CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Reasons it's 'essential' to take the car

(41 posts)
  • Started 9 years ago by Wilmington's Cow
  • Latest reply from Baldcyclist

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12

  1. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Mine has its MOT due, and there's a good garage near my work. Not sure I could have managed that with the bike ;)

    Left early enough that traffic wasn't an issue, but not looking forward to 'rush' hour home. One day I'm going to take the car and put the camera in, take the same route one day after the other, car versus bike, and do a split screen video...

    Still managed to have one muppet (clearly suffering 'issues' at driving a yellow Fiat 500) sat in my boot all the way round the south side of the Park (yes, hypocrite that I am, I drove through the Park), then was gong left past the Commie, so full throttle up the hill after I'd given a cyclist space and time to turn off, only to stop 15 yards on at the back of the queue that was maybe 6 cars longer than mine. He seemed to think it was terribly funny - not sure what his girlfriend in the passenger seat thought, but I guess there are certain women impressed by that kind of thing.

    That was a tangent.

    So....

    Fridges
    To avoid getting wet
    Because the kids have to go to school
    Because the roads are dangerous
    When your car has its MOT

    Posted 9 years ago #

  2. dougal
    Member

    Going with non-cyclists to the middle of nowhere.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  3. Chug
    Member

    When someone's sitting in my boot like that, I always seem to find a really persistent piece of muck on my windscreen which needs oodles of scooshing. Funny how the two coincide so often...

    I only take the car when it needs a service/MOT. And then I put the bike in the boot and use it to get to work.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  4. Roibeard
    Member

    Whilst I might disagree with some of WC's list (I reckon he's just got the wrong sort of bike...), I'd add:

    When travelling to scuba dive (in the sea)

    Travelling to a pool to dive is, however, possible by bike.

    Robert

    Posted 9 years ago #

  5. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    "Going with non-cyclists to the middle of nowhere."

    I've got some sympathy with that one. My other half doesn't cycle much at all, and after trying to chaperone her commuting and having an idiot in a Saxo deliberately try to sideswipe us (no exaggeration, he looked and swerved at us while alongside) she hates the roads in the city, even just half a mile to the nearest cyclepath*, if we are to go on a ride we tend to put the bikes on the car and head to the Borders or somewhere similar where we know there are incredibly quiet roads.

    *nearest cyclepath is the Innocent, but west bound just takes you into the city, and sections of connections like the King's Theatre junction are entirely out; heading east there are steps on the bridge over the railway, then wiggling through housing estates, and all to join up with busy roads pretty much whichever way you go. Not everyone is confident on a bike, and the thing a lot of people forget is that not everyone is capable of being convinced to be confident by simply throwing them into the juicer.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  6. wingpig
    Member

    I got a 7kg printer home from Fort Kinnaird yesterday from a shop which also sells washing machines. It would probably have been more shaken in a car, whereas I could go slowly on smoother routes.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  7. fimm
    Member

    Going to the Highlands to climb big hills. (?)

    Posted 9 years ago #

  8. PS
    Member

    Going on holiday to the south of France.
    Coming back from France with 100+ bottles of wine.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  9. amir
    Member

    Buying doughnuts at Hermiston Gait

    Posted 9 years ago #

  10. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    Your company is paying you 20p a mile to use it.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  11. ARobComp
    Member

    Going to Peebles/other centre to go moutainbiking. Put bike in car. Although planning a wee cycle over the hills to there on the CX bike tomorrow so maybe I'll find a better way... Not sure how I'd transport the MTB though.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  12. Stickman
    Member

    Transporting two excitable collies to/from relatives.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  13. dougal
    Member

    @amir

    I've never been because frankly, I ain't going all that way for crappy doughnuts. But what advantage does having a car add? When the doughnut place first opened there were queues across the country which being on a bike you could surely bypass... though I guess it's different these days.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  14. chdot
    Admin

    'Nuts

    We really have a thread for that

    http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=9496

    Posted 9 years ago #

  15. paddyirish
    Member

    @cyclingmollie

    "Your company is paying you 20p a mile to use it. "

    According to HMRC, 40p/mile for car and 20p/mile for bike are allowable expenses.

    For the bike it is either BTW scheme or 20p/mile on your own bike. Can't be both.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  16. chdot
    Admin

    "Can't be both."

    Mmm

    So you use your new bike to cycle to work and your previous BTW bike for work??

    Posted 9 years ago #

  17. amir
    Member

    @dougal - sorry - I was trying to be satirical

    Posted 9 years ago #

  18. dougal
    Member

    @amir Oh that's embarrassing, forget I said anything!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  19. chdot
    Admin

    Who needs satire?!

    "
    It really is like something out of The Onion; there are some great lines in there.

    "

    http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=9496#post-100436

    Posted 9 years ago #

  20. Uberuce
    Member

    "Going to the Highlands to climb big hills. (?)"

    I'd edit that to 'putting your partner's brother's bike on your car so he can climb big hills on it' because that's what my sister's partner kindly did for me a fortnight ago.

    On the return journey I cycled to Fort William to get the train home, but my other sister did carry my luggage, so I can't say the holiday was car-free.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  21. PS
    Member

    According to HMRC, 40p/mile for car and 20p/mile for bike are allowable expenses.

    That's as may be - where I work, we get 12p per mile for car. Hardly an incentive.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  22. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    According to HMRC, 40p/mile for car and 20p/mile for bike are allowable expenses.

    There's something that could be fixed: swap those allowances around.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  23. Darkerside
    Member

    I'm pretty sure the rate that I'm allowed to claim whilst Upholding The Justice System as a juror next month is something like 9.7p per mile cycled.

    Another to the list:

    Going almost anywhere overnight with a small child.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  24. wingpig
    Member

    @Darkerside 9.6p over here. I'm going to claim for my recent service for the novelty value.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  25. sallyhinch
    Member

    taking your bike to the bike shop after the rear derailleur has committed suicide by flinging itself into your spokes.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  26. sallyhinch
    Member

    Oh, and as I worked out this week, going to CentreParcs if you don't fancy cycling along the A66...

    Posted 9 years ago #

  27. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    I was going to say picking up loads of manure. But that may have been fixed *fingers crossed*.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  28. The Boy
    Member

    When going for a meal, apparently.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  29. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    For the record, MOT passed with only a blown number plate bulb needing replaced. Now in the ground floor of the incredibly expensive NCP (where I also park the bike, for nothing - bike wins).

    Posted 9 years ago #

  30. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I've been doing a lot of cost-benefit analysis for a sometime-blog post, and came to the general conclusion that the reason it's 'essential' to take the car is because you own a car.

    WC: why didn't you do a walk around your car pre-MOT to check all the lights? :-)

    Posted 9 years ago #

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