Your rants here.

surrey_commuter

imatfaal wrote:

CookeeeMonster wrote:

imatfaal wrote:

I'm so happy I don't have to use the tower hill end of the CS3 any more, was always horrible when busy. I often use east india dock road/ commercial road now (if I leave early enough) ...

What route do you use - after 15kph for half of CS3 last night in a huge swarm of nodders I am willing to give other routes a bash

if you are feeling brave then The Highway can be exciting

imatfaal

Absolutely hosing it down just in time for COB London. Great. Keep dry Everyone and good luck avoiding those idiots who seem to drive (and ride) just as fast with half the attention as soon as it starts to rain.

dyrlac

My rear light's battery--a knog blinder--managed to spontaneously discharge itself on my ride back from Brighton* on Saturday, just as dusk and the rain started to fall, despite having been plugged in and displaying the green LED before setting out. Was flatly dangerous by the time I got to Epsom, and I made the in retrospect stupid call to press on to Wimbledon by way of the A24 rather than getting in the train. Got home without incident, but binned the bloody thing in rage as soon as I got through the front door.

* BHA 5 - 0 FFC, another rant entirely.

BobMcbob

Made mistake of using the Lower Lea Crossing cycle path coming home... got covered in black dirt and slime, the path is a mixture of dust, dirt, gravel,glass, and lumps of concrete - don't think its ever been cleaned. Newham council at its finest oncemore. The road option is a bit hairy, but at least its clean and maintained.

slowbike

Dyrlac wrote:

My rear light's battery--a knog blinder--managed to spontaneously discharge itself on my ride back from Brighton* on Saturday, just as dusk and the rain started to fall, despite having been plugged in and displaying the green LED before setting out. Was flatly dangerous by the time I got to Epsom, and I made the in retrospect stupid call to press on to Wimbledon by way of the A24 rather than getting in the train. Got home without incident, but binned the bloody thing in rage as soon as I got through the front door.

* BHA 5 - 0 FFC, another rant entirely.

Thanks for the reminder - just plugged mine in to charge ...

QF though, it's your own fault - if you're going to ride in the dark then have at least 2 rear lights on your bike ... then one can fail ... as yours did ... :idea:

imatfaal

Slowbike wrote:

...
QF though, it's your own fault - if you're going to ride in the dark then have at least 2 rear lights on your bike ... then one can fail ... as yours did ... :idea:

This^ Planet X rear lights - strip of leds and usb charging; about 30grams and the size of a bic lighter. After similar experience now always in my tool kit with spare tube etc.

menthel

Nodders cutting people up, daft women in SUVs with no road sense and minicabs driven by cretins. This morning was not the most relaxing ride in.

dyrlac

Slowbike wrote:

Thanks for the reminder - just plugged mine in to charge ...

QF though, it's your own fault - if you're going to ride in the dark then have at least 2 rear lights on your bike ... then one can fail ... as yours did ... :idea:

Fair enough. Yellow card to me and lesson learned. Wasn't actually planning to be out after dusk, but late start/bumpier route than planned, blah, blah, blah.

slowbike

Dyrlac wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

Thanks for the reminder - just plugged mine in to charge ...

QF though, it's your own fault - if you're going to ride in the dark then have at least 2 rear lights on your bike ... then one can fail ... as yours did ... :idea:

Fair enough. Yellow card to me and lesson learned. Wasn't actually planning to be out after dusk, but late start/bumpier route than planned, blah, blah, blah.

Ah - late start and bumpier - worthy of a rant in itself
btw - My Knog is still charging ... hopefully I won't need the front light - not sure what state of charge that's in ... I could always use the phone "flash" ... er ...

rhodrich

Even with the tailwind in this morning, I was a fairy godfather. Into the headwind last night, it was almost at comical proportions, and felt more like a Sunday club ride than a commute, except with nobody else doing the work on the front.....

rhodrich

Colleague at work is looking for a single speed bike. Is trying to persuade me that these BSO's are 'good value':
http://www.gokucycles.co.uk/

I've told him that their 'HI-Ten' 12kg bikes are truly dreadful, both to look at, and to ride, and I've sent him a link to alibaba.com demonstrating that factories out in china knock these sorts of things out for under $50, with the quality to match:
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/w ... 0.0.eMLlge

What is wrong with these heathens who think that it's acceptable to buy this sort of rubbish?

wolfsbane2k

Forgot Snack bag/Lunch, discovered at mid morning need for fruit snack.
Check for wallet, that's also left at home to stop me buying snacks.
Going to be hungry today then!

slowbike

Can you not borrow some cash from a colleague?

posh_pedaller

13 Innate Alpha, less than 60 miles of commuting and the back wheel is out of true.

Figured it would be my fault, hit a pothole or something and threw it out, so take it to EBC.

EBC say they can't fix it - all the spokes that need tightening are already tight, all the spokes that need loosening are already loose, i.e. manufacturing fault.

Going to take it back to Halfords (was a C2W bike, got EBC to build it) tomorrow and demand a replacement. But I just know that they're going to say I have to return the whole bike, which I really don't want to do as a) I can't be arsed taking off and putting back on the rack, mudguards etc and b) I don't want to pay EBC another £40 to build it again.

wolfsbane2k

Stupid 1 way, except cycles down a high Street about 400 metres long. Had 4 cars pull in front of me tell me I was going the wrong way, and lots of pedestrians saying the same and not looking both ways.
Signs on lampposts at all junctions make this clear, but no indication on the road. Fricking lethal combination. All because I needed some more zip ties.

Glad I was doing it to test what the reaction would be like, and was in hyper alert mode.

