MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
I often dip into the car threads on here and am ambivalent about driving pleasure and of cars being nice places to be. I've had occasion to commute over to Edinburgh recently and derived no pleasure whatsoever in the process
My regular commute is from the AGA to the studio, a walk of around a minute, for the majority, their daily commute will be a significant portion of their day. Can any car compensate for the drudgery of motoring today?
Even road trips into remote landscapes seem fraught. I came within feet of a head on collision with a German plated BMW on the wrong side of the Mallaig road recently.
When I first passed my test, thirty years ago, the roads seemed more useable and our weekend dashes to the mountains were events in themselves before we got our bikes out of the boot. Now, I'd be terrified of meeting my then white knuckle self coming flat out around a bend or over a crest.
With speed cameras everywhere and cars that are so much more capable than their drivers, is there still any pleasure to be found in driving?
I dunno, I quite enjoy driving. I'm on my own with my own music on. The car's low powered so it gets driven to it's limit all the time which is kind of fun. It's also old and cheap so I feel free about not being precious about it. Who cares if it gets scratched etc...
Fair enough, if the weather's nice I'll bike or walk, but sod public transport. It's rubbish. I feel in control of my own destiny in a car, even though I could get held up.
I've got a run of the mill car yet I still enjoy driving most of the time.
Depends on the car...
Current one is quick enough to have some fun in and makes a cool noise 😆
In my old french diesel brick shaped object it was purely transport no pleasure.
I'd completely lost interest in driving until recently. It's a chore fraught with spotting every speed limit change and maintaining concentration for long periods of tedium. Madame shares driving fortunately. There was also the guilt about being part of the problem: air and noise pollution, congestion, making life unpleasant for cyclists just by being there.
Then came Zoé and roughly half reasons for not driving aren't there. I'll no doubt get bored with it before long but at present it's put the fun back into driving at legal speeds.
I take pleasure in the calmness and enjoying the music when sitting in traffic. It is after all a factor of modern driving that any time in a car will involve traffic.
If i get chance then I take the pleasure in open roads. Unfortunately in England the roads are shocking for enjoying, high hedges and stone walls. I prefer the Welsh or Scottish roads that are clearer and have much more open sightlines to avoid the head on collisions!
I enjoy 2/3 of my commute (the bit across mostly empty, twisty moors roads), the other third suck balls.
I do love a "road-trip" to go on holidays somewhere distant...down through France, or across through Belgium (where I can laugh at the amount of nutters on the road) and down though Germany - seeing new stuff, translating road-signs, chatting shit with mrs dd, teasing mini dd in the back, listening to tunes, podcasts etc. It is a fun part of a holiday.
However, commuting, as I kinda have to do in my van for work is just a ballache. Yes, I accept that I can't whinge about traffic as I take the "I am traffic, you are traffic, we are all traffic." when driving, but the sheer stupidity of the risks people are willing to take for almost zero gain in rush hour traffic does my head in. In a city, ducking and diving in a car only gets you to back of a queue a bit more quickly. And I get wound up by people driving up my arse while I'm waiting for an opportunity to pass a cyclist, only to see them close-pass him or her in my wing mirrors - it's almost like they're punishing the cyclist for holding them up for fifteen seconds. FFS.
No pleasure whatsoever.
Back in the 80s, I had a Triumph 2000 and on occasion, I used to approach my house from wherever I'd been and go, sod it, I'm going for a drive. Then I'd just head off up the road to nowhere in particular... most amusing to think I ever would have driven just for the pleasure of it. Not anymore. Just too many morons out there most hours of the day.
Too many chavy white BMWs on the road for driving to ever be enjoyable.
On the right road on the right day it can be enjoyable.
I don't have to worry about rush hour. It's just tourists around here that frustrates me, if you want to take in the scenery pull over and have a walk!
To be fair I feel like this about cycling sometimes. I’ve lost the pleasure of “just going for a ride” I hate riding in traffic, I haven’t been off road in ages (injury stopped that), I commute daily by bike but it’s not an event so much as a £4 saving of not usIng the bus!
