Silly commuting racing

asprilla

poweredbyidris said:

I see the Trump is in the UK for a few days - anyone know of any road closures around London because of this?

Protest in Trafalgar Sq tomorrow is the only thing I've seen.

On the subject of SWR Strike. I know at least two people who are WFH for the whole of December. At least the last train home being before midnight is going to curtail my xmas drink hangovers.

itboffin

Went out at 11:30 and to my surprise almost all of the back lanes were still covered in black ice, I really couldn't turn back as the shade from the high hedges meant very clearly visible covering of ice over two thirds of the road, slowly onwards it was but otherwise a lovely day.

Wheelspinner

itboffin said:

Went out at 11:30 and to my surprise almost all of the back lanes were still covered in black ice, I really couldn't turn back as the shade from the high hedges meant very clearly visible covering of ice over two thirds of the road, slowly onwards it was but otherwise a lovely day.

Was that your Johnny Hoogerland moment?

poweredbyidris

Finally found a use for the Trump this morning - the Mall was shut to all motor traffic.

Should've had a SCR Crit up and down it all morning

Gallywomack870

Took the roundabout at the top of Fountain Drive on my normal racing line this morning and went straight down, think it is just the cold wet surface possibly with a bit of bonus leaf mulch as 5 minutes later, the rider in front of me did the exact same thing at the Dulwich Village roundabout - I could see he was going in too hot and felt I should shout a warning but as usual with these things, by the time I'd processed the thought he was down. No harm done to either of us other than a nice bit of matching road rash on the right shin.

Be careful out there folks.

dekant

itboffin said:

Alan Sugar was wrong - clearly there is a market for the losing apprentice bike..

asprilla

Pootled through the park taking photos this morning. I've not managed to align my commute with a photogenic morning since the clocks changed so I took full advantage.

Lovely.

kingstongraham

It was purdy

smokey_bacon

Yup well nice out this morning. Found myself stopping alot more recently to take in the views.

kingstongraham

Hammersmith Bridge is going to be somewhat sketchy when there is some proper ice - was a bit dodgy this morning even. It'll be a walk across there because I can't imagine the gritting will be very efficient.

silverstreak

Beware evil pothole outside Ballet School in RP. Hit it today and got a rear flat. Lucky it was downhill from there to Mortlake - and no guards on strike-hit trains to throw me and the bike off!

monkimark

Given that they've reduced it to a narrow path that you have to walk the bike down at either end, I'd say that the chances of the bridge getting gritted are close to zero. No doubt Hammersmith council consider that to be very efficient.

There was some kind of water leak on Priory lane and when I moved out to 3/4 of the way across the lane to the drier section i managed to line up with the pothole that I guess was the source of all the water. Luckilly I saw the guy in front swerve and manage to do a last minute hop over it as I suspect it's quite deep.
I also got what may be my first puncture of the year 5 minutes from work, couldn't be arsed to fix it on the road so I walked the last km and now have a filthy rear wheel sitting next to my desk.

asprilla

Oh yeah; Priory Lane burst water main. That should cause some chaos in the next few days, especially if they decide to close the road to dig it up.

Last year was so much fun.

kingstongraham

You should use the bike lane, it's what it's there for, what you doing in the road anyway etc etc

asprilla

kingstongraham said:

You should use the bike lane, it's what it's there for, what you doing in the road anyway etc etc

Last year that was exactly the attitude drivers took; they drive down the shared pavement / cycle lane.

kingstongraham

asprilla said:

kingstongraham said:

You should use the bike lane, it's what it's there for, what you doing in the road anyway etc etc

Last year that was exactly the attitude drivers took; they drive down the shared pavement / cycle lane.

Yeah, at least someone used it for once.

Then some killjoy called the old bill.

veronese68

smokey_bacon said:

Yup well nice out this morning. Found myself stopping alot more recently to take in the views.

Whilst Bushy Park is not as pretty as Richmond I was very pleased to see a kingfisher dart across the front of me as I crossed the little bridge over a stream.

itboffin

i would have loved to take a photo or two on today's ride but there really wasn't any point, fog so thick you can't see more than two feet in front of you and colder than a witches tit, no way I was taking my gloves off to try.

asprilla

itboffin said:

i would have loved to take a photo or two on today's ride but there really wasn't any point, fog so thick you can't see more than two feet in front of you and colder than a witches censored , no way I was taking my gloves off to try.

Double tap power button to open camera an volume down will take a picture. Android anyway.

