The traffic volume was mental. As said above, who chooses to drive on a Tube strike day? 😯

Riding in was def the best option and got in to work in usual time. Took it easy due to the volume of traffic and cyclists and really quite enjoyed it. Side winds were a bit “fun” in places tonight!

There’s no such thing as the wrong weather, only the wrong clothing 🙂
And the wrong kind of attitude!

FWIW I’ve been riding in twice a week all through winter (12 miles each way) and it’s the first winter in years that hasn’t felt like it was dragging – as in energy levels and mood still good.

It’s a far healthier way to start the day than crammed into a train and Tube or trapped in your car in a traffic jam.

Very happy with my RXS. nearly 4 years old, used every weekend April-September and still on the original cleats

Their problem was that you were there. Nothing more.
Someone commented on this forum a few weeks ago on one of these discussions that the underlying issue many people have with cyclists is that the recent growth forces drivers to accept a new power hierarchy on the road. I think this is quite likely a big reason for the extent of ill-treatment we receive when riding. People are very sensitive to status and anything which threatens or in some way reduces it.
You only have to look at your average anti-cycling rant online or in real life and hear the sheer number of invalid arguments they put out (helmets, 2-abreast, ride in the gutter, RLJ etc etc) to see that the real issue is something they’re unable or unwilling to articulate…

I can only hope that once they get used to more cyclists they’ll just chill out. We had way too many near misses on our club ride today

Report him please before he hits someone else. What a moron. The kids are probably screwed with that as a role model.

Recently I thought things were getting better, but today’s club ride was a procession of daft overtakes (cars the other way having to stop) and being driven at by cars from the other side of the road.
I guess we have to accept angry aggressive idiots in society but we really need to stop them getting driving licences…

Ah. That’s a chunk of my regular loop gone then. Clawhammer followed by Secret Santa… 😥

I find it interesting that every house I see or ask to see has already “had an offer made”

I can’t believe in the age of the internet where we can disintermediate estate agents that we still use them. Whether buying or selling, no-one seems to like them, so why do we still do it? Buyers end up overpaying, sellers have to pay them a commission for something they could do themselves…

Socially I think a lot of people are dependent on it in the UK – drinking, and particular getting drunk is a very strong social norm

i.e. the widely held view that you can’t have a good time without a drink – and in particular getting drunk (ie too much drink).

Fundamentally that’s unhealthy… and I suspect the damage this causes is far more widespread that a lot of people realise (except those who work in GP surgeries and A&E…)

Sunny 50m+ road ride through Kent and Surrey here.
First spring ride of the year 🙂

This anti-cycling nonsense the UK seems to be gripped by has really gone too far…

You wouldn’t go and thump a pedestrian for walking along slowly in front of you…

Do we know who put in the original complaint to the ASA?
For my sins I work in marketing and it is not unknown for ASA to be used as a political pawn. ie: you get a competitor’s campaign pulled by making a complaint to ASA based on some obscure element of it. Also tends to lead to negative PR and brand damage for the brand that’s being complained about.

So my guess is whoever put in the original complaint is using ASA for anti-cycling propaganda (rather than the ASA making this ruling off their own back)…

I’m struggling some days to understand how there can be so much antagonism towards an activity which is so good for everyone who does it, the people around them and society in general…

OP I feel your pain. Harrassment and bullying is a normal part of cycling in the UK at the moment – so many people have an anecdote or several. It’s become so normalised that the local authority training courses and John Franklin’s cyclecraft all acknowledge that what underpins everything they teach you is protecting yourself from lousy driving. Pretty much everything they teach would be irrelevant if people were more careful, considerate and obeyed the law…

I had my own ‘I’m sick of the ill-treatment’ moment before xmas, just after we lost so many riders here in London. I ended up having a row with a bus driver who gave me a close pass on a road with two lanes (could have easily passed me with space). He told me it would be my own fault if he killed me…. you can’t have an adult debate with someone like that really!

