September 15th 2014

Aggressive riders - these are the cyclists who think they own the road, queues are for other people and they can't possibly be in the wrong. Like the old joke goes ( paraphrased) "I have been cycling for 20 years and I have never had an accident, I have seen hundreds, but never had an accident", There seem to be more aggressive cyclists than usual. Am I wrong?
LCO

September 12th 2014

Panniers - a necessary evil for some. However, I am noticing an increasing amount of overloading with the consequence that there is an audible rubbing. The rubbing, it is assumed, is between the overloaded pannier(s) and the side of the tyre. I remember I used to have this problem but found a remedy in the form of a bungee. Hook the bungee on the bottom edge on side and attach to the frame and if in the case of two panniers, run the bungee from one bottom edge , across the to the other bottom edge. This should enable the pannier(s) to move off from the wheel and stop the rubbing. Any other ideas?
LCO

September 11th 2014

I notice that, post bendy buses, that the bus companies are repairing the areas in front of the bus stops. All seems reasonable except the bendy buses were much longer and the parts that are being resurfaced are in relation to length of the newer buses. Watch out for the ruts before and after the patches where sometimes bendy buses used to stand. Any one else seen any?
LCO

September 10th 2014

Following my blog post yesterday, my impression was that the No-Hands-Android-Using-Boris-Biker was the height of stupidity and yet, a day passes and lo and behold!
Boris Bikers are generally unsteady and in unfamiliar territory so any sense available would suggest that being aware and safe would be paramount. So, lets add a family, some with flowing sari's and a few children, a sprinkling of toddlers. Bingo! So in order to protect your children, what should an unsteady, sari wearing woman on a Boris Bike do with their children and toddlers? Yes you've guessed it, stick them in the basket and let them wiggle around. So just when you thought that was then end of it, you have to then form a pack of five bikers in similar circumstances and proceed to weave all over the cycle route in front of speeding cyclists going in the opposite direction. I just managed to miss an incident and I cycle at a much slower pace to some. Did a crash happen?
LCO

September 9th 2014

The amount of cycle traffic is still quite high and in some areas quite fast, so it was interesting to see a cyclist blissfully unaware of any danger in cycling a Boris Bike, at reasonable speed and with no hands on the handlebars. Ah, I hear you say, this is a more than common occurrence. Well, what makes this cyclist different is that the amount of concentration being given to using a pen on an android device. Dogs, small children, old people, other cyclists where on another planet, as far as this cyclist was concerned. I wish this chap well, as this genetic line can't last long. Can it?
LCO

September 8th 2014

Given the lovely weather and the fact that the schools are now open again after the summer holidays, the amount of cycle traffic has increased. I notice queue jumping is becoming prevalent at certain lights when trying to enter Hyde Park on busy days and that a couple of near misses have been witnessed because of the unexpectedness of  the queue jumping manoeuvre. I hate signs but perhaps we should start introducing them a key points and more importantly in foreign languages?
LCO

September 5th 2014

I saw a girl the other day really struggling to pedal a powder blue Pashley up an slight incline. This was obviously a brand new bicycle complete with a new basket. What I did notice however, was the tyres were very nearly flat. I wonder whether a quick half an hour basic maintenance introduction should form part of any sales contract?
LCO