The Tyne and Wear Commuter Thread

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  • anthdci
    anthdci Posts: 543
    bloody cold this morning, computer wouldn't budge from 0degrees the whole way in.
  • RAK1963
    RAK1963 Posts: 12
    edited November 2012
    @JOMOJ

    The guy was a bit broken, but nothing that won't mend. No cars involved.

    He had just over taken me and then tw&tted himself off this http://goo.gl/maps/UUfyb sign post.

    Broken left arm and a suspected broken left leg. Because of the traffic caused by the bridge accident it took the rapid response vehicle nearly 15 minutes to get there and the ambulance about another 10 after that.

    He was conscious throughout, which I was very happy about as I was rather worried about having to put him in the recovery position with his arm obviously broken.

    It is a damn stupid place for a sign, and if anyone knows who I should contact at Newcastle City, then please let me know.
  • anthdci
    anthdci Posts: 543
    RAK1963 wrote:
    It is a damn stupid place for a sign, and if anyone knows who I should contact at Newcastle City, then please let me know.

    what an unbelievably stupid place to put a sign. Right in the middle of the cycle lane :evil:
  • jomoj
    jomoj Posts: 777
    that is nasty, worthy of 'Crap Cycle Lanes'.
    http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/w ... /index.htm

    Definitely worth contacting the council or taking a hacksaw and removing it yourself. Glad the bloke isn't too badly injured.
  • anthdci
    anthdci Posts: 543
    common then who else has to cycle home in this blizzard?
  • y33stu
    y33stu Posts: 376
    Errr.... Yeah. Me. On my road bike. with slicks. Should be fun. :cry:
    Cycling prints
    Band of Climbers
  • Long_Time_Lurker
    Long_Time_Lurker Posts: 1,068
    y33stu wrote:
    Errr.... Yeah. Me. On my road bike. with slicks. Should be fun. :cry:
    You and me both...
    I knew I should have stopped playing on the xbox last night to change my tyres over. :(
    2007 Felt Q720 (the ratbike)
    2012 Cube Ltd SL (the hardtail XC 26er)
    2014 Lapierre Zesty TR 329 (the full-sus 29er)
  • y33stu
    y33stu Posts: 376
    Debating whether to use the non-gritted bike path along Great North Road, or risk riding on Great North Road in the Bus Lane like i usually do. Either way, it's going to be ugly.
    Cycling prints
    Band of Climbers
  • anthdci
    anthdci Posts: 543
    I changed to my marathon plus weeks ago. Very glad I did. Was getting nervous when claremont road was nearly completely white, but it seems to have eased now and the cars are clearing it. It is follingsby lane I'm nervous about
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    edited December 2012
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Initialised wrote:
    I had to bypass the bottom end of Team Valley this morning, flooded under the bridge. Again.

    Have been running Snow Studs for a couple of weeks so my lunchtime ride has gone from up and over to up the road and down Bowes Railway Path. Mental today, the staircase section behind Kibblesworth has been totally wrecked by yesterdays downpour, mounds of gravel, aggregate, mud and leaves liberally scattered at the sides. Good fun descent, could have done with shocks.

    What was once a normal bike path is now a nice little technical descent:

    8228135530_90572659ca_c.jpg
    I want to see you ride UP that!
    Last time I went up it was before the most recent floods when it was still quite dry and I was on slicks. Today it was up the road and down it in the snow. It looks like this now:

    8248395138_1decb20903_c.jpg

    8248238458_98aee9a688_c.jpg

    Lost it once on the way down today, on the upper staircase after the metal detour and before the jumps get too hairy.
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • bennett_346
    bennett_346 Posts: 5,029
    img failed, try again?
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    Fixed, was on the phone, had to go get the kids as Mrs Ini was stuck on Scotswood Road for hours.

    I imagine it'll be even more trecherous tomorrow. I'm running the studs at lower pressure, made loads of difference on bits that had me sliding about yesterday, fine today.
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • byke68
    byke68 Posts: 1,070
    I'm wimping it, using the car for the next few days! :)
    Cannondale Trail 6 - crap brakes!
    Cannondale CAAD8
  • bennett_346
    bennett_346 Posts: 5,029
    Jesus, that cycle paths getting beyond useable now, i'm used to having to ride up the side of it but im not sure it can take any more damage.

    Appreciate the photo updates, I use this route to get to my weekend off road area.
  • anthdci
    anthdci Posts: 543
    no idea what im going to do in the morning. 90% of my route was fine on my way home. It is that last 10% that is literally cycling on sheet ice that is the problem....
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    edited December 2012
    @Bennett do you go to Beamish Woods? You can always ride up the road through Kibblesworth to skip the staircase. We could always do some trail sculpting.