It’s very rare I row with anyone, I’d just had enough of repeated crap treatment. What I learnt from it though was that I played a role in the conflict by responding to his ill-treatment. The commute didn’t make me angry, I chose to respond to the bad treatment of others with anger…

I’ve decided now to let these things go and my riding is once more enjoyable. It’s interesting talking to a roadie friend of mine from Brixton. As both a black man and a cyclist he faces more than his fair share of prejudice but he’s totally chilled about it. He’s learnt that he loses if he lets anger take hold of him.

A few things I would recommend:
1. Find yourself a mantra that reminds you the problem is theirs and not to let their anger infect you. Haters are always going to hate!
2. Read John Franklin’s Cyclecraft
3. Book yourself on a local authority course. I’ve been riding for 36 years and did Level 2 on Saturday and learnt loads
4. Find a quieter route, it can work wonders

John Franklin in Cyclecraft, the basis of the national standard Bikeability training is of the general view that most cyclepaths are not fit for purpose and sometimes put the cyclist in more harm – and you’re better off riding properly in the road.

There’s no legal compulsion to use a cycle path. Drivers need to be aware of this…

Brooess for president.

😀

Duckman, you’re right that calling someone a prick when they’ve already proven they’re aggressive and ignorant (of the law around ASLs) isn’t likely to end in you having a peaceful day… BUT…

the driver broke the law. There’s no debate about that. That kind of aggression and generalised mistreatment of cyclists is what has to stop if society in general (ie: real people) are to benefit from cycling e.g.
Obesity (adults and children)
Mental health
Pollution (Air and noise)
Global warming
General chilling out, friendliness and being nice to people

So having a pop at the cyclist for not letting it go isn’t really helping is it?

It’s not great that physical abuse of cyclists is so prevalent and neither is it so great that victims of such aggression seem to be frequently blamed for their own mistreatment – by police, public, other cyclists.

I don’t believe the black, gay or female communities won their battles by blaming their own members for their mistreatment. Not being a member of any of them, I don’t know but it does sadden me that when a cyclist appears to be standing up to someone who has quite definitely broken the law (moving into the ASL) that other members of the same community suggest it’s his own fault for getting hit…

I hope the more widespread use of video in conjunction with social media can broaden the debate and begin to bring about change. Cycling has so much going for it for the general population yet the fear of getting hurt remains a massive barrier to mass participation…

Management generally. It would help if people were given management roles because they showed an aptitude for management, rather than an aptitude for being good at their own job/playing the corporate game.

+1 for Marketing. Way too many blaggers/people who chose it as a career because they couldn’t think of doing anything else and as a result have no professional pride in a job well done. Which is a shame because Marketing done well keeps customers happy and earns the shareholders a tonne of cash…

Oh and and PPI salesmen. If they were any good at selling that stuff they wouldn’t have had to mis-sell it!

Please do!
He’s very influential and as such his anti-cyling stance is dangerous to cyclists as it legitimises attacks on cycling.

Can you push the point he was using a mobile phone whilst driving, too please, it’s terrible that he seems to be getting away with that

Shows we’ve reached the tipping point… cycling is now cool and has mass appeal. The more you see it in ads, the more it’s associated with being ‘a good thing’ and the more people want to do it… and you have a virtuous circle…

Which is why J Clarkson is so upset at the moment 😀

someone didn’t get much attention as a child did they?

– his father abandoned him when he was 2.

Feel sorry for him and his Mum tbh – he clearly has serious self-esteem issues but he’s not really found the healthiest way to to deal with them…

What he’s doing isn’t really that cool IMO – at least with wingsuit flying they’re pushing the boundaries of what humans can do.

For most of those kind of sports, the risks are well understood and there’s a culture of managing the risks with lots of specific kit and procedures to support this… whereas what he’s doing is just plain risky and not exactly that progressive.

