Wednesday 16 April 2008

fakmuter/poseuter?

seem my desire for dragging myself out of bed for a long commute gone for ride out it's own. i've not commuted by bike since mid-February. there wasn't a single commute in 30from30.

in 10 years of bike commuting i've not enjoyed being:
deliberately driven at
accidentally driven at
forced off the road
nearly taken out by vans/trucks/buses
spat at
chased
the target for bottles/can/snowball throwers & cigarette flickers
screamed/shouted at by drivers and passengers
doored
taken out by a pothole
blown over
drenched
frozen
stopping every 250 meters to clear my glasses with the undercrackers du
jour


i have enjoyed:
going the long way in
going the long way home
blowing kisses at those trapped in traffic
shouting and swearing at drivers that don't give a toss
deliberately clipping a wing mirror or two
helping folks with punctures
snot rocketing on the boss's bonnet
flicking the vees
getting fitter
losing weight
arriving at work with wobbly legs
arriving at work with a smile

a house move a couple of years ago pushed up my bike commute to nearly 18 miles e/w (from 14). 14 was a nice number of miles. a good length of time to be on the bike. east in the morning, west at night, pretty much a straight line from linlithgow to the office. in summer with the prevailing wind and a sea breeze, i could do it in under 1h20m - there and back. the "new" commute is a wonky U shaped ride. 10 miles east to the forth road bridge, over the bridge and a zig-zag journey on the south side of the forth estuary to a business park on the western edge of edinburgh - an hour e/w in the summer, an hour and a bit in winter.

what to do? for the last couple of days caught the train in, then ridden home.

it's commuting, but only just.

[edit]passed 1000 mile mark for the year on the way home tonight[/edit]

4 comments:

Steve J Makin said...

what to do ?, relax and let your body do the talking, its not a mission after all :-)

I guess I'm lucky, the shortest way is just 5 miles, but that can be extended a dozen or more ways including off road routes.

Then a again there days when I just dont feel it, those are the days when clean shirts and undercrackers go in, people re always asking when I'll next be in the car, no idea why :-)

simondbarnes said...

I'll have a 60 mile commute from Monday. Not sure how often I'll ride it, hopefully sometimes!

dRjON said...

1000 miles for the year.? wow....keep at it brah. my 1/4 mile commute is a no brain affair

Anonymous said...

fuck it. buy a 4x4. drink starbucks on drive in. life too short to waste time cycling when you could be listening to radio1 in the morning. don't worry about your weight. it's a conspiacy by the health food industry to keep you eating their bland food that nobody really enjoys. buy a bigger tv. start smoking again, it looks way cooler than lycra. fresh air is over rated, turn on the air-con, that's fresh. if god wanted you to cycle he would have built the roads with cycle lanes.