I’ve recently started commuting once a week. I rode to work this morning on the crunchy snow that fell yesterday, wonderfully clear and crisp. However riding home this evening was genuinely scary. Bits of trees disintegrating around me, wind too fast to walk at times never mind ride.

An adventure maybe, but I was certainly glad to be home for my own safety.

My commute home is currently as follows:

Start: Mirfield.
Up through the woods surrounding Dewsbury golf course to Whitley.
Falhouse Lane from Whitley to Grangemoor
Passed Cinnamon Lounge
Linfit Lane to home.

Anybody else ride in this area tonight? Not nice was it!

Cardiff

Just the one tree blocking the way at Pontcanna fields

I hope to be commuting by bike in bout a month when i finish building my next bike. It’s only 2.5 miles but there’s a heath on the way with a few jumps etc.

(last night) Awesome, an old guy in an Audi on the phone ran me over. It was a superb piece of quality driving – over take – tick, immediately throw the car left into a parking space – tick, don’t indicate – tick, get abusive about me being spreadeagled on his bonnet – tick.

You have a sixth sense though and i was being careful through there as always so managed to brake hard and follow him into the space before i landed on th bonnet. When he was Mr Shouty and i was trying to persuade him that maybe him being on the phone, not indicating and just chucking the car into a space might have contributed to the problem the chap in the car following me had stopped and stepped in. Mr Shouty threated to **** him at which point the guy identified himself as a police officer. Oh how i laughed. I left shortly after as he dug himself into a very deep hole.

It’s that sort of really unobservant driving that irritates me, i know cyclists aren’t perfect but justifying your actions by being generally an eeejit is very frustrating.

The one I describe is about 8 miles and includes a few hills, normally takes about 50 minutes. It took me about 1hr 25mins to get home today as the wind was too strong to walk on the tops.

Mine was pretty damn terrifying. Trees snapping like matchsticks and got blown clean across and off the road 4 times. Had to walk across the top section of the Warburton Toll bridge and even then nearly got blown in front of a car! Almost 2.5 hours to do 43km.

Not a good night for a commute! by simondbarnes, on Flickr

Move to Huddersfield. Bigger better safer

Bit parky this evening – legs just had the bib shorts on. Surburban commute and it was blowing a hoolie, saw trees, walls, roofs in bits. Must have been ridiculous out on the open roads – some epic strava victories chalked up no doubt.

some epic strava victories chalked up no doubt.

Wind was way too gusty / unpredictable for me to even contemplate such nonsense. Was all about survival!

Some Strava times must have been BLOWN away with that tail wind!!

Half way home was thinking to myself “why didn’t I take my panniers off” whilst being blown all over the road!
Made for a good work out through as majority of ride was into head wind.

Sat on A9 for four and a half hours…police said go home, it won’t open for hours. Got home and guess what opened….?’

i’m in liversedge and was planning a night ride round the golf course tonight, thought “bugger that!” when the wind started picking up. good work getting through unscathed number18 i know those woods, i bet its carnage in there at the weekend.

simondbarnes, sounds like you had a similar experience to me. There were points at which I just had to stop and shelter this evening for a few seconds.

Noisy. I think the mighty Galaxy is about to spit out a drive shaft or CV joint or two.
Ordered a pair of new drive shafts, rather than faff about, so an hour under the car come the weekend. 😐
£60 a pair from a place recomended by the Galaxy owners club. 🙂
Ford dealer wanted £300 each…!!!

Windy and floody. At least the water has receded to the point that my Sidi boot is wet only to ankle whilst on the road. It was the same depth on the pavement yesterday.

dabble, on two occasions branches fell off trees within about 10ft of me (about half way up the golf course, the bit where you have to watch out for flying golf balls when they’re playing), I just went as quick as I could and was glad to get to Whitley! Only then I had to push by the ice cream place as the wind there was mental. Going on Paul Lane where Cinnamon Lounge was horrible, I could no longer feel my hands and the rain was like bullets in the side of my face.

6 miles into that wind was not fun.

Walked 400mtrs from where I was working to hotel – didn’t think I’d get there in one piece due to the wind…. 😯

Rather bumpy on my flight home after a day in the smoke……not for the faint hearted.

