The AA Complaining Again

[Paul J]

Still "slagging off" then?

Ahh you still talking crap, nothing changed then?

 

[dellzeqq]

Given the reliance on fossil fuels (and the subsidy from government) it's a pity so many people in Lewis are against wind power....... http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/23/04/2008/110251/Wind-farm-proposals-for-Isle-of-Lewis-scrapped.htm

 

[Night Train]

Jesus!!
All I'm saying is that there are options. If fuel goes up by 5%, then it's possible to drive more economically, and use 5% less fuel.

I tried and didn't quite make 5% improvement, only 3.7%. Will have to try harder next time!

 

[Paul J]

Given the reliance on fossil fuels (and the subsidy from government) it's a pity so many people in Lewis are against wind power....... http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/23/04/2008/110251/Wind-farm-proposals-for-Isle-of-Lewis-scrapped.htm

Very true!! But people are against windpower everywhere even on the Fens. Lewis is a very unusual place to live and work. People I have spoken to from Orkney and Skye say they are in some ways 20 years behind the times.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Not really, I start as early as six in the morning, and normally dont finish till half seven. taking travel time then wash and change to go, Id have to be up at four and near enough straight out the door. Then coming home at nine or later as I finish at quarter to eight on some shifts, wouldnt be the most practical commute. Also the route by car is mainly motorway, I dont know what it is the other way for cycling, but will be a few more miles . So could be quite a bit longer.

I understand that for a variety of reasons cycling maybe impractical, but there are other choices for example:
http://www.eddybullet.com/page9.html Low finance, huge mpg reasonable enough performance for modern roads.
OK, not everybodies choice but there are a lot of cheap to run motorbikes/Burgman style super scooters etc.
Just a thought. It would be my choice in your situation.

 

[col]

I understand that for a variety of reasons cycling maybe impractical, but there are other choices for example:
http://www.eddybullet.com/page9.html Low finance, huge mpg reasonable enough performance for modern roads.
OK, not everybodies choice but there are a lot of cheap to run motorbikes/Burgman style super scooters etc.
Just a thought. It would be my choice in your situation.

I agree. Then there is the other family needs of a small car. If I was single it would be an option.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I agree. Then there is the other family needs of a small car. If I was single it would be an option.

Well up until recently that was our situation, we ran a (large) family wagon, and my extra transport needs would be covered by a scooter. I don't know your economic situation, but the cost of running a scooter alongside a small car shouldn't be too bad. There are many upsides, free parking, speed of nipping into the town and lots money saved on weekly fuel. less wear and tear on the family car etc etc. Th biggest upside is motorised 2 wheels is fun!

 

[al78]

I'm surprised at that. I only have a 13 mile round trip, but arrive at work buzzing and full of energy due to the workout, and chilled out when I get back home (as I take it a bit slower). When I used to drive, that was when I was getting stressed, being stuck in the traffic queues. It was only a month or so after switching to cycle commuting (about 6 years ago), that I'd realised just how tensed up my shoulders had got from that car journey.

Well this is the thing, everyone's different, and as such the I-can-therefore-everyone-can attitude is just wrong, if not arrogant.

Having said that I did manage to cycle the 19 miles to Pyecombe, do a nine mile walk then cycle home again today. For some reason I felt unusually strong on the ride home (slight tailwind helped), when I ought to have been flagging. The crucial thing, however, is how I will feel tomorrow morning. It is not so much the effort during the ride that is the problem but my seemingly poor recovery ability which sometimes leaves me feeling crap the next day if I'm not careful.

 

[growingvegetables]

Given the reliance on fossil fuels (and the subsidy from government) it's a pity so many people in Lewis are against wind power....... http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/23/04/2008/110251/Wind-farm-proposals-for-Isle-of-Lewis-scrapped.htm

Hmmm - I don't know the back story, but there surely is one.

2006 - islanders turn down the world's largest wind farm, to supply 25% of Britain's needs, as many as 500 turbines.
through your link (2008) to
2010 - "A 33 turbine, 118 Megawatt (MW) wind farm at Muaitheabhal in the Western Isles, providing green electricity for 55,000 homes, nearly four times the number of homes on the islands, has been given the go ahead."
and http://www.stornowaywind.com/

Methinks the Lewisians weren't saying no to wind power, but to mass windfarming of their island by developers providing wind power for the rest of the UK?

 

[Crankarm]

Why are some on here determined to make it a case of "us and them" on the roads? The vast majority of cyclists that I know are also drivers, myself included. I would say the price of petrol is already way too high, thanks to the tax on it. If you really think that motorists/hauliers are out there driving for the hell of it, then you are sadly mistaken.

