From 77 to 93 I motorcycled to work. Only missed one day due to weather. I didn’t have time to dig the garage out of the snow.
From 93 to 2005 I had to take the car.
Back on the bikes from then till now and back to not hating the commute runs any more. Of course I don’t look forward to another day at the paper factory but I enjoy my commute journey.
O.K., with flexi working and an easy (Easy? South Circular?) suburban journey I’ve got it made, but I never thought like that in the car, even when I was punting a top of range people carrier.
Is it a bit sad to admit that I enjoy my jouney to and from work 'cos I’m on a bike again?
Riding my bike to works gives me the motivation to get out of bed - I love it! Cant say I’ve had 1 bad journey to or from work no matter what the weather
I have to admit I’m a fair weather biker for fear of greasy slippery roundabouts and car drivers who drive too fast to ever have any chance of stopping in time in bad weather.
But, when I do use the bike for work it does make me jump out of bed in the morning. My wife works in the same building as me, so we travel in the same car each day.
Except when I take the bike and she goes in the car! not very green I admit but this green thing is all just a con to get money out of us anyway…
Now there’s a topic for discussion… anybody want to start a new one?
My days of commuting started at the age of 16 in 1978, riding my Fantic Moped to West Ham College in all kinds of weather. After that year, which I consider a “Baptism by Fire” I carried on commuting into London for the next 20 odd years until I relocated to Hertford and it was quicker and cheaper to go by car than by bike.
From that moment on, biking for me changed from a mode of transport to a method of pleasure and became an FWB:D
I think I earned my spurs as an all year rounder, and despite the ribbing I get, I’m proud to be a member of the LB car/van club:D
Nomatter what anyone says, you will never convince me that riding home in the dark, with icy rain dripping down your neck, steamed up visor and numb fingers is fun;)
well sometimes it is, other times its not! i hate riding in the wet, i just dont like it,i can do it, im confident enough but i hate it, not as much as i hate public transport tho!
its great in summer, plenty of local ladies to admire:P
and soemtimes you see the same people riding to work on their commute too, i often have little races through town with them;), most show respect and brains tho and it dont ever get too silly!
I have got to know the capital properly through riding to work. When you use the tube you just ‘surface’ wherever you’re going with no real concept of how the different ‘areas’ are all part of the same great city. A motorcycle has the ability to tie together the seams that run through London. I really enjoy that connection to the place.
You might have it there lesissmore. It’s connections.
You sit in a box, public or private, and even if in some luxury (that will be private then) you not quite connected to anything except the ICE. (“Radio” in my day.).
There is an immediacy about the bike, you are connected to a world you just don’t get in a car.
It’s not always good. There are days it rains, it’s cold, and no matter what, you can’t quite get things hooked up.
SNAP! Not live to ride, but certainly as close as you can get without being obsessive. Its just so much fun, even when the slag is playing up, working out what needs to be done to resolve it, sorting out, and then riding her in good condition again. GREAT STUFF.
I love my ride to work. It gets your head nice and clear, gets you a nice blast of fresh air, gives you a few challenges, and I get to see all the sights (I go past the Eye, Big Ben, St James’ Park, Buck House, Park Lane, etc, and however long I live in London it still gives me a little bit of the buzz it did when I’d first moved down here years ago)
i love it, especially when i’m feeling fit, and in dry weather, gives me some attitude to fight thruout the day. but it’s a pain when yr tired coming back, or the weather changes.
great fun when i feel like it, but choose to use the car when i don’t.
I love commuting by bike. Get a bit stir-crazy if I don’t do it for a few days. My ride in is early enough not to be too congested. I often take the long way home for added twistiness
If you have the right kit to deal with the vagaries of the weather, and the right attitude to your fellow road users (assume they haven’t seen you; if REALLY paranoid assume they have seen you and are deliberatly trying to kill you) it can be fun. Challenging but fun. Certainly arrive at work feeling wide awake!
My daily commute is absolutely great. I leave early enough so that most of loonies are still abed and the roads are reasonable quiet. School hols now, so the roads are nice a peaceful, but you do have an increase in lemmings at certain points… I would rather walk than take the train again, but sadly 18 miles takes a while to cover.
Love the commute on my bike.
I leave just after 5am, so there is very little traffic on the road and the ride in is great. Although this morning I could feel the chill more than usual it was still a nice ride.
The ride home is the best way to leave work at work. If I am in no particular rush, I will take all sorts of interesting detours.
I love my ride to work in the morning, but the best bit is getting home through all the traffic and congested cages… 