OP: glad you’re ok.

But acts of aggression like that are NOT unintentional, so I don’t think

I’m reasonably satisfied he has learnt not to do something like this in the future.

is likely…

The instructor at the speed awareness course I went on 3 years ago advised when getting tailgated or facing other types of aggressive driving, just pull over/get away – that type of aggression was there when they got out of bed that morning and we’re just the target for that aggression.

I doubt the guy who attacked you will be sitting at home going “gosh, I’ve learnt today that I shouldn’t grab a cyclist and try and pull him off his bike”

His whole persona and behaviour are very childish…

The good thing is though, that despite his anti-cycling stance, he and others like him are losing the argument, now more than ever, and they know it, hence the recent attempts at provocation.
Look at:
Growth in numbers riding – club, solo, commuting, sportifs
Growth in numbers coming to watch organised events – TdF, ToB, even the Prudential thing
Local government
Central Government
Boris
Even Jeremy Vine/Daily Mail (as odious as they are, they suss out public opinion and preach it like it was their own idea which is self-reinforcing)

It does feel like public opinion is tipping more towards cycling than away from it right now, lots more proper passing than close passing on a typical ride.

It helps that our love affair with the car is ending – driving in the UK is such a crap experience these days, and expensive. People are realising how much damage it does. The younger generation are less and less likely to want to drive and in 10/15 years time, they’ll be the the adults who form public opinion.

So in time Jeremy Clarkson and his ilk will slink quietly away and sulk/tantrum about something else… he knows he’s on the losing side and when he realises he’ll lose popularity from preaching his ‘anti’ agenda he shut up about it – he’s a smart player at the end of the day

The immigration debate is not well-informed, as the above Facebook discussion shows 😯

No-one who’s anti-immigration actually has any data to back up their views, you’ll notice

I have a 2009 Athena groupset which has been ridden every weekend from spring to autumn since then and still on the original chain and cassette.

Never misses a shift, very crisp and reliable and the reduced jump in the gear range definitely helps you find the right gear. Brakes are really powerful too

Centaur on my winter bike is also ace but overall I prefer the Athena.

How many rlj’s in London in a day?

Only 16%

Meanwhile, the majority of drivers – nearly two thirds (63%) – admit speeding by 5pm or more in a 30 limit, and many do so habitually. One in 25(4%) speed in a 30 limit on a daily basis. Men are far more likely
than women to speed in 30 limits, and three times as likely to
do so daily.

Brake/Direct Line survey

5 dead a day on the road. Tell me again we don’t need to change driving culture?

It’s always been known that humans aren’t psychologically fit to drive cars – why else do you need a test, licence and insurance as legal requirements. Anything else in mass usage that needs those levels of legislated risk management?

Self-driving cars are on the way, which will solve the problem nicely. Still have the benefits of personalised transport but reduce the death risk and stress. Still have space, noise and air pollution issues of course.

Cars need to be taken off their pedestal – they appear to just be making people fat and angry yet we treat them like they;re the most important thing in society

It’s complex but at the heart of it is too many people taking on more calories than they need for the amount of physical activity they do each day. Which is very simple really, but the behaviours behind it are very complex…

I do think lack of education has a fair bit to do with it – as in education about how to prepare healthy meals, how to make healthy choices in the supermarket and the canteen and how to make the best of all your opportunities to burn calories during the day. e.g. in the station where you have the choice of a single flight of stairs and an escalator, how many people take the stairs?

I suspect that self-esteem may have a fair bit to do with it too – people describe getting fat as ‘letting themselves go’. No-one I know who’s out of shape is proud of it…

Someone needs to explain what it’ll do to GDP – obesity reduces productivity (increased absence from illness) and as healthcare is provided by the State, means higher taxes. It also means we have to import productive labour e.g. Poles, Romanians, Bulgarians. I think government need to be a bit more forceful and overt about the consequences… it’s going to kick our standard of living in the nuts

and I’m getting increasingly paranoid riding on the road

as in tired of close passes?

