Your rants here.

Ben6899

Rick Chasey wrote:

And to the Mr Smith from the matrix lookalike on the bike this morning. I appreciate you were angry with more or less everyone on the road today, but it makes a lot of sense passing cyclists on the right.

When you half-wheel me on my left, between me and the curb, at least be glad I noticed you and beckoned you over to the right hand side.Calling me a c*nt won't help.

What is it with folk half-wheeling!? To anyone who has this annoying habit: if you want to suck my wheel mate, then at least do it fucking properly.

And why is it always some prat on an Allez?

shedman

Ben, just read your blog Re: self-sevice checkouts, made me laugh mate< I thought it was just me that hated the annoying voice of robo girl!

Koncordski

Ben6899 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

And to the Mr Smith from the matrix lookalike on the bike this morning. I appreciate you were angry with more or less everyone on the road today, but it makes a lot of sense passing cyclists on the right.

When you half-wheel me on my left, between me and the curb, at least be glad I noticed you and beckoned you over to the right hand side.Calling me a c*nt won't help.

What is it with folk half-wheeling!? To anyone who has this annoying habit: if you want to suck my wheel mate, then at least do it ******* properly.

And why is it always some prat on an Allez?

Had this all the way along embankment last night, let him play long enough then waved him past. He didn't budge so when he continued to do it after the next set of lights i did some random direction changes. Draft me fine if you can't MTFU but don't overlap my back wheel in london traffic! :evil:

Ben6899

shedman wrote:

Ben, just read your blog Re: self-sevice checkouts, made me laugh mate< I thought it was just me that hated the annoying voice of robo girl!

Oh thanks mate, positive feedback is always welcome! I do like a good old moan and I also like to think people care about what I have to say... this isn't necessarily the same as reality. There are more posts at that link... it's not a regular blog, but if something's on my mind or if I have something to share (with myself!?) then I type away.

essex-commuter

Ambulance drivers - I know sirens are necessary but please don't switch them on when you are 10 feet behind a cyclist. You may be attending an accident but doing this is likely to cause one....and I doubt whether you carry the correct equipment to clean my chamois to the condition it was prior to me being feckin' startled out of my life by you switching on the blues and two's.

SimonAH

The siren CLEANED your nethers? Jesus that must have been loud! :-)

rjsterry

To the Ocado driver between VB and CB last night: if you indicate right, then drift left, then right, then left again before coming to a stop on a double red line in a mandatory cycle lane, don't be surprised if someone shouts "What the F***?" through your window.

Gallywomack

My road sense seems to abandon me whenever I hear a siren. I normally end up getting on the pavement and waiting it out. Not sure why, I just don't really know what to do with myself on a bike when there's an emergency vehicle around. In a car I have no problems.

Heard a nice exchange this morning. A roadie Shortus Hairyangrius went whizzing through the red light at the end of Jamaica Road, nearly taking out a pair of nodder types on bikes who were using the crossing to get onto the road. Through the open van window next to me I heard one of the white van men say to the other something like: 'w*nker, gives other cyclists a bad name', which I thought was quite heartening as it seemed to show at least some sympathy for the cycling cause. He then followed it up with 'I'd run 'em all over mate. Nah, serious - these cyclsts who run red lights, I'd run 'em over'.

Erm, glad you're on the side of us good cyclists mate, but that may be going slightly too far...

rick_chasey

One more thing.

If you are rude (and mad) enough to draft me when it's ridiculously busy, don't then complain if I sit up and freewheel.

You're not paying me to be your leadout man.


If I don't know you, get out of my wheel.

rjsterry

Rick Chasey wrote:

One more thing.

If you are rude (and mad) enough to draft me when it's ridiculously busy, don't then complain if I sit up and freewheel.

You're not paying me to be your leadout man.


If I don't know you, get out of my wheel.

This. To quote Malcolm Tucker "F*** the F*** Off"

bails87

I forgot my pump, multi tool and puncture repair kit. But don't tell anyone, especially not her

Mr Sworld

Fell off my MTB on Sunday while doing some singletrack. Managed to twist my ankle...

Car commute today and possibly tomorrow. :evil:

Torvid

bails87 wrote:

I'm asking for it

FTFY

rick_chasey

Not really a rant, more of an observation, but nowhere else to put it.

Commuting by bike is no quicker than PT for me... a little surprised.

MonkeyMonster

ffs - interviews. Stop me from cycling in - tuesday however... you're gonna get a pounding!

rick_chasey

Alright. I get it. My calls to you may be irritating, and may come at a bad time.

That doesn't mean you should a) be rude, and b) hang up on me.

I understand not everyone wants to talk to a head hunter, and not everyone wants to move. I even get that you're such a big d*ck swinger that you get a lot of calls.

A simple "I'm absolutely not interested but thanks anyway" will more than suffice, and it takes the same amount of time.

It's not like I call you every day/week. It's once a year at its most frequent.

*sighs* That's 3 in a row now. Bad run.

Ben6899

Rick Chasey wrote:

Alright. I get it. My calls to you may be irritating, and may come at a bad time.

That doesn't mean you should a) be rude, and b) hang up on me.

I understand not everyone wants to talk to a head hunter, and not everyone wants to move. I even get that you're such a big d*ck swinger that you get a lot of calls.

A simple "I'm absolutely not interested but thanks anyway" will more than suffice, and it takes the same amount of time.

It's not like I call you every day/week. It's once a year at its most frequent.

*sighs* That's 3 in a row now. Bad run.

Oh Rick. Are you one of those!?

rick_chasey

Ben6899 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Alright. I get it. My calls to you may be irritating, and may come at a bad time.

