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How was your cycle commute?

can't remember if I've cycled in snow before, reckon I'll be ok this evening at 6pm if it's forecast to start snowing at 5? it doesn't feel icy or anything.
 
I hate cycling in the snow, can't see the dodgy roads/ potholes etc.

This rain...wish I was better prepared for the journey home.
Guaranteed shit commute - is it possible for the temperature to drop 4 degrees in a space of 1 hour?
 
Another puncture on last night's midnight run, sprinting up near Manor Park, one of those roads with a bollarded bit in the middle to stop through traffic, aimed myself to pass through the bollards but there was a slight kerb there, only a few cm high but enough for quite a jolt when my front wheel hit it (enough probably to have marked the rim) and the tyre deflated pretty quickly.

Last time I did something like this it was up near Crouch Hill, but a two hour walk home in my socks on a very balmy summer night wasn't too much of a pain in the arse. Last night was cold, so I took the wheels off and wrapped them against the frame with a large bit of polythene out of a skip and (after quite a wait) whined pitifully enough at a bus driver ("I'm cold") for him to let me and my dismantled bike on and take me back down to Angel. He initially closed the doors in my face so I did my best pathetic pleading face. Home for 1:30 am, cold and pissed off. I didn't even get the KOM. :mad:
 
Walked in this morning, couldn't be bothered to sweep the snow and ice off the bike, and didn;t fancy the icy stretches. Yes a part time fair weather cyclist I am
 
Emerged from the cycle track to snowy roads - fell off at the bottom of a hill so slightly bashed one knee and strained a muscle.
Most annoying thing was I lost a glove off the back so have to wear ski gloves on the way home - luckily I didn't have to push the bike very far as I'm working closer to home.
Fingers crossed I find the glove on the way home - Aldi's recent offerings are really stiff.
 
OzT said:
Walked in this morning, couldn't be bothered to sweep the snow and ice off the bike, and didn;t fancy the icy stretches. Yes a part time fair weather cyclist I am
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Nah, I think that's ok. I cycle in almost all weathers, but icy rain and slippy roads with 40km/h winds? Think that's fair to skip!
 
Bit wet coming in but least not freezing. And 2nd week of cycling into work and so far today my bum's not sore yet, had a weekend's rest. Can't wait for the bum to man up and allow me to ride without pain, and to walk like a man, not John Wayne :)
 
I was surprised how cold I was today, it was 5 so should've been fine with my outers and gloves on, but was frozen when I got in. Great line of road grime on my ankles as well when I took my socks on. Might need to get my disc brakes looked at, that's the first time I've (ever) felt them be less than perfect in the wet. They're over two years old, and only had cursory services so perhaps not surprising. Just felt very spongy by comparison to normal.
 
Moved office. Same sort of distance, but shitter roads.

Cycling round Regents Park actually feels more dangerous than the dual carriage ways. Its so dark.

Any one have a suggestion for a light to fit to my backpack?
 
I'm getting sick of the state of the roads in Leeds. Some are virtually post-apocalyptic, they've been neglected so long. i don't know why the council doesn't seem to consider it a priority to fix them. they're in a dangerous state of disrepair
 
Orang Utan said:
I'm getting sick of the state of the roads in Leeds. Some are virtually post-apocalyptic, they've been neglected so long. i don't know why the council doesn't seem to consider it a priority to fix them. they're in a dangerous state of disrepair
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When I lived in Leeds, there was a massive pothole right by more house.
I reported it here.
Report problems with roads and pavements
I gave loads of information and mentioned that it had injured people.

Nothing happened.
 
Orang Utan said:
I'm getting sick of the state of the roads in Leeds. Some are virtually post-apocalyptic, they've been neglected so long. i don't know why the council doesn't seem to consider it a priority to fix them. they're in a dangerous state of disrepair
Click to expand...

Lots of development in the centre over the last decade, which has meant a lot of heavy construction traffic fucking up the roads. The council could have pushed developers to make good the damage, given the deep pockets they have, but this is Leeds and the council is utterly spineless. Mind, at least you can swerve round a lot of them, something you can't do with the shitty speed bumps I now have to contend with in Norf Landen.
 
