i decided to go for a ride to clear my head, after two days of staring at my laptop... in my bedroom...
i also decided to pop into cycle team (after not pumping the tyres enough).
this is where things go wrong... if a tyre says max 100psi, it's probably best to stick to that, rather than 120, thinking you'll be fine...
10 minutes of riding later, my tyre makes a funny noise... i listen... then carry on... then it gets louder... i look down and my tyre is poking off the rim and i can see the inner tube. i take this as an indication to stop, which i do thankfully, because as i slow it jams in the front brake and forces a mini endo.
i get off the bike and pick it up, as i do so it lets out a comedy gunshot pop, the guy next to me nearly does a shit (gunshots not taken lightly around lewisham) and i have a 3 inch gash in the tube.
i have to confess to finding it quite funny at this point, such a comedy noise and reaction, then i try and repair the wheel to no avail. one side is ballooning out from the blowout and just won't stay on the rim.
so... i have to walk, past loads of youths... in my new sidi shoes, which are great, except for walking... it takes me 30 mins of clip-clopping and sliding to get to a train and then home.
read the instructions.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
bike points
the one day someone asks me if i've got any tyre levers is the one day i haven't...
anyway, i feel sorry for this bloke, it may have helped that he was riding a singlespeed and not clad in lycra, but i decide to whizz home pick up the levers and catch him up.
multiple points scored.
anyway, everything is going to plan, until some prick in a white van nearly totals me on a side street... he comes straight across the road wedging me into parked cars.
so much for the good samaritan.
anyway, i pull along side and ask him what the fuck he was doing. he raises his hand and shrugs (he can't hear me through the glass) so i tell him he could have fucking looked and inform him that he cut me up. he does the same again, i'm getting quite 'moody' at this point... then the fuckwit realises turning his radio down might allow him to hear me... and he does... and he does...
but here's the best bit, he kind of does a shrug to say 'oh, thanks for telling me' no apology, nothing. i should be allowed to carry a gun.
anyway, i carry on and catch your man, who is admittedly only about 15 mins from a bike shop by now, but he appreciates it and is super friendly.
despite things going pear shaped early on, i head off with a warm glow hoping i've spread some kind of cycling karma...
so, in theory, the next time my saddle falls off in peckham, leaving me with a ride to london bridge with a potentially rectally invasive seatpost i'm hoping one of the cunts that rode past me last time will perhaps stop and offer some help...
anyway, i feel sorry for this bloke, it may have helped that he was riding a singlespeed and not clad in lycra, but i decide to whizz home pick up the levers and catch him up.
multiple points scored.
anyway, everything is going to plan, until some prick in a white van nearly totals me on a side street... he comes straight across the road wedging me into parked cars.
so much for the good samaritan.
anyway, i pull along side and ask him what the fuck he was doing. he raises his hand and shrugs (he can't hear me through the glass) so i tell him he could have fucking looked and inform him that he cut me up. he does the same again, i'm getting quite 'moody' at this point... then the fuckwit realises turning his radio down might allow him to hear me... and he does... and he does...
but here's the best bit, he kind of does a shrug to say 'oh, thanks for telling me' no apology, nothing. i should be allowed to carry a gun.
anyway, i carry on and catch your man, who is admittedly only about 15 mins from a bike shop by now, but he appreciates it and is super friendly.
despite things going pear shaped early on, i head off with a warm glow hoping i've spread some kind of cycling karma...
so, in theory, the next time my saddle falls off in peckham, leaving me with a ride to london bridge with a potentially rectally invasive seatpost i'm hoping one of the cunts that rode past me last time will perhaps stop and offer some help...
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
helmet
i read this:
Wearing helmets 'more dangerous'
it seems you're more likely to get hit by a motorist if you wear one as they see you as a 'lycra clad warrior' and therefore more 'predictable' in your riding.
all this talk of helmets and warriors brings me to the most relevant part of that article...
"Most adult cyclists know what it is like to drive a car, but relatively few motorists ride bicycles in traffic, and so don't know the issues cyclists face.
