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Cyclists - your experiences on the road

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py_megapixel

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As I'm aware quite a number of members of this forum enjoy cycling, including as a mode of transport and for leisure, so I thought a thread about it might be nice. So, what are some of the most frustrating, pleasing, enjoyable, or just interesting experiences you've had on the road?

I'll start with a particular route I do often. It involves a right turn from the high street into a residential road. The sightlines are excellent as both roads are dead straight for several hundred metres in each direction. Usually there is steady flow of oncoming traffic which requires me to stop before making the right turn so I signal a reasonable time before the turn and start to slow down and pull towards the centre of the road. The odd thing here is that, no matter how hard I try to communicate, drivers never seem to slow down behind me, which leads to them becoming annoyed when I have to stop and, in one case, almost causing a collision.

In the hundreds of other right turns I've done I've never had this problem, so I can't work out what I'm doing wrong!

Note: I don't want this thread to just become a place to bash car drivers or inexperienced cyclists, I hope to open an interesting discussion.
 
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scotrail158713

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I had the joys of a Lothian Buses XLB 100 seater bus right behind me for a short stretch when I was out the other day. I’d never felt so small whilst on my bike before. :)
I have to say that overall any drivers I’ve come across have been fine - although I do try to stick to quieter roads where possible so it’s less of an issue to start with.
 

JohnMcL7

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I have a Garmin Varia radar which warns you when a vehicle approaches from the behind and in addition to how much faster it's going and how many vehicles there are, I find it extremely useful for cycles especially on quiet back roads where the wind roar robs your hearing and you might not see a car for ages or see a few in huge succession so it's another pair of eyes looking out for you. I was going along a winding single track road and the radar warned me a vehicle was approaching, I glanced over my shoulder and saw a motorbike was coming so pulled into a nearby passing place and gestured for them to go by. They passed me and I got a thumbs up from the pillion passenger and they were on their way however the next section was fairly steep downhill and twisty which they were taking fairly slow as it was a touring style motorbike so I caught back up to them. I wasn't going to go past because I knew I wouldn't be faster for long but I was amused when the motorcyclist eased off and pulled into a passing place and gestured for me to go past copying exactly what I'd done for them. Of course I had to go past them as fast as possible and sprinted down the hill with the nimble road bike leaving them quickly behind although once out on the flat they caught back up to me and came alongside briefly with the pillion passenger popping up their visor to say I'd done 35+ mph past them and how impressed they were at my speed. Always makes me smile and good to have different road users respect each other.

More recently during the lockdown since I've not been able to do group rides I did a virtual lejog challenge to complete 1100 miles during the lockdown. Initially it was great and I was able to go on bigger roads than normal with the lack of traffic but near the end even before the lockdown had eased ther was a noticeable change in the traffic levels even on quieter back roads. The radar sensor can record the approaching speed of the vehicle for analysis later, I had a bad trip where a car had overtaken very close to the bike even though the other side was clear and then a motorbike immediately behind had come even closer not even moving over at all for me and going faster which gave me a real scare. According to the radar the car was doing at least 65mph and the motorbike was doing over 80mph.

Another ride on a small back road which is an official cycle route was also bad with two drivers who gave me no room when passing on a single track road and both almost knocked me over so to get some longer rides in without risk I cycled at night. I was planning a short ride to get an easy 20 miles down the side of Loch Ness but the weather seemed quite good so I decided to push on and finished the whole loop coming back home around 2am, the roads were mostly abandoned and it was amazing going along by the setting sun and through darkness:

20200530_231844-X3.jpg


After getting home late from work one night I was amazed how still the weather was especially after having had a tough windy ride over a high pass and I wanted to do something different for passing 3000km on that bike. So I headed out around 2am, rode through the deserted city and out into the dark roads only seeing a single car as the sign of any human life. Despite being a grown man I sometimes find it a bit creepy at night when you can only see the spot of light ahead and can't see anything else or hear anything over the wind noise, I was actually relieved when the radar pinged off showing a vehicle coming (ironic after complaining about some of the traffic) and glanced behind to check what was coming but it was absolutely pitch black with no light at all. I glanced back and the cycle computer showed the object was still approaching but a moment later the display cleared to my relief but I did hammer the next three miles to reach the streetlights of the edge of the city setting personal bests on that section :D
 

yorkie

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I cycle and do not own a car.