Then on a Sunday morning I’ll get up before sunrise, jump in the car and blast round the back roads of North Yorkshire having a great time, get home by 9 feeling exhilarated and ready to make the most of my day.
If you do something enoughbit becomes dull i suppose!
Too many chavy white BMWs on the road for driving to ever be enjoyable.
Pretty certain most Beemers are a variety of colours, only some are white.
Much like every other make and model, and ‘chavvy’ is [i]such[/i] a 20th Century concept, don’t you think?
I drive enough miles every day to see that dickish driving is absolutely [i]not[/i] the sole preserve of BMW or Audi drivers, it can be the Volvo V60 driver who was sat in the outside lane of the M4 tonight cruising at exactly the same speed as the two trucks who were side-by-side overtaking on the two inner lanes, and making no effort to speed up to 70, despite having left the variable 60 zone behind, and who was only doing 50 anyway.
Complete knob.
As are those who either drift out into the next lane in front of me without indicating, or else pulling out and indicating at exactly the same time, while I’m approaching at a higher speed, with faster traffic coming up behind me in the outside lane, forcing me to brake hard to avoid running into them. There seems to be a general inability to use the mirrors that vehicle manufacturers thoughtfully fit for the use of drivers.
Yeah but your house isn’t modest that’s the issue.
I enjoy driving.
I posted this on another thread [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/good-bbc-article-about-future-driverless-cars-and-their-ethics/page/2#post-8782351 ]here[/url] a couple of months back.
I don't just enjoy driving in a "go for a nice drive in the country" kind of way, I enjoy the act of driving. Like, you might enjoy watching TV - nice big telly with the surround sound on the go, curled up on the sofa with a nice bottle of red, log fire on the go, it then doesn't really matter if the programme you watched turned out to be crap.I enjoy reading the road. I like people-watching. I like to try and predict what's going to happen next from people's little tells and road position attitudes. I enjoy trying to improve my driving: smoothing out roads; changing gears efficiently; thinking about what's coming next; judging relative speeds of other vehicles to get to a motorway exit without carving anyone up or sitting behind a truck for half a mile; hill-starting without rolling back; coming down a hill without touching my brakes while the car in front's brake lights are in disco mode; reverse parking like a boss; rolling up to a quiet junction and seeing if I can get it to roll to a stop and hit the line without needing to either accelerate of brake; etc, etc.
I enjoy driving, even if the programme is crap.
That's all aside from going for a drive somewhere interesting in the same way you'd go for a bike ride in the countryside. It doesn't have to be a chore, you just need to realise what you can take from it rather than staring at tail-lights.
Good driving means good roads, not the car. Zipping along a quiet road that's just windy enough, that's a pleasure. Also an empty motorway in a comfy car, that's a pleasure too. Best drive Iv'e done recently (a couple of times) is the M6/M74 between Preston and Glasgow. Just watching the countryside roll past is a joy.
Oh and I really love long road trips.
Driving can be a chore, and I probably get a bit too annoyed that other people seem to take it a bit less seriously than me but I do actually enjoy it most of the time.
Early weekend morning drives to Peebles with the bikes are good for obvious reasons but I genuinely enjoy the drive too.
A dash home on a dark empty motorway
Cresting a rise on an unfamiliar road and seeing an undulating ribbon of empty tarmac in front of you surrounded by amazing scenery.
The mundane stuff Cougar mentions above is also true, its nice to derive pleasure from just doing the everyday stuff well too.
Now, I'd be terrified of meeting my then white knuckle self coming flat out around a bend or over a crest
It's called getting old.
Drove the Alston pass today. For the first time ever I had a clear go at it. It’s a nice reminder to how well BMWs handle (not once did I exceed 60....).
Put a smile on my face 😀
Can any car compensate for the drudgery of motoring today?
Personal tastes isn’t it. And it’s not really about the car for me.
Much like cougar said, I just like driving.
I drive a LOT. Do roughly 1500 miles a week, And I love it.
No more than 50% of my time is motorway driving, so it’s not all “easy” miles. And most of it is done in a Citroen Van, so my enjoyment is nothing to do with the vehicle 😯
I'd be terrified of meeting my then white knuckle self coming flat out around a bend or over a crest
The rule of thumb I always used in my younger stupider days was, "if I meet myself coming the other way, will I die?" if the answer was "yes" then I needed to dial back the hooligan.
I came within feet of a head on collision with a German plated BMW on the wrong side
Was he indicating though? 😉
mcmoonter - Member
Can any car compensate for the drudgery of motoring today?
I'm going to say yes.
I'm lucky enough to own a very nice car. Ever time I get in it, whether it's a couple of miles to the shops, or to the other end of the country for work, I love it. It's a lovely comfortable place to be, but capable of going like shit off a shovel if I choose. It reminds me how hard I've worked to be in a position to own it, and gain some of the rewards of that work.
Doesn't completely remove the other ****ers on the road, but certainly makes them more tolerable.
Best drive Iv'e done recently (a couple of times) is the M6/M74 between Preston and Glasgow. Just watching the countryside roll past is a joy.
This. In my white BMW. Limiter @75, especially the scalextric like section by the wind farm.
Unfortunately in England the roads are shocking for enjoying, high hedges and stone walls.
Get yourself down to Sussex; there are some cracking roads that are pretty empty on week days.
I used to but cars are too big and too capable these days and roads are too busy. I get the pleasure of driving a good car on a nice road, but in this day and age I think driving for pleasure and 'making progress, is a pastime that needs to be kicked into the 'socially unacceptable' bucket: it's dangerous, it's a nuisance for other road users, and environmentally unacceptable. I enjoy driving my van, not for the 'driving pleasure', but for other reasons and now get my thrills from other things. The day we whistle on the road side for driverless pods and we look back in disbelief and horror on the olden days when people actually operated cars killing thousands of people every year can't come soon enough.
Acceleration is far more fun than speed, every now and again going to 9000RPM* in first from the lights up to 30mph then just shift up a few and drive sensible.
But nothing beats a nice open flowing road on a nice day
*well nearly as 9000 would be over 30MPH which I would never do
It makes it bearable more than anything for me. I went form a short commute where I biked or took my tupperware like kia about 50% of the time to a longer commute, only 40km/~40mins. After a few years the kia was such a depressing place to be, perfectly functional and reliable, but a swap to a little GTI has made the commute bearable again, I still enjoy getting in that after a couple of years, even though its mostly highway, errr... motorway. I'd still take a bike ride over driving. Driving up through the mountains can be fun though.
Work from home too after spending 2hrs a day commuting for 6 years. You get used do it but it is just dead time, I'd actually rather be working.
In contrast my favourite holidays have all been roadtrips.
I think driving for pleasure and 'making progress, is a pastime that needs to be kicked into the 'socially unacceptable' bucket
Depends whether "making progress" is a euphemism for "driving like you stole it" or not, really.
Too much congestion and too many bad drivers really, takes all the fun out of it.
I've not had a car out of choice for nearly 2 years now, and I don't really miss driving.
Yes some things take more planning, but between bike and train I cope fine.
Move to the sticks. The bits that nobody cares about enough to stick speed cameras on. Plenty fun to be had driving. 😀
Tools for the job as well though innit? In a modern executive barge i’m Sure the ‘Top Road’ would be quite dull. In a 20 year old Mapped Golf GTi its an absolute hoot!
Yes I drive for pleasure. If ever I have to go anywhere more than about 40 miles away I’ll have a proper trawl over maps looking for backroad twisties, drop some waypoints into a sat nav and off I go. And it’s not about speed. It’s the whole thing: what gear you’re in, line choice, hazard anticipation and perception. Doing it all properly is what makes me happy. It’s even more satisfying on a motorbike but I rarely get to use that nowadays.
(Fully expect to be STW flamed now).
binners - Member
Move to the sticks. The bits that nobody cares about enough to stick speed cameras on. Plenty fun to be had driving.
What about the baby robins on cycles? 🙁
What about the baby robins on cycles?
I once beheaded a suicidal pheasant on my KTM awhile heading up the A697. Feathers, blood and gore everywhere. It went into the radiator, in behind the dry sump and all over the down pipe which then set fire to the splatterings. bike smelled like a mobile KFC for weeks. That didn’t upset me, what did was my empathy which built a scenario about the bird’s life and family and how me riding along would have wrecked it all. 🙁
I absolutely love driving but have given it up as an example to my peers.
