This morning on a 12 mile commute into a strong head wind another rider sat on my back wheel for 9 miles, don’t you just hate that; no offer of taking a turn! For the last 3 miles I really dug in, pushed as big a gear as I could in order to break him, but alas, all of the work I had put it had paid a toll and he sprinted past me just as we reached our destinations. I thought this was commuting, not the last 12 miles of a race or 12 mile TT. Bring it on again tomorrow!
I thought this was commuting?
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eburtthebike 2 hours ago
@Rendel Harris ".....but the claim that wearing one is somehow to be accepting dangerous driving and poor infrastructure is silly." Not that silly. Demanding that cyclists wear a helmet is seen by many people as 'the answer' to cycling safety, so there's no need to put in infrastructure. The difference between infrastructure and helmets is that infrastructure works. Helmets are a distraction from what really works, and the more time we spend talking about them, the less time we spend on things that do work. Helmets should be consigned to the dustbin of history as a failed experiment, and we should cease even mentioning them.
wtjs 3 hours ago
@Mr Blackbird Hats off to George Hall My hat's not coming off- despite this touch of cycleway-washing, Hall still bears the Mark of Cain, until he repudiates his party altogether
JamieT 3 hours ago
Perhaps an article showing a) what is available in the uk as cargo bikes and) comments from real life scenarios from those already using bikes or cargo bikes as one gentleman has done in the comments. Perhaps road.cc could follow up with this. Even the MP said not every business should use cargo bikes but suggested a more nuanced approach suitable for certain trades or companies....
Rendel Harris 3 hours ago
@mdavidford Clearly the end of the sentence got deleted by mistake and it's meant to finish "...devices in their pockets."
Rendel Harris 4 hours ago
@Terry Hutt I don't support mandatory helmets either, but I always think that's a daft analogy (I realise you're not quoting it approvingly): if people shooting in the streets was a regular problem, I'd campaign against it vociferously and expect the authorities to do something about it, but I'd still wear body armour unless and until the problem was sorted out. It's perfectly reasonable for people to question the efficacy of cycle helmets, but the claim that wearing one is somehow to be accepting dangerous driving and poor infrastructure is silly.
Terry Hutt 6 hours ago
“People who are wearing body armour get used to being shot at, when it’s the getting shot at that’s the problem.” People who are wearing body armour get used to being shot at because they survive. People not wearing it die the first time they are shot. So they don't really have much chance to get used to being shot at, do they? But seriously if you don't want to wear a helmet and you're an adult, no-one should have the right to make you wear one.
ktache 13 hours ago
@lawrence18uk Occasionally I see tradies travelling with some tools on the train, compact tool bags, rucksacks and wheelie luggage, often carrying long spirit levels separately, but on a couple of occasions collapsible ladders.
GravelIsNothingNew 15 hours ago
Finally some proper Gravel for the UCI World Championships! …no dates in the article. Racing starts today 10/11 Oct. Watch it free on SBS. … Go well Matt…
lawrence18uk 15 hours ago
@Aluminium can - as an alternative to vans, yes cargo bikes (plenty in Cambridge), and I've been wondering whether supplies could be delivered from retailers - using delivery robots. and it's possible I suppose that ladders could fall in the same category - you could, instead of just hiring a bicycle, hire a ladder and it would arrive of its own accord.
12 thoughts on “I thought this was commuting?”
Flick the elbow
Flick the elbow
9 miles?! I’d have lost
9 miles?! I’d have lost patience long before that….
Stop for 30 seconds if it
Stop for 30 seconds if it bothers you so much
Thanks for making my commute
Thanks for making my commute a walk in the park … see you next time 🙂
And you allowed it for 9
And you allowed it for 9 miles???!! Stop…and allow the wheelsucker to go past…simple.
Lol,i get this occassionally.
Lol,i get this occassionally. Trick is stay at 60% then when he/she trys to blow you away you have plenty left in the tank 😉 GL for next time ;x
I have got the perfect
I have got the perfect solution; a motor that you put in the seat tube that ‘kicks in’ when you press a button on your gear lever! Bought it from some Swiss guy called Fabien. He said he has used it once to blow people off his back wheel and it worked really well!
SideBurn wrote:I have got the
The 2011 model doesn’t seem quite as good as the 2010 version, mind 😉
Fabien said the 2011 model is
Fabien said the 2011 model is x-ray friendly; whatever that means!
Fabien said the 2011 model is
Fabien said the 2011 model is x-ray friendly; whatever that means!
Doesn’t bother me at all when
Doesn’t bother me at all when someone does that to me. Happens all the time when lapping Regents Park. You have a few options, some which won’t help you at all, some which will annoy the other guy, and some which will help you.
1. Get upset, start flicking the elbow, huff and puff. (hint: this ain’t gonna help you much 😉 )
2. Start doing intervals.
3. Ignore him entirely.
4. Go into TT mode, and bottle up the thought of him sitting on your wheel. When you’re in your next TT, play it back in your head. It’s a great way to stay mentally tough when you’re going flat out in the last few miles.
What really rubs it in is
What really rubs it in is when the guy sails past on a 3-speed riding upright and whistling.