Nope, I don't understand it ...

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XmisterIS

Purveyor of fine nonsense
Drive round town that is.

Example - yesterday I wanted to go to Blockbuster to get a DVD and follow that up with a trip to the supermarket. Give that the run into town is full of traffic lights and one-way systems, anyone sensible would take the much less complicated route offered by the shared cycle paths.

So that's what I did! As it happened, I saw someone else in my street getting into their car and start the engine just as I was starting my journey.

I arrived at Blockbuster, chained my bike up, was just about to go in ... when who should arrive but the same guy ... after I had arrived! It's not the first time either - I've been to town and back during rush hour; only to see the same distinctive car sat in the same traffic jam a little way down the road from when I started out.

Any yet they still drive!

Nope, I just don't understand it. I mean I really just don't understand it. If I know full well that the roads will be full of traffic jams, I either cycle or motorbike whenever possible. Anything else is pure madness!
 

dondare

Über Member
Location
London
Motorbike? Madness.
 
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XmisterIS

XmisterIS

Purveyor of fine nonsense
Motorbike? Madness.

Lol! Not when I open the throttle, the numbers on the speedo start whizzing past, all I can hear is the screaming of the exhaust and everything becomes a blur ...
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Simba

Specialized Allez 24 Rider
A simple answer is usually the right one....

They are too lazy to walk or cycle.

My neighbour goes to the corner shop in his car and its literally 5 minutes walk
 
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XmisterIS

XmisterIS

Purveyor of fine nonsense
Ain't that the truth! We've well and truly turned into a nation of lazy lard-arses!

People I work with in Portsmouth are gobsmacked when I tell them I've cycled in from Fareham over the Gosport ferry ... and it's only 9 miles!
 

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
Not necessarily laziness. I suspect its as much a mindset which has taken hold in which there's no alternative to the car. Walking, cycling, trains, and busses don't feature in the list of options. Taxis may, but only in conjunction with alcohol.

That would also explain the reaction XmisterIS has had (as have most of us) to cycling a few miles instead of using the car.
 
A simple answer is usually the right one....

They are too lazy to walk or cycle.

My neighbour goes to the corner shop in his car and its literally 5 minutes walk


Been there, been that person. It appalls me that I ever did, I always was "in a rush, need to get there and back quick otherwise I would walk, honest"

It's laziness but not individual laziness as such, it's ingrained. I'm "mad" for commuting 3 miles apparently...daren't tell the person (our work's lorry driver) that i do extra miles on the way just for fun - I think it would send him a bit more loopy that he already is (Mid-life crisis Toyota Celica...say no more)

It's a culture of laziness that is harder to get out of now than it used to be when a family had one car and used it to go to the seaside or to visit relatives that lived outside the boundaries of the circular bus route
 

aleksei

New Member
Heh!, I do my groceries by bike, the supermarket is probably just 3 miles away.
On the way back I get so much pleasure from overtaking a mile long queue of cars...

Bunch of fools!! getting 6 mph from their "fast" cars... by the time I'm home
they'd have probably moved half a mile..

And I bet, the big majority of them are doing short trips for shopping or so...
it's just pointless!!
 

potsy

Rambler
Location
My Armchair
I too used to be that person,car everywhere,even 1/2 mile to the shops or wherever.
Don't often use the bike for shopping,except maybe quick nip into library/post office,but walk more now as well.
We have people at work who have bikes as they have told me about going on the odd ride at weekends,yet will hardly ever ride to work,choosing to drive despite living 3/4 mile away
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Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
I understand that^^^^

Distance from home to Sainsburys by car = 3 miles. By bike = 1.5 miles.

Cost for fuel by car = 2 x 3 x 15p = 90p Other costs = ?

Cost of running a bike that far = ? but not much.

Time to do the round trip by car = 40 minutes (typical)

Time to do the trip by bike = 15 minutes (typical)

I can carry most things on the bike, and do most of our shopping, but we do take a car there once a week for the bulky stuff.
 
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Deleted member 1258

Guest
I think we all get a bit of that you cycled! reaction sometimes. I live in Coventry and I'm doing agency work in Nuneaton, a round trip of thirteen miles, and it freaks some people out that I am happy to cycle there and back. The other thing that gets a reaction is to tell them yes I have a car licence, but no I don't run a car.
 

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
The other thing that gets a reaction is to tell them yes I have a car licence, but no I don't run a car.

It's amazing seeing peoples reaction to two other things as well.

One is when someone says (at a weekly event), "I can give you a lift to save you having to cycle", and you tell them you'd rather cycle thanks.

The other is when in the discussion on how you could possibly bear to ride the extraordinary distance of 5 miles each way you let slip that not only do you have a driving licence, you have a car on the drive which you could have chosen to use instead of the bike! At that point you just know they're wondering whether or not to call the people in white coats for you.
 

taxing

Well-Known Member
I had one of these conversations just yesterday, with someone new at work.

Her: It must be nice to live in Hull and be able to cycle into work.
Me: Yep, I really enjoy it. Where do you live?
Her: Beverley, so it's too far for me.
Me: I cycled from Beverley this morning. I had a really nice ride in.
Her: All that way!?

It's a grand total of 7 miles. :rolleyes:
 

Number14

Veteran
Location
Fareham
I had one of these conversations just yesterday, with someone new at work.

Her: It must be nice to live in Hull and be able to cycle into work.
Me: Yep, I really enjoy it. Where do you live?
Her: Beverley, so it's too far for me.
Me: I cycled from Beverley this morning. I had a really nice ride in.
Her: All that way!?

It's a grand total of 7 miles. :rolleyes:


That's not a suprising reaction. A lot of people associate distance with the time taken to travel that journey. If it takes her an hour to get from Beverley to Hull she will think its a long way. If it only takes her 30 minutes to go the other way to Driffield, she'll think that Driifeld is closer - it's a perception thing.
 
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