I've got an electric bike

[palinurus]

Ha!

I think we're due another "things non-cyclists say" thread.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Last August there, I met someone I had been to College with several years earlier. She mentioned that I used to cycle to College and asked me how far it was.

Imagine my bemusement then when I said '16 miles one way' (I often got the train in the morning seeing as I often slept in), and she acted with quite a bit of surprise. I say bemusement becuase, we were on a 30 mile Skyride Local ride at the time!

 

[perplexed]

Somebody asked if I cycle to work in the winter.

Yes, all the time I reply.

The look on her face could not have been more surprised than if I'd told her I spent my holidays in the Arctic laying face down in the snow wearing speedos and nothing else...

 

[Arch]

My neighbour downstairs is constantly amazed by my 'prowess', her stock phrase being "You're kidding me!". It's nice that she's impressed, but a bit wearing. The last time I saw her, I was working (I happen to collect my own recycling), and had the Maximus parked outside the flats front door when she came out. She goggled at it in amazement and said "You don't pedal that!"

Of course I do. In fact I pedal it slower than any of my colleagues, but I get there in the end.

 

[noelmg]

I get exactly the same, it's only 8.5 miles each way, people look at me gone out when they ask how far I cycle. It's even funnier in winter. "You've not cycled all that way in THIS weather have you?" when outside it is clear, sunny, and about -2C. "8.5 miles - how long does that take you then?" "About 40 minutes". Silence as they realise it takes them longer to drive that distance in rush hour than to bike.

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

My old next door neighbour some years back called my misses to the fence and said I don't mean to be funny but why does you boy friend go to work on a push bike when he has two motorbikes and a car ! She really thought I was a wierdo ( most likeley right ! before anyone else says so).

 

[Bikeabit]

Slightly off topic - my wife (school teacher) chooses to walk the 1.5 miles to work and back. It keeps her relatively fit and it clears her head for the day ahead or after a long day! Her colleagues regularly question why she does this and does not use her car. Some offer her lifts thinking she will readily accept them and then look bemused when she refuses. Once one asked her if she was 'alright' and did she feel 'safe' walking alone? My wife these days just smiles at these desperate car addicts.

 

[Holdsworth]

I have only just started doing a daily 9.1 mile commute each way after a month long hiatus, where before it was only 5 miles. I have had my work mates, my sister and dad all saying that I am absolutely crazy and just to get the bus, which would mean I have to get up a whole 1/2 hour earlier to catch, maybe for the rainy days hey?

It does pass me about 5 or 10 minutes before I get to work but I still get there with quarter of an hour to spare. It only takes me 40 odd minutes to do the distance, compared to an hour and a quarter on the bus but only 15-20 minutes if I got a lift.

 

[BlackPanther]

It takes me 45 minutes to cycle the 10 miles to work, since it's pretty flat, I can average 15mph. Since I started cycling last March, I've hardly ever used the car for short journeys. The missus also does the weekly shop on her bike using a trailer (Morrisons is about a mile and a 1/2 away)

I regularly see my neighbour taking her kid to school in the morning. Then she picks him up at lunchtime, then takes him back AND retrieves him after school. He's 15. His school is about 500 yards away. He's fat. His mother is an idiot!

Whilst electric bikes are getting a mention.......I treated myself at Xmas to an Alien Aurora ebike. It's mainly for fun, but I go to work on it on Fridays, just to have a bit of a laugh and get home a bit earlier. I can get to work in 30 mins without any effort and average 20 mph. Like I say, I can easily manage 'unassisted', but it's also a hoot to shoot up hills at 20mph easily, where I'd normally be doing 10mph and putting in loads of effort. Plus, it tears off at the lights and gives me a safe, comfortable start on the cars.

 

[Arch]

My old next door neighbour some years back called my misses to the fence and said I don't mean to be funny but why does you boy friend go to work on a push bike when he has two motorbikes and a car ! She really thought I was a wierdo ( most likeley right ! before anyone else says so).

Your missus should have said "Well, it keeps him fit for my relentless carnal appetite" and then that evening you could have sat next to the party wall screaming "oh! oh! oh! Oh my god!" while watching the telly....

*or had relentless carnal knowledge of each other....

 

[Arch]

Slightly off topic - my wife (school teacher) chooses to walk the 1.5 miles to work and back. It keeps her relatively fit and it clears her head for the day ahead or after a long day! Her colleagues regularly question why she does this and does not use her car. Some offer her lifts thinking she will readily accept them and then look bemused when she refuses. Once one asked her if she was 'alright' and did she feel 'safe' walking alone? My wife these days just smiles at these desperate car addicts.

I normally cycle to work, but for pretty much all of December, I walked, due to the snow, then ice, then intermittent ice. And I really enjoyed it. Just under 1.5 miles, took about 30 minutes, and after a hard day working in the cold, walking home was more relaxing than mixing with traffic in the dark. I didn't have to think so much.

 

[mgarl10024]

The last time I saw her, I was working (I happen to collect my own recycling), and had the Maximus parked outside the flats front door when she came out. She goggled at it in amazement and said "You don't pedal that!"
Of course I do. In fact I pedal it slower than any of my colleagues, but I get there in the end.

Sorry Arch - I'm newish here and didn't quite understand what a Maximus is and why you'd be collecting your own recycling?

 

[mgarl10024]

A colleague of mine used to get the 'work' bus with me and we got talking. We then found out that they were stopping the work bus, and she said "we'll have to cycle it". I laughed. I said it wasn't possible. More precisely, I said that it wouldn't be possible for me (being unfit and overweight). She, however, being fit, said how easy it would be. She then promptly went out and bought a rather nice road bike and all the kit, and cycled in regularly. She was all about speed.

I said I'd give the cycle commuting a try, and loved it. I then went out and bought a Hybrid bike, and whilst I was, and am, much slower than she was, I was quite happy plodding along.

9mths on, and I'm still cycling regularly. However, the tables have turned! She's coming up with excuses. "It's too much faff", "My hair needs drying", "My lights are rubbish", "I don't have waterproofs".

I'll admit to feeling just a little smug.

 

[Dan B]

Sorry Arch - I'm newish here and didn't quite understand what a Maximus is and why you'd be collecting your own recycling?

I can answer the first of those: a cargo trike - see http://www.cyclesmaximus.com/

I moved house using one of them once, learned a lot about how heavy books are. Still more fun than renting a van, though

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

Just read about electric bikes and had a thought ( always a bad thing!) but surely 30+ Mph on a electric bike would class it as as motorcycle requiring a motorcycle licence,insurance and tax and a motorcycle helmet!