London cycling observations

On Jul 31, 11:06 am, "wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>

Quoted message said:

Saw loads of motorists jumping
red lights. Obviously they were cyclists in disguise.

Well, they are pedal powered too, just a different sort of pedal...

:-)

PhilD

--
<><

PhilD said:

On Jul 31, 11:06 am, "wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>

Quoted message said:

Saw loads of motorists jumping
red lights. Obviously they were cyclists in disguise.

Well, they are pedal powered too, just a different sort of pedal...

No, pedal controlled. Unless they were driving this sort of car:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/12/1201_giftguide_toys/source/6.htm

Tony

Quoted message said:

PhilD said:

On Jul 31, 11:06 am, "wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>

Quoted message said:

Saw loads of motorists jumping
red lights. Obviously they were cyclists in disguise.

Well, they are pedal powered too, just a different sort of pedal...

No, pedal controlled. Unless they were driving this sort of car:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/12/1201_giftguide_toys/source/6.htm

Tony

Hmmm can't seem to see any indicators on that thing :-)

--
http://www.timdenning.myby.co.uk/

On Jul 31, 11:06 am, "wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>

Quoted message said:

At the weekend, I was in The Smoke. I was noticing cyclists and, on Saturday
evening, I was a London cyclist. Guess what: loads and loads of cyclists
stopping at red lights, just as they are supposed to. Now what I want to
know is how all those cyclists knew I was in London, I mean according to the
meeja, London cyclists never stop for red lights, so the cyclists must have
been stopping at red for my benefit only... Saw loads of motorists jumping
red lights. Obviously they were cyclists in disguise.

The stereotype grew up because too many drivers won't see a cyclist
until after either they have run them down or gotten incensed by some
infraction of the rules by the cyclist. It stands to reason therefore
that all cyclists either 'come out of nowhere' or run red lights.

On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:06:27 +0100 someone who may be "wafflycat"
<w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

At the weekend, I was in The Smoke. I was noticing cyclists and, on Saturday
evening, I was a London cyclist. Guess what: loads and loads of cyclists
stopping at red lights, just as they are supposed to. Now what I want to
know is how all those cyclists knew I was in London, I mean according to the
meeja, London cyclists never stop for red lights, so the cyclists must have
been stopping at red for my benefit only...

It is not just me then:-) On my very rare trips to London I look out
for the cyclists doing all the things you state, as well as the ones
racing along the pavement mowing pedestrians down.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

icogs said:

On Jul 31, 11:06 am, "wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>

Quoted message said:

At the weekend, I was in The Smoke. I was noticing cyclists and, on Saturday
evening, I was a London cyclist. Guess what: loads and loads of cyclists
stopping at red lights, just as they are supposed to. Now what I want to
know is how all those cyclists knew I was in London, I mean according to the
meeja, London cyclists never stop for red lights, so the cyclists must have
been stopping at red for my benefit only... Saw loads of motorists jumping
red lights. Obviously they were cyclists in disguise.

The stereotype grew up because too many drivers won't see a cyclist
until after either they have run them down or gotten incensed by some
infraction of the rules by the cyclist. It stands to reason therefore
that all cyclists either 'come out of nowhere' or run red lights.

thats pritty much it, you don't rember the 5 or so cars that carried on
though the yellow and red but the cyclist who came up the side and
sailed though.

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

wafflycat' w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com said:

At the weekend, I was in The Smoke. I was noticing cyclists and, on Saturday
evening, I was a London cyclist. Guess what: loads and loads of cyclists
stopping at red lights, just as they are supposed to. Now what I want to
know is how all those cyclists knew I was in London, I mean according to the
meeja, London cyclists never stop for red lights, so the cyclists must have
been stopping at red for my benefit only... Saw loads of motorists jumping
red lights. Obviously they were cyclists in disguise.

Was this for the Dunwich Dynamo? How'd it go?

I commuted in by bike today, a nice little 16 mile commute to
Liverpool Street passing through Richmond Park. I left 10 minutes
earlier than I would to walk to the train and was in not a lot later.
My cycle time was 1hr 15mins including stopping at red lights. The red
light stopping added ~10 minutes onto my journey according to my cycle
computer. I reckon this pace could improve with a bit more effort. May
commute in again on Thursday 🙂

I guess that as you were cycling on a weekend, you missed the cycle
couriers. I suspect quite a few peds are commenting on them as they do
sail through red lights more than commuters. What impresses me is the
fact some of them basically have track bikes, no brakes or anything. I
personally wouldn't like to bike around with no "emergency" option.

