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How was your cycle commute?

pissflaps said:
get some padded shorts, lad!
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Nah. When I first got my bike it only took about a week for my haunches to toughen up ;).

On a serious note, I did have my saddle quite high up. Lowered it a little when I stopped for a drink and that helped, but the damage was done by then. Still shocked at how useless my legs were though.
 
Two pairs of BHS cotton pants, pair of baggy shorts and a Brooks B17.
Even with a wonky tensioner, 5 hours in the saddle is no problem for me these days.
 
plurker said:
I take that point, but I do (and will continue to) ride safely and legally* at all times.
I'm not aiming to be the fastest on the road - I ride an uncleated hybrid ;) - but by recording my own times accurately I've already got my commute time down by 2 minutes (over a 30min ride) - simply by not slacking off halfway down Kennington road, for example - it's me pushing against myself, and if I happen to be the fastest on a section then so be it.

* I am actually in breach of the 30mph speed limit at a couple of points on my ride, and shall report myself to the feds forthwith should this heinous behaviour continue...
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I keep a detailed record of my rides (I use Runkeeper), but I press start, then forget about it, then press stop when I get home. My very bestest time of 26mins (only happened once) was on a headwind most of the way, early morning, little traffic, got lucky with lights... I don't tend to race other people though, or cars, or buses. Amusing, but a little mad, when people start racing buses. Don't have the legs or bike for that.
 
One of the local cycling clubs up here (a nice informal group with a lot of road racers and a few gentler types) does a Strava 'Segment of the Week' thing on their facebook group, where everyone is invited to have a crack at a certain segment that week. I've had a go at a couple of them, it's quite fun, but they're often a bit out in the sticks and I'm knackered by the time I get to the start! Plus you're up against proper racers with several grands worth of kit, but it's nice to finish ahead of one or two of them on a shed. Everyone just watches the wind forecast to pick the optimum time to have a crack at it, though this week's segment is a several km loop so that won't matter.
 
Knocked another minute or two off my homeward commute - but then any breeze that there was, was in the most favourable direction possible.
I reckon if the railway path hadn't been so busy, I could have used my 48 tooth front cog and hit 25MPH.
 
girasol said:
I keep a detailed record of my rides (I use Runkeeper), but I press start, then forget about it, then press stop when I get home. My very bestest time of 26mins (only happened once) was on a headwind most of the way, early morning, little traffic, got lucky with lights... I don't tend to race other people though, or cars, or buses. Amusing, but a little mad, when people start racing buses. Don't have the legs or bike for that.
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You don't have to time individual segments. You do the same as you do with Runkeeper and it calculates it all for you at the end.
 
Getting pissed off with cyclists who weave around a lot. not as if there's anyone coming behind you. Also people who blow their nose as if they're in the middle of a fucking sportif.
 
Did a couple of short journeys yesterday by bike.

I am pathetically unfit, when I was ever so slowly making my way up a hill, the pedals whizzing round because I was in such a low gear, another cyclist came past me going perhaps four times faster!!
 
weltweit said:
Did a couple of short journeys yesterday by bike.

I am pathetically unfit, when I was ever so slowly making my way up a hill, the pedals whizzing round because I was in such a low gear, another cyclist came past me going perhaps four times faster!!
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after a few years of cycling, and a few long cycling trips away, I still find it hard dragging my belly up a hill.
after passing the crest of the rise, i soon forget about the slope, and am happy to sail down the otherside.

keep at it :)
 
Would have been pretty good but for the usual shenanigans with the general public.
The final insult was some fair-weather rider half my age and weight, but probably with slightly less in his legs getting in front of me .. he only got away because he was more reckless in overtaking other cyclists and pedestrians than me.. I was doing at least 20MPH .. such a shame my commute isn't over 10 or 20 miles instead of 5 ...

I managed to breathe down his neck for a bit .... probably had to get in front because he saw my bald head ...
 
Lovely sunny ride home, a bit of a headwind initially ..
Just the usual bad manners by the caged public.

In passing I asked (rhetorically) these delightful young ladies what the yellow hashed area in the bus lane meant...

yellowhash.jpg

I believe one answer may be 3 points on your licence.
Where's the traffic cop when you need one.?
Unusually there wasn't an illegally parked car in the bus lane that they might have been peering around.

I gave them the horn in passing.
In the old days I would have slapped the bonnet.
 