@py_megapixel if you can make it easy for me to see this layout, e.g. if you can post a video and link to the Google Street View, I will take a look.
 

Bald Rick

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Interesting thread.

I cycle a lot for leisure / fitness, although for one reason or another not much over the past two weeks.

Mostly it is from home in St Albans to the north and west to to and over the Chiltern Hills. There are a lot of fellow riders around, and generally most motorised drivers are very courteous, usually leaving loads of room. It’s maybe only every 3 or 4 rides that a driver does something that warrants the shouting of a word that sounds a bit like banker. Much more frequent are the nervous / incompetent drivers who will sit behind you for a minute or more despite there being plenty of opportunity to overtake. However I would much rather they wait behind than overtake in a dodgy spot - albeit perhaps 1 in 4 will sit behind with several opportunities to pass, and then become impatient and then go at a dangerous spot. Perhaps that’s why I don’t like them.

Over the summer I have done some cycling elsewhere; Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Worcestershire. Without exception the roads are better than in Herts / Bucks - much better condition, fewer potholes and much, much less litter* (none at all in Norfolk / Suffolk). However, the standard of driving was much worse. Drivers would overtake in all sorts of dodgy places, and not give much room at all. Also much more of the angry driver (rarely seen in Herts) who obviously thinks cyclists are there’s purely to get in his/her way - typically signified by some coarse language when passing and/or gesturing in a manner that suggests they have forgotten their ketchup bottle.

* the litter thing really annoys me around here. I may start a thread on the subject.
 

Shimbleshanks

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The most exciting for me was when the 466 bus shot out of a side road in front of me in central Croydon and bent my front wheel in half. People on the pavement were screaming, convinced I'd been turned into mincemeat. I made sure Arriva paid for the repair.
Oh, and the time I skidded on a patch of wet leaves on a country lane outside Sevenoaks Weald and broke my collarbone.

Apart from that it's been fine...
 

yorkie

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I had a car turn out of a side road into Holgate Road, as I was going down the hill from Holgate Bridge (the big iron bridge you see from the train immediately south of York station); fortunately we both realised and slowed down considerably, though a collision was inevitable.

My front wheel rose onto the bonnet of the car, denting the bonnet. My bike was undamaged.

I was uninjured, other than a bit of shock, light bruising and a grazed ankle.

The driver blamed me, of course. A lorry driver nearby said he would back the driver up. I was told I'd get a call from his solicitor and would be paying for the bonnet damage. Needless to say, I got no call. I'm sure the driver found the conversation with their solicitor and insurer to be enlightening.

I think I missed the train I wanted to get but was able to catch it up by taking a later train, so it didn't affect me at all really. I was lucky.
 

AM9

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Interesting thread.

I cycle a lot for leisure / fitness, although for one reason or another not much over the past two weeks.

Mostly it is from home in St Albans to the north and west to to and over the Chiltern Hills. There are a lot of fellow riders around, and generally most motorised drivers are very courteous, usually leaving loads of room. It’s maybe only every 3 or 4 rides that a driver does something that warrants the shouting of a word that sounds a bit like banker. Much more frequent are the nervous / incompetent drivers who will sit behind you for a minute or more despite there being plenty of opportunity to overtake. However I would much rather they wait behind than overtake in a dodgy spot - albeit perhaps 1 in 4 will sit behind with several opportunities to pass, and then become impatient and then go at a dangerous spot. Perhaps that’s why I don’t like them.