That doesn't mean you should a) be rude, and b) hang up on me.

I understand not everyone wants to talk to a head hunter, and not everyone wants to move. I even get that you're such a big d*ck swinger that you get a lot of calls.

A simple "I'm absolutely not interested but thanks anyway" will more than suffice, and it takes the same amount of time.

It's not like I call you every day/week. It's once a year at its most frequent.

*sighs* That's 3 in a row now. Bad run.

Oh Rick. Are you one of those!?

Of course. How else would I have all day to post on this?

Ben6899

Rick Chasey wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Alright. I get it. My calls to you may be irritating, and may come at a bad time.

That doesn't mean you should a) be rude, and b) hang up on me.

I understand not everyone wants to talk to a head hunter, and not everyone wants to move. I even get that you're such a big d*ck swinger that you get a lot of calls.

A simple "I'm absolutely not interested but thanks anyway" will more than suffice, and it takes the same amount of time.

It's not like I call you every day/week. It's once a year at its most frequent.

*sighs* That's 3 in a row now. Bad run.

Oh Rick. Are you one of those!?

Of course. How else would I have all day to post on this?

Good point, well made.

The Running Man

A not so big thank you to the total idiot on the earth mover being removed from the building site on London Road this morning who for no reason whatever called me "A f****** pr***" as I went past him into my offices.

I do apologise to those within earshot who may have heard me tell him I'd smack him from one end of the f****** A4 to the other if he spoke to me like that again : a thank you however to the site foreman who apologised to me for the totally unprovoked verbals from the operator.

bails87

Torvid wrote:

bails87 wrote:

I'm asking for it

FTFY

Shhhhhh!

richVSrich

The Running Man wrote:

A not so big thank you to the total idiot on the earth mover being removed from the building site on London Road this morning who for no reason whatever called me "A f****** pr***" as I went past him into my offices.

I do apologise to those within earshot who may have heard me tell him I'd smack him from one end of the f****** A4 to the other if he spoke to me like that again : a thank you however to the site foreman who apologised to me for the totally unprovoked verbals from the operator.

If you are thinking of escalating this issue, you should call their site number / complain to the principal contractor. there is usually an phone number on the site hoarding, or email the contractors head office, etc.

being at work, and being a c*** (which ever 4 letter c word you prefer) makes them sackable....

rick_chasey

Speaking of rants - Hugh Grant just had a 2hour one at the Leveson Inquiry. "Everyone" seems to be raving about it.

bails87

He's dropped the Mail right in it too :twisted:

I would say I'm so pleased that I'd have his babies, but then I might get threatening phonecalls during the night.....

Torvid

Is it just me or are the morons out in force these last two days, more close passes and left hooking than I've seen for the month so far.

Last one today took out the wing mirror of the car comming towards him trying force his way past me over a speed bump. As I rolled into work I saw him get out of his car in the site over the roads carpark, is it wrong to go key T4W7 down his door at lunch?

rick_chasey

Torvid wrote:

Is it just me or are the morons out in force these last two days, more close passes and left hooking than I've seen for the month so far.

Last one today took out the wing mirror of the car comming towards him trying force his way past me over a speed bump. As I rolled into work I saw him get out of his car in the site over the roads carpark, is it wrong to go key T4W7 down his door at lunch?

No, but if he has alloys, it might be amusing to chain your bike to his wheel.

Torvid

Rick Chasey wrote:

No, but if he has alloys, it might be amusing to chain your bike to his wheel.

The fact he didn't even seem to notice hitting the other car makes me think he'll drive off with it still chained there.

Gallywomack

Hmmm, my rear wheel has gone from having a slight kink in the rim to looking distinctly out of true, and on close inspection the hub appears to be bent, too - if I rotate the cassette, you can see it is not straight, which I can only attribute to a bent hub (the cogs themselves could be bent I suppose but they seem to wave in and out in unison when I rotate it, so I don't think they are). Just to add to the issues in that area, the lockring for the cassette doesn't want to stay locked and comes loose if I use the bottom cog. Basically, it's a bit of a mess all round.

This is rantworthy for a few reasons, but the main theme of my rant is the amount of money I have to shell out to keep my bike running. OK, a relatively new wheel going out of true doesn't on the face of it have anything to do with the age and crappiness of the bike it's attached to (probably more to do with the 19 stone+ of fat bloke it's had to carry for much of its life, and the state of the roads he uses), but given all the stuff I've had to do to my bike since I started using it to commute, I'm really not sure whether I've actually come out on top in terms of the money saved on train/spent on bike ratio. And I don't even have a nice bike to show for that, just a crappy old Hardrock that keeps needing dosh spent on it.

I'm reaching the point where I'm thinking new bike, which tbh I can't really afford - but equally, I can't really afford to keep throwing money at my current steed to keep it running. My work doesn't participate in C2W, but I suppose some kind of finance could be an option. Anyone recommend a good bike shop in either central (City would be best) or SE london that offers 0% finance?

bails87

Isn't it an offence to leave the scene of an accident where there's been damage caused?


And I made it home with no problems, despite forgetting my pump and repair stuff

Torvid

bails87 wrote:

Isn't it an offence to leave the scene of an accident where there's been damage caused?


And I made it home with no problems, despite forgetting my pump and repair stuff

I thought so guy in the other car has my number just in case, where it happened is right where you have to loop round birmingham airport if your in a car but there a bike lane to cut all the loop out so you save quiet a bit of time.

(Should add since i've been bike commuting must have given my number out to about 6 people for crashes not been called once)