Weight
Weekly Weigh-In day, and despite all the snacking, junk food and beer I’ve managed to lose a pound. Only five more of those bastards to go and I can relax.

Morning Commute:
Total Distance: 12.24 miles
Total Time: 46m 14s
Max Speed: 29.9mph
Avg Speed: 15.9mph
Max H/Rate: 174bpm
Avg H/Rate: 142bpm
Cadence: 89rpm

Have to be brief today as work beckons.

Commute was excellent this morning. Every single motorist gave me every opportunity to do what I needed to do and every motorist gave me the space to do it – excellent news – excellent people – many thanks.

Twas also a perfect morning for cycling – a little chilly, a little damp and roads quite empty :)

Really wish I could start work this early every day!

A quick good luck to D today too!

Sorry for the short update – shall type more laters.

Ta-ra for now chucks.

Evening Commute:
Total Distance: 9.54 miles
Total Time: 43m 04s
Max Speed: 26.3mph
Avg Speed: 13.3mph
Max H/Rate: 176bpm
Avg H/Rate: 146bpm
Cadence: 83rpm

Tonight I did something I’m not proud of, but more of that later…

I set off tonight hoping for a similar sort of experience to that of this morning. Unfortunately that wasn’t meant to be.

On Hyde Road I was confronted with a huge looming pot hole – around a foot in length and width and about 4 inches deep. I was also presented at the same time with a Picasso driven by some lady. Her wing mirror missed me by mere CMs as I had to swerve towards the pothole to make sure she missed me.

I caught up with her and she wound down her window..

“Do you realise how close you where then?”
“Yes”
“And you thought that was safe”
“You where nowhere near my wing mirror”
“That doesn’t make sense. You need to be giving me at least three foot”
“I couldn’t drive around you as there was a car in the other lane”
“That doesn’t matter. In that case you should have slowed down and allowed me to go. Did you see that pothole.”

Not a nasty converstation, but the fact that she thought that because I wasn’t near her wing mirror meant she was passing me at safe distance (you know – a wing mirror thats about 8in long) is quite worrying. Saying that, about a mile up the road she passed me with ample distance after being behind me for a while – I gave the the thumbs up as an acknowledgement. Was she looking in her mirror to see that? I don’t know. No harm done. Lesson learned? I hope so.

Then I had to ride down Manchester Road in Denton where this happened yesterday.

Now – after witnessing the taxi driver incident the other week I’m beginning to think that this road should be renamed. I’m not here to cast doubt on the incident or point the finger. I’m sure that much of that will be done over the coming weeks BUT to have to sit at the side of 15 mourning teenagers with dozens and dozens of flowers attached to the post where the incident happened is a deeply saddening thing. I couldn’t look at them. I bowed my head and muttered some words as I went passed.

I arrived at my opening statement of the commute home. Sitting in my ASL I looked round and some looney tosspot was coming up the road too fast. He didn’t apply his brakes quick enough and came to an abrupt halt about 1 1/2ft into the ASL that I was sat in.

This wasn’t funny.

I signalled that, and he started pointing and being a complete tosspot. I tried to reason with him, to which he just carried on doing the same.

I unclipped, put my bike down on the floor and went over and knocked on the window to ask him to wind his window down – all I wanted to say was that “that wasn’t funny, it wasn’t clever, and put me in a rather frightening position”.

He gave me the V and told me to go away.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Now – let me just explain that this “gentleman” who would not look me in the eye and suddenly stopped giving me pathetic jip through his window is a very lucky person. I held back the punch as I went to smash his window as I didn’t really want to sever an artery in my arm nor break his window. He’s also lucky that he didn’t wind his window down or open his door, and I am very lucky that he didn’t too. I do not condone violence and I shouldn’t of done what I did, but sit in my position. The road was empty. The lights where on red. Coming up to an ASL at speed then braking at the last minute. Might have given his pathetic little penis the jolt that it needed for him to get an erection – but me… I value my life.

Now he will go home and discuss this with his reflection in the mirror (I saw him – believe me… There’s no one waiting at home for him) and not contemplate that he was in the wrong.

I on the other hand know I shouldn’t rise to the occasion and it will play on my mind for the rest of the night but I am not being bullied whilst out on the road in a vunerable position. I wouldn’t let anyone come through my front door and bully me – it isn’t going to happen on the road.

And, to top it all off, I believe its snowing heavily in Rochdale according to @RooleyMoor AND I don’t have the pleasure of cycling in early for the rest of the week now – back to normaly rush hour hell!