Over the summer I have done some cycling elsewhere; Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Worcestershire. Without exception the roads are better than in Herts / Bucks - much better condition, fewer potholes and much, much less litter* (none at all in Norfolk / Suffolk). However, the standard of driving was much worse. Drivers would overtake in all sorts of dodgy places, and not give much room at all. Also much more of the angry driver (rarely seen in Herts) who obviously thinks cyclists are there’s purely to get in his/her way - typically signified by some coarse language when passing and/or gesturing in a manner that suggests they have forgotten their ketchup bottle.

* the litter thing really annoys me around here. I may start a thread on the subject.
I've only been out on the bike once in the last 6 weeks as I've been nursing a hamstring injury, but I agree with you about the litter. Refuse and recycling collections by SADC are better than some other areas that I know but there seems to be a lot of inconsiderate littering on both roads and footpaths. Then there's the favourite fly-tipping spots on the roads to Potters Crouch.
 

Bald Rick

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I've only been out on the bike once in the last 6 weeks as I've been nursing a hamstring injury, but I agree with you about the litter. Refuse and recycling collections by SADC are better than some other areas that I know but there seems to be a lot of inconsiderate littering on both roads and footpaths. Then there's the favourite fly-tipping spots on the roads to Potters Crouch.

I’ll start a thread on it. It seems peculiar to Hertfordshire from my recent travels, although no doubt other areas have it too.
 

Welly

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I cycled a lot during the 1990s whilst unemployed and not had a driving licence at the time. I'm lucky I live in the countryside with quiet lanes all around enabling me to largely avoid the A roads - I've had close calls with vehicles passing me at high speed, my worst was a coach that passed me with inches to spare! Since I gained work, I have not had the time or inclination to cycle around my local area (all explored out anyway!)
 

EssexGonzo

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I've never had an accident on the bike that's involved a vehicle - it's all been my own fault! I ride only for leisure and hardly ever in a large city. A medium sized town is about as busy as it gets. But a few thoughts.....

I hate cycling in groups larger than 2 or 3 as there is a tendency for some riders to persistently ride two-abreast when cars are behind. Whilst I'm sure such riders think they have every "right" to do so, I firmly believe in riding in a manner which does as little as possible to wind car drivers up. I'm also not a fan of club riding mentality. Large groups of cyclist forming a slow moving road block isn't great for the cycling world's image.

Most rides encounter some sort of idiotic driving, but I believe that most of it is unintended rather than hostile. I find that HGV drivers are by far and away the safest to be near with small cars at the other end of the idiot scale. I come across the odd bit of hostile behaviour, but it's rare in the countryside.

On uphill or bendy stretches I'll do everything I can to help a car to pass me safely. If they've been behind me for a while, I'll always wave in thanks for their patience. I'll also try to wave them past and it's pretty much always appreciated. On a single track road, it's not really reasonable for me to hold someone up behind me so I'll move over. It's all about being reasonable.

Of course there are always the chavvy little tw*ts who should out of of throw things from car windows. But they do that to pedestrians too so it's not really a cycling specific thing.

Whilst I do think that the general hostility shown towards cyclist is unreasonable and sometimes dangerous, I also think as a cyclist that it's my responsibility to do as much as I can to make my presence as easy for others as I can. It's a two way street (sorry).
 

Ianno87

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Of course there are always the chavvy little tw*ts who should out of of throw things from car windows. But they do that to pedestrians too so it's not really a cycling

Oh yes, an activity that very succinctly demonstrates the participants' level of intellect and wit...
 

Cowley

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I've never had an accident on the bike that's involved a vehicle - it's all been my own fault! I ride only for leisure and hardly ever in a large city. A medium sized town is about as busy as it gets. But a few thoughts.....