That, and getting hit in the face by a piece of fish that seagulls were fighting over made a slightly surreal ride home.

Quins

First week of commuting to a station 12 miles from home, to get some miles in while weekends are taken up with other duties. First morning I forgot how heavy that kryptonite lock was....and left the key at home. Turned into a 24 mile TT.
Next day I got way laid by a team member asking stuff just as I was on way to get changed into gear to go home. Enough to break my goldfish concentration span, left my helmet and gloves under my desk in my rush to get out. 3rd day got off train and discovered a front flat, must have been that pot hole I hit hard.....Anti rant coming.

wolfsbane2k

Brought a beastly 17" laptop home to test a new SW build. Power it on to be told the liscence had expired, and needed to be taken back to the office to plug into the network to enable the licence to be refreshed, so it won't even power on. Total time it was disconnected from the network? Less than an hour.
7kg of laptop and power supply. Ffs. And now I've got to carry it back to work as well as get up feking early to ensure I get the testing complete before lunch time :-(

tootsie323

adambruntlett wrote:

Told off some moron who was weaving about the road for using her phone whilst driving. Typical trash starts gesticulating and telling me to mind my own business. As I get closer to the car I see she has a child of about 4 in the passenger seat. What a wonderful example she was setting, and what high value she places on the life of the child...

Not to mention that, erm, it is your business - specifically if she weaves right when one of you is passing the other.

imatfaal

CS2 - I know it has been said before - it is CR4P, SH1T, and downright dangerous. Had to get into town on London Marathon day - couldn't use the canal as Tower Hill/Bridge was closed for race - decided CS2.

Unbelievable that anyone thinks that is the way to do a job; half-arsed, half-finished, and half-baked.

itboffin

I'm sat in the pub waiting to be picked up, one totally pissed cunt just walked out to his car indicated right turned left, there are still two of his buddies sat at the bar right now still drinking and I'll lay odds on they intend on driving home.

wolfsbane2k

itboffin wrote:

I'm sat in the pub waiting to be picked up, one totally pissed **** just walked out to his car indicated right turned left, there are still two of his buddies sat at the bar right now still drinking and I'll lay odds on they intend on driving home.

Call the cops. Give them the reg number and tell them he was drink driving.
Unless of course that's your current local and they will ban you for doing so.

wolfsbane2k

Snow in Portsmouth. Snow? SNOW.
Had to ride through a barrage of it on the way home in shorts and SS jersey and it brought a horrific side wind with it.
Lasted about 3 minutes before turning to rain, but I was soaked and frozen to the skin
I could see thr rain storm from the top of the hill and tried to cycle around it, but it caught me first.

Snakebite the 2nd

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

itboffin wrote:

I'm sat in the pub waiting to be picked up, one totally pissed **** just walked out to his car indicated right turned left, there are still two of his buddies sat at the bar right now still drinking and I'll lay odds on they intend on driving home.

Call the cops. Give them the reg number and tell them he was drink driving.
Unless of course that's your current local and they will ban you for doing so.

Local or not, I'd sort it in a heartbeat.

People like that need locking up.
Imagine if he killed a family member of someone you knew? (Or anyone really)
How could you look them in the eye knowing you may have stopped it?

Easy for me to say, sitting here behind a keyboard miles away from what happened, but seriously if it happens again just ring the cops.

Ideally you should just batter them with a bar stool, but that'll just get you locked up.

posh_pedaller

posh_pedaller wrote:

13 Innate Alpha, less than 60 miles of commuting and the back wheel is out of true.

Figured it would be my fault, hit a pothole or something and threw it out, so take it to EBC.

EBC say they can't fix it - all the spokes that need tightening are already tight, all the spokes that need loosening are already loose, i.e. manufacturing fault.

Going to take it back to Halfords (was a C2W bike, got EBC to build it) tomorrow and demand a replacement. But I just know that they're going to say I have to return the whole bike, which I really don't want to do as a) I can't be arsed taking off and putting back on the rack, mudguards etc and b) I don't want to pay EBC another £40 to build it again.

Well took it into Halfords over the weekend, who said they had to have their chap take a look at it, which he did yesterday and agreed with EBC that the wheel needed replacing under warranty. Got two calls today saying my new wheel's in, went after work and picked it up. Got home, fitted it aaaaand the wheel isn't true, and on checking the discs realise there's wear on them.

The stupid bricks have given me my old, duff wheel.

TBF, with it being Halfords, I should have checked before leaving the shop. They're closed now, so another day on the lovely tram for me tomorrow.

KnightOfTheLongTights

Drone flying: I mean for f *ck's sake grow up.

wolfsbane2k

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

Drone flying: I mean for f *ck's sake grow up.

I'm a man, therefore a child really, and I don't have to, as my wife keeps telling me.
They are very useful for certain things like inspecting roofs & guttering from a distance, and taking some brilliant shots
Drone racing is also pretty cool. But I'm very "legal" with mine - unlike probably 99% of people.
What did they do to annoy you?

Snakebite the 2nd

Taking your kids to the park and flying a drone for a bit of fun is ok.
Using them in an industrial application (roof inspection etc) is fine.

Getting a bit carried away, or being dangerous/silly is not.

Disclaimer: I have a small toy helicopter that I fly around the office occasionally, bit of fun. At no point do I want to stand in a cold damp field and fly a bigger one!

wolfsbane2k

Another serious cyclist/van rtc, with the van failing to stop in the new forest.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ha ... -36159359(

Snakebite the 2nd

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

Another serious cyclist/van rtc, with the van failing to stop in the new forest.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ha ... -36159359(

Link not working?

Not sure whether it's just me........

imatfaal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-36159359

extraneous bracket