There should definitely be more information on the needs of other road users when people learn to drive and practical experience would be even better."
hurrah. i can see that happening.
new bars...
chopped my bars (again) last night. i think they've reached the point of being quite ridiculous... but they're great to ride, can squeeze in anywhere.
Oh, while i'm here, can't waste the opportunity to whinge... what's with the undertaking? i had two dicks on mountain bikes do it to me this morning. slowing as i come up to some reds, i'm forced to pull out into traffic, what the fuck's that about? fortunately for them i was courteous enough to let them out... well.. to be honest, it was more a self preservation thing. anyway, next time i think i may try to ride the fuckers into the back of a cab/lorry/bus.
we all have enough to deal with already, let's not have too much bike on bike action.
Monday, September 18, 2006
ealing broadway fixie
i spotted the following beauty in ealing this saturday... it's pretty small, but pretty none-the-less.
then i saw the wheels, crazy spoke work! reckon i'd be a bit scared to ride them, but they looked great.
swears
I had two reasons to swear on my ride today, well i had more, but there's not enough time to list all of them...
firstly, why is that every bus driver in london is a self-righteous prick? i cut a light, fair enough, maybe i shouldn't have done that, but please... anyway a bus honks, i raise a finger, he honks again and proceeds to drive very close to me.
i ride on, then the red mist descends and i head back to discuss the matter. he either sees me and thinks he can't be arsed, or he is aiming to hit someone else by now...
anyway, i'm way in the wrong, i jumped a light then i was cheeky. BUT and it's a big but, how many times do i see bus' jump reds on my ride in? 4 times that's one every ten mins. i didn't even bother counting how many times they cut me up.
so... get fucked with the honking until your house is in order.
secondly, a cyclist in front of me (who i've been playing tag with) goes over an amber on a pedestrian crossing just as soneone steps out, tuts and head shaking following. so, i brake and gesture for him to cross (even though it's on green now) to be greeted by the same head shaking... i exchanged some banter and carried on my game...
i'm very bored with this attitude that cyclists are the greatest danger on the the road, it's bollocks. if we can't cross a red, neither can you mr. city tosser, if we can't ride on the pavement (i still have my £40 fine) then please don't step out onto the road after listening for cars, but not looking for bikes.
firstly, why is that every bus driver in london is a self-righteous prick? i cut a light, fair enough, maybe i shouldn't have done that, but please... anyway a bus honks, i raise a finger, he honks again and proceeds to drive very close to me.
i ride on, then the red mist descends and i head back to discuss the matter. he either sees me and thinks he can't be arsed, or he is aiming to hit someone else by now...
anyway, i'm way in the wrong, i jumped a light then i was cheeky. BUT and it's a big but, how many times do i see bus' jump reds on my ride in? 4 times that's one every ten mins. i didn't even bother counting how many times they cut me up.
so... get fucked with the honking until your house is in order.
secondly, a cyclist in front of me (who i've been playing tag with) goes over an amber on a pedestrian crossing just as soneone steps out, tuts and head shaking following. so, i brake and gesture for him to cross (even though it's on green now) to be greeted by the same head shaking... i exchanged some banter and carried on my game...
i'm very bored with this attitude that cyclists are the greatest danger on the the road, it's bollocks. if we can't cross a red, neither can you mr. city tosser, if we can't ride on the pavement (i still have my £40 fine) then please don't step out onto the road after listening for cars, but not looking for bikes.
Friday, September 15, 2006
£180...
You smash into a bunch of cyclist, killing 4 of them, then you get fined £180 for having bald tyres...
The Abergele horror comes it's (il)logical conclusion.
Whether the driver had bald tyres, was drunk (which apparently he wasn't) was driving too fast (the law says not, but conditions and common sense might say otherwise) or simply being reckless, is not the point.
Road users simply need to be responsible for one another. It's not acceptable to cut me up to get to your shitty desk by 9am or run a red because the bus you are driving has a schedule to hit. you could kill me.
I love riding my bike, but i find more and more on my daily ride that i'm becoming bored with swearing and losing all faith in human nature once it sits behind a wheel.