I hate cycling in groups larger than 2 or 3 as there is a tendency for some riders to persistently ride two-abreast when cars are behind. Whilst I'm sure such riders think they have every "right" to do so, I firmly believe in riding in a manner which does as little as possible to wind car drivers up. I'm also not a fan of club riding mentality. Large groups of cyclist forming a slow moving road block isn't great for the cycling world's image.

Most rides encounter some sort of idiotic driving, but I believe that most of it is unintended rather than hostile. I find that HGV drivers are by far and away the safest to be near with small cars at the other end of the idiot scale. I come across the odd bit of hostile behaviour, but it's rare in the countryside.

On uphill or bendy stretches I'll do everything I can to help a car to pass me safely. If they've been behind me for a while, I'll always wave in thanks for their patience. I'll also try to wave them past and it's pretty much always appreciated. On a single track road, it's not really reasonable for me to hold someone up behind me so I'll move over. It's all about being reasonable.

Of course there are always the chavvy little tw*ts who should out of of throw things from car windows. But they do that to pedestrians too so it's not really a cycling specific thing.

Whilst I do think that the general hostility shown towards cyclist is unreasonable and sometimes dangerous, I also think as a cyclist that it's my responsibility to do as much as I can to make my presence as easy for others as I can. It's a two way street (sorry).
A very good post and for my part as a car and van driver I do my best to be courteous to cyclists by giving them plenty of room and not getting up close behind them so that they know I’m going to make the correct decisions when I eventually overtake.
 

JohnMcL7

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I hate cycling in groups larger than 2 or 3 as there is a tendency for some riders to persistently ride two-abreast when cars are behind. Whilst I'm sure such riders think they have every "right" to do so, I firmly believe in riding in a manner which does as little as possible to wind car drivers up. I'm also not a fan of club riding mentality. Large groups of cyclist forming a slow moving road block isn't great for the cycling world's image.

Riding single file on a standard road is inconsiderate to other road users since it spaces the bike out far more and since cars should be leaving a 1.5m gap when overtaking, riding two abreast make the group much smaller and easier to overtake:


Single track is different because vehicles can't get by otherwise but in those circumstances then riders should collapse to single file.

Since most of what you've written is based on false misconceptions I'd recommend giving group rides a go yourself, any I've ridden with are considerate to other road users and don't hold up cars plus they're good for general fitness since pace is a lot more consistent than on your own.
 

satisnek

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I can't say I enjoy cycling - it's just quicker and more efficient than walking to work, and cheaper and more reliable than Diamond Buses. Except during the lockdown (fortunately I continued working through this) when I had the roads almost to myself. However, traffic has returned to 'annoying' levels now.
 

LowLevel

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Interesting thread.

I cycle a lot for leisure / fitness, although for one reason or another not much over the past two weeks.

Mostly it is from home in St Albans to the north and west to to and over the Chiltern Hills. There are a lot of fellow riders around, and generally most motorised drivers are very courteous, usually leaving loads of room. It’s maybe only every 3 or 4 rides that a driver does something that warrants the shouting of a word that sounds a bit like banker. Much more frequent are the nervous / incompetent drivers who will sit behind you for a minute or more despite there being plenty of opportunity to overtake. However I would much rather they wait behind than overtake in a dodgy spot - albeit perhaps 1 in 4 will sit behind with several opportunities to pass, and then become impatient and then go at a dangerous spot. Perhaps that’s why I don’t like them.

Over the summer I have done some cycling elsewhere; Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Worcestershire. Without exception the roads are better than in Herts / Bucks - much better condition, fewer potholes and much, much less litter* (none at all in Norfolk / Suffolk). However, the standard of driving was much worse. Drivers would overtake in all sorts of dodgy places, and not give much room at all. Also much more of the angry driver (rarely seen in Herts) who obviously thinks cyclists are there’s purely to get in his/her way - typically signified by some coarse language when passing and/or gesturing in a manner that suggests they have forgotten their ketchup bottle.

* the litter thing really annoys me around here. I may start a thread on the subject.

