctimonious twunts, it's not like 99.9% of the english speaking world would not know what I meant ....

I was trying not to bite and I thought PHBB was better than this but maybe not .......

Another great poster with another great post count .... I sense a theme ....

[CaptainSlow]

Pothole said:

dibblecorse said:

Pothole said:

dibblecorse said:

CaptainSlow said:

dibblecorse said:

Well after last weeks scratched cornea incident and having to get a train home from work last Weds I made it back to the office yesterday and both the commute home last night and back in this morning were quite good fun ....... even got followed by a Triumph for a bit who was in full on Death Star lights with more wattage than the sun, I think he may have been worried someone was about to switch the sun off !!! Wembley has less lights ......

...fewer lights...

Really ? Thats your contribution ? Is this how you have got your post count up to where it is ? With such witty input ?

And in honesty 'fewer' or 'less' are as suited to that sentence as each other, there were other errors in there though, but then I'm not a degree edumacated individual, just a bloke from Lewisham with an O Level or two .....

Anyhow ... carry on as you were ....

Standards, dibble, standards. They're not as suited as each other. "Lights" is a countable noun, hence "fewer". Things like "milk" for instance, are uncountable, hence "less".

I have no degree, either. It's not degree level stuff.

(Nor is it that important, really. The above just for info)

Oh f*** right off you pair of sanctimonious twunts, it's not like 99.9% of the english speaking world would not know what I meant ....

I was trying not to bite and I thought PHBB was better than this but maybe not .......

Another great poster with another great post count .... I sense a theme ....

...it's like 99.9% of the English-speaking world would know what I meant ....

[308mate]

Pothole said:

dibblecorse said:

Pothole said:

dibblecorse said:

CaptainSlow said:

dibblecorse said:

Well after last weeks scratched cornea incident and having to get a train home from work last Weds I made it back to the office yesterday and both the commute home last night and back in this morning were quite good fun ....... even got followed by a Triumph for a bit who was in full on Death Star lights with more wattage than the sun, I think he may have been worried someone was about to switch the sun off !!! Wembley has less lights ......

...fewer lights...

Really ? Thats your contribution ? Is this how you have got your post count up to where it is ? With such witty input ?

And in honesty 'fewer' or 'less' are as suited to that sentence as each other, there were other errors in there though, but then I'm not a degree edumacated individual, just a bloke from Lewisham with an O Level or two .....

Anyhow ... carry on as you were ....

Standards, dibble, standards. They're not as suited as each other. "Lights" is a countable noun, hence "fewer". Things like "milk" for instance, are uncountable, hence "less".

I have no degree, either. It's not degree level stuff.

(Nor is it that important, really. The above just for info)

Oh f*** right off you pair of sanctimonious twunts, it's not like 99.9% of the english speaking world would not know what I meant ....

I was trying not to bite and I thought PHBB was better than this but maybe not .......

Another great poster with another great post count .... I sense a theme ....

Look! Look! He’s done it again! A double negative! Buuurn ‘im!

[Cbull]

Chilly this morning but still a nice ride in for the most part. I listen to music coming in with ear phones and the phone in the jacket pocket. For some stupid reason the alarm clock went off full blast about 20 minutes away from work. COCKADOODLEDOOOOOOOO!!! over and over and over again, it gets very annoying very quickly. Needed to unplug asap, once I did though obviously it was coming through the speakers. With the hundreds of traffic lights you go though to get into Manchester it was very embarrassing with people in cars and waking past trying to find out where that stupid noise was coming from. Could have pulled over I suppose but I didn't leave for work until I was due in so was in a bit of a rush.

Pointless story but nevertheless it was my commuting highlight

[Dog Star]

Where are you commuting into Manchester from? I just won't even go there in a vehicle anymore because the traffic is so awful - deliberately so because of bus lanes poaching car space. I work in Leeds - twice the distance, half the time.

[Mr OCD]

Dog Star said:

Where are you commuting into Manchester from? I just won't even go there in a vehicle anymore because the traffic is so awful - deliberately so because of bus lanes poaching car space. I work in Leeds - twice the distance, half the time.

+1

I work in Liverpool for the same reason... three times the distance for me, half the commute time.

[Cbull]

From Northwich. Early starts is a must. Could be worse though,the M6 and M62 are much worse imo. I come down the new M6/M56 link then onto the M56.

[Dog Star]

Cbull said:

From Northwich. Early starts is a must. Could be worse though,the M6 and M62 are much worse imo. I come down the new M6/M56 link then onto the M56.

A lass up the road (north of Rochdale) works in Trafford Park and it takes 1h45m to get to work at "normal" times; it's about 24 miles ffs. She just leaves home at 5.30am and goes to the gym when she gets there. Ridiculous.

I've added commuting cover onto both R1s as of tomorrow for my commute to Leeds. The problem is that it's actually no quicker on the bike as at the times I travel it's 45 minutes door to door. I could leave later but that will mean 15 miles of filtering and takes an hour. I hate it, though not as much as sitting stationary in it.

