How was your cycle commute?

[The Fornicator]

Hi, putting this here as it's cycle-commuting related.

Until this summer I lived in Croydon/T. Heath and cycle-commuted, hence not really giving a shit about train strikes. Now I've been dragged out to Sussex (E Grinstead) to be nearer other half's family, which is all well & good, and actually the Southern strikes so far have been relatively kind. BUT it now appears that there's gonna be some complete close-downs of the network over the next couple of months. So I'm thinking about alternatives.

I was thinking maybe of driving into S London to somewhere roughly 10-12 miles out (i.e. my old Croydon commuting distance), with the bike in the boot, and then cycling in from there. A quick look at Google Maps this morning suggests that the traffic isn't *too* bad if I sneak in Oxted/New Addington/Keston way, so that on a good day I might be able to drive for ~1 hour and cycle for ~1 hour and not be down too much time on my usual bike + train + Boris bike arrangement. But can anyone suggest a good place to leave the car? Somewhere with a fairly clear run in from E Grinstead, with a fair amount of unrestricted parking nearby, and 10-12 miles from Holborn? CP park? Elmers End? Beckenham/Lower Syd? Or is this all just madness?

Cheers all! Be good to hear from any others in the same boat, too

It sounds like you want the hill at CP to be part of it.

Afaik, the large car park associated with the CP sports centre is still free. If not I'm not aware of too many restictions that far our for example the bottom of Gipsy Hill might be worth a look, ditto the streets off Hamlet Rd, Anerley.

You might then look at a cycle route that includes Dulwich Village > Redpost Hill > Herne Hill Rd > Loughborough Rd, etc.

Biggest prob with the plan may be the evening road traffic going back to Beckenham and beeeeeeyond ... can get ugly

 

[Pgd]

It sounds like you want the hill at CP to be part of it.

Nah, not necessarily... I just figured that traffic was likely to be lighter to the east of Croydon, and that kinda puts CP (or Forest Hill) in the way by default...

Afaik, the large car park associated with the CP sports centre is still free. If not I'm not aware of too many restictions that far our for example the bottom of Gipsy Hill might be worth a look, ditto the streets off Hamlet Rd, Anerley.

You might then look at a cycle route that includes Dulwich Village > Redpost Hill > Herne Hill Rd > Loughborough Rd, etc.

Hamlet/Auckland Rd's a good shout, cheers. You're probably right about restrictions not being a huge problem... it's more about knowing when to stop and get the bike out vs sitting in traffic just to get half-a-mile further on. I'll just have to suck it & see.

Biggest prob with the plan may be the evening road traffic going back to Beckenham and beeeeeeyond ... can get ugly

Yep, I'm sure you're right... may be a hit I'll have to take, though. Cheers.

 

[gentlegreen]

Ski mitts both directions today - I've overcome my queasiness at the impaired grip and mobility.
My "builder's thumb" makes changing gear a painful option - I'm glad to be home decorating tomorrow - I will immerse my thumb in something greasy as much as possible over the weekend.

Part of my homeward journey was through an unlit park with seriously dense fog, and firing up my 9 x 1.66 watt LED main beam was almost comical - a vertical wall of light right in front of me.

 

[Dogsauce]

It's my toes that are suffering the most on my midnight rides, probably because I have fancy climber's cycling shoes that are designed to keep your feet cool on those summer ascents, not so good for whizzing along Holloway Rd when it's two degrees. I'm rescuing my old unventilated DHBs from my storage facility in the north this weekend, if that doesn't make things better it'll be the overshoes.

 

[braindancer]

A cyclist smashed into me from behind this morning when I took the unusual step of stopping at a red light.

He had the cheek to call me a twat - and asked why I had stopped when there was clearly nothing coming?

Er... because the light was red.

What a dick.

No harm done to either party thankfully.

 

[a_chap]

A cyclist smashed into me from behind this morning...

Can be used against cyclists too. Just saying.

 

[BigTom]

Looks like Birmingham will be getting two short segregated routes: New routes - Birmingham Cycle Revolution

Hopefully these won't get destroyed by the anti-cycling section of the council. One of them is a little bit of a diversion on my commute but I'll be using it, partly to add numbers, partly because it'll be preferably to the bit of my commute which is on road. Great news anyway as had pretty well given up hope of segregated routes being proposed, too short but it's a start and easier to get stuff extended than to get things built in the first place I reckon.

 

[iamwithnail]

Christ, that was bloody horrible this morning. Normally ~24 minutes took well over 30, weaving in and out of stationary cars. Combination of the southern strikes, and the burst water main on Camberwell New Road last night still being fixed meant the traffic was basically stationary from the bottom of Camberwell Grove to Vauxhall. Consequently lots of people in box junctions, doing stupid things, and loads more cyclists than normal. Urggggggggggh.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Extremely congested this morning, got well stuck on Bedford Hill into Balham.
Then sillier than usual near Waterloo Bridge.

Apart from that, it was jolly ride in.

Does anyone know how to tighten disc brakes? I only recently had my bike serviced and already, the rear brakes aren't locking.

 

[weepiper]

Extremely congested this morning, got well stuck on Bedford Hill into Balham.
Then sillier than usual near Waterloo Bridge.

Apart from that, it was jolly ride in.

Does anyone know how to tighten disc brakes? I only recently had my bike serviced and already, the rear brakes aren't locking.

If you post a photo of the brake caliper I can talk you through it. There's a couple of different types.

 

[Virtual Blue]

If you post a photo of the brake caliper I can talk you through it. There's a couple of different types.

Apologies for the rubbish low-light pic, I could take another when I'm indoors tonight.