As a car driver I find overtaking cyclists to be one of those things that is most taxing.

My drive to work is along a winding A road popular with cyclists which rather annoyingly has been "upgraded" recently with calming islands in the middle of the road in an area with no pedestrians which in practice on a nice day just makes it a nightmare with long tail backs with lorries using the local tips, quarries and farms not being able to overtake the numerous cyclists.

Having studied the subject I believe in leaving as much room as possible and unless the road is particularly wide wouldn't usually contemplate passing unless I had space to get at least my driver side wheels over the centre line.

I will usually overtake giving as much space as I would another car giving as wide a berth as possible but (and I'm not proposing to change my methods as I think it works well) what is the sort of spacing that starts giving you "the willies" about it being too close?
 

SteveM70

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Cycling in Edinburgh this weekend

Positives - lots of bus and bike lanes

Negatives - a few bus drivers are bloody inconsiderate and think nothing of overtaking a cyclist twenty yards before a bus stop. And the tram tracks
 

cactustwirly

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I had a car turn out of a side road into Holgate Road, as I was going down the hill from Holgate Bridge (the big iron bridge you see from the train immediately south of York station); fortunately we both realised and slowed down considerably, though a collision was inevitable.

My front wheel rose onto the bonnet of the car, denting the bonnet. My bike was undamaged.

I was uninjured, other than a bit of shock, light bruising and a grazed ankle.

The driver blamed me, of course. A lorry driver nearby said he would back the driver up. I was told I'd get a call from his solicitor and would be paying for the bonnet damage. Needless to say, I got no call. I'm sure the driver found the conversation with their solicitor and insurer to be enlightening.

I think I missed the train I wanted to get but was able to catch it up by taking a later train, so it didn't affect me at all really. I was lucky.

Tbf that is quite a narrow opening so it would have been difficult for the car driver to see you. However they should have eased out of the turning slowly until they could see the road was clear.
 

Tracked

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Quite lucky to live near the Transpennine Trail, but there's a lot of quiet country roads about a 5 minutes cycle from where I live. One of my favourites is through Thorpe-in-Balne now they've replaced the manual crossing with a road bridge. Also, the ride up to High Melton and over the Conisbrough Viaduct, I only recently checked out the cycle path further south that's on the line that used to cross that, it runs round to B&Q at Doncaster Lakeside (with a couple of gaps on mainly lightly used roads) and found it a lot easier approaching Doncaster from the South rather than the West (either down the A630, which was only OK in Lockdown, or down a messy series of residential streets and paths).

I don't go cycling in groups, not really had much trouble with traffic when out cycling proper, had cars pass what I felt was a bit too close a couple of times and had a van pull out in front of me once (was just able to stop in time), which for the amount of cycling I do is pretty good really.

Back when travelling to work was a thing I'd cycle to the station if the weather was alright, found the main road busier at 05:30 than it was at 06:30! On the way home I'd usually cut through the car park at the supermarket near me, have had more issues with drivers on the road round that than I have when out cycling for fun.
 

biko

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Interesting to read the cycling experiences in the UK, I really think the UK needs more cycling lanes and paths, just as here in the Netherlands. It is now nearly impossible to find a road here with a speed limit over 60 km/h (about 40 mph) on which you are allowed to cycle. There are virtually always separate paths if speeds are higher.

My most frustrating experiences at home are mostly with other cyclists not giving way meaning I need to brake hard to avoid colliding. At some intersections this happens frequently. Also, bus drivers seem to have a habit of overtaking when there are other road users coming from the opposite direction. They just push you to the curb of the road, which is not really nice.

The most frustrating experience in the UK was turning right on a busy signalised intersection. An example is the intersection in front of St Pancras station, where I tried to turn right into Belgrove Street coming from Euston Road. It was just impossible to change lanes safely there, so eventually I just went straight ahead, stopped and walked to the side street on the left and crossed from there.

