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How was your cycle commute?

Snapped the crank doing a hill start on the Raleigh Record at the weekend, so commuting on the 24kg Pashley today, with luggage in the front (a week's clothes, food). It actually felt easier than on a road bike as I wasn't motivated to chase segments on hills so just took a steady pace the whole way. Took about 7 minutes longer, no big deal, and I looked better getting there. I reckon I'll break out the new road bike for the commute on Wednesday.
 
Discovered a completely flat tire caused by a blob of solder with a piece of rigid wire sticking out of it that was doing a really good thumbtack impression. Must have picked it up on the floor at makerspace, cycled home on it last week and then it fully deflated over the weekend.
 
First commute on the new bike, did it in 27:24 total with a few stops at the lights and no tailwind. Fastest I've done on the steel bike is 27:11 with green nearly all the way (there's always one unavoidable red) and 10mph behind me, so think I'll get under the magic 27 minute barrier soon.
 
1st day commute forgot ro take off front light. Stolen.

As was the saddle cover. Who steals a saddle cover FFS?

I want to have a kickstarter. The product is this. A small shaped charge of C4. Under your saddle. Your bike gets stolen. You unlock open your phone open the app type in the code and boom. Some bike thief is singing soprano.


I see no health and safety or legal issue with this plan.
 
Sorry to hear that 8den. Bike strippers are a plague in London, it's desperate stuff. It'll probably be on sale at Brick Lane or the boot sale in Battersea. I was cursing for the same reason a few months ago when I was working out of the Euston office, then found that I'd left the light at home and not on the bike after all. No chance of any CCTV covering your incident, if you can persuade the police to take an interest?
 
Im Dublin which would be believe is even worse for bike thieves than London. The light was a tenner and the saddle cover was well I dont even know a few quid.

So no I doubt the cops would bother.n

Bike thievery in dublin is rampant I wouldn't dream of buying a bike worth more than a couple of hundred. I'm cycling this steel framed hulk on a thing that would come of better than a small car if it hit me.

I want to get a better bike but only if there's secure facilities to park it in work. And I won't buy second hand unless I actually go to that persons house. No way am I chancing giving a bike thief cash.
 
I've always had bikes nobody would want to steal, so I'm nervous having something that's actually nice. I need to fix up one of my 'beaters' that I can still leave it locked up places. I have secure parking at work and we're miles out of town with CCTV etc. in the carpark, so it's pretty safe here. However there's been loads of road bikes stolen up here in Leeds recently, including one snatched right in front of the owner by people in a car driving past which is nuts (by the sound of it they just leant out and grabbed it, which I can't quite work out).
 
I've only parked the Pashley in a city centre once. In addition to using the best lock I have, I persuaded a couple of people to watch over it whilst I was in a shop.

I take no chances :hmm:
 
26:33 overall this morning, cracked the 27 minute barrier with some spare, even with crossing the centre being a bit of a clusterfuck (missed the phase on the lights due to a dithering M&S lorry which automatically added a minute). This bike has potential, 26 minutes doesn't seem out of reach now with better luck on the lights, moving time today was under that. I seemed to pace myself better on the second part of the commute, taking the hills steady rather than beating myself up. I also need to loosen the pedal clips as I had real trouble getting my right foot out, which could have got messy.
 
Visiting a friend this evening and went the horrible busy way as it is more direct and good conditions so no chance of me not being seen. Not a single problem with anyone. In fact, it was one of those days where everybody on the roads behaved impeccably giving me plenty of room, not overtaking at pinch points or making me feel nervous about taking primary at pinch points etc.

Made the hills and horrible road surfaces that little bit less unpleasant.
 
I was very nearly taken out by a bus coming home on Wednesday, just short of home the main road is narrowed a bit by roadworks (ironically for the new cycling 'superhighway') and as I'm just about to turn off to the left an X6 thunders past, close enough to make the hairs on my arm bristle. Really not good, I sent a complaint to the bus company immediately on getting home, whilst I was still furious. A lot of buses have cameras on so hopefully they'll review this, I gave them enough detail to know exactly where and when it was. I'd have been easily visible in a bright blue top.
 
Commuting in London today, the air here is fucking disgusting. How do you tolerate this on a daily basis, or does it just sink in, rotting the brain? They really need to do something about traffic here, maybe mandating that all taxis are electric or something given they seem to form the bulk of the vehicles on the bits I ride. Best public transport system in the country by a mile and yet there's still twats that drive in great numbers.
 
I don't notice it. Doesn't seem any different in a park or or on a road. The only place I've noticed it is in the Rotherhithe Tunnel and I thought I was going to faint and fall off.
 
I think it is something you adjust to.

I moved down here in a summer. The air was so thick and filthy.
Going on the tube used to give me black boggies.

Now it just feels normal, and my nose has given up filtering the black filth. Worryingly.
 
Seems normal when you live in London. Really unpleasant when you don't. I cycle in from the Kent countryside and the difference is considerable. Grim.
 
Started off this morning by having to put the bar end back, reposition and tighten the brake lever and gear shifter because someone had presumably tried to remove something from the handlebar overnight.
All I can think is that they were after the light bracket that's too jammed on to remove, but you can buy them for a couple of quid?
Someone else in the building had a wheel stolen earlier in the week.

On the other hand, I saw a car with a personalised number plate of
P8TO BER
earlier this week
That's paedobear, right?
 
Pretty wet. It was that really fine rain that you can easily ignore if standing still, but you really feel it when travelling at any pace.

And I was certainly moving, managing a short 7.5 mile TT in 24 minutes. :cool:
 
Today's cross country commute home today was pretty awful. Puncture, torrential rain with some flooding, mud sprayed up from tractors, cowshit, nearly getting knocked off by a bull stood in the middle of the byway.
I did hear a cuckoo in wicken fen and saw a barn owl hunting so it wasn't all bad.
 
Got a really shitty punishment pass on the way home, I was going down a hill pretty much at the speed limit so I could ride wide and avoid some shitty surfacing, guy behind seemed to take offence and passed me closely then swung in and slowed down, only I don't think he judged how fast I was going and was a lot closer than he might have intended, I had to brake quite hard. Fucking dick. There were no cars coming up the hill so he had the full width of the road to pass, it wasn't that I was in the way, just that I existed.

This last week there's been an awful lot of mgif going on, I don't know if it's because the weathers gone a bit shitty and people are in a bad mood. Several times there hasn't actually been a space in front of me for them to pull into. Seems to be a lot of bad driving around.
 
Had a few collisions last week so took a few days off and got back on again today.

It was very nice. I was very careful.
 
I almost ran a little girl over in the park yesterday. I ride past a playground on Peckham Rye and always go slow and watch the kids carefully as I know they can just lurch out into your path, but I must have drifted off a little and can't have been going slow enough as she came out of nowhere and I had to screech to a halt. Felt like a right twat. <punches self>
 
braindancer said:
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/ne...scribes_ordeal_from_hospital_bed/?ref=mr&lp=6

Back to using Lea Bridge road again then :(....

Such a shame - cycling across the marshes is such a great way to start and/or finish the day but the number of attacks on cyclists this year has been ridiculous. Got to the point where it's making me think it's not worth the risk.
Click to expand...
What time did this happen? I've felt safe on that path during the daytime, but I wouldn't like to use it at night.
Can't believe they wouldn't send an ambulance.
 
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