Quoted message said:

What impresses me is the
fact some of them [couriers on fixies] basically have track bikes, no
brakes or anything. I personally wouldn't like to bike around with no
"emergency" option.

If that scares you, have a looksie at the BMX-ers. Some of them ride
around with no brakes AND a freewheel. Crazy.

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Was this for the Dunwich Dynamo? How'd it go?

It was.

Got as far as south side of Sudbury and had to ditch. I was *gutted* as
physically I was fine. I suffered the mechanicals, don'tcha know. That and
another thing. Both to do with the wet falling out of the sky.

Firstly: the mechanicals. The rain - in London it was drizzle. Hit Epping &
it became *heavy*. The rain was so heavy, I discovered on Sunday that it
washed all the lube off my *new* chain and gears. The result was, I couldn't
change front chainring without chain falling off and then the chain would
stick/jump rear sprockets.

Secondly, I'm a speccy g*t. The rain was so heavy it would not shed off my
specs and I was rendered blind. If I had a red light to follow, I was fine,
but on the bits out in the wilds where I was not within sight of red tail
light in front, I was effectively riding blind. That combined with the
effect of lights of oncoming traffic making the water on my spec lenses act
like a kaleidoscope:- pretty effect but utterly blinding. As a result, I
felt horribly exposed and in a dangerous situation as I did not want to be
riding off the road into a ditch, or worse. So I bailed.

As I say, I was *gutted* as physically I was coping okay. My legs were fine,
my lungs were fine, and it was *fun* coming out of London in a big group at
20mph at times.

So I have to sort out this night vision in the rain thing, or I am reduced
to night riding only when it is guaranteed to be a dry night. Any
suggestions? I'm looking at the possibility of contact lenses.

On the plus side, there were plenty who bailed before me, so I was pleased I
wasn't the first to ditch, if you see what I mean.

Next year... next year...

"wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So I have to sort out this night vision in the rain thing, or I am reduced
to night riding only when it is guaranteed to be a dry night. Any
suggestions? I'm looking at the possibility of contact lenses.

That would probably work. Other thoughts :

How blind are you? Could you get away with just looking over the top of your
glasses?

You can get stuff to put on specs which stops the rain staying as drops. The
water film isn't as good as clean specs, but better than drops.

Would a peaked cap prevent the rain hitting the specs? (probably want to be
a big peak).

cheers,
clive

wafflycat said:

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Was this for the Dunwich Dynamo? How'd it go?

It was.

Got as far as south side of Sudbury and had to ditch. I was *gutted*
as physically I was fine. I suffered the mechanicals, don'tcha know.
That and another thing. Both to do with the wet falling out of the
sky.
Firstly: the mechanicals. The rain - in London it was drizzle. Hit
Epping & it became *heavy*. The rain was so heavy, I discovered on
Sunday that it washed all the lube off my *new* chain and gears.

I'm surprised it stopped things working correctly.
Usually when I get horribly wet, I loose lubricant, but the water works as
temporary lube.
However, easy lesson for future is small bottle of lube.

Quoted message said:

Secondly, I'm a speccy g*t. The rain was so heavy it would not shed
off my specs and I was rendered blind. .....
So I have to sort out this night vision in the rain thing, or I am
reduced to night riding only when it is guaranteed to be a dry night.
Any suggestions? I'm looking at the possibility of contact lenses.

As another speccy...

1) Learning to peer round/over/under the drips. But not too good in dark.
2) Some sort of easy to reach wipe. Will smear, but does work a bit. Accept
that stopping regularly is necessary.
3) Cleaning glasses carefully in washing up liquid before setting out. Not
tried coatings/treatments to encourage water to run off.
4) Hat with peak/brim. Mine of choice is a Tilly T5, held with both strings.
If rain really bad, then hood on waterproof jacket with decent peak (though
I don't have one, I guess a baseball cap under the hood could work quite
well).

However, quite frankly, I don't know a proper solution for wet dark rides. I
suspect its contact lenses.

Quoted message said:

Next year... next year...

I had already decided "not this year" as the [censored] weather meant I've not
ridden enough this year.
However, the forecast for the weekend would caused me to not go. I might
cycle up to the Dunwich cafe this weekend on the Suffolk CTC run.

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

wafflycat said:

So I have to sort out this night vision in the rain thing, or I am reduced
to night riding only when it is guaranteed to be a dry night. Any
suggestions? I'm looking at the possibility of contact lenses.

Even with contact lenses you will still want to wear cycling glasses to
keep the rain out of your eyes. At least then you have the option of
peering over the top.