The most enjoyable experience was cycling through a nature reserve which is not otherwise really accessible other than by a lengthy walk from a car park during lockdown. There was nearly nobody there and the landscape is so different from the surrounding flat Dutch farmland that it really felt like I was abroad.

Another fun experience was cycling through London on a Boris bike. It felt quite dangerous between the buses, although it is really good along the canals or on back streets. You just can see so much more of the city than by tube or when walking.
 

Bald Rick

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Had a lively moment this morning. A BMW* overtook us, giving a wide berth, but with something coming the other way. There was an awful lot of hornage and much swearing / name calling (by me).

* of course.
 

Tetchytyke

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Whilst I do think that the general hostility shown towards cyclist is unreasonable and sometimes dangerous, I also think as a cyclist that it's my responsibility to do as much as I can to make my presence as easy for others as I can. It's a two way street (sorry).

A well thought through post.

The single-file versus two-abreast thing is interesting. In theory two-abreast is better as the length of the train is shorter, but it depends on the road. There are roads where you could overtake one cyclist at 1.5m and stay on your side of the road, but with two you can't.

It's when I see groups of four riding two-abreast that I have less understanding.

Much more frequent are the nervous / incompetent drivers who will sit behind you for a minute or more despite there being plenty of opportunity to overtake. However I would much rather they wait behind than overtake in a dodgy spot - albeit perhaps 1 in 4 will sit behind with several opportunities to pass, and then become impatient and then go at a dangerous spot.

I always try to wave them through, with limited success. Sad to hear about the litter, I never used to see much, but I usually rode out towards Chesham or Ashridge/Gaddesden from Hemel. I'm sad it's got worse. The roads were nice to ride too, nice and quiet and not too fast.

I don't like cycling here, mainly because of the hills if I'm honest. I'm not as fit as I was and the hills here are brutal.

But also the roads do leave me feeling nervous. I think there's ended up with quite a bit of mutual antagonism between cyclists and drivers here, with drivers being overly aggressive and in turn your stereotypical militant MAMILs taking great pleasure from the 25-car tailbacks behind them. There's also some pretty hopeless drivers here, people who've clearly never driven off the island and so drive everywhere at 37mph, oblivious to the world around them. A special mention to the learner today out in their parents' car doing 16mph on the main road to Peel.
 

206driver

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I used bicycles for my primary/sole means of transport for years. I always found it really worthwhile, kept fit without doing any "exercise" as such, the commute to an early morning shift became a real pleasure, and there is nothing like getting home cold and wet to make you appreciate getting warm and dry inside!

I've learned to be as courteous to car drivers as possible. But also to own my lane when I need to (e.g. turning right at a controlled intersection). My biggest pet peeve in the UK (I've only been here two years) is so many of the roads are so narrow with tall hedgerows on either side making it really hard for a car driver to see you, and even harder to get by safely!

I still cycle, but have a car as well. The bike is always my preferred option.
 

route101

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Im not a cyclist but how do you cope if there is now shower at your workplace? If you get sweaty?
 

Bletchleyite

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Im not a cyclist but how do you cope if there is now shower at your workplace? If you get sweaty?

Cycle slower. Someone who is fit from cycling to work daily is not going to get sweaty from cycling at an effort level equivalent to walking any more than they would from actually walking.
 

lyndhurst25

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Only knocked off by a car once - doing my paper-round as a teenager! Volvo 240 pulled out of his driveway without looking. Torn jeans, grazed knee and buckled front wheel. Luckily Volvo driver agreed to buy me a new wheel (torn jeans were in fashion so no worries there). Straight down to Halfords and bought an upgrade fancy alloy wheel to replace by bent steel one. Winner!
 

route101

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Yeah, i used to walk to work and as soon as i started work got really sweaty. Was thinking of doing that Deliveroo thong for some cash? Anyone done it?
 
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