The Abergele horror comes it's (il)logical conclusion.
Whether the driver had bald tyres, was drunk (which apparently he wasn't) was driving too fast (the law says not, but conditions and common sense might say otherwise) or simply being reckless, is not the point.
Road users simply need to be responsible for one another. It's not acceptable to cut me up to get to your shitty desk by 9am or run a red because the bus you are driving has a schedule to hit. you could kill me.
I love riding my bike, but i find more and more on my daily ride that i'm becoming bored with swearing and losing all faith in human nature once it sits behind a wheel.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
i am traffic...
i had a motorcyclist touch my back wheel last night, i obviously called him a wanker...
then i thought about it and realised he'd done it on purpose (he tried to undertake and i accidentally cut him off, i had right of way i should say). i can't believe some body would do something that could leave me on my arse in the face of traffic because they think they're more important than me....
sadly i didn't take his number and instead foccussed my energy on racing after him, giving him the finger and once again calling him a fucking wanker... i wish i'd took the number... i really do...
anyway, so this gets me thinking about jumping red and so on, and i've decided i'll stick to the highway code (to the letter) when every other fucker on the road treats me like fucking traffic and not a target for their frustration. cunts.
then i thought about it and realised he'd done it on purpose (he tried to undertake and i accidentally cut him off, i had right of way i should say). i can't believe some body would do something that could leave me on my arse in the face of traffic because they think they're more important than me....
sadly i didn't take his number and instead foccussed my energy on racing after him, giving him the finger and once again calling him a fucking wanker... i wish i'd took the number... i really do...
anyway, so this gets me thinking about jumping red and so on, and i've decided i'll stick to the highway code (to the letter) when every other fucker on the road treats me like fucking traffic and not a target for their frustration. cunts.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
everyone hates us
i read any article this weekend that discussed why cyclists have gone from being 'eco friendly' to psychos on wheels...
on my ride in today i decided everyone hates us, because we hate them, they step out without looking (engage brain) they pull out without looking, they generally do everything that makes us believe that they want to kill or maim us.
this morning a bus decides to spill passengers out into the cycle lane, i brake, slow down to pass and get tuts from the passengers waiting to get off, i gnash teeth, get angry and shout... i hate them.
now hours later, i don't know for sure if that was a bus stop... i wouldn't say i feel bad, maybe stupid though...
on my ride in today i decided everyone hates us, because we hate them, they step out without looking (engage brain) they pull out without looking, they generally do everything that makes us believe that they want to kill or maim us.
this morning a bus decides to spill passengers out into the cycle lane, i brake, slow down to pass and get tuts from the passengers waiting to get off, i gnash teeth, get angry and shout... i hate them.
now hours later, i don't know for sure if that was a bus stop... i wouldn't say i feel bad, maybe stupid though...
Summer ride
Just a couple of pics of my improved cross-check...
stripped off the old winter tractor wheels and the shit catchers for something more racey... and added some on-one midges, which coincidentally rock.
i was gonna turn this bike into somekind of geared up tourer, but a week of riding in clement weather has turned me around, singlespeed is top, even if my legs do knack.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Pronounced 'Pa-Kay'...
...apparently
these are just lovely, super clean, simple and (supposedly) cheap to boot. i want one.
Pake bikes
Pretty ladies... on bikes...
well, if you can get away with it... why not?
fyxomatosis
nice site, lots of lovely pics and stuff.
horn
fyxomatosis
nice site, lots of lovely pics and stuff.
horn
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Ride of Silence
i always thought the memorial rides i read about on US sites and the emergence of 'ghost bikes' were/was very touching, i just didn't expect to see them in london, guess i thought everyone was too busy...
that said, maybe it's down to my ignorance and they're going on all the time...
anyway, more here:
Ride of Silence
that said, maybe it's down to my ignorance and they're going on all the time...
anyway, more here:
Ride of Silence
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Wrap & Roll
this thing rocks... i know it's simple... and maybe a bit boring... but it's ingenius...
m2racer wrap and roll
i shouted at a cyclist today...
and i feel bad about it... ish...
