Caught on the wrong side of the law
Well it finally happened, cycling through a red light, past bank tube stop on a cold summers day (it is England after all) I was caught by the police. Grabbing me as I cycled past P.C. I Have Had A Bad Day and I’m Going to Take it Out on You or whatever his name was, I was pulled off my bike.
At first I thought it was someone trying to hijack my bike but when I realised it was a police officer I glared “Yes, officer”. This served only to anger more the man of the law who proceeded to tell me the obvious. I had gone through a red light and that upset him.
Thinking up excuses as I grabbed a few short breaths I suggested the light was orange when I went through and why was I the only cyclist to be caught out of the two of us that went through the light.
The police man was having none of it. I paid my fine and learnt an important lesson - next time I will check for police before skipping a red light.
With a recent article stating that cycling down a one way street may be given the OK for cyclists could this one day extend to red/orange lights?
If any of London Cyclists’ readers have been caught by the police for anything I would love to hear from them, please leave a comment…
Image courtesy of: DannyMcL
Popularity: 4% [?]
U-G-L-Y Your Bike
Make-digital has posted up an awesome guide on how to deter thieves from stealing your bike by making them think its not worth anything. I have often seen this done on bicycles in London and I think its a very good idea especially if its a highly desirable bike. Some of the tips are a bit drastic such as tearing up your seat but take from it what you will.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Motorbikes to use bus lanes in London
Boris Johnson is to follow up on his campaign pledge of allowing motorbikes in bus lanes of London which is usually the domain of cyclists and buses. He has decided to do this after successfully results in Bristol. I am a bit fearful of this change and what it will mean for safety on the roads and encouraging more people to take up cycling. Surely the people that should most be supported should be cyclists as they are the most eco-friendly mode of transport? What does everyone think of this?
Image source: Flickr zUgan
Popularity: 21% [?]
Cyclist Lost and Found!
Hey all,
I received an e-mail recently from Deb suggesting a cyclist lost and found site.
When Deb was riding along… “On Friday 16th May at 7pm a passing cyclist lost her beautiful scarf while peddling down the Harrow Road. The scarf flew under the number 18 bus, but I rescued it & waved it
in the air shouting “stop that cyclist” but no-one bothered.”
If this is you then get in touch and your scalf will be returned! Its great to see such an honest Londoner still exists amongst us!
I don’t think there are any lost and found sites for items such as this one - maybe someone has come across one? A site similar along this theme is www.talkonthetube.com which tries to connect you with people you randomly meet on the tube. Otherwise you could always send your message into one of the London newspapers and they display it the next day. Maybe a social networking site for cyclists in London could be an idea that would catch on?
Popularity: 19% [?]
Score 1 for the cyclist..
I came across this brilliant post on surly blog recently and had to share it. It follows a cyclist who was been beeped at and decided to get them back by noting down their number plate and sending them a letter to the address registered to the number plate.
Read it at: Surly Blog
Popularity: 30% [?]
Surviving the wet weather
Well, the terrible weather continues in London and cycling back today I bumped into a taxi who was less than happy. I also saw a couple of people have some minor crashes so here are my recommendations in the rainy weather:
- Slow down - stopping times are greater so there is no need to be showing off to all the weirdos in suits (otherwise known as people who don’t cycle)
- Don’t go through big puddles - if you get your breaks wet they won’t stop
- Test your breaks regularly - you don’t want to be travelling at speed to realise your breaks aren’t working
- Be extra careful with pedestrians - with the umbrella raised they don’t tend to check what’s going on. What do they think it magically protects them or something?
- Watch out for potholes - potholes are much harder to spot as they are filled with water.
If you have any good tips of what to do in the horrible weather post them in the comments!
Flickr Image Originally uploaded by kattebelletje
Popularity: 27% [?]
Stupid Cycle Facilities
There are some very silly cycling facilities out there, and with councils so desperate to appear cycle friendly hilarious outcomes such as this one occur. A good site with loads more of these is Cycle Facility of the Month.
Popularity: 36% [?]
Cycling without breaks?
A recent article in the Guardian talk about cyclists in London that not only use fixed gears (which is perfectly acceptable and a good idea) but also cycle without any breaks?
That has to be a very bad idea!
Popularity: 34% [?]
Cyclists banned from new London railway
The Crossrail project would see a new underground route built beneath
Now the CTC, the
read all about it: Bike Radar
Image via: eldan flickr stream
Popularity: 39% [?]
Best quotes heard whilst on a bicycle
Occasionally you get abuse hurled at you while on a bicycle and other than the usual “f****ng p***k here are some good ones that people have heard:
- Whilst riding past a guy one day who just smiled & said “Morning”….. he was crouched down at the side of trail having a dump at the time
- When riding along the river bank one Sunday afternoon in Glasgow Green, I was asked by a young lady if I was “looking for business”
Have you heard any great quotes/insults?
photo via: Teng Sun Flickr
Popularity: 100% [?]
Quick Tips - True a bicycle wheel
Have you noticed your bike going a bit slower lately? Maybe it just seems like you have to push that extra bit harder to get it going. I have fallen victim to this lately and its probably all the bumping up and down curves on my Hybrid bike - something that I ideally shouldn’t be doing.
This happens when your spokes are misaligned - to test if this is the case, turn your bike upside down and see if the wheel spins side to side slightly. If it does then it needs truing.
I recommend these two videos to show you how to true a wheel - and you will need a spoke wrench.
1. If you have V brakes:
2. All other bicycles - and for a slightly better explained video:
Popularity: 58% [?]
Exercises for Cyclists
Just a quick post… There is a good article on bicycling.com about exercising your core muscles. They have written 8 different exercises that should take around 10 minutes to complete. This may help to relieve common symptoms such as back pain and help you cycle for longer.
Popularity: 50% [?]
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The perfect blog for all the commuters in London and everywhere. With bicycle maintenance tips, cycle news and interesting articles that will help you get the most out of your every day cycle
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