A peaked cap will reduce the rate of water deposition on your glasses,
but as you would be wearing it under a helmet you may have trouble
pulling the peak down low enough to be useful.

I never ride without gloves of some description, and all of my cycling
gloves have material somewhere in the region of thumb or forefinger
suitable for wiping the rain off of glasses. This works reasonably well
even when the gloves are saturated, as the glove drags the drops of
water into an even film on the lens.

I'm happy enough doing this with cycling glasses. I wouldn't be happy
doing it with the expensive, multi-coated lenses of my regular glasses.
But then I haven't cycled in my regular glasses for several years, since
purchasing a pair of cycling glasses with a prescription insert.

I wouldn't particularly recommend glasses with a prescription insert for
riding in the rain, BTW. If water vapour condenses between the front
lens and the insert then it can be /very/ difficult to demist without
stopping and removing the lenses. I'm considering getting a pair of
Optilabs glasses in the not too distant future, but I'll continue to
wear contact lenses on most non-commuting rides.

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

wafflycat said:

At the weekend, I was in The Smoke. I was noticing cyclists and, on
Saturday evening, I was a London cyclist. Guess what: loads and loads of
cyclists stopping at red lights, just as they are supposed to. Now what I
want to know is how all those cyclists knew I was in London, I mean
according to the meeja, London cyclists never stop for red lights, so the
cyclists must have been stopping at red for my benefit only... Saw loads
of motorists jumping red lights. Obviously they were cyclists in disguise.

OTOH, I was surprised by how many cyclists /were/ jumping red lights on the
dun-run. I'm sure it was more than last year. I overheard one driver make
the standard 'bloody cyclists' comment while I was waiting at one set of
lights. 🙁

Still, compared with the some of driving I witnessed, the cyclists came off
looking positively angelic.

Oh, and the ride was great fun... 🙂

Anthony

Upon the miasma of midnight, a darkling spirit identified as wafflycat
<?@?.com.invalid> gently breathed:

Quoted message said:

So I have to sort out this night vision in the rain thing, or I am
reduced to night riding only when it is guaranteed to be a dry night.
Any suggestions? I'm looking at the possibility of contact lenses.

This probably isn't what you're after but:

Dutch bike. Hub gears, chaincase, hub dynamo. Keeps the wet completely
off the mechanicals, well unless you ride through a flood. :-) No chain
maintenance worries, and will last longer than you will.

Some kind of hat (baseball cap?) with a brim you can arrange to stick
out above your glasses, to keep the rain off. Won't work in high wind,
but will in heavy rain.

Hope the weather is better for you next year though!

NP: Manowar - Fighting The World.
--
- DJ Pyromancer, Black Sheep, Leeds. <http://www.sheepish.net>
Hard Rock, Leeds <http://www.hard-rock.org.uk>
Broadband, Dialup, Domains = <http://www.wytches.net> = The UK's Pagan ISP!
<http://www.inkubus-sukkubus.co.uk> <http://www.revival.stormshadow.com>

elyob said:

wafflycat' w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com said:

At the weekend, I was in The Smoke. I was noticing cyclists and, on Saturday
evening, I was a London cyclist. Guess what: loads and loads of cyclists
stopping at red lights, just as they are supposed to. Now what I want to
know is how all those cyclists knew I was in London, I mean according to the
meeja, London cyclists never stop for red lights, so the cyclists must have
been stopping at red for my benefit only... Saw loads of motorists jumping
red lights. Obviously they were cyclists in disguise.

Was this for the Dunwich Dynamo? How'd it go?

I commuted in by bike today, a nice little 16 mile commute to
Liverpool Street passing through Richmond Park. I left 10 minutes
earlier than I would to walk to the train and was in not a lot later.
My cycle time was 1hr 15mins including stopping at red lights. The red
light stopping added ~10 minutes onto my journey according to my cycle
computer. I reckon this pace could improve with a bit more effort. May
commute in again on Thursday 🙂

I guess that as you were cycling on a weekend, you missed the cycle
couriers. I suspect quite a few peds are commenting on them as they do
sail through red lights more than commuters. What impresses me is the
fact some of them basically have track bikes, no brakes or anything. I
personally wouldn't like to bike around with no "emergency" option.

yup the jumping the lights is worse on peak as well be that car or bike.
also the just plain dumb things like a few weeks back the fellow who
rode along the cyclelane and then bus lane in richmound road, the wrong
way...

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

wafflycat w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com said:

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Was this for the Dunwich Dynamo? How'd it go?

It was.

