Applespider

Just in time for something else to kick in further down nearer Forest Hill. Last couple of nights the traffic has been backed up on the way up to the Horniman.

You could take it home but you'd be walloped with a big usage charge. The charging structure is built around short (under an hour) usage. I hope it fans out to zone 2 although with the promise that you should be within a few hundred metres of one, that will be a big investment

And were you driving it through Dulwich Village around 8pm tonight? If so, I'm the cyclist that you nearly knocked off my bike on the roundabout despite me having right of way. I'd entered it from Burbage Road before you arrived at the Village entry. I was in the middle of the lane and already passed the Village exit before you barely bothered slowing and came onto the roundabout. Given I had bright bike lights, a high vis vest, multiple spoke reflectors and a hi vis rucksack on, I should have been pretty visible. It was only because I managed to brake really sharply that you don't have a large dent in your car and aren't giving the police a statement right now and I'm not injured. I did particularly appreciate how you didn't even bother acknowledging me or checking I was OK before you headed up College Road. Perhaps you're not even aware it is a roundabout. And no thanks to the dark SUV either who carried on blithely through too leaving me standing, literally, in the middle of the road without a gap to move off into. I'm hoping you are local though and read the forum so that you might take more care next time you use that stretch of road.

For a small minority hopefully - bridges are a nightmare that thankfully we won't have to deal with coming through ED. I cross Vauxhall Bridge in the morning and it's so badly designed for cyclist and buses that I'm surprised there aren't more accidents there - you have to come out of the bus lane in order to go straight ahead while trying to avoid the cars trying to cross over to turn left. It's the one junction in London that I hope is on red as I approach to give me a fighting chance of getting into position.

It's all bikes - not just Boris bikes. Shouldn't cause mayhem - cyclists overtake buses everyday and filter in and out of the bus lane to do so... The previous CS haven't had any widening works associated with them...

Hmmm.... perhaps start by knitting a lurex scarf that could be wrapped through spokes

I bear bad news... Neither branch of Lidl had any left; I even asked them to look out the back in case they'd just been removed from the shelves. One manager said that they'd sold out; the other that after 2 weeks on sale, all their promo stuff gets bundled back up and shipped back to their central warehouse. She also said that they might get them back in again since they often do lots of lights/reflective stuff when the clocks actually go back. Sorry guys!

The 'conveyor' toasters are horrid. We have them at work. They'd be fine if they were set to toast properly and then had the dials removed so that people couldn't adjust them. But people insist on playing with the heat and the conveyor speeds with the result that the bread comes out simply as warm bread or completely charcoal. Argh! I also hate what's happening to bread in this country. Bread's not supposed to stay soft for 2 weeks... and when you put butter on toast, it should keep some structure rather than collapsing into a soggy mass. I make my own sourdough most weekends and freeze chunks of loaf. Scrambled eggs along with two thick toasted slices of real bread are heavenly for breakfast. The last hotel that managed to provide that was a little boutique one near Monterey in California. It's a long way to go for breakfast though.

Would like to help out but can't do that time. I could do earlier - around 4 or on the Sat

Agreed that the Southwark training is brilliant. Hadn't realised it was two lessons. I could do with one on bike maintenance! Ridgeley - that's back to earlier points on inconsiderate cyclists, drivers and pedestrians who although a minority, ruin it for the rest of us. The only "off" I've had in my bike was when a drunk pedestrian stumbled into my path on a segregated cycle path. Thankfully since I had been wary of him, I was going v slowly so only have a monster bruise to show for it. And the only real emergency stops I've had to make have all been after pedestrians stepped out into my path without looking despite me being on the road where I should be. If I'd been a bus, they'd be dead.

And, although yes, the CS do encourage cyclists to stay on the left and filter so potentially more likely to end up in the position shown not realising the lorry is turning, part of the CS scheme is having mirrors at junctions so that lorry drivers have less blind spots and hopefully spot the numpty cyclist before moving off. Does make me shudder though - I watched someone tonight - no lights in the dark - merrily going up the side of a coach which was at the front of the queue and turning left - with absolutely no chance of reaching the front before the lights went. Luckily, he'd only made it just past the rear wheels when the lights changed and he was able to stop.

Updated order list > Ladymuck > DJKQ Sandperson ImpetuousVrouw I will be going past the Lidl where Mum picked mine up anyhow so really isn't that much trouble. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that they're still in stock! Besides, I'm hoping that creating all this good cycling karma will mean that one day I get all the lights on green on the way into work ;-) I'm going up on Friday night and will probably nip in sometime on Saturday for them - but will check the thread for any new additions beforehand!

I'm a little ambivalent on Weatherspoons too; I prefer independent pubs and landlords and I think the food is dreadful. But they do usually have a better range of ales/beers than many bars and for that I can forgive a lot.