Very few people actually need to drive, it is a selfish lifestyle choice.
No, don't enjoy it at all. I don't particularly want to either. I try to minimise the amount I drive, and not enjoying it helps with that!
I have always enjoyed driving...and have 43 years of it under my belt having passed my driving test at the age of 17.
It was in many ways one of the reasons for my career choice in Sales ..where else was I going to get a nice shiny new car at that age for nowt..and apart from my very first car ( a Wolsley Hornet which was verging on being a classic even back then)..I didn't buy my own for another 22years enjoying some nice company cars along the way..
Thankfully these days my driving doesn't involve a rush hour commute at either end of the day.
North West Northumberland is very rural/ quiet with some great "driving " roads, very few speed cameras and the scenery ain't half bad either and any appointments are made well within the quieter times of 10.00am to 3.00pm..on the odd occasion that I have had to travel to Newcastle within the rush hour in the last decade ..it makes me wonder how folks keep their sanity travelling in that volume of traffic twice a day on a daily basis ..I would top myself ! 😆
I enjoy driving and have done for 30+ years. Doesn't matter what the car, sometimes the small low powered cars can be just as much fun.
I found myself having to commute almost 2 hours a day....
So I bought a yr 2000 MR2.
As a handy side effect I can use it to explore the continent
Like playing the trombone, it is always amusing, and I love driving with the roof open and the blower on, even in the winter.
My daily commute is an absolute joy, only yesterday I was thinking to myself how lucky I am to have a fast rear wheel drive car that you can balance on the edge / beyond the edge of grip. At the moment that means if you switch the traction off you can’t even use full throttle as the roads don’t have enough grip.
Then I get to a town, car goes in to silent mode / automatic and I just turn the amazing sound system up, and relax until I get in to work.
I look forward to getting in my car and driving it. However I have had some cars (VAG) that are just so dull that they don’t make you want to get in and drive.
Driving up here is actually pretty nice. Dales/lakes/Cumbria and usually outside rush hour. Off up to Scotland for chrimbo and looking forward to the beautiful drive up the M6. North of preston it’s lovely.
Never been into cars, they just get you to work and back.
Motorbikes are a different story though as are MTBs... Cars... meh, can take them or leave them.
I'd rather ride or walk, but i do enjoy driving across to Wales when able.
I drive a Toyota Celica and when it goes into lift as i overtake some old duffers in a Honda Jazz can brings a boyish smirk to my face.
Does anyone else find it hard to instigate a good race against a similarly powered steed these days? Now there's driving pleasure...
Driving can still be a pleasure if people wouldn't
-Sit in the outside lane
-Sit in the middle lane
-Dawdle
-Dither
-Sit in the second lane at a set of traffic lights that has a short run before merging back to one lane only to drive off like they weren't in a position to overtake the van, bus, lorry in lane 1,
-Have headlights that are angled to blind you
-Put fog lights on when visibility is slightly misty perhaps but you can still see 500m clearly or its a bit rainy
-Drive Nissan Alemeras
-Drive up yer arse
GiantKalli ..nope ..good sport can still be had in this part of the world ..
Why only yesterday I was laughing at a BMW 1 series trying to escape my evil clutches up the North Tyne Valley ..
Mostly driving for me is just about A to B. But sometimes you end up somewhere stunning on empty roads and it can be a joy. Not joy through speed, but joy from passing through a beautiful place. Remote parts of Scotland, most of Iceland, that sort of thing.
Generally though, roads aren't the right place to get the most out of a car. You can never allow for what is around the next, inevitably blind bend. So cars/vans are, and always will be just transport for me.
Used to love cars, and really enjoy driving - the last 10 or so years? No, hate everything about it.
Unfortunately I do a reasonable mileage with work so I'm stuck with it for the moment.
Hodgynd, I take it you know the road from Newcastleton to Bonchester Bridge? Wow.