Got as far as south side of Sudbury and had to ditch. I was *gutted* as
physically I was fine. I suffered the mechanicals, don'tcha know. That and
another thing. Both to do with the wet falling out of the sky.

Firstly: the mechanicals. The rain - in London it was drizzle. Hit Epping &
it became *heavy*. The rain was so heavy, I discovered on Sunday that it
washed all the lube off my *new* chain and gears. The result was, I couldn't
change front chainring without chain falling off and then the chain would
stick/jump rear sprockets.

ahh bugger. can't say i've ever had that problem maybe being a old
mountain bike the parts are more water tolerent or more likely they are
still mostly covered in oily muck which is a effective barrier.

Quoted message said:

Secondly, I'm a speccy g*t. The rain was so heavy it would not shed off my
specs and I was rendered blind. If I had a red light to follow, I was fine,
but on the bits out in the wilds where I was not within sight of red tail
light in front, I was effectively riding blind. That combined with the
effect of lights of oncoming traffic making the water on my spec lenses act
like a kaleidoscope:- pretty effect but utterly blinding. As a result, I
felt horribly exposed and in a dangerous situation as I did not want to be
riding off the road into a ditch, or worse. So I bailed.

As I say, I was *gutted* as physically I was coping okay. My legs were fine,
my lungs were fine, and it was *fun* coming out of London in a big group at
20mph at times.

yes group rides are fun

Quoted message said:

So I have to sort out this night vision in the rain thing, or I am reduced
to night riding only when it is guaranteed to be a dry night. Any
suggestions? I'm looking at the possibility of contact lenses.

maybe cap? i use wrap around sunnies which seem to clear quite well so
maybe get some persription sunnies. um with clear i would guess heh!

Quoted message said:

On the plus side, there were plenty who bailed before me, so I was pleased I
wasn't the first to ditch, if you see what I mean.

Next year... next year...

got to admit i'm temped to try it one of these years.

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

Danny Colyer said:

A peaked cap will reduce the rate of water deposition on your glasses,
but as you would be wearing it under a helmet you may have trouble
pulling the peak down low enough to be useful.

I suppose you could try a Respro visor, if you can actually locate a
supplier. That would fit to your helmet. You'd still have to wipe it
from time to time, of course.

Years ago I bought a little rubber device from a motorbike shop that was
effectively a windscreen wiper blade designed to slide onto a gloved
finger. It's great for wiping the rain away from a visor, not so
practical for glasses.

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 03:53:18 -0700, PhilD <[email hidden]>
said in <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Well, they are pedal powered too

YA Bugsy Malone & ICMFP.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

"Danny Colyer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Danny Colyer said:

A peaked cap will reduce the rate of water deposition on your glasses, but
as you would be wearing it under a helmet you may have trouble pulling the
peak down low enough to be useful.

I suppose you could try a Respro visor, if you can actually locate a
supplier. That would fit to your helmet. You'd still have to wipe it from
time to time, of course.

Years ago I bought a little rubber device from a motorbike shop that was
effectively a windscreen wiper blade designed to slide onto a gloved finger.
It's great for wiping the rain away from a visor, not so practical for
glasses.

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy,
why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

I still use a Respro visor -- well 2 actually but they aren't made any more.
My 2 are getting a bit scarred by now and I don't think they will survive
another 12 months. I replace the original elastic band this year because it
perished -- I replaced it with the Respro "Hi Vis" band killing 2 birds with
one stone. It is a very bright reflective band!( all part of my efforts to
appear like a Christmas tree at night together with ankle and wrist high vis
reflective strips)/

I have a smoked visor for my summer touring and autumn and winter sees me
putting on the yellow one for after dark cycling.

In both cases, I find that it protects my eyes and in cold weather from wind
chill and stops my tear glands pouring water into my eyes.
In the summer I found an interesting side effect that was very useful. Last
year on the Rhein and the year before on the Danube I rode through many heavy
"fly swallowing areas". I found that with the visor down, bridging my nose, it
acted as a fly deflector and my daily fly/insect consumption was drastically
reduced. Last year I cycled virtually daily with my visor down ( It was also a
very hot bright summer) and my insect swallowing was nearly ended. With the
visor up I was back to my normal daily frying protein intake.
This year cycling down the Saone and Rhone I never used the visor but the
whole route is sprayed by helicopter ( I don't know how often) and it happened
twice on my trip. it is done in support of the vines but it certainly gave a
virtually insect/fly free route.

So my helmet continues to carry rear red LED's, helmet camera and a tiny but v
bright white LED for looking at approaching cars at night.

But as I said Resporo stopped marketing them 2 years ago

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk