that was an unpleasant commute
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
Confessions of a Cycle Commuter
(1669 posts)-
Posted 6 years ago #
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Am sitting at home on work laptop in pjs & dressing gown wondering if I HAVE to go outside today. At all. I don't have any meetings...
Posted 6 years ago # -
Iain McR - unpleasant indeed, but not quite as grim as the commute home in wet snow yesterday.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I managed to make lots of bad choices this morning (and it really wasn't the morning for it).
Net result meant a slightly soft tyre ended up being flat, 3 canisters of sealant went in the bin, the contents of more than 1 can went all over my hands and rear wheel and I got to trudge through puddles pushing my bike :-(
Still, the kids got to school eventually, I got dry at work and I even had the joyous pleasure of cycling home from the bike shop without studded tyres. Whoosh (or more rightly sploosh)
Posted 6 years ago # -
Were the children helpful and supportive, or is that a bad question to ask?
Posted 6 years ago # -
They were wrapped up in their full winter gear so were busy testing its mud and water proof qualities while I was trying not to teach them any new words...
Posted 6 years ago # -
Shouted so much at a useless/dangerous bus driver that I am still hoarse and sore several hours later.
Posted 6 years ago # -
didn't have any goggles or such with me today, because last i checked it was only supposed to rain.
but when tiny ice spears are trying to pierce my retinas, it's time to walk.
which is really embarrassing when there's nothing obviously wrong with one's cycle.Posted 6 years ago # -
A sometime member of this forum reported elsewhere that he got some funny looks while heading to VQ on a cargo bike earlier. Possibly because he was wearing ski goggles.
Posted 6 years ago # -
It's "raining" icy meltwater in the Innocent tunnel - and was warm enough in the sun that I had unzipped my jacket and my top to improve airflow. One large globule of plummeting iced water went straight down the front of my top (and was naturally funneled further downwards). Result: a sharp intake of breath and some mild rule 2ing.
Posted 6 years ago # -
The Scaffolding Bike started making truly alarming noises on the Meadows last night. Not sure it appreciated its recent dunking in the Logan Burn. Suspect the main bearing (I refuse to call that a bottom bracket, it's not a bracket) has gone at last. It's done well and I think there's a spare under the stairs.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@iwrats, but the spare under the stairs, that is what is keeping the house going non?
Posted 6 years ago # -
that is what is keeping the house going non?
No, that's the cat you're thinking of. Le Roi. Sa Majesté.
Posted 6 years ago # -
there's a spare under the stairs
Wait, what? A spare bike? You mean you've had another bike all along?
Posted 6 years ago # -
@sallyhinch
n=1
Posted 6 years ago # -
I imagine that under @iwrats' stairs is a frightening / glorious storehouse of bike related parts and paraphernalia, used guides to raven training, worn-out fez (fezes?) and a bust of Robert Burns on a makeshift altar.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Why *is* it called a bottom bracket? Where are the other brackets on the bike?
Posted 6 years ago # -
Why *is* it called a bottom bracket?
I think the bottom bracket is the thing now called the 'bottom bracket shell'. A bracket is a right-angled support, so the only tube in a bike not in line with the direction of travel and threaded to take a component is a bracket.
Posted 6 years ago # -
a bust of Robert Burns on a makeshift altar
I do own a plinth for busts but it is in Comely Bank and has been for years. Would love to own Robert Mach's bust of Burns made entirely from matches. It is glorious.
Posted 6 years ago # -
David Mach? He is creating an installation in Glasgow at momentito.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@ IWRATS - this is the Universe's way of pointing out you need to buy that MTB before Gembo beats you to it.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@gembo
Oh, eh, aye. Robert is his brother. I know him, but not David. It is David.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@ IWRATS - this is the Universe's way of pointing out
Posted 6 years ago # -
Why *is* it called a bottom bracket? Where are the other brackets on the bike?
And the handlebars and crossbar are not bars.
Posted 6 years ago # -
And the handlebars and crossbar are not bars.
Yes. YES. Handletube it is.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Why *is* it called a bottom bracket? Where are the other brackets on the bike?
The earliest reference seems to be from an edition of Cycling, published in 1887, when Viscount Bury and George Lacey Hillier explained the various components of a bicycle type creation. I believe 'bracket' is synonymous with 'lug', but came into being when what we would think of as the bottom bracket shell was literally attached to the frame with a bracket (in the conventional sense), and the shell, together with the pedal axles and the bearings became known as the bottom bracket.
But 'brackets' are also the side-pieces of a gun carriage, supporting the trunnions on which the barrel pivots to raise and lower. That term dates to the middle of the 18th century.
Posted 6 years ago # -
i forgot to oil chain after leaving bike out in two mornings of rain--really embarrassing squeaks today.
but that won't be a problem, because my rear derailleur stopped working this afternoon, so it's off to a repair shop.
to make life easier, i'm off on hols saturday evening, but don't get back until very late next saturday, and will need bike first thing monday...i'll have to take a bus. horror.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Took one for the team this morning and got a puncture in my Marathon Plus. Luckily my colleague offered to come and collect me so I didn't have to spend an hour trying fit it back on (or walk for 1.5h).
I think I need to replace my front tyre because it seems rather holey from the towpath's little stones.Posted 6 years ago # -
@bill, that happened to me one time about 9pm in the dark at the Salisbury Centre (newington meditation place)I pumped it up, deflated again by colinton but bashed on to Balerno just on marathon plus. I am not recommending it but in extremis it is possible if a bit bumpy and you are thinking of new rims and the tube will take some inflation, I.e, if tear is small.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@gembo In the past I cycled on flatting Marathon Plus about 15km. This time I could hear the air coming out. I cycled on it a couple of miles, stopped to re-inflate but it was going down quite fast. I was meant to be on the road stretch with not many places to pull over, so I did some risk reduction.
Posted 6 years ago #
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