The Tyne and Wear Commuter Thread

Initialised

This: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Ch ... 3&lci=bike

You could go straight up Team Valley but it's best avoided when the A1 clogs up.

markhewitt1978

Interesting route choice; why that way instead of straight down the A167 through Birtley and Low Fell? Although that has potential to be a bit quieter traffic wise?

Tony Mc

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Interesting route choice; why that way instead of straight down the A167 through Birtley and Low Fell? Although that has potential to be a bit quieter traffic wise?

I think that bit of the A167 is not particularly bike friendly and gets quiet busy

You could use the A167 to Birtley and then drop down to Team valley along Queens way ( not the main drag) and along towards the Pitz and to Staithes at Teams/Dunston and use the bus route along to the Millenium Bridge

I'm no good with maps

markhewitt1978

That the bus only road with the rising bollards etc? Can cycles use that?

It's daft that the A167 isn't bike friendly, as it's supposedly the Great North Cycleway!

Captain Slackbladder

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I'm currently applying for a job which would see me cycling from Chester-le-Street to Newcastle quayside next to the law courts. Any advice on the best routes etc to take?

Cant help much with the route mate, if you get the job though you'll be working somewhere near me. I'm behind the law courts. If your stuck for decent bike storage give me a shout, basements used in my office block thats secure.

Tony Mc

markhewitt1978 wrote:

That the bus only road with the rising bollards etc? Can cycles use that?

It's daft that the A167 isn't bike friendly, as it's supposedly the Great North Cycleway!

Yes I use it every morning your lucky if you see a bus

markhewitt1978

I'm not worried about the parts with bus lanes, more the bit through Low Fell.

Tony Mc

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I'm not worried about the parts with bus lanes, more the bit through Low Fell.

I think you'd find theres a lot of red lights along Low Fell so the journey wouild be just be stop start.

markhewitt1978

Captain Slackbladder wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I'm currently applying for a job which would see me cycling from Chester-le-Street to Newcastle quayside next to the law courts. Any advice on the best routes etc to take?

Cant help much with the route mate, if you get the job though you'll be working somewhere near me. I'm behind the law courts. If your stuck for decent bike storage give me a shout, basements used in my office block thats secure.

Cheers, not even at interview stage yet so don't really know if they are interested, but given that it's in the Baltic Chambers building, it doesn't appear from the outside like it's going to be cycle friendly . There's a set of sheffield stands a couple of minutes walk away but I wouldn't fancy my chances leaving a road bike there all day every day.

(One of the reasons I'm looking for a new job is not only more money but being able to cycle to work instead of my current 70 mile round trip by car)

Initialised

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Interesting route choice; why that way instead of straight down the A167 through Birtley and Low Fell? Although that has potential to be a bit quieter traffic wise?

I ride the roads to the west of Birtley/Team Valley a lot, they are nice quiet roads. Generally speaking I don't really like riding through Gateshead, so would go around.

Birtley used to be good, nice wide Bike lanes all the way through. But there's road works and temporary lights there right now and much less of it is now a 20 zone than was last year. The A167 is bad enough when it's not busy going up and might not suit you straight away, save it for when you're used to it and in a hurry.

markhewitt1978

Cheers to yourself and everyone else that's responded, we'll see what happens with it!

y33stu

for anyone who rides along Sunderland road in Felling - keep your eyes peeled for an old blue Vauxhall Astra, being driven by a clearly blind old bint.

Stupid woman nearly killed me this morning. Pulled alongside me before turning left - had to slam my brakes on to avoid going under the car. At no point was she even in front of me - clearly in a world of her own.

If I wasn't late for work already I'd have gone after her and given her a right rollocking.

Stay alive folks.

Captain Slackbladder

Bump...

How are we all getting on so far this year? Not to bad here, quite enjoying these cold damp commutes in a sick kind of way. Cant really complain on the weather front, hoping Feb/March are just as mild.

Wetter than an otter's pocket mind this morning...

andy9964

210 miles so far this year, commute only. Hopefully making at least 3000 by the end of the year, once the warmer weather kicks in and I can get some longer weekend rides in.

Rear mudguard snapped clean in half last week mid ride, as if I'd done it by hand, about 8 inches from the brake caliper. Thought it would be okay, but the last couple of days proved otherwise. Two holes drilled in each part, and some strong nylon string, and my rear end should now be drier. Hopefully, it'll hold out until I get some replacements

markhewitt1978

Was ok towards the start of January, cold but mostly dry, but the last couple of weekends have been a washout .

I've had a ride to Crawleyside planned for the last two weeks now.

jongooligan

Been caught out a couple of times by ice on the C2C through Washington but only a few wheelspins and no spills. Had a very near miss in C-l-S one morning at the Whitehills roundabout. Don't think the driver was even aware I was there despite missing me by a cat's whisker - he didn't even slow down. Bought some mega new lights off the back of that incident and now I keep getting flashed by car drivers - at least they've seen me.
Also being getting some long weekend rides in - did a 100 miler last Saturday, down to Northallerton so mostly flat but it was very windy and very wet in the afternoon.
Looking forward to some warm, dry weather.

Long_Time_Lurker

jongooligan wrote:

Bought some mega new lights off the back of that incident and now I keep getting flashed by car drivers - at least they've seen me.

If it happens you should dip your lights a bit. You must be blinding drivers on the other side of the road. That is just as dangerous.
What lights have you got?

