HTFU, you Pussy.

[madbikeboy]

On the very wet journey into work today (Auckland is under dark skies, wind, and sideways rain) I realised that I'm soft.

I've been riding most days (in fact I'm riding about 4 out of 5 days), but wet days pose a problem in terms of turning up to client meetings dripping...

But, and here's the admission, as I watched bike after bike zip past, it was actually kind of nice to be able to adjust the temperature, and it was kind of neat not having to think "road surface change, is that guy going to pull out, where's my escape route, can I wheelstand here, nice legs on her, where's my turn in point, where's my braking marker"...

Instead I was listening to Toni Childs in my head (it took me about half the journey to recall I had a stereo, and given the boredom that was fast setting in, that was kind of useful).

So, I need to HTFU right? Grow some balls? Be a man?

Well, let me explain, that "nice" sensation lasted about 1.2 kilometers. And as I sat in traffic wondering why everyone was driving so fucking slow, all I could do was watch the bikes zip past and wish I was with them... Tomorrow, I'm going to be visiting clients, and their reception areas are getting wet...

[007XX]

I have personally never found the concept of getting wet for commuting particularly brave or "pat on the back" worthy, unless one cannot do otherwise.

However, getting wet cos you're on an adventure to somewhere far away, well that's different.

[vifferman]

Meh.
I just get myself into car mode before I climb in. It's why car drivers are dangerous - they're mostly asleep. It's also why I didn't take the bike today (more than the crap weather): my brain is no good today, and even though I've been up hmmmm.... 3 hours now, I still feel like I'm still waking up.
I saw very few bikers on the commute, and none of them looked enviable.
One last thing: my bike commute takes about 12 minutes, and it took me about 25 by car. I'm not going to stress about 13 minutes of "time saving" as I've got nothing important to do with it anyway. May as well dribble it away listening to the inanities on The Rock.

[Headbanger]

woohoo, Into my wagon for a 7 hour drive.

Awesome.Love it.

[madbikeboy]

Yeah, it's astoudng how much less you need to think in a car. My journey is anout 15-20 minutes by bike, or 1 hour minimum by cage. I've done the journey in 11 minutes, but I had favourable traffic conditions (meaning the world was gridlocked).

I saw a guy on a Blackbird who was having fun lighting up the rear going up the bridge... All the other riders looked miserable, especially the poor Auckland City Council rubbish collector on his step through, he looked like an extra on the Perfect Storm with big yellow raincoat and pants...

[TOTO]

make sure you have a water bottle with you so you can make yourself wet tomorrow coz the rain is gonna stop by then

[nico]

didnt see any fellow bikers dismorning on my ride in but i was early 5ish im sure there were still around we all seem to be conditned to the craps weather round here it's the norm

[3L4NS1R]

took me nearly an hour this morning in my cage. I did get there dry, but it was 45 minutes after I usually arrive. Sucks to be a mere driver huh?

[fizbin]

Cold.. Wet... oh
the wether is not that bad today really, it was only drizzel for the most part on my way in so i was all good. it did however take me 10mins of riding to get the wet sensation and realise that i had left all the vents in my paints open
:slap:

[TOTO]

take me 10mins of riding to get the wet sensation and realise that i had left all the vents in my paints open
:slap:

its a small world out there...

[vifferman]

Yeah, it's astoudng how much less you need to think in a car.

When I first started commuting in D'Auckland, that was one of the things I most liked about doing it by bike: you had to be SO alert that the morning ride was a buzz that set me up for the day. That, and the fact the ride was only 20-25 minutes via the most interesting route (bugger going directly!)
My (worst) record by car was 90 minutes, and 60 of that was traveling a mere 1.5 km down Onewa road, while I watched buses, bikes, and pedestrians whizz by me. I never did that again, and I failed to understand how people could do that day after day, and not go, "Huh! Why don't I take the bus/ catch the ferry / carpool with my neighbours / walk / cycel / buy a scroter".
There's some real fuckwits in D'Auckland. The congestion is due to a combination of laziness, stupidity, and stubborness. Most of the traffic on the road is single-occupant cars.

[vifferman]

Cold.. Wet... oh
the wether is not that bad today really, it was only drizzel for the most part on my way in so i was all good. it did however take me 10mins of riding to get the wet sensation and realise that i had left all the vents in my paints open
:slap:

What about the other sheep? was the ram OK? The ewes? The lambs?
And did the paints go all runny and form some vague greyish-purplish-khaki colour?

[madbikeboy]

When I first started commuting in D'Auckland, that was one of the things I most liked about doing it by bike: you had to be SO alert that the morning ride was a buzz that set me up for the day. That, and the fact the ride was only 20-25 minutes via the most interesting route (bugger going directly!)
My (worst) record by car was 90 minutes, and 60 of that was traveling a mere 1.5 km down Onewa road, while I watched buses, bikes, and pedestrians whizz by me. I never did that again, and I failed to understand how people could do that day after day, and not go, "Huh! Why don't I take the bus/ catch the ferry / carpool with my neighbours / walk / cycel / buy a scroter".
There's some real fuckwits in D'Auckland. The congestion is due to a combination of laziness, stupidity, and stubborness. Most of the traffic on the road is single-occupant cars.

I know, it's astounding. I am often tempted to offer a ride to this really hot chick who sits at the bus stop on my way in. I wonder if she'd say yes?

90 minutes - it took me 60 the other day to get from Parnell to the bridge, they've closed off the quay street route with roadworks, the motorway onramp on Stanley street is a joke, and the beach road / customs st approach was being dug up too...

Thank God for lil' scoot.

[BANZAI]

Meh don't have luxury of cage so gotta commute with my bike to work which is about 20-30mins depends on how traffic is doing on motorway.

Bus? Takes more than 1hour...

[RantyDave]

Well, let me explain, that "nice" sensation lasted about 1.2 kilometers.

Right. I had to drive a car at the weekend and two things struck me:

1, Air Con is nice, but actually getting where you want to go is nicer.
2, You have to apply lots and lots of throttle and it barely farking moves.

Stoopid cages. Stoopid taking kids places.

Dave