It's the perception. Outside of the car you're interacting with a world you have no control over. Inside the car, whilst participating in a potentially dangerous activity, you're only interacting with yourself and your chosen passengers. The outside world is separated from you. The car can be a very comforting place to be. Like a security blanket.
Well, as I said earlier, being stuck in traffic doesn't seem very comforting...just a waste of time,
In my case it's about being in control of my surroundings.On a train or a bus I have no control and have to put up with whatever I'm surrounded by.
Yes and no.
Stuck in traffic, you have no control and what's worse, there's nothing you can do about it - you can't just go and get a coffee or find an alternative means of transport, you're stuck there.
If a train is cancelled or a bus is late I can (usually - depends a bit on where this happens!) just wander off and find something else to do or get another form of transport.
At my first job, it took about 2 [b]years[/b] for people there to accept that I rode to work - every morning there'd be comments in the canteen:
"did you ride in?" (yes, I always ride, you asked me the same yesterday and the day before...)
"weren't you hot/cold?" (no, I have a range of clothing that I can adjust as necessary)
"you must be very fit?!" (well yes I am but FFS I rode 8 miles, it's not exactly swimming the channel...)
And somehow I was the odd one cos it took me half an hour every day and all the people that drove in could take anything from 15 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.
^^^ that although I favour the train over the bike for the commute. Cycling in in anything other than the height of summer is bloody miserable usually 17 miles of aggressive stupidity from drivers and there's probably only three stretches over a mile without a traffic light or roundabout. Add properly dangerous side junctions and that three becomes one.
I drive once a week as I go out on a ride after work beyond that I try not to drive except in mid summer (quiet roads and short journey times) and when my work arrangements dictate being mobile
I lose far less time to screwed up trains than I do traffic jams overall and while I am on the train I can post garbage on here as an added bonus. 😀
Breaking the car habit is tougher than it should be. As an nation we attach av lot of importance / status / self esteem to our cars and "skills " behind the wheel.
And somehow I was the odd one cos it took me half an hour every day and all the people that drove in could take anything from 15 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.
Yep, one of the great things about cycle commuting is it always takes exactly the same amount of time, so no need to leave early for the nursery run in case I get stuck in traffic...
Ten years of commuting 60 miles each way by car mean that I have served my time! I would have much preferred the train, but I used to ride 12 miles, bus to london and ride another 6 miles. Still 2hrs each way, which is too much.
I now cycle 10 miles each way and live next to a train station into Waterloo. I'll never go back to driving. I was spending 1/12 of my life in the car. Fortunately, I love what I do when I get to work, so was happy with the sacrifice. Nearly three years as a single car family now, which is what I always wanted.
There is of course negotiation over car use for bike duties though!
"25-mile commute from the sticks to a febrile urban hell pit and back is not practical by any other means"
"Without a car you wouldn't do that journey though"
Nope, you are right. I wouldn't be able to work. the odd day where its a few miles drive or even walk comes along maybe once a month.
actually I split the difference and use the m/c when its not too bloody miserable
For me I'd just get a MotorBike like I have in the past, half the journey time and constantly the same time.
Still in 'control' and my own time/space.
But, at my last place it was an eye-opener as it was the first time I'd really worked local. And as it's in the 'country' most folk used cars, including those living in the village less than a mile away who'd all drive - even though there were pavements, cycleways and easy ways of avoiding the main roads.
And then struggled to park...
Case in point this morning. Saw someone drive away from the local convenience store on my way to the station with nowt more than a paper. 2 minutes and barely 200m later said car still covered in morning dew is parked outside a house up the road. Something tells me he hadn't stopped at the end of a long overnight drive back from the Highlands. 🙄 😯
nside the car, whilst participating in a potentially dangerous activity, you're only interacting with yourself and your chosen passengers. The outside world is separated from you. The car can be a very comforting place to be. Like a security blanket.
You're actually supposed to be, and indeed are anyway, interacting with other road users, including people on bicycles, and also pedestrians. Your attitude of separateness is not uncommon and is at the root, I believe, of most of the unpleasantness on the roads, not to mention a significant proportion of accidents. Those other metal boxes you're driving around with also contain, and are controlled by, people.
^ very nicely said sir/madam.
/fishes?
Agreed, well put.
Nope, you are right. I wouldn't be able to work.
Yes you would - nobody forced you to live 25 miles away.
Your attitude of separateness is not uncommon and is at the root, I believe, of most of the unpleasantness on the roads, not to mention a significant proportion of accidents.
Spot on.
I’ve been cycling to work pretty much every day for the last 4 months or so. For several years I’ve been doing it once per week but using the car on the other days. I only live 5 miles from work so don’t really have any good reason as to why I didn’t ride more, other than the fact that I have a parking pass at work as one of my benefits so it’s “free”. Interestingly I used to cycle to work a lot more regularly until I became entitled to that particular “benefit”.
The strange thing is that the more I cycle, the more I come to dislike using my car. To the point where I’m now disappointed if I have to take the car to work because it means I can’t cycle. And it’s not just my commute – I seem to be driving less at the weekends too. I would have a wider choice of stuff if I drove to the supermarket (or indeed ordered online) but instead I walk to the smaller shop at the end of the road. I don’t like the feeling of detachment from my surroundings, and I notice far more stuff (such as new shops and bars) on the bike. I can stop where I want or mix my routes up in a way I just don't do in the car. So now I try to work out if I can get somewhere without the car (cycling, running, walking or public transport) and only use the car if I have to. We have one car between us and it sits on the drive for the majority of the week. I like that.