The ‘Livesaver’ (looking over your right shoulder) might serve you better. Or a Bikeability session? (not calling your skills into question!, but it might provide some useful tips)

I moved from Cheshire in 1991 for London and been here ever since, except for a short stint about 3 years ago when I moved to Manchester.

The main thing which hit me was the weather. I wasn’t expecting it to be great in comparison to London but it rained almost every day at some point (I was there from Sept-May)… maybe this wasn’t typical but it meant I didn’t ride anything like as often as I wanted to… (maybe I’ve just gone soft!)

Def a complaint to The Times due here, and JC getting reported to the Police for using a mobile phone when driving
Bring on self-driving cars…

There’s actually no need for any debate about this whatsoever. Primary position is the recommended position for cycling in situations where an overtaking car can put the cyclist in danger.
It’s what British Cycling recommends, it’s what John Franklin in Cyclecraft recommends, it’s what local authority-provided training recommends…
It’s about taking the lane for visibility of the following driver and it’s about preventing dangerous overtakes.

The only issue is that the general public (and many cyclists) have not had primary position and the reasons for it explained to them. To fill this vacuum some people choose to interpret it as deliberate ‘blocking’ behaviour from the cyclist, which is totally incorrect…

I really wish the general public would chill out about cycling…

Was at Phoenix in ’95. Slightly alarmed at the way Mike Patton repeatedly threw himself on the stage! Would love to see them again, in a smaller venue.
Mike Patton’s vocal range beats pretty much everyone else from that era.
Their cover of Easy is awesome, as are those songs with Sparks. I still listen to their stuff now and it’s timeless – in part because it wasn’t part of any scene, just a bunch of great musicians doing their own thing

Unnecessarily political people usually dig their own graves, given enough time. You just have to keep your distance and watch them destroy their own profile with their self-obession and manipulation.
OP you should be fine…

Cars make people fat and angry. We need to get rid. Too many people not psychologically adjusted well enough to be in charge of a tonne of metal.

5 people dead a day, we just accept. It’s bonkers.

People say the Tube is unpleasant but you don’t see anything like the same levels of aggression, bullying, lives being put in danger and no-one dies…

Bring on self-driving cars

It’s been done purely to give the right wing press a circulation boost by writing stories about those evil rich Tories waging war on Mr Average Squeezed Middle England Motorist

I was out for 18 months 2007/8 with a broken collarbone. And as soon as I got back on, broke the other shoulder… 🙁
My learnings from that…
Don’t beat yourself up about it or ride scared – makes it harder to get the flow back
Listen to your self-talk, if you’re scared or focussing on the negatives and the fear, get it dealt with.
Ride easy and focus on flow rather than speed whilst you get your head straight
What really helped me was a few skills sessions to give me new techniques to learn and get the flow back

I was in Torridon Feb 2010. England came to a standstill because of the snow. Meanwhile in Scotland, the roads were clear and we lucked out with really stable conditions and came back with a suntan 🙂

Labour should be cheap, lots of unemployed Egyptians available!

he was quite an old guy

Not dead yet then? Lack of helmet when riding not done him too much harm, clearly…

c120 dead cyclists in the UK per year
30,000 people dying from obesity-related diseases, which cycling could have helped prevent and is an entirely self-imposed death.

Tell me again why riding without a helmet is a problem?

I know a couple of my friends plans for retirement is to hit state pensionable age penniless and live of benefits,

They do realise that today’s benefits won’t be available to them when they get to that age? Too many old people and too few young to pay those kinds of amounts.

This decision is being forced by simple demographics… expecting to live off a state pension in 20 years time = penury

Putting up interest rates is going to result in more people being able to buy a house?

Being able to borrow huge amounts cheaply is driving up prices to unreachable levels.

Too much money chasing too few goods – classic inflation.