Or they wear out their hearts and muscles earlier and die sooner? One thing I have noticed though is the majority of joggers look pretty miserable. More grim, focused and trudging than if they are enjoying themselves. Then again I expect when I was training for a half marathon, I didn't look best pleased either. The lithe runners on the other do seem to bounce along more happily. But not sure how many joggers make it to runners

Yup. There are two Lidls in my hometown - I will check for reflectors and buy You get 36 in a pack for ?4.99 and they are about 10cm long so one pack would do both wheels if you only do every other spoke or cut in half. But if they are available, I am happy to pick up extra. So order list so far is Ladymuck 1 pack DJKQ - 1 pack

Once people have started cycling, the desire for entire segregation often passes as they get more used to dealing with traffic. I like cycle lanes but wouldn't want them marked off with kerbs or lots of shared use pavements since they invariably slow you down more than roads and lead to fear of going anywhere without them. Plus I think it is better for drivers and cyclists to get more used to one another. More bike parking is definitely a good thing though and there are dome innovative designs that make it look more like street sculpture too to keep it looking attractive

Problem with the Lounge is that it has a strange mixture of valid/useful stuff that just happens to fall outside of ED proper and then just random silliness. Regulars get the silliness, know the personalities and prob don't get offended even when some nonsense ends up in a 'serious' thread. But I guess non-regulars don't see the tongue-in-cheekness. Then again stupid posts can be irritating when it seems they are purely done for poster's humour in an otherwise sensible thread. Perhaps we need a playground that is registered users only so as not to offend casual browsers where people can be as silly as they like

The stretch from Court Lane towards Plough is open again. Made a big difference this morning in terms of traffic flowing better - at least til it got to the Plough I suppose

I am surprised that cyclists shop more. Personally, I shop less when on the bike than when walking or using public transport. Finding safe spots to lock up and then stow and restow shopping between stops make it highly unappealing. As above, I suspect thus is one CS that will be for the fit only. I'm even thinking about the Penge to Sydenham/Horniman point which is a far more horrendous hill that the fairly gentle Barry Rd incline. So where do cyclists go to see the proposed route and give our feedback on it

The tendency for pedestrians to cross any which way at any point along Lordship Lane (and I'm as guilty of it there when on foot as anyone) is probably a one big negative against running the cycle superhighway down it. Equally, I really don't see how they're going to manage it between the Plough and the police station without requiring all the parking to be removed. It's barely wide enough to get two buses through let alone add a lane for a bike. From Penge incidentally, wouldn't it make more sense to take it up (literally) to Crystal Palace Parade, down through West Dulwich via Herne Hill and then to Denmark Hill and Camberwell. It does seem like a bit of an overly hilly detour to bring it through ED and an already overly busy road.

DJKQ, wasn't me proposing the licensing... I was saying that it wasn't practical or cost effective. Some accidents/left hooks are caused by cyclists being stupid. I see idiots every day going down the side of cars and vans which are already indicating and with no chance if getting to ASL before traffic moves. But yes, there are equal idiot drivers too. I was nearly taken out yesterday by a. Mirrisons lorry which gave me the bare minimum in overtaking me and the pulled in too fast so that I had to brake to avoid going under wheels. I was in right place on road and would have been entirely driver's fault

Karter, it is only ?48 if you want to use it every day for a year. I've signed up for daily access. I have paid ?4. ?3 for the fob and ?1 credit for first day's access. If I use it one day, then it will charge me another ?1 overnight for next day's credit. I figured then it would be quick and easy to use on the days I don't have my bike with me. And this way if I only use them once a month, it is ?1 month.

Agreed. Since most councils offer free or subsidised training, there's little excuse for people not to do some form of training. I had a lesson before starting to commute regularly for precisely the reason you gave; that last time I rode regularly it was in a quiet town with less traffic. My instructor helped me plan a route, emphasised road positioning and assertive cycling and I felt far more confident afterwards. Having said that I am a better cyclist now than I was straight after that lesson. Time spent on the bike getting to know your bike's (and your) capabilities is a great teacher.

I think they were under special offers and yes, it is one in Scotland that I will be in. Still, I am happy to purchase a few packs if they are around and then meet up somewhere more local to hand them over. There is a Lidl in Sydenham and in Penge that might be worth calling to see if any left

Yet another thing to be nicked off the bike. And what if I have two bikes, do I get a disc for both or do I need to swap them over. Perhaps just registering frame numbers although also needs to be a way to deregister In principle, I don't really object but I suspect cost outweighs benefits since I suspect just as uninsured drivers are involved in a disproportionate number of accidents, the same would happen here and the minority of dangerous cyclists would ignore this too