I got shouted at by another cyclist for going through a red light.

The traffic lights are only there because the road goes under a railway bridge and it narrows to single file. There is plenty of room for cars and bikes to pass, although I do usually stop if the light is red. However, today I could see that the lights had been on red for a while so I knew they were about to change, there were no cars in sight on the other side of the bridge and I didn't see the point in stopping for ten seconds, so I sailed past another cyclist who was waiting for them to change.

She shouted "They are on RED!" really loudly, which kind of surprised me so I turned around and said "Oh, shut your face" and cycled on. About 5 minutes later I got to Tesco and she was there, she saw me and tutted at me so I just "I think you need to get a life" and walked off.

I think the real problem was not so much that I went through the red light, but that I overtook her.
 
That one near Temple Meads and Cattle market road ?
Perhaps that's your "permissible offence" - like me cycling the wrong way up the street I live in about 9,000 times. :D
 
gentlegreen said:
That one near Temple Meads and Cattle market road ?
Perhaps that's your "permissible offence" - like me cycling the wrong way up the street I live in about 9,000 times. :D
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No, in St Werburghs by the gas works. My permissable offence is going through the no entry sign at the end of the road next to mine, the council assured me it would remain two way for cyclists but there are no signs to this effect.
 
Geri said:
I got shouted at by another cyclist for going through a red light.

The traffic lights are only there because the road goes under a railway bridge and it narrows to single file. There is plenty of room for cars and bikes to pass, although I do usually stop if the light is red. However, today I could see that the lights had been on red for a while so I knew they were about to change, there were no cars in sight on the other side of the bridge and I didn't see the point in stopping for ten seconds, so I sailed past another cyclist who was waiting for them to change.

She shouted "They are on RED!" really loudly, which kind of surprised me so I turned around and said "Oh, shut your face" and cycled on. About 5 minutes later I got to Tesco and she was there, she saw me and tutted at me so I just "I think you need to get a life" and walked off.

I think the real problem was not so much that I went through the red light, but that I overtook her.
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yeah. the problem was that you went through a red light.

please dont do that.
 
Of course it's ok to go through a red light, bikes are not like other vehicles, if there's no traffic or pedestrians I don't see the problem, neither do many of the cyclists that I see doing it every single day.

Similarly it's ok for bikes to go on pavements, lots of them have cycling lanes on them. Bikes are somewhere in between pedestrians and motorized vehicles, a different category all together IMO.

Common sense...
 
no. it is the opposite of common sense. bikes are classified as vehicles and are subject to the same rules and regulations as any other vehicle on the road. if you can't abide by those rules or you feel you are above them, you have no business riding a bicycle, or any sort of vehicle on public roads for that matter.

What makes it possible for us to use the roads is that there is a consensus spread amongst ALL road users to obey a framework of rules. The rules exist to allow the relatively free and easy flow of traffic on the roads. This can only happen if people behave in a relatively predictable fashion, jumping lights makes you unpredictable, especially from the perspective motorised vehicles - Drivers will then go on to drive poorly around cyclists because they are too distracted by the prospect that you, or any other cyclist they may happen upon, will behave in a similarly unpredictable fashion, and that's where the danger lies.

What's also worth noting is that you seemingly adhere to the rules until you decide that your judgement over-rides them, at which point you do what you want to do. It’s at this point that you become random and unpredictable.Your value judgement (it’s safer to jump this red) is irrelevant, your actions are the key here, and as soon as you become random you have handed responsibility to the other road users to keep you safe.

Many fine people and worthy charities out there do a lot of good work lobbying for better infrastructure for cyclists. The sad reality is many of the debates surrounding cycle safety are often shut down by detractors resorting to the tiresome 'well all bloody cyclists jump lights' line (see recent debate in the House of Lords). We all know it's not true - it's only done by a selfish minority, however it is these entitled RLJ'ers that seem to garner the most attention, which is unfortunate, as cyclists are more often than not the victim of poor driving - however the debate seldom reaches this point as the agenda seems to be focused almost entirely on cyclist behavior. So what's the answer? DON'T BE A PART OF THE FUCKING PROBLEM. YOU'RE NOT HELPING. RIDE RESPONSIBLY.
 
*yawn*

There were no other vehicles in sight. The road was literally empty apart from me and the tattooed shouty lady.
 
That is of no consequence. I'll bet you a penny to the pound that that wasn't the only light you jumped yesterday.
 
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