CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting

Booo! Car tomorrow...

(8 posts)
  • Started 12 years ago by Wilmington's Cow
  • Latest reply from Wilmington's Cow

No tags yet.


  1. Heading straight form work to deepest darkest rural Lanarkshire (i.e. absolutely no other option available, especially when one has to get there for 7 and has no holidays left to take from work and where you're going is a couple of miles of an insignificant B-road that itself is a few miles off the nearest A-road, and giving four other people a lift).

    Anyway, I reckon 2 minutes max before I'm wishing I was on the bike. Even if it is snowy and cold and wet and slushy and 'orrible. It's still better than being stuck in a rush hour car.

    Posted 12 years ago #
  2. Instography
    Member

    Get PM on the radio and just relax into it. It's the only way to avoid being one of "them".

    Posted 12 years ago #
  3. kaputnik
    Moderator

    remember this is Lanarkshire, so pack your shovel, survival suit, snow chains, tinned foods, shotgun, Bowie knife, entrenching tool, water purification equipment, emergency flares and bear repellent.

    And because it's snowing, a flask.

    Posted 12 years ago #
  4. wingpig
    Member

    Do your snow socks still fit since you enlarged your mini?

    Posted 12 years ago #
  5. Smudge
    Member

    @Kaputnik, and warm clothes, de-icer, tow rope, sleeping bag and a good book, oh and some ned reppelent ;-)

    @Winpig, getting a larger skirt makes your feet grow?

    Posted 12 years ago #
  6. "Do your snow socks still fit since you enlarged your mini?"

    Yip, exact same size wheels. And the socks are in the boot (as is a collapsible snow shovel and three navvies*).

    *one of these items may not actually be in the boot...

    Have to admit, light traffic today meant driving wasn't too bad, and after suffering Chris Evans up until dropping Mel off (I don't mind him, but sometimes can't be bothered) Radio 4 then took me the rest of the way.

    I think sitting in a car you get an even greater sense of just how impatient people are when driving. On a bike you tend to get past and away after seeing an initial moment. In the car you can be behidn the same person trying every trick in the book to get ahead of the traffic for a good couple of miles (best moment was chap in front, who had shoved in from the wrong lane to go round Charlotte Square, swerving into bus lane at the start of Lothian Road, realised the bus really was actually stopped ahead, swerving back out, swerving back in in front as the bus pulled away, and... stopping 10 yards further on at the queue for the red light - didn't see any more cos I turned off to park at Castle Terrace).

    Posted 12 years ago #
  7. cb
    Member

    Dentist appointment this morning. Off the bike at the moment so I drove.

    Morningside to D'Mains took 40 minutes arriving (late!) just after 9.

    It was actually quite warm and comfortable and only started getting frustrating towards the end when I realised I would be late. However, would you want to do this every day?

    Normally takes 20 mins by bike. Last year took 35 mins but those were special circumstances.

    I drive/cycle some of today's route quite often, but usually starting out much (about an hour) earlier.

    Interesting to observe some differences (apart from far more cars): Various yellow lines have come into effect (e.g. north end of Ashley Terrace) so there is more road space.
    However lots of school drop offs going on causing varying amounts of chaos.

    Small car on Myreside Road attemping to turn right in to the (full and blocked) Watson's car park was blocking traffic by sitting half turned (grrr!) in the middle of the road.

    Lots of cars waiting to get past then eventually driving on to the pavement to undertake. When I got my turn I just drove past on the left - enough space, who'd have thought it!

    Posted 12 years ago #
  8. Pah. Drumming performance cancelled due to snow around the 'dojo'. So have the car for no reason. Double pah. Will have to do the same again next Monday when we've been postponed until. Triple pah.

    @cb - call it vanity, but I'll never mount a pavement to get past an obstruction cos I don't want to scuff my alloys! Oh, and because I shouldn't do it as well...

    Posted 12 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin