How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

[find_bruce]

Also this morning I passed a guy riding a tridem (what's the name for a tandem for three people?), except it didn't look like a normal tandem as it was clearly made for the adult to ride at the back with the steering connected to the handlebars attached to the last seat and seats for two children at the front complete with pedals and handlebars. It was a cool contraption and looked like a cross between a long cargo bicycle (not the tricycle version) and a tandem.

Onderwater Family Tandem ?

[WarbyD]

Disappointed (but not surprised) to see that the pile of squishy slippery leaves at the Canning Hwy underpass hadn't been cleaned up yesterday. Good to see the City of South Perth gives a damn about safety. Had to slow to near stop there on the way home last night due to a couple deciding that the dry bit on the left side of those leaves was a good place to stand and have a conversation, so slowed right down to pooter slowly around them on the slippery leaves. Looking at the state of the pair of them, I couldn't see much point in suggesting they find somewhere else to stand. The rest of the commute (only to Murdoch where the wife picked me up as she was out n about anyway) was uneventful and pleasant enough.

Ride in this morning was also entirely pleasant, but with the leaves still present (unsurprisingly - didn't expect any action outside of business hours) at the Canning underpass. They have spread further overnight though so it was harder to pick a suitable line through and again had to slow riiiiiiiight down. Crappy sleep last night so expecting the ride home to be a bit of a struggle.

[TailWind]

Uneventful ride yesterday afternoon, warm but overcast, pleasant....
Still 20C this morning when I left at around 4:15am, but very gusty, was buffeted quite nicely by the cross-wind in places.
Trees along the creek made ominous creaking noises, swaying in the wind....

[rdp_au]

I must have walked under a ladder, or had a black cat cross my path on the way home last night, because the Gods were clearly displeased..

Started will enough, but the tone was set in the first few km when I was abused and received a horn blast from the driver of a white ute as it blasted past as I was claiming the lane in preparation to turning right . All good for a while and I was congratulating myself for negotiating the tricky passage past Eastwood station and the throngs of distracted travellers without incident. Then heading onto the overpass at Epping road, the front wheel went from under me as I crossed a driveway and down I went. Slow speed and little damage, scraped shin, slightly bruised hip. Bike unscathed other than a slightly tweaked handlebar – which gave me a scare as I rode off and the bike seemed to dive to the left.. Uneventful trip up Kissing Point Rd, working hard to stay ahead of the bike light relentlessly approaching from behind. Heard the unmistakable hum of an electric motor as he cruised past . The top of KPR is the only place I use the granny gear on my triple, and as I changed back to the middle ring, the chain dropped off got sucked up and jammed itself pretty thoroughly. Took fifteen minutes of fiddling and cursing to free it. On the fast run along Eastern Rd in Turramurra had to brake hard to avoid the car that stopped in the middle of the road while the driver thoroughly inspected a car space before turning into it.

Just one of those days…

[__PG__]

Geez it was warm last night.

[sorted]

A bit short of gears this week. A slightly frustrating matintenance session on my newly acquired commuter project at the weekend left me with a sqeaky clean and freshly lubed drivetrain but the old, worn cassette (now also sqeaky clean!). I must have lost my chain whip in a recent move and couldn't shift the cassette lockring without it.

It rode OK on a brief test run, but on my commute yesterday, only the highest and lowest ratios don't skip under moderate power, so I can either spin or mash! Having ridden it for a couple of days whilst waiting for the new chain whip to arrive, the experience of having two widely spaced ratios is sort of growing on me and I can see why people like riding single speeds. I'm tempted, now that they're no longer quite so hip, to have a go...

[AndreB1972]

I must have lost my chain whip in a recent move and couldn't shift the cassette lockring without it.

It's quite easy to make your own chain whip using the old chain, some wire and a lever of some sort, like a piece of steel/wood rod.

[TailWind]

Despite the earlier rain, the afternoon turned out beautifully here in Melbourne. Unfortunately, the rain caused the underpass on the Darebin Creek Trail at the M80 to flood, which meant turning around and heading across a bridge further back and using the Tasman Drive underpass. Pathetic drainage system.
Had the sun in my back when I turned around, looks like I was riding a Penny Farthing


Cool this morning, and the detour on the Darebin Creek Trail around some construction consisted of churned up mud, thanks to construction vehicles driving through the parklands. My sidewalls are still covered in gunk . As per usual, there's no great urgency to get the job done where shared paths are concerned.

[snortin]

So yesterdays commute involved a short "discussion" with a bus driver who thought I should be on a shared path adjacent the bus lane. I sent the following to State Transit Authority (NSW) via the comments/complaints online form.