Wore my soft shell this morning and was properly goldilocks but I was sweating like a pig on the way home until RP. Between the gates and Sheen Cross I thought my Tauntaun was going to freeze, but then on the way up the hill towards RBS it felt like I was riding into the sirocco.

asprilla

10c difference in commuting temps forecast for today. Hurrumph.

smokey_bacon

Felt like riding through treacle this morning! Last night down Priory Lane was interesting. Massive stones and gravel across the road from the burst water main. I think I hit one stone pretty hard and was surprised I didn't least get a puncture out of it.

monkimark

Yeah, it was a bit of a minefield down there yesterday. Totally closed today but I don't think there were any signs up until half way down the road so lots of u-turns and frustrated drivers.

smokey_bacon

monkimark said:

Yeah, it was a bit of a minefield down there yesterday. Totally closed today but I don't think there were any signs up until half way down the road so lots of u-turns and frustrated drivers.

Ah, let the fun begin!

itboffin

complete whiteout again today

vinny155

The police seem to have set up camp on embankment at the cross over point between the blackfriars bit and embankment itself.They have been there for the last three evenings and allways have cyclists pulled over whatever its about....all the scr seems to take place west-east in the morning and east-west in the evening,seems quiter the opposite way.

asprilla

eBikes. Or unregistered scooters depending on how you look at it.

I can't make up my mind whether their owners should be allowed to go about their business as they are taking cars off the road and finding ways to enjoy cycling or if they should be horse whipped in public.

Last night, between Kingston and Hampton I was following an eMTB with way more than 250w. I was using him as a durney before remembering that I hate drafting and so backed off. Clearly illegal on the road, but still useful off road and he had been on the Tamsin Trail (though not sure I'd want 500w on there at night either) . This morning I was back and forth with some little monkey bike thing that was kitted out to look like a motorbike, complete with Triumph decals on the fuel tank and 4" wide tyre. Again, easily more than 250w, capable of 20mph, but not much more and essentially an electric scooter. Rider was pretty sensible in comparison to most chicken chaser pilots, but essentially unlicenced and uninsured.

Am I just becoming a grouchier older man?

hopkinb

I've often tried (on clear roads in good conditions) to hang off the back of ebikes doing 50 kph, lose the wheel and I'm dropped.

There's a guy I see quite regularly who has one that'll do that sort of pace, but he's very sensible. I think his name is Rob - comes in from Morden - I think mtb-idle knows him too.

I'm ambivalent, I've never seen anyone really act the tool on one yet, on my route, they are normally ridden by older guys. I'm not sure how me being uninsured at 40 kph on a push bike is any different to an e-bikeist being uninsured at 40 kph.

asprilla

On a push bike you'll be covered by any accident insurance you have. On a non-road legal ebike then your insurance is going to give you the finger if you try and claim. Not even sure where the MIB stands on these things, I assume they won't touch it with a barge pole.

rower63

I rode through the large amount of standing water on Priory Lane last night, knowing it was going to be there but not expecting it to be so opaque and deep in the dark. I knew there might be a pothole of unknown size in there somewhere, and sure enough I went over a horrible negative-bump. Luckily no pinch-flat but I didn't like it.
And yes, the frustrated drivers were just starting to queue up and do their three-pointers as I went through on the cycle path around 0710 this morning. I wonder if any attempted to mount the pavement this time?
I was working reasonably hard this morning, and seemed to have a good run of green lights, but my time was fully 10 minutes more than I would have expected for the conditions. I can't think where that time went, I don't remember being unduly delayed, and there wasn't a headwind...

edit: analyzing on Strava, I had 10 minutes difference between stopped and moving, much more than usual. Now I think about it, I did spend a reasonable amount of time at every lights after RP I can think of. Only the very early ones through Hampton and Kingston were green which probably flooded me with optimism.

I dressed for this morning's sub-zero, so I'll be boiling tonight.

cjcp

WFH yesterday, so the state of Priory Lane was a bit of a surprise this morning. The traffic made me chuckle: honestly, when are people going to learn that they need to find another way of getting to work or getting their kids to school?

Am finding CS3 a bit of a mixed bag. A combination of bike lane, blue paint on a pavement with tree roots trying to break through, pinch points, iffy junctions where cars chance it on red, and cyclists, e-scooters also chance it on red, a traffic light system at one junction which doesn't automatically assume bikes are there (you need to press the ped button), a couple of *very* dodgy low-level-but-solid-as-hell bollards as you switch from one side of the road to the other, a sketchy bit through a park, a manhole cover as you complete the sharp left turn after a short down-slope after that park (heading east), and some very impatient riding.

As for the road surface on the roundabout under Westferry Circus, I suspect there are secteurs of Paris-Roubaix which are a smoother ride.

Generally though, the new commute is ok.