    @Anthdci studded tyres at low pressure work just fine on sheet ice

    @byke68 traffic went mental tonight with the first proper snow of the season. Why bother sitting in traffic for hours? Gear up and get on the bike.
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • bennett_346
    bennett_346 Posts: 5,029
    Initialised wrote:
    @Bennett do you go to Beamish Woods? You can always ride up the road through Kibblesworth to skip the staircase.
    Yeah that's where we go. You're right there's always the road but it's not quite the same :|
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    True, but since I've switched to trying to top 50mph down Consett Road to blasting down that track I'm not in any rush for it to get fixed cos then I might not be able to get my fix.

    Not been to Beamish woods, is probably a bit far for a lunch hour ride. I usually hit Chopwell Woods for mud plugging duties, any good?
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • bennett_346
    bennett_346 Posts: 5,029
    The bit right at the top of Kibblesworth Bank is limited but we're currently trailbuilding there (suspended whilst ground frost is sustained as the grounds too hard to dig) but we've so far got a 8ft gap jump and some hefty drops, plus a small table. It's also relatively dry.
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    Sounds promising. I ride the hill up to the turn off most days. Sound like it's worth going straight on once my legs can get me up the bank quick enough.

    If the Kibblesworth Lower Staircase got rebuilt so it was still fun on the way down but there was an easier way up it could save the council from spending on r(uin)epairing it. There's plenty of material there, it just needs a bit of inventive arranging.
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • Long_Time_Lurker
    Long_Time_Lurker Posts: 1,068
    Got injured before I even got on my bike this morning :oops:
    Fell over on the ice on the way to the garage to get the bike.
    I got public transport in the end - think I've gone bust my my arse-bone. It's getting very uncomfortable sitting in the office.
    2007 Felt Q720 (the ratbike)
    2012 Cube Ltd SL (the hardtail XC 26er)
    2014 Lapierre Zesty TR 329 (the full-sus 29er)
  • y33stu
    y33stu Posts: 376
    I enjoyed cycling home last night. Took me no longer than usual, stayed in the tracks made by cars and I was fine. Mrs. S wasn't so lucky. Took her 4.5 hours to drive 27 miles home from Durham to Gosforth on the A1. Ridiculous. Enjoyed it so much I rode in again today, on the slicks!
    Cycling prints
    Band of Climbers
  • orangepip
    orangepip Posts: 219
    Last night was mostly fun, but the road bike is definitely not the right one for the weather :-( 5 mile commute 4.9 miles completed without incident, then 200 yds from the house on Fenham hall drive clearly thinking the worst was over came off and landed hard on my buttock...

    Decided not to risk the bike this morning as Fenham was an ice rink and the gritters don't seem to have ventured anywhere near us. As I've got to work however I've noticed that the snow is nowhere near as bad here at the Freeman than over the west end.
  • byke68
    byke68 Posts: 1,070
    Initialised wrote:
    @Bennett do you go to Beamish Woods? You can always ride up the road through Kibblesworth to skip the staircase. We could always do some trail sculpting.

    @Anthdci studded tyres at low pressure work just fine on sheet ice

    @byke68 traffic went mental tonight with the first proper snow of the season. Why bother sitting in traffic for hours? Gear up and get on the bike.


    What traffic? I got home from Wallsend to NE23 with no problem. Same this morning :D
    Cannondale Trail 6 - crap brakes!
    Cannondale CAAD8
  • anthdci
    anthdci Posts: 543
    Anyone else cycle in this morning? I was on my arse 4 times!! Twice on a path out of my estate, didn't see the first one coming, surface changed from rough path to smooth black tarmac and turned into an ice rink, the second on the same surface i already had 1 foot down and that slipped along with the bike. 3rd was on an untreated road, still within the first mile, turned a corner on the road and just went straight on. By this point i was sick and just let it go and made sure I landed on my cushioned backside, I lay there for a few seconds and thought, what the hell am I doing. I pushed it from that point until i got to a treated road. Which was then fine, I thought I would be fine from that point. But no, a road i thought would be treated but clearly wasn't, so i didn't expect it. My arse, and legs and absolutely killing now the adrenaline has wore off.

    Is it time to get my mountain bike out for the winter... or possibly change to the wider 700x32c cyclocross tyres that came with the bike.
  • Madproforg
    Madproforg Posts: 35
    I made it one piece but on a MTB with Ice Spikers, still was sliding around at a couple of points.
  • anthdci
    anthdci Posts: 543
    definitely need some studded tyres.
  • tuktuk
    tuktuk Posts: 179
    First day back on the bike today, not as fit as i was 2 weeks ago!
    ReefFishForum
  • jomoj
    jomoj Posts: 777
    first day back after nearly 5 weeks off due to a combo of illness, busyness, weatheryness, mechanical failureness and being in Canada-ness.
    Didn't feel too bad...yet. Going to try and do every day this week as it looks like the temps will stay above freezing. Call me a wimp but I'm not really a fan of going out in the ice after I came off on a roundabout a while back and narrowly missed being run over by the car behind me..
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    Just a quick rant.

    If you ride East on the Wylam Waggonway and have stupidly powerful lights TURN THEM OFF FOR APPROACHING RIDERS.

    I don't want to have to yell at you every morning.

    After all you'd do it in a car wouldn't you?
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.

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