Details/comments: I was cycling on Victoria Road in the City bound bus lane (bus lane weekdays from 6am-10am). I had just stopped for a red traffic light at Day St, passing the M50 bus which was stopped to pick up passengers at the bus stop. When the light turned green I started cycling again and the M50 bus that was behind me beeped its horn. I turned to see if there was some incident and saw that the driver was pointing toward the footpath and telling me to get in the "cycle lane".

At no stage did I "hold up" the bus. I had obeyed the traffic laws, stopping for the red light.

I chose to ride in the bus lane rather than the SHARED path, as there were a number of cars blocking the SHARED path (at the exit to the Shell service station), there are often pedestrians at this location and there can also be vehicles exiting driveways, all of which are most easily avoided by being on the road.

I also normally ride across Iron Cove Bridge in the bus lane, as the SHARED path is narrow and often has pedestrians walking in it. My speed across Iron Cove Bridge is comfortably 50km/hr. At this speed, it is safer for me (and pedestrians that may be on the shared path) to be in the traffic lane (which I am entitled to be in).

Please advise your driver that there is no BICYCLE LANE at this location, it is in fact a SHARED PATH. Bicycles are not obliged to use this path. I expect every road user to show respect to other road users. Your driver should understand the road rules, and the difference between a shared path and bicycle lane. He should also show more respect to vulnerable road users.

I have video footage of this incident if you would like to see it.

Trip date: 27/05/14
Trip start time: 07:53
Trip end time: 07:54

Route: M50
Location of incident: Victoria Road Drummoyne (Corner of Day Street)
Direction of travel: City bound

This morning I received the following response :
Dear Mr ...

Employees of State Transit are expected to carry out their duties in an efficient, competent and conscientious manner at all times. It follows that a serious view is taken in respect of any employee who fails in this regard.

State Transit's main purpose is to provide a safe and reliable transport service to its customers. A serious view is taken when other road users or pedestrians are put at risk due to unacceptable driving behaviour, as State Transit provides all staff with extensive training so that duties can be performed at a high standard.

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I would like to apologise for any inconvenience that you may have experienced.

Regards

Selina Hatcher
Randwick Contact
STA Customer Relations

So whilst nice to get a response, I had hoped that the response would include mention of them actually talking to the driver to ensure he knew his responsibilities. Also maybe them viewing the bus camera footage or requesting my footage. It was not a "dangerous" situation, as the bus had to stop 50m after it beeped its horn at me (at the next bus stop, to pick up more passengers), which meant that it was not the vehicle driectly behind me as I continued toward the city. I did not really feel threatened, otherwise I would have taken a stronger line with the complaint.
I guess that this is now a recorded incident for the driver, and hopefully someone will have a word to him. If any future incidents occur I expect that this will also be on file. Not too sure what else I could/should be doing.

[bychosis]

Well, after a bit of a sleep in, a rush getting kids organised (and not ready for their pickup on time) a whingy 19mth old and a generally not much fun start to the day, I boarded the fixie and pedalled off.

Not really feeling the love this morning but did get a kick out of seeing a bus full of kids off on their excursion and as it was held in traffic managed to get alongside and wave, including to my own although I could see his mate but couldn't see my boy as he wasn't against the window. Glad they were only year three and they haven't hit the embarrassing parent phase yet .

The rest of the commute was fairly uneventful, but great conditions. 18degrees, calm. I was surprised how many other cyclists (cruising) were dressed in long pants with jackets, it's not cold yet people.

[bychosis]

I must have lost my chain whip in a recent move and couldn't shift the cassette lockring without it.

It's quite easy to make your own chain whip using the old chain, some wire and a lever of some sort, like a piece of steel/wood rod.

Pre chain whip I have also successfully used a piece of rag wrapped around the cassette a few times.

[herzog]

I Not too sure what else I could/should be doing.

Looks like a total boilerplate response to me.

There's no indication at all that the driver has even been spoken to or counselled.

I'd reply back asking exactly that - whether the driver has been counselled.

Tell them you're not satisfied with a boilerplate email and you want to know what steps they have taken in this case to avoid a repeat. Add that you are considering whether to make a police report of road rage.

That should at least ensure that your correspondence is reviewed by a supervisor.

[jasonc]

I Not too sure what else I could/should be doing.

Looks like a total boilerplate response to me.

There's no indication at all that the driver has even been spoken to or counselled.

I'd reply back asking exactly that - whether the driver has been counselled.

Tell them you're not satisfied with a boilerplate email and you want to know what steps they have taken in this case to avoid a repeat. Add that you are considering whether to make a police report of road rage.

That should at least ensure that your correspondence is reviewed by a supervisor.

That response is a form letter fob off. go to the cops. screw em.

[Lizzy]

Took it super easy heading home last night. New "anti-fog" safety glasses are no such thing, boo! Might have to experiment with dive mask goop or something. It rained lightly for the last 5km, didn't bother with a jacket as the merino cardy needed a wash anyway, got home smelling like a wet sheep.

Super tired this morning, had to limp into the ref for second-breakfast otherwise I wasn't going to be able to stay upright in the shower. Hmph

[WarbyD]

Took it super easy heading home last night. New "anti-fog" safety glasses are no such thing, boo! Might have to experiment with dive mask goop or something. It rained lightly for the last 5km, didn't bother with a jacket as the merino cardy needed a wash anyway, got home smelling like a wet sheep.

Super tired this morning, had to limp into the ref for second-breakfast otherwise I wasn't going to be able to stay upright in the shower. Hmph

The vast majority of "anti fog" treatments either don't work at all, or are VERY limited in their effectiveness. Working in HSE, the ONLY products I've been able to find that effectively stop glasses fogging up in all conditions have forced ventilation (ie little fans blowing cool air in) which I'm pretty sure you don't want to be wearing on your commute

For me.. the ride home yesterday and the ride in today were both entirely pleasant and uneventful. A bit of slipping and sliding on the wet clay PSP diversion at Armadale Rd, but otherwise absolutely nothing note worthy.

[Crawf]

I Not too sure what else I could/should be doing.

Looks like a total boilerplate response to me.

There's no indication at all that the driver has even been spoken to or counselled.

I'd reply back asking exactly that - whether the driver has been counselled.

Tell them you're not satisfied with a boilerplate email and you want to know what steps they have taken in this case to avoid a repeat. Add that you are considering whether to make a police report of road rage.

That should at least ensure that your correspondence is reviewed by a supervisor.

Seriously?
He beeped his horn and wasn't aggressive, choose your battles, continue doing what you did and enjoy the ride.

[herzog]

Seriously?
He beeped his horn and wasn't aggressive, choose your battles, continue doing what you did and enjoy the ride.

He's driving a 15 ton machine right behind a cyclist, honking and gesticulating, and saying effectively "get off the road".

Victoria road is a pretty hairy environment for a cyclist at the best of times.

The scenario above can make it downright terrifying. The guy needs to be pulled into line, otherwise he will continue to harass and intimidate cyclists.

[rangersac]

The vast majority of "anti fog" treatments either don't work at all, or are VERY limited in their effectiveness. Working in HSE, the ONLY products I've been able to find that effectively stop glasses fogging up in all conditions have forced ventilation (ie little fans blowing cool air in) which I'm pretty sure you don't want to be wearing on your commute

+1 although lenses that have a venting hole in them (they tend to be in the top left hand corner out of vision) clear much faster than solid ones, or at least until you have to stop at the next set of lights.

[snortin]

Seriously?
He beeped his horn and wasn't aggressive, choose your battles, continue doing what you did and enjoy the ride.

He's driving a 15 ton machine right behind a cyclist, honking and gesticulating, and saying effectively "get off the road".

Victoria road is a pretty hairy environment for a cyclist at the best of times.

The scenario above can make it downright terrifying. The guy needs to be pulled into line, otherwise he will continue to harass and intimidate cyclists.

Pretty much - all I wanted was for them to let the driver know that what he did is unacceptable and for it not to happen again (or him to be worse in future). Also, he did ACTUALLY tell me to get off the road.

Beeping at me, then telling me to get off the road onto the "bicycle path" (which is actually a pretty narrow shared path that was obstructed by vehicles trying to leave a service station and also had a school kid on it just a little further along) and finally beeping at me again when I refused to "get off the road onto the bicycle path". I really don't think that I should just let that go - especially when the driver is the driver of a public bus.

The only bit that wasn't overly aggressive is that he didn't come too close with the bus...If he had, it would have gone straight to the police. I have followed up with a request that the driver is specifically told that this behaviour is unacceptable, for all the reasons I outlined.

I guess I am a confident rider and it didn't bother me too much, but I had passed 2 less experienced riders on the way in (a lady who was moving along pretty quickly, and a guy who was hugging the gutter so closely I was praying that some clown wouldn't sail past in the same lane and collect him). I wouldn't want the same thing happening to them - who knows if it would scare them enough to have an accident?

[bychosis]

There was a slight tailwind on the way home, I decided to use it to my advantage and kept my effort up. Reaped the reward of my fourth best time, although the main section was only tenth best probably due to share path traffic. It was probably my fastest commute without a strong tailwind too. It was also my quickest fixie commute home, taking near 3 minutes off for that.

