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How was your cycle commute?

I was actually being slow and sensible at the time too, someone was already turning in the road so I patiently waited for them to finish then followed after them, but another car then swung right across the road (quite fast) to make a turn too without seeing me. I could've just cut round the first guy if I was zipping about recklessly. Slammed into me quite hard, didn't knock me over though, I was just sat there against the front of the car, guy didn't think he'd done any damage until he got out to look.

I was pretty angry but the guy was quite apologetic, left details. A friend living nearby ran me home in her Volvo estate.

I had to be rescued yesterday too after my front wheel had gone down overnight when I left my other bike in the rack at the station (went hiking with an overnight stop). It appears a hawthorn managed to penetrate my venerated Schwalbe Marathons - second time this has happened! I ride over glass and all kinds of crap every day, these are the only two punctures in as many years!
 
I went out today for a nice easy 125 mile ride but nearly ended up like Mr Dogsauce.

There's only one thing that actually scares me when riding and that's being overtaken by someone towing something that's wider than their vehicle. I fear that onetime they will give me just enough room for their vehicle and I get wiped out by whatever they are towing. Today that nearly happened to me.

This afternoon the overtaker pulled in whilst their caravan was still level with me. Shit. I yelled "Jesus!" (why? no idea) and hit the caravan with my right hand as it pushed me into the kerb. A fucking close shave. Oddly enough I wasn't at all shaken up, which surprised me given that all the most interesting bits of my life had just flashed before my eyes. That took a disappointingly short amount of time to be honest.

I rode on. To find that in the traffic queue leading into Stratford Upon Avon there was the fuckwitted one himeself. I stopped alongside him and politely explained how he had nearly flattened me and questioned his parenthood. Well, in a manner of speaking. Suffice to say he wasn't terribly apologetic. In fact he was a real cunt. So I felt it was only fair to tell him so. And repeat it so that it might sink in. And even then he didn't apologise for his poor driving ability. It beggars belief I tell you.

As I left him I noticed he was waving a partially closed fist back and forth and shouting "wanker". Although I was annoyed with him before that I took pity on him because he had chosen that moment to share with the world how sexually inadequate he was.

I finished my 125 mile ride in less than 9 hours and that included repairing a puncture. Life is good. ;)
 
Just an easy 20 for me - incident-free - quite busy on the way down to my chilling bench - but I was happy to take my time.
Some sort of recreational shotgun shooting going on at Dyrham - not sure if it was skeets or farmed birds.... so I didn't hang around very long.
Homeward music was a soulful latin house mix. and a few miles from home I felt the need to get a little speed in, and there was someone on my tail so I cleared a way through a large group of dawdling cyclists and I seemed to end up as a pacer for the guy behind, so hit quite a good speed - as fast as I've ever been along there.

My new chain, cassette, front brake and rear wheel now properly tested. :)
 
My 'assailant' is meeting me at the bike shop first thing tomorrow to sort this out. I can pretty much guess what they're going to say, that it's not worth fixing (it's the sort of bike you'd pick up off gumtree for £40 with a few good parts added). It's a comfortable fast bike that is sized perfectly for me, whilst being so understated and shabby looking that nobody would bother trying to pinch it. Absolutely suited to my needs for commuting, nights out and longer rides, and devilishly fast over a half km sprint. I don't want to lose this or be fobbed off with a shit new bike.

A sorry sight: http://instagram.com/p/detoKuo_Og/
 
Crispy said:
Hawthorns are bastards like that.
Click to expand...

thorn.jpg

Not sure what species it was ...

I was reminded of this one when fitting a tyre on Sunday - I re-used the inner tube with two patches close together- this one somehow went in one side and out the other.
Four years ago, so my tyre was almost certainly under-inflated, possibly worn, and probably a Conti "City Contact" tyre.
I have since bought a track pump, upgraded to "Country-Plus" tyres and chuck them when the tread has worn so that they look more like a "City Contact".

I've had two finely fettled glass chips stay in long enough to nick the inner tube, but they have to be spot-on.
 
Got in my 20 miles on the way home - somewhat lacking in enthusiasm - both physically and mentally.
I can tell when I'm not fully into it - I got annoyed by all the imperfections in my bike and the rather rough path.

If I'd kept my mouth wide open, I could have harvested a meal's worth of midges.

I had Renaissance CD3 to motivate me ...
 
I gave the black road bike another try today, up on the train then back home via the 'fast' route. Took about 41:50, slightly slower than on the Pashley yesterday, but I was in traffic and hit a lot of red lights (Strava had my moving time as 36 something).

I'm pretty much riding it as a single speed because the (non-indexed) gears are all over the fucking place, chain often riding over the top of the cogs if you put any kind of weight on it. I managed to get it stable on the second highest gear so did the whole ride on that, which was hard work on the climbs. There's definitely friction somewhere in the system too, definitely in the freewheel block, it's a way harder ride than it ought to be. I need a few more sessions in the workshop I think.

