Pothole traffic calming

Roger finally got the hot water, soap, white spirit, rinse, dry, oil, water-repellant lubricant treatment last night and is now looking splendid and gliding along smoothly. It's wet though, so it won't last, especially given the puddle-strewn surface of the Uxbridge road. The puddles are mainly caused by potholes, those 'natural traffic calming measures' so loved by an obscure parish council that's hit the headlines.......

I already know of one person who successfully sued Ealing council over a pothole. It buckled a wheel and, because of laws governing how long very deep holes can be left unfilled, Ealing Council were liable. They hired expensive lawyers to try and beat the case but my friend still won. That's why the idea that they're acceptable is so absurd. They cost money to fill but they also cost taxpayers' money if they damage people's vehicles and cycles.

With the rain they add a new and exciting dynamic to road cycling, will it be an inch deep, will it be several? Filled with water it's impossible to tell.....

I have no mudguards so my bottom gets drenched every time I hit a puddle, it's deeply unpleasant (picture switching on a powerful bidet only to discover the boiler's exploded and the only water available is glacier melt) and, if you go partway and then get on the tube, you're afraid to sit down lest you leave a wet patch and people assume you've wet yourself. This alone is probably grounds to sue as it's hugely traumatic.

Still more fun than freezing and getting wet at a bus stop though......