My commute in

[brooksby]

I have been off the bike for longer than I care to admit (combination of bad shoulder, bad knee, bad cold, plus a developing laziness ).

Finally got back on the saddle yesterday, rode to and from work. Really enjoyed it, had forgotten what I was missing, although I was asleep by nine o'clock.

This morning... Bad weather here (Bristol). Traffic on the A369 deciding no, they won't slow down or move over despite that enormous puddle in the road caused (I think) by a blocked drain. So, unless I want to wait ten minutes for a gap in the motor traffic so I can pass on the adjacent shared-use path I just have to grit my teeth and go. Ended up very wet... Isn't there some sort of rule about that? (I know its a mainstay of You've Been Framed, but still).

Then in town, my panniers kept catching cross winds, causing me to swerve to my right. You know that guidance in the HC about giving vulnerable road users plenty of space? in case they suddenly have to move? turns out that's completely optional - I got blown nearly into the side of a passing car, and then blown in front of another car that was trying to get past me... Ended up getting off and walking the last couple of hundred metres to the office

Sorry - just venting, I guess.

[pwa]

The rough days are nature's way of allowing you to appreciate the better days.

[Greystoke]

My commute was awful yesterday too, the wind was too strong, my commute home was much nicer as the wind had dropped.
This morning -2degC and no wind....lovely ride down unlit country lanes.
Some days are memorable for being nice and some for being bad but it's all good exercise.

[Jon Lucas]

I have been off the bike for longer than I care to admit (combination of bad shoulder, bad knee, bad cold, plus a developing laziness ).

Finally got back on the saddle yesterday, rode to and from work. Really enjoyed it, had forgotten what I was missing, although I was asleep by nine o'clock.

This morning... Bad weather here (Bristol). Traffic on the A369 deciding no, they won't slow down or move over despite that enormous puddle in the road caused (I think) by a blocked drain. So, unless I want to wait ten minutes for a gap in the motor traffic so I can pass on the adjacent shared-use path I just have to grit my teeth and go. Ended up very wet... Isn't there some sort of rule about that? (I know its a mainstay of You've Been Framed, but still).

Then in town, my panniers kept catching cross winds, causing me to swerve to my right. You know that guidance in the HC about giving vulnerable road users plenty of space? in case they suddenly have to move? turns out that's completely optional - I got blown nearly into the side of a passing car, and then blown in front of another car that was trying to get past me... Ended up getting off and walking the last couple of hundred metres to the office

Sorry - just venting, I guess.

Having spent many years cycling in Bristol, this all sounds very familiar. The wind often gets up speed blowing down the Avon Gorge and up through the Centre, where it gets channeled between high buildings, leaving some terrifying cross winds. I remember one day cycling round a busy major roundabout unable to move forwards as the winds were too strong, and desperately trying to resist being blown sideways into the paths of innumerable lorries.

I heard one reporter on Radio Bristol yesterday saying she walked to work and got drenched from head to foot by a lorry driving through a large puddle. That's happened to me a few times as well.

[Redvee]

The wind often gets up speed blowing down the Avon Gorge and up through the Centre.

I ride the Portway both ways up and down the gorge on a daily basis and find it's windier on Hotwells Road opposite the SS Great Britain and once on the Portway heading out of town I can get wind from the right, a tailwind and headwind all within the space of a mile. It's more noticeable as I round the bend at the bottom of Bridge Valley Road.

[brooksby]

The wind often gets up speed blowing down the Avon Gorge and up through the Centre.

I ride the Portway both ways up and down the gorge on a daily basis and find it's windier on Hotwells Road opposite the SS Great Britain and once on the Portway heading out of town I can get wind from the right, a tailwind and headwind all within the space of a mile. It's more noticeable as I round the bend at the bottom of Bridge Valley Road.

I've never encountered a tailwind on the Portway.

I've only ever encountered headwinds, no matter whether I'm going into town or away from town.

Occasional side winds, mind, but never a tailwind.