(I know that my MTB setup is illegal on the road at their brightest setting, which is why they are on minimum brightness and pointed at the floor when I'm heading out to the trails.)

markhewitt1978

jongooligan wrote:

Been caught out a couple of times by ice on the C2C through Washington but only a few wheelspins and no spills.

That rocky bit coming down from the big ASDA depot, that's the only bit where I have to walk my roadbike through, just too rocky and slippy, otherwise it's fine.

Had a very near miss in C-l-S one morning at the Whitehills roundabout. Don't think the driver was even aware I was there despite missing me by a cat's whisker - he didn't even slow down.

Whitehills? Do you mean this one? http://goo.gl/maps/W4fOM That was a problem for me too, especially when the driver just drove straight out as I was crossing the roundabout, drove into me, knocked me off my bike and drove over it

Also being getting some long weekend rides in - did a 100 miler last Saturday, down to Northallerton so mostly flat but it was very windy and very wet in the afternoon.
Looking forward to some warm, dry weather.

Very nice; you should do some rides with Cestria CC

Captain Slackbladder

Long Time Lurker wrote:

jongooligan wrote:

Bought some mega new lights off the back of that incident and now I keep getting flashed by car drivers - at least they've seen me.

If it happens you should dip your lights a bit. You must be blinding drivers on the other side of the road. That is just as dangerous.
What lights have you got?

(I know that my MTB setup is illegal on the road at their brightest setting, which is why they are on minimum brightness and pointed at the floor when I'm heading out to the trails.)

Its been done to death on other threads but i must see at least 2 cyclists without lights every morning. I amost smashed straight into one the other morning going under the coast road heading down towards the Royal Quays. They seem to think they are immune due to cycling on shared paths like Hadrians way and the like.

ohh and dogs, two yappy ones chasing alongside for 50meters...dont call me an idiot if your dog isn't trained not to go after riders.....I'll stop now otherwise i could go on....hang on...its my fault if your walking two Rotweliers wearing headphones..as i approach with serveral excuse me's!! Your dog decides my legs breakfast,,pushing me into the verge!!

And on and on..!!

jongooligan

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Whitehills? Do you mean this one? http://goo.gl/maps/W4fOM That was a problem for me too, especially when the driver just drove straight out as I was crossing the roundabout, drove into me, knocked me off my bike and drove over it

Very nice; you should do some rides with Cestria CC

Yes, that's the one. I was coming down from Waldridge with a gale at my back so was doing 28mph across the roundabout. I reckon the car was doing around 40mph. Still don't understand how I didn't get splattered.

Used to be a member of Cestria but the club runs got very boring. A couple of the City Fathers (don't want to mention any names) would pick the destination (either Barney or Hexham), then they would sit in a café for hours, barely spending a fiver between them. Keep hearing good things about Houghton CC these days.

jongooligan

Long Time Lurker wrote:

jongooligan wrote:

Bought some mega new lights off the back of that incident and now I keep getting flashed by car drivers - at least they've seen me.

If it happens you should dip your lights a bit. You must be blinding drivers on the other side of the road. That is just as dangerous.
What lights have you got?

Not sure. Unbranded Chinese for a guess; just bought a cheapo off eBay. It's got three LEDs so I only use one on the road. Think the problem is that road vibration makes it tilt upwards. I need a tighter laggy band to stop it moving around.

Initialised

Is anyone else going to do the Hell of the North (East)?

http://www.thecyclehub.org/ai1ec_event/ ... d=12489and

"Approximately 40% of the route will be on pavé (cobbles), muddy farm tracks, broken tarmac, wagonways, bridleways and cycle paths. The remainder will be on country roads as much as possible. There will be a few short sections of busier main roads along the way, but only where they are unavoidable."

Long_Time_Lurker

I'm not allowed; "mountainbikes are considered cheating".

Tony Mc

Initialised wrote:

Is anyone else going to do the Hell of the North (East)?

http://www.thecyclehub.org/ai1ec_event/ ... d=12489and

"Approximately 40% of the route will be on pavé (cobbles), muddy farm tracks, broken tarmac, wagonways, bridleways and cycle paths. The remainder will be on country roads as much as possible. There will be a few short sections of busier main roads along the way, but only where they are unavoidable."

Any idea of the route

Long_Time_Lurker

Tony Mc wrote:

Any idea of the route

That would have been a useful thing to put on their website too. I thought i was being an idiot by not finding the maps.
I can then avoid all bridlepaths and trails in the vicinity. I don't want any lost souls in lycra getting in my way.

markhewitt1978

If I could do it on someone else's bike with full support then sure.

Having said that I've done the Durham Big Ride which uses the Lanchester Valley Path; that's gravel not cobbles of course.

king_jeffers

jongooligan wrote:

Long Time Lurker wrote:

jongooligan wrote:

Bought some mega new lights off the back of that incident and now I keep getting flashed by car drivers - at least they've seen me.

If it happens you should dip your lights a bit. You must be blinding drivers on the other side of the road. That is just as dangerous.
What lights have you got?

Not sure. Unbranded Chinese for a guess; just bought a cheapo off eBay. It's got three LEDs so I only use one on the road. Think the problem is that road vibration makes it tilt upwards. I need a tighter laggy band to stop it moving around.

Even a tighter band failed to stop my light from pointing up, in the end secured it with a bit of electrical tape. If I ever get time I'll fix it onto a regular mount.

Initialised

Anyone else get snowed on on the way home?

jongooligan

Initialised wrote:

Anyone else get snowed on on the way home?

No. Using the car at the mo as I've got a stinking cold, which I am more than happy to share with my workmates.

xbnm

No snow but its looking might icy out there now.