Thanks

 

[weepiper]

Apologies for the rubbish low-light pic, I could take another when I'm indoors tonight.

Thanks

Ah, those are notoriously tricky to set up properly and maybe your LBS has done it wrong. They probably need bled. There's a little knurled thumb wheel on the arm where the cable clamp is - if you push that down you should be able to screw it into a thread just underneath. If it won't thread in then it's been set up wrong and the brake won't work, it may be adjustable but may need bled. If you google TRP HY-RD you should find a PDF of the instructions which you can print out to take to the shop (or have a go at yourself)

 

[Virtual Blue]

Ah, those are notoriously tricky to set up properly and maybe your LBS has done it wrong. They probably need bled. There's a little knurled thumb wheel on the arm where the cable clamp is - if you push that down you should be able to screw it into a thread just underneath. If it won't thread in then it's been set up wrong and the brake won't work, it may be adjustable but may need bled. If you google TRP HY-RD you should find a PDF of the instructions which you can print out to take to the shop (or have a go at yourself)

They're great when they work...but a pain when they don't !

I hate this bike!

Will search online.

Many Thanks,
m

 

[not-bono-ever]

this week has been pretty serious- with the rail strikes, the roads to London Bridge have been solid. I have come across more risky shitty driving so far this week than in the rest of the year combined. 3 sharp brakings + shouty bad words needed in the first mile. and before you start, I am not some lycra clad bronzed sleek 20 something on a 3K carbon bike and doing 30 mph

 

[DownwardDog]

Apologies for the rubbish low-light pic, I could take another when I'm indoors tonight.

Thanks

HY-RDs rarely need to be bled if you haven't opened them up and fucked around with them because the system is closed and has no master cylinder or hose. The first thing to check is the cable tension. HY-RDs are quite sensitive to tension and if it's a shitty cheap cable then it will stretch and the effect will be more noticeable on the rear as that will stretch more. You can lock the caliper with the lock knob, then loosen the cable clamp and haul on the cable with a tensioner (or pliers). The caliper MUST be locked when you do this!

Details here:https://www.trpbrakes.com/userfiles/file/HYRD_Final.pdf

The perfomance may never be better than adequate if the caliper mounts aren't faced accurately. Very few manufacturers bother to do this with any degree of precision. Honorable exception: Focus.

 

[toblerone3]

First cycle commute of the year today and the coldest so far this winter. The cold air was cutting through my fleece as I cycled through Kings Cross and up the wind canyon that is York Way. Thinking I should have worn another layer to keep the wind/cold air out. Was only a temporary problem though as I warmed up cycling up the first big hill.

 

[Hellsbells]

The cold hurt my ears a bit but I didn't find it that bad tbh. I could still feel my fingers and toes when I got home.

There seemed to be alot of broken glass on the roads today. I could feel little bits constantly going into my poor tyres

 

[a_chap]

Was supposed to have been first commute of the year but our road (never gritted) was slippy enough when I took the dogs for a walk that I decided not to take the chance.

 

[iamwithnail]

Yeah, was -2, 'feels like -5' when I got up at half six so took the train. Slipped walking to the station so that seems prescient.

 

[braindancer]

Aye - it was frickin' freezing yesterday, I was cold to the bone, so I wrapped up with extra layers today and was completely boiling - had to stop half way and strip off.

 

[iamwithnail]

Quite pleasant this morning, really! Just came in in shorts and a jacket, and that was plenty. Glad to be back on the bike, tbh.

 

[rutabowa]

I just started cycling this week after a year/year and a half/2 year break I can't remember, this morning my hands were so cold that I couldn't take off my helmet when I got to work so I had to sit at my desk in terrible pain as the feeling came back to my fingers with my helmet on

 

[iamwithnail]

Brrrrrr. I can just abut feel my fingers again after a warm shower. Probably need a coffee to hold to sort that.

I came off a couple of weeks before Christmas, first time in a long time, going v slowly round a mini-roundabout, and the wheels slipped, I wobbled and came down pretty hard. I was ok, but I totally have The Fear now about slippy roads, especially turning right and especially when it's cold. Bah.

 

[braindancer]

I layered up to the max today so I was pretty toasty. My parents-in-law bought me some Aldi Winter Cycling Gloves for Crimbo whilst my parents bought me some Enduras which no doubt cost at least 5 times more than the Aldis.

The Aldis are way better at keeping my hands warm than the Enduras

 

[Hellsbells]

I was fine today. I accidently left the heating on all night so was boiling when I left home

 

[gentlegreen]

I layered up to the max today so I was pretty toasty. My parents-in-law bought me some Aldi Winter Cycling Gloves for Crimbo whilst my parents bought me some Enduras which no doubt cost at least 5 times more than the Aldis.

The Aldis are way better at keeping my hands warm than the Enduras

I have five pairs on rotation - usually OK until they get really damp then I chuck them in the wash.
Unfortunately Aldi changed the design and the last pairs I bought seemed rather stiff...
I wear them all year, and switch to Aldi ski mitts on really frosty mornings.

 

[Dogsauce]

I endorse the Aldi lobster mitts, they do fine for me.

I've used overshoes on my last couple of rides, having discovered that the lightweight well-ventilated climbing bike shoes aren't very good at stopping my toes turning into blocks of ice.

 

[rutabowa]

I got totally soaked last night, in jeans. was ok.

 

[iamwithnail]

My trainers were still damp this morning after sitting against the radiator most of the eevening. Should've taken the insoles out, really.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Commute was nuts yesterday. Roads were seriously overcrowded and it was stationary for about 5-10 mins in Trafalgar Square, no gaps through the traffic and then the fucking heavy rain.

Not so bad this morning and I'm averaging on 14mph with the flu.