I don't care what all the billy-big-balls types say - filtering is bloody dangerous. Knowing what I know and see, if I was an insurance underwriter I'd not be covering someone on a 16K bike just on the basis of filtering alone.

Only time I have been knocked off was filtering - passenger in a car decided he was going to get out and flung his door open directly in front of me. No amount of observation is going to spot that level of cretinous behaviour coming.

[Cbull]

Dog Star said:

I don't care what all the billy-big-balls types say - filtering is bloody dangerous. Knowing what I know and see, if I was an insurance underwriter I'd not be covering someone on a 16K bike just on the basis of filtering alone.

Can't disagree with that statement. I've had 3 "crashes". 2 including people crossing the road and 1 with a car but all have been filtering. None I feel have been my fault. Luckily all at slow speed. Still do it though, kinda the whole point of commuting on a bike.

Yes the M60 is a horrid place. Got stuck in it once, never again.

[sjtscott]

My Highlight today, and for once it really was.. super solid traffic this morning from Aspen Way/Limehouse Link/Highway/Tower Hill only clearing properly by Lower Thames Street. But once over the river at Southwark bridge again solid from Southwark Street to Blackfriars bridge junction. The bike really was the only way to make any reasonable progress which considering how bad the traffic was was good. Probably cycling a close second in travel times today.
Second highlight spotting the group of 4 or 5 Police bikes filtering through traffic very slowly at Aspen Way by Billingsgate and using an alternative lane to my usual choice to ensure I got into the limehouse link way in front of them given their slow progress on their panniered up beemers. For some reason I'm also not keen on either being followed or stuck behind bike cops lol

Edited by sjtscott on Monday 14th May 11:11

[CaptainSlow]

sjtscott said:

For some reason I'm also not keen on either being followed or stuck behind bike cops lol

I find if you blip your throttle a couple of times they soon move over and wave you by.

[BobSaunders]

Cbull said:

From Northwich. Early starts is a must. Could be worse though,the M6 and M62 are much worse imo. I come down the new M6/M56 link then onto the M56.

That bad? A556 and M56?

Am looking at going out towards Knutsford/Lymm/Macclesfield - and morning commuting by car has big question marks over it.

[Pothole]

Dog Star said:

Only time I have been knocked off was filtering - passenger in a car decided he was going to get out and flung his door open directly in front of me. No amount of observation is going to spot that level of cretinous behaviour coming.

Your anecdata proves nothing,though. I filter daily and have only been knocked off once during same. I'd rank that 50/50 as I wasn't really riding defensively, too.

That said, I've just seen a Facebook update on the Biker Escorts page looking for bikers to attend a funeral procession for a bloke killed in a very similar situation. 20+ years a rider and an instructor to boot. On the North Circular too.

Funeral's in Barnet at 12.00 on Monday if anyone's free.

[Dakkon]

I don't care how fast people filter, I am fully aware that some people are not confident at it.

What gets me is when the slower filterers don't check their mirrors and let the faster guys past.

I was behind a guy last Thursday who came up to gaps that you could get a bus through and he sat there revving his engine at the cars and shaking his head until they moved, so he is upsetting the bikers behind him not letting them past and he is being overly rude to surrounding car drivers.

Thankfully that type of rider seems to be rare.

Oh, and I am no filtering god myself, but I am happy to let faster guys past, live and let live and all that.

[Mr OCD]

Dog Star said:

I don't care what all the billy-big-balls types say - filtering is bloody dangerous. Knowing what I know and see, if I was an insurance underwriter I'd not be covering someone on a 16K bike just on the basis of filtering alone.

So is riding a bike. You don't HAVE to filter, but if you don't you may as well just use the car.

I've filtered pretty much every week day for the last 10 yrs on the M60 / M62 and got knocked off once whilst filtering which was 50:50 fault IMHO. It slowed me down put it this way. However, the risk is the more you ride the more statistically you are a higher risk of coming off at some point. All you can do is either ride less, accept the risk and concentrate on your awareness skills, or don't ride at all but yes a passenger opening a door is thankfully a rare occurrence.

I had a young lady the other day wearing headphones walk across a dual carriageway between cars pushing her baby in a pram... thankfully I saw her just as she stepped into the road whilst I was filtering between two rows of cars ... :/

Edited by Mr OCD on Monday 14th May 12:31

[Cbull]

BobSaunders said:

That bad? A556 and M56?

Am looking at going out towards Knutsford/Lymm/Macclesfield - and morning commuting by car has big question marks over it.

Depends which way you're coming from I suppose. The A556 generally flows, if you're going North towards Knutsford you should be OK. Staying on the A556 where it joins the M56 is a choke point, mostly always backed up but not a problem for bikers at all as it's a new wide road road while not having to consider people crossing. Going towards Macclesfield the A537 also seems to flow but you do get people doing more than -10mph the limit for some annoying reason and its a struggle overtaking without making yourself look like a bit of a crazy speedster.