Loved the feel of a strong cadence, simplicity of one fixed gear, no noises other than wind in my ears. A great commute. Now, which weapon for tomorrow: roadie and race it? MTB and get dirty? Fixie and go zen?

[sorted]

I must have lost my chain whip in a recent move and couldn't shift the cassette lockring without it.

It's quite easy to make your own chain whip using the old chain, some wire and a lever of some sort, like a piece of steel/wood rod.

Pre chain whip I have also successfully used a piece of rag wrapped around the cassette a few times.

All good suggestions, but unfortunately the aforementioned move was an international one that required getting rid of all the useful, random stuff in my shed like wire, bits of wood and rags! I'm slowly stocking my new shed up, though...

Got soaked in the last couple of kilometers on the way home today, but the new chain whip arrived, so I should be back to the full complement of ratios tomorrow.

[find_bruce]

Got beeped by a car when I had almost arrived at work. The friendly waving driver was my local Member of Parliament. It seems I have been chewing his ear enough lately that he recognises me.

[TailWind]

Overcast and cool for the ride back yesterday.
Encountered a courier on a Bullitt-style cargo bike on Collins St, scything past traffic up the "bike lane". Who says those lanes are to narrow.
The Albert St Copenhagen lane provided its usual challenges, including a woman who was deaf to my bell and voice, and just kept on trudging down there, even well after I had passed.
Why I use this section of the bike lane I don't know. It's safer on the road.
Here's a clip of my usual route out of the CBD for your entertainment


Also stopped at the spot on the Darebin Creek Trail where my front wheel washed out a few weeks back, the reason being that I nearly lost the rear there on Tuesday, and I wanted to inspect the surface a little closer. I can't figure out why it's so slippery in that particular spot. It's pretty rough to the touch, with no greasiness or slipperiness that I could feel.

Cool this morning for the ride into the CBD, detoured around the detour through the parklands near that was turned into a mud pit by construction vehicles, so clean tyres today.

[Summernight]

Here's a clip of my usual route out of the CBD for your entertainment

Apart from where you turn off Albert St and the fact that your footage is in the daytime, I could have sworn you'd stolen my home commute footage. Except I have to do more of the dreaded Collins St and more of Albert St.

And Find_Bruce - that was the one. Except without little people.

* * * *

The whole office pretty much is sick and the rest are wearing quarantine masks at the moment... (Okay, they aren't really but they are definitely keeping a distance from the sick ones. )

Yesterday I left work at 2PM to have a half day off work to kick this stupid cold. Didn't work and woke up feeling like carp with a sore throat this morning like I did at the start of this cold, but I dragged myself to swimming, cleared the nasal passages with all that swimming and breathing out through the nose (might not want to go to that pool for a while ) and rode to work with an extra jacket on so I don't exacerbate the cold with being wind-chilled.

This morning was another 'Toot the cyclist to get out of my Going-Nowhere' Day. First one was a Mercedes in Collins St, who thought I should be riding in the door zone instead of the vehicle lane, even though the traffic was stopped for a light 20 metres ahead. Karma bit him and the rest of the motorists (and PT users too really ) though as a tram had broken down on the corner of Collins and Swanston Street during the morning peak and the tram recovery vehicle was blocking the single vehicle lane just after that particular traffic light. Mr Mercedes wasn't going to move anywhere very fast for a while. All the tram users getting to work had to hop out of their multiple trams and hike it to their offices from Swanston Street onwards (eg. Elizabeth, Queen, William, King - the big ones). There was a huge stream of peds because of it. Bicycle: 1. Motorists and PT users: 0.

The next one was on Elizabeth St after the hook turn from Collins St. He was polite at the hook turn and let me go first (I was the first in the line to do the hook turn) but as soon as we got to Little Bourke and the non-bike-lane-but-painted-like-a-bike-lane refuge zone he honked me, saying I should be in the non-lane and impatiently overtook me when I moved across when it was safe. Thank you Melbourne CBD for not understanding that if it looks like a bike lane, motorists will assume you should be in it and will get aggro if you aren't.

Gotta love the Melbourne CBD paint lines on the ground completely in the door zone that aren't a bike lane but look like a bike lane to uneducated motorists...

[bychosis]

So lucky my commute is vast majority off the roads.
This afternoons worst aspect was the winter southerly that decided to visit. This morning was a brilliant day, a little cool for 'summer' gear but def not cold at a calm 12-14oC. This afternoon was a strong headwind for half the ride and cool as well. The headwind made about 2 min difference over yesterday arvo, although my legs weren't as keen to try today but as I was riding fixing I couldn't sit back and spin either.