well, you get someone who you're pretty much riding with, thanks to the hilarious number of traffic lights around the city, and you get used to them. so when someone is consistently riding like a dick and cutting every red light (clear or not) you don't expect them to suddenly obey the highway code and skid to a stop to let a bus out... when you're in the middle lane, during rush hour... yet he did... and i shouted... oops.
another addition to my hate list, i didn't imagine (some) cyclists would join taxi drivers, commuters, bus drivers, pedestrians and clowns, but sadly some do. don't know why i expected any different...
well, you get someone who you're pretty much riding with, thanks to the hilarious number of traffic lights around the city, and you get used to them. so when someone is consistently riding like a dick and cutting every red light (clear or not) you don't expect them to suddenly obey the highway code and skid to a stop to let a bus out... when you're in the middle lane, during rush hour... yet he did... and i shouted... oops.
another addition to my hate list, i didn't imagine (some) cyclists would join taxi drivers, commuters, bus drivers, pedestrians and clowns, but sadly some do. don't know why i expected any different...
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
whilst i'm on the subject of bad driving...
whilst this morning's crash is still on my mind, if anyone is reading this that is, now's the time to pop over to the CTC and lobby your MP.
if you haven't heard about their plans, they're aiming for some key changes, specifically to lower speed limits, make drivers more liable for their actions and to target bad driving generally.
anyways, it's all worthwhile and here:
CTC campaign
and perhaps more importantly, please do react to this one too:
Highway code amendment
if you haven't seen this yet, a revision to the code, specifically:
"Use cycle routes when practicable and cycle facilities such as advanced stop lines, cycle boxes, and toucan crossings where they are provided, as they can make your journeys safer" quote from CTC
it's the 'where they are provided' bit that's scary, there's no option in there...
from what i understand, this means that if i'm injured by a driver near a cycle lane and try to make a claim against said driver, it's highly likely that their lawyer would argue 'contributory negligence'
it does make you wonder if anyone has looked at the cycle lanes in london, to me the combination of potholes, glass, dog sh*t and parked cars make them much more dangerous than the road itself...
if you haven't heard about their plans, they're aiming for some key changes, specifically to lower speed limits, make drivers more liable for their actions and to target bad driving generally.
anyways, it's all worthwhile and here:
CTC campaign
and perhaps more importantly, please do react to this one too:
Highway code amendment
if you haven't seen this yet, a revision to the code, specifically:
"Use cycle routes when practicable and cycle facilities such as advanced stop lines, cycle boxes, and toucan crossings where they are provided, as they can make your journeys safer" quote from CTC
it's the 'where they are provided' bit that's scary, there's no option in there...
from what i understand, this means that if i'm injured by a driver near a cycle lane and try to make a claim against said driver, it's highly likely that their lawyer would argue 'contributory negligence'
it does make you wonder if anyone has looked at the cycle lanes in london, to me the combination of potholes, glass, dog sh*t and parked cars make them much more dangerous than the road itself...
british summer time...
... finally felt like it hit this morning. bright, sunny and i only needed one pair of gloves...
just as i was enjoying it, i see someone get whacked by a car. not the usual into the side and over, but a full frontal.
when the poor guy finally got up, the shock had took away his ability to speak or walk and all he managed was 'ffaaaacckkwwwwwaarr'
then i found myself feeling sorry for the driver, that was weird, he looked... ummm... 'sorry' i don't know if it was genuine guilt (he can't have looked before he pulled out) or the fact he was surrounded by 3 cyclists and a motorcyclist, all looking rather stern... so i offered my 'witness' skills and left...
just as i was enjoying it, i see someone get whacked by a car. not the usual into the side and over, but a full frontal.
when the poor guy finally got up, the shock had took away his ability to speak or walk and all he managed was 'ffaaaacckkwwwwwaarr'
then i found myself feeling sorry for the driver, that was weird, he looked... ummm... 'sorry' i don't know if it was genuine guilt (he can't have looked before he pulled out) or the fact he was surrounded by 3 cyclists and a motorcyclist, all looking rather stern... so i offered my 'witness' skills and left...
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