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I have used these for many years and find the versatility of having the mitt or the fingerless option quite useful for those days when it's suddenly a bit warmer/colder than you first thought. It takes a little bit of getting used to having no fingers for gears, but since we're all FG or SS here then that's irrelevant ;)

http://lowealpine.com/accessories/gloves/aleutian-convertible-mitt

Ha! Yes he was a little like that. His attitude was very much of the "you're trying to tell ME how to ride??" variety. I tried to explain politely about courteous riding but it was lost on him.

Maybe I should have one of those "Cyclists! Beware of passing this vehicle on the inside" stickers on my rear mudguard.

Anyway, thanks for the reassurance all. As you were.

Who's the bad cyclist here?

Me (slowish pootler, probably overtaken by 50% of folk): at the lights, rather than sit way back in the queue along the kerb I try to make efficient use of the space in the the ASL 'box', often meaning I'm in the centre of the lane due to existing waiting cyclists on my left, and then, once the lights are green, I gradually move over to the left to allow faster cyclists to pass me on the right. I believe it's safer for cyclists to all be in a bunch at the front of a traffic queue rather than in a long line on the inside of other traffic.

Him: positioned to the left and slightly behind me at the lights because there were other cyclists in front of him, I try to move over to the left once the lights are green (checking over my left shoulder), but he's coming up on my inside to undertake me.

I say 'don't undertake!'

He says 'ride faster! signal!'

It didn't help that English wasn't his first language so he didn't know what under- as opposed to overtake meant... he thought I was telling him not to pass me at all and hence got a bit narky.

Oh well it's a nice sunny morning.

But a decanter's no good if the sediment's all mixed up from the bouncy bicycle journey.

Doesn't posh wine have sediment in it?

I don't know much about wine, admittedly.

9/10, a fine effort.

Incorrect usage of 'whence' lets you down.

A lot of parents take half term off work, so it's a reduction in commuting traffic too.

Having said that, I don't understand why anyone would want to drive into central London to go to work either...

Seems to have been deleted

Puncture on the way home last night, patched it on the road like a boss, using the light from the Yougov offices on Featherstone St. Took me ages to refit the front wheel because I couldn't work out how to adjust the SA Dynohub properly. Eventually figured it out.

About to leave for work this morning and it's flat again. Feel like much less of a boss.

Bus + tube + late = 1/10.

These 'die in' folk wait in the wings waiting for another tragic death like the bloody Spanish Inquisition.

NB: vigils I have no problem with.

& that's why the speed limit should be 20mph in all built up areas. Glad no one was (badly) hurt.

*edited to say 'badly'!

Public transport. Bloke further down the carriage was playing CandyCrush on his ipad at full volume all the way from Dalston to Canada Water. No one said a word... all seethed silently and gazed at Metros/smartphones.

Prefer cycling but have a hot date later and didn't want to be lumbered with bike in case of-

Politely informed a gentleman on Blackfriars Bridge last night that his lights were on the wrong way round.

BB: What you want is red at the back, white at the front.
Gentleman: I'VE GOT LIGHTS
BB: Yes I can see that. But they're the wrong way round.
G: Wot, srsly?
BB: Yes. See all these cars and other bikes with red at the back and white at the front?
G: (Slightly sheepish) Um OK, thanks mate.

Lots of broken glass near the pavement left over from NYE (all the more reason not to ride in the gutter, but you can't avoid it sometimes).

Uh oh... thanks for the warning!

Headwind+hangover from office bash last night+concrete saddle wasn't pleasant this morning. 5/10.

Maybe you're all getting faster but the relative speed differential remains the same!

*edit (I have no idea if 'relative speed differential' is the correct term for this or any other situation)

First ride in on a new leather Spa Cycles saddle.

It's hard.

I've broken in a couple of Brooks before with minor discomfort but this is a whole different story. Gonna be a painful few weeks. Half the price though!

Yes it's totally ridiculous! As cyclists we're all trying to out-bright each other (and the cars), when all we really need in city streets is to be seen.

And even in pitch black in the countryside my Sturmey Archer Dynohub lights the road ahead enough for me to see where I'm going. All 1.8 watts of it. Sadly the way things are now that's probably not bright enough for a car coming the other way to notice me, because it won't be expecting something so dimly - but adequately for its purpose of lighting the road ahead - lit.

cree> If you were dazzling him, you were dazzling him. Maybe you think you weren't, but only he can be the judge of that.

This whole brighter and brighter war we seem to have going on with car headlights and now sadly bike lights reminds me somewhat of the loudness war. Since xenon and LEDs and all that whatnot came in for cars the govt really should have had a proper crackdown on what is acceptable brightness. It's way too late for that now though, unfortunately, so we get situations like this.

sigh

There is no such thing as crossing against a red when you're a pedestrian in the UK. We don't have jaywalking laws here, despite what some in the motor lobby would like. Quite right too. Pedestrian lights are advisory only and peds retain the right to walk on the highway (apart from motorways and other restricted roads) at any point, no matter what the signals say. Admittedly a judge may look less favourably on an injured pedestrian who crossed on a red and was hit, but they certainly haven't been breaking any law.

Vulnerable peds, in particular, should be looked out for and respected by those higher up the transport foodchain. Just like I always slow down in my car if I see a cyclist wanting to emerge from a side road - in case they wobble out accidentally into my path - so I behave warily on my bike around peds at junctions and pelican crossings.

In 11 years of cycling 14 miles through central London every day I have probably touched a pedestrian fewer than 5 times - each time would be them stepping out unexpectedly of course, which might prompt an immediate British apology from all sides followed by a quick sigh of frustration or annoyed retort, but I have certainly never come close to injuring or knocking someone over who stepped out in front of me. I'm prepared to stop at all times, as all vehicles should be when in busy areas.

edit: others got there first (as usual!)

That's the spitting image of one I prepped for a friend of mine in Brighton earlier in the year. I also replaced the downtube shifters with old SIS MTB ones for the handlebars, as has been done here. Just checked though and she hasn't had her's stolen :)

No don't open one in Walthamstow - I was gonna do that!

Race ya :)

cough... maybe it's because the over 65s are mostly retired so they won't be commuting when you are.

edit: TSK got there first

Both drivers cleared because of the sunlight in their eyes. It's verdicts like this that make me question the whether trial by jury is a good thing or not.

http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/11/17/two-cleared-of-causing-death-of-a-shropshire-cyclist-by-careless-driving/

Economy (2nd class)