Used to enjoy driving but years of flogging around London killed most of the fun pretty much the same for the motorbike too. Still enjoy the odd time, usually in Ireland, when i can and drive and have the opportunity and indeed the requirement to use all the roadcraft training I've had, not balls out just driving well to the system. Not sure I'm ever going to get back into motorbikes though may drop down to 250+ cc scooters for a change.
Hot_Fiat..Not used too often by myself ( Most journeys are south of that ) ..but yes 😀
I'm sure I heard that Top Gear have used this more than once ..
Edit : locally the Bellingham to Otterburn road is a classic especially the section just prior to reaching the A68..for both cars & motorbikes
Yes, I enjoy driving.
I don't commute by car - I cycle. That helps.
I also used to ride high powered motorcycles. I've found that having that amount of speed and acceleration gives me a zen attitude to driving a car - in that, I know what "fast" is, so I just accept the car and what it can and can't do and don't try and overtake people all the time or feel rushed if caught behind someone.
I also drive an old MX5. It has heated leather seats so I drive with the roof down 99% of the time. Gives you a bit of that being on a bike/in the countryside feel. I've also upgraded the stereo in it, so it's just a nice car to spend time in.
It is also very fun to drive in of itself and gives you a feeling of "fun/fast" at legal speeds.
I am also lucky (clever?) enough to live in Scotland. Which is wonderful for a variety of reasons. The roads and relative lack of traffic being one of them.
Further, it isn't worth a lot of money and is paid for outright so I'm not overly worried about anything happening to it.
Petrolhead in the past and still enjoy the act of driving (my modest but cheap Hyundai) as others have said; you don’t have to be caning it, and my passenger-seat mounted speed limiter tends to ensure I don’t, but there’s lots of pleasure to be had in trying to do it well. I too love a road trip!
However, it seems to be impossible to go anywhere these days without getting stuck in bloody traffic at some point! Even if you try and be clever and go early/late, you will still sit on a 10-mile tailback on the M6/M1/M5/A1/M62. And I don’t even live in the South! Public transport is great between big cities but not much use for things like mtbing. Has taken a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me.
I love cars, pretty much all cars, more than cars, probably all things that move people, cars, bikes, trains, planes, boats ... but back to cars. I used to love all driving, now I avoid long drives but when I do do them I still enjoy the journey. Now it’s short drives, most years we get a hack, last couple have been a Micra, have to be under 500 notes and last at least 6 months plus, what a hoot we have in these, great engines, great gearboxes, great to test ‘energy management’ and all without terrifing the other road users or threatening one’s licence. Also enjoy the track in quick things but can be too easy or too terrifying and also really really enjoy cruising in the van. Managing engines, gearboxes, brakes, interactions with the road, the traffic, sorry I just love driving... and riding and and paddling and sailing...
Well I'd passed my driving test before I learnt to ride a bike, so it was my first taste of that kind of freedom.
I enjoy driving. I hate being stuck in traffic. Fortunately my lifestyle means I can generally pick and choose how and when I travel, so I can avoid the worst of the jams.
For me its all about the interaction, tactility and the effort put in. Speed is nice, but far from the be-all and end-all. I've had some great drives in a 7.5T truck. For the last 4 years I've worked on the Trans Provence, which involved nailing a Sprinter across some very dodgy roads in the Maritime Alps with a certain amount of time pressure. Equally driving the NC500 last year in a hairdresser soft top was brilliant.
I do think part of the issue with modern driving standards is that cars are too easy and uninvolving to drive. Going at 70mph should be a wee bit scary shouldn't it...? Likewise auto gear boxes, auto lights, auto wipers, all these things that stop you NEEDING to think about what you're doing.
It always surprises me the number of cyclists who detest driving and treat cars like domestic white goods. For me it's very similar mental skill sets. Planning ahead, line choice, risk assessment, balance, mechanical interaction etc
Just got in to work.
Lovely journey in through the countryside following a Golf R32 both of us enjoying the drive.
A Porsche Cayman came the opposite direction sounding absolutely beautiful (they make an amazing noise at full throttle and high revs!)
At least 3 of us enjoyed our commutes today !
And most of it is done in a Citroen Van,
You better do some yoga that must beat you up 🙂
I couldn't care less if I never drove a car again, just not interested in it at all. It does nothing for me.