Dogsauce said:
Lots of development in the centre over the last decade, which has meant a lot of heavy construction traffic fucking up the roads. The council could have pushed developers to make good the damage, given the deep pockets they have, but this is Leeds and the council is utterly spineless. Mind, at least you can swerve round a lot of them, something you can't do with the shitty speed bumps I now have to contend with in Norf Landen.
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I don't think it's construction work that's done this, just neglect. The post-apocalyptic roads I was referring to were in the narrow lanes and cul-de-sacs of Chapel Allerton. You can't swerve them when they're all over a narrow road
 
Took a while for me fingers to warm up this morning, though not nearly as bad as journey home yesterday when they actually went numb on the easy, mostly traffic free section at the start of my homeward journey. Really need to dig out the long-fingered gloves. I'm also wearing a t-shirt I bought from a charity shop this morning, as got out of the showers at college to discover that the only top I had was the one I wore in. This also happened to be the one I wore home yesterday so wasn't going to make people sit and smell me in class.

Pretty sure I spotted an assertive looking weepiper heading down towards Bruntsfield though.
 
The Boy said:
Took a while for me fingers to warm up this morning, though not nearly as bad as journey home yesterday when they actually went numb on the easy, mostly traffic free section at the start of my homeward journey. Really need to dig out the long-fingered gloves. I'm also wearing a t-shirt I bought from a charity shop this morning, as got out of the showers at college to discover that the only top I had was the one I wore in. This also happened to be the one I wore home yesterday so wasn't going to make people sit and smell me in class.

Pretty sure I spotted an assertive looking weepiper heading down towards Bruntsfield though.
Click to expand...
Possibly- if it had a violently orange helmet and yellow rucksack it was me :)
Yesterday's ride home was horrific wasn't it. Double plus hard points for commuting on a bike in that.
 
The state of most London roads is pretty shocking, especially around The City, it's almost as if they're not taking enough tax off people to pay for the infrastructure they use.

I'd nominate Mount Pleasant (south of the big post depot near Holborn) as the worst road I've come across so far down here, I've been taking a longer route around it if I've got the child seat on so that the wee lad doesn't rattle around in it so much.
 
Dogsauce said:
The state of most London roads is pretty shocking, especially around The City, it's almost as if they're not taking enough tax off people to pay for the infrastructure they use.

I'd nominate Mount Pleasant (south of the big post depot near Holborn) as the worst road I've come across so far down here, I've been taking a longer route around it if I've got the child seat on so that the wee lad doesn't rattle around in it so much.
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London roads are pristine compared to Leeds though!
 
Orang Utan said:
London roads are pristine compared to Leeds though!
Click to expand...

My Leeds commute was pretty smooth tbh, though it was mostly on A roads or dual carriageways. Some of the centre was pretty shocking (Wellington St). North London is just speed bumps everywhere, many of which are in a shit state, especially the ones faced with cobbles.
 
My cycle commute will shortly be turning into a rail commute. I'm going to have to seriously up my non-commute cycling or my fitness is going to plummet as I currently do the best part of 100 miles a week to and from work....
 
Virtual Blue said:
Those are good miles.
How come?
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I'm moving out of London to Sussex - but will be continuing to work in London, for the time being.....

I will however be working from home twice a week - so my intention is to try and slip in an early morning, lunchtime, or early evening ride on those days to make up for it. Might get a folder as well - to do the 3 mile ride across London rather than getting the tube.
 
Dogsauce said:
The state of most London roads is pretty shocking, especially around The City, it's almost as if they're not taking enough tax off people to pay for the infrastructure they use.

I'd nominate Mount Pleasant (south of the big post depot near Holborn) as the worst road I've come across so far down here, I've been taking a longer route around it if I've got the child seat on so that the wee lad doesn't rattle around in it so much.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's pretty bad actually, surface wise - i was a bit unclear, meant the state of it re: roadworks. THe same section's been up 3 times in 5 months, by my count - corner with Vassall Road - twice with a water main breakage, and once with gas - there are now another three sections up for a grand total of four (at last count!) in less than a mile.
 
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