The local bike shop reckon they might be able to sort out the forks on my brown bike, so it may yet survive Monday's broadsiding. They're going to call me back with a price once they've assessed it properly. The guy who hit me is paying out rather than go through insurance (it was his girlfriend's car/insurance). Think it's going to cost more than he expects. If the frame is fucked I want a similar vintage frame and all the good parts swapping over by the shop.
 
One of my managers got taken out by a car pulling a U-turn without looking on the way to work yesterday. First we heard of it was a call from the police telling us he was en route to hospital (and then shortly afterwards dropping his bike off at the shop!). Broken collarbone and ligament damage :( apparently he literally went through the driver's window. Bet that guy will be a bit more careful about checking his mirrors from now on.
 
Crikey. I hope he recovers quickly Weeps. And sues the arse off the driver.

Are the police doing anything about it?
 
I did a 100km ride with my club on Tuesday afternoon and it pretty much pissed down for the whole ride. It actually passed behind my house at the 40km mark and I was sorely tempted to abandon. It was only the potential damage to my reputation as the club's flahute that stopped me so I ground it out. The wet ride seems to have given me a mild case of Tom Boonen Arse Syndrome so I'm off the bike until next week I reckon.
 
Nearly taken out this morning by the classic of someone turning right through a gap that someone had left them at a junction, without checking nothing was coming in the bike lane too. Fortunately I had only just started riding and was going very slow so saw in plenty of time. On my faster bike they'd have had me. Hopefully the slight look of suprise on their face at seeing me pull up sharply will encourage them to look properly next time.

A friend got taken out by a hit-and-run on Tuesday night, not badly hurt but their bike is fucked. They can't even be bothered reporting it to the police, which annoys me a bit (they reported a previous accident which had two witnesses and the police wouldn't pursue it for 'insufficient evidence', so they're not even trying this time - didn't get registration). They reckon the guy's car will have taken a bit of damage so seem satisfied with that at least.
 
^ wasoc.

had some turd in an audi clip my right foot yesterday as he nudged his way to the front of the queue of cyclists doing a right onto bayliss road just after waterloo bridge. After telling him to get to fuckery i was duly informed by the passenger that i wouldn't be in such a predicament if i had a 'proper job' as then i could 'afford a car'.

bang to rights i'm afraid.
 
I'm starting to observe in the motoring public that they can look straight at you, but mentally place you in the gutter and carry on regardless.

Nothing beyond the usual daily impolitenesses for me, though the trail bike riding at speed uphill towards me on the fairly busy Bristol to Bath path last night caught me by surprise (not just commuters and roadies, but families out blackberrying) , and since I was on a pleasure / exercise ride, I had switched off the camera - not that it would have caught much of use.
All I have is a brief fantasy of the idiot falling off and losing his tyres and spark plug caps.
 
sat in the right hand filter lane, to continue going right. Heading towards a red light - suddenly I get a not one but two people beeping me for the temerity of being in their way. One of them, an articulated lorry then gets so frustrated that he pulls into the left hand lands, undertakes me, then swerves back in front of me (past another cyclist in the left-hand lane).

Fucking people.
 
Detoured down to the front tonight as the sky looked nice.

nd6460.jpg
 
It's like that article was written by a computer algorithm programmed with all the key phrases. How many of the 14 dead last year died because they weren't wearing helmets or jumped lights? I bet it was fuck all. Diversionary shit.
 
pissflaps said:
Laura Trott there, putting utility cycling back about 20 years with her half baked, fuckwitted opinions.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/lond...-trotts-attack-on-rogue-cyclists-8791153.html

looking forward to Lewis Hamilton telling all drivers to wear fire retardant suits and full face crash helmets.

depressing shit.
Click to expand...

She does at least mention infrastructure in that but anyone with sense should be refusing to discuss things like helmets until we've done everything we reasonably can to prevent collisions from happening.

That's what depresses me so much about the helmet crap, why the fuck are we even talking about it when so much is to be done to prevent collisions from happening and why does it seem people are happier to have the collision happen as long as we reduce the effects than to stop the collision from happening in the first place.
 
pissflaps said:
i cynically suspect she (and many other pro compulsion pro riders) stand to make a mint from helmet based sponsorship deals.
Click to expand...

:( one of those things I don't want to believe can be true but I agree at least one or two of them probably are motivated by the thought of making a bucket load of cash out of helmets and fuck the cyclists getting hurt by it along the way
 
At least Chris "look at me in my brand new Jag" Froome hasn't joined in yet ...
There is precious little in common between that sort of "cyclist" and the rest of us.
 
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