I hate driving. I just find the whole experience extremely frustrating. On fun roads over the moors, I'd just much rather be outside enjoying the countryside. I don't get any excitement from the sense of speed because it either feels safe and boring or dangerous and stressful. Never a sense of fun like I experience on a bike. I do enjoy the places that cars can take me however.
I enjoy driving, but I don't enjoy sitting in traffic.
Late nights/really remote roads/early mornings are the only way to get any real enjoyment out of driving. I don't do many miles in any case, and it's mostly long trips to my family (where taking the car is lower carbon than the train for lugging kids along anyway - well in the current car at least - which is quite run of the mill but can still be fun to thrash).
I don't really understand people that commute by car where there is a practical alternative, but having said that I used the car when I broke my wrist and could't cycle to work as public transport was extortionate (to the point that it was only the parking that made the car cost as much - including all costs not just petrol) and took far longer despite working in a city centre.
Just a means to an end these days. Will enjoy driving to Torridon in January once I'm past Glasgow.
A car's the tool to get me from A to B so that I can do something interesting and pleasurable. In and of itself I've never found driving pleasurable, I passed my test 42 years ago, it isolates you from both the surroundings and people.
I enjoy driving, but I don't enjoy sitting in traffic.
+1 I do a fair few motorway miles for work and that becomes a means to an end. A Sunday afternoon on the M25 back from Peaslake can ruin the previous few hours if you let it.
However, I've had some really great times when I've had cause just to slow down, sit back and appreciate the view in mid Wales or similar with a bike in the back, and then I do enjoy the whole experience.
I also work from home so I don't have to deal with the boredom of the daily commute. I also get to drive in N Wales where the roads can be just fab.
I also agree that the car makes a big difference. I had an XC90 for 12 years and it was literally like driving a bus - it had little in the way of acceleration, comparatively, so if I came across a caravan I'd quite often have to sit behind it waiting for a looong overtaking opportunity.
Not much fun.
I then changed to a German manufacturer who's name begins with P and the world of driving changed for me. Although the car is still large it has twice the power and is a lovely place to be. I can play with the power and supension settings to change the way the car feels and if needed I can overtake more safely - generally every car trip is a happy time.
My car has been in a few times for service/MOT/little warranty things (all good) and every time it goes in I get a new faster little car to go a play in. The driving experience of these cars is simply wonderful.
So I think it's a combination of things..
Why you're driving
Where you're driving
What you're driving.
If I was sat in a box driving up and down motorways or through a city I don't think I'd enjoy it one bit.
if needed I can overtake more safely
You mean frequently. You should always be safe regardless.
I often enjoy driving. I only have a diesel hatchback, but to be honest even that is so capable the speeds you’d have to reach to be ‘on the edge’ are far beyond what I’d push to these days. If I lived around that London (or other large city) I’d hate it, nothing but traffic, but I don’t. This makes up half of my commute
http://www.drivingforpleasure.co.uk/roads-and-tours/uk-road.php?s=2011-12-01-the-cheddar-gorge And that’s great fun at 6:30 each morning, just a few sheep about to be careful of!
I only have a diesel hatchback, but to be honest even that is so capable the speeds you’d have to reach to be ‘on the edge’ are far beyond what I’d push to these days
I think this might be why I quite like greasy/wet/snowy conditions!
No, I mean safely because I'm non the wrong side of the road for less time and am past quicker.You mean frequently.
I usd to love driving a car. But years of doing it for work in south east traffic put piad to that. Mind you, being able to play around in work vans on building sites and out of harms way in quarries is fun. Opposite lock in a transit van round a stockpile of gravel is hilarious! I got to the point I could do it in a 26tonne loading shovel too.
But yeah. Cars are simply transport and a way of moving things I can’t get on a bike. We recently located and an absolute need in that was to be able to cycle to work. It takes me 12 minutes to cycle to work. Driving would be about 20. I’ve spent quite a few years commuting by motorbike until we moved as it’s the only way to reliably get anywhere on time day after day.
The car is like a washing machine to us now. Just an appliance to do a job and it sits unused most of the week.