Move to Huddersfield. Bigger better safer

Not today it wasn’t. Genuinely a bit scary driving on m62 back from Leeds to Hudds. Everyone at 40-50mph despite limit at 70 as wind was so strong it blew your car sideways a couple of feet every few seconds.

Was supposed to be getting the train to London.

Joined half of Manchester standing at Piccadilly, all London trains cancelled at about 7pm. Went back to pick up the car and drive home. As I was about to turn onto the M60, I saw the gridlocked traffic. Managed to get round the back roads but coming back over the hill from Broadbottom and Charles worth was interesting.

Thank God I wasn’t riding!

Just hoping that trains are back to near normal tomorrow…

10 mile ride into the wind on the way home. Bit tired now.

17miles of headwind! not fun, at least i don’t go in for deep section rims!!!! that would have been terrifying with some of the gusts off passing trucks.

Of course drivers made no allowances and over took with their usual levels of concern!!!!

Genuinely terrifying.

7.5 miles of South Manchester, tried to stick near shelter but every time is ventured away from it (junctions and such) I nearly ended up on the other side of the road, I’m glad I set of early while it was still light.

I take my had of to you simon, over Warbarton way looked mental.
And it was 50/50 if a driver gave you extra room, I took the primary down 80% of edge lane, just wasn’t worth some fairy dust powered bint killing me!

Was in work til 11pm, luckily seemed to have missed the worst of it. Definitely wouldn’t of been fun down stretford road in manc. Whole length of the road was littered with branches…

Mine was fine, ta for asking though.

I caught the bus. Bit windy and raininy for the 1 mile commute I normally do on my foldie..

I left Birchwood, Warrington at 5pm. Arrived in Manchester city centre at 7.30pm. A trip of 15 miles!

number18, I jogged in the mirfield golf course woods last night and was bricking it from start to finish. Was a silly idea.

Did clock lots of wood I’ll be collecting this weekend for the fire.

I left the office at about 3:15 – I went down hard on black ice on monday so am still feeling a little fragile/nervous.

4 banks in Chorlton was hilarious, pedestrians were getting blown about everywhere while trying to cross the road. It was less funny when I came out of the shelter of the bank and got hit by the same wind.

Like most people, lots of primary position on the way home 🙂

I took the bike in every day last week. Saw the weather forecast for this week and thought ‘not a chance!!!’. My route takes me over completely exposed open moorland at some height – they put wind turbines up there for very good reason. It would have been absolutely suicidal to even attempt it in winds like that.

As I got down from the tops, the car was hit by a falling branch. Made a nice ding in the bodywork, and sounded a lot worse than it was when it hit. Probably would have done slightly more damage if it hit me and my bike.

If you were aware of the weather forecast and you still went in by bike yesterday, then I’m sorry but you need sectioning for your own protection, as you’re clearly unhinged

@NZCol – rubbish about the crap driving but raised a smile on the outcome..

Binners – My good lady cycled home in the storm. Although she didn’t actually make it. She abandonded her bike and found refuge at a nearby friends house where she was promotpy treated for hypothermia. Did i feel sorry for her? I probably should have done. Upon her return, one big cuddle and a cup of tea later and things returned to normal.

Glad she made it ok in the end edward. I reckon on my normal route home it would have been impossible to keep a bike upright, never mind negotiate traffic

I rode home too. Well, mostly rode with occasional flying, walking, running, rolling……..

I’ll call the men in white coats later 😀

I’m on the bike again today, I don’t think the forecast is as bad today, is it?!

Had a nightride up on Fairlie moor (SW Scotland) between about 19.30 and 2100. Not a breath of wind, the odd wee flurry of snow/sleet. Lovely.

Bit muddy, but hey.

Very mental side/headwinds! Took twice the normal time, but no rain thankfully (Bristol).

Was glad to get home in one piece.

Quite relaxed, thanks. Three stops on the Piccadilly line from Green Park to Vauxhall, then train to Epsom. Watched the Paxman WW1 documentary on iPlayer.

(Got a puncture last night that I didn’t have time to sort out for today…)