It is a fact of life that the car has become pretty much a necessity for most people. Maybe they are not fortunate enough to live close enough to their work to commute by bike. If they are solo in their car, perhaps they don't work in the same location and do the same shifts as people who live near them.

If your own personal circumstances suit you being able to cycle everywhere, then lucky you. But please don't wish the worst on the rest of us. If I was a non cyclist reading your post, it wouldn't do my attitude towards cyclists a whole lot of good.

Good post.

I used to cycle everywhere, until I was knocked off for the 2nd time 14 months ago. So I drive everywhere now. No more road cycling, I would love to incorporate the cycle way along the GBW into my commute but sadly there are busy roads I would have to ride either end to access it and this is not going to happen. So now I have the huge cost of fuel each month which is currently costing me about £170 a month, gulp, this is JUST fuel, but there is no alternative. Great if you have an easy ride to work, myself and the thousands of other car drivers who have no other option but to drive, are happy for you as it means one less car making up the traffic, but please don't bleat, it doesn't do your cause or crusade any good. In fact it is this type of fanatical rub your face in it evangelism that is pretty unattractive.

 

[mcshroom]

Crankarm, we've gone through your choice before about stopping commuting, and if it doesn't feel safe for you then that's your choice and I hope you are happy either way. It is a shame that you don't feel able to ride the roads around your area safely due to the dangerous driving of others but if you don't enjoy the route then you've got to make that decision.

As you did cycle the same route before though then it is possible on a bike, you just choose not to do so for other reasons.

 

[Brandane]

I used to cycle everywhere, until I was knocked off for the 2nd time 14 months ago. So I drive everywhere now. No more road cycling, I would love to incorporate the cycle way along the GBW into my commute but sadly there are busy roads I would have to ride either end to access it and this is not going to happen. So now I have the huge cost of fuel each month which is currently costing me about £170 a month, gulp, this is JUST fuel, but there is no alternative. Great if you have an easy ride to work, myself and the thousands of other car drivers who have no other option but to drive, are happy for you as it means one less car making up the traffic, but please don't bleat, it doesn't do your cause or crusade any good. In fact it is this type of fanatical rub your face in it evangelism that is pretty unattractive.

I hope some of the more tunnel visioned (towards cycling) contributors to this thread might read your post and get the message that there are all sorts of reasons why cycling is not possible all the time, even for reasonably keen cyclists, and that the motor vehicle has its place.

 

[Crankarm]

If spending an extra £8.50 a month on petrol is hurting, then drive less and/or drive more economically. It's not that difficult to work out.
Anyway, if you can afford the depreciation on a car, then the fuel pales into insignificance. And as for 'those fortunate enough to be able to cycle to work', it's a choice we make. Played for and got. I didn't just happen to live close to work, I live near a variety of employers and got a job at one of them. Fortune doesn't enter into it.
If someone chooses to live miles away from any possible employment, then that's their choice too, and they should learn to deal with it.

Such a tolerant temperate post that takes an holistic pragmatic approach not. More like an I'm alright jack sod everyone else who can't achieve what I have because they are losers attitude. And this guy is supposed to be a Doctor ............

All I can say is I hope you lose your job and the only one you can find after a long time on the dole is 30-40 miles away with no realistic option of cycling or public transport to get you there and back so you have no option but to drive, if of course you actually have a driving licence and a car ........... to take up this job. Or do you turn down the job as you can't cycle to it and back and thus spend yet more time as a reject on the dole or do you take the job and begin life again although not cycling. A no brainer for most people really unless you are an internet troll ...........

 

[mcshroom]

Such a tolerant temperate post that takes an holistic pragmatic approach not. More like an I'm alright jack sod everyone else who can't achieve what I have because they are losers attitude. And this guy is supposed to be a Doctor ............

All I can say is I hope you lose your job and the only one you can find after a long time on the dole is 30-40 miles away with no realistic option of cycling or public transport to get you there and back so you have no option but to drive, if of course you actually have a driving licence and a car ........... to take up this job. Or do you turn down the job as you can't cycle to it and back and thus spend yet more time as a reject on the dole or do you take the job and begin life again although not cycling. A no brainer for most people really unless you are an internet troll ...........

Deliberate attack on another poster that has very little to do with the thread and then describes the target of his rant as a troll. Takes one to know one I suppose.

 

[Crankarm]

Crankarm, we've gone through your choice before about stopping commuting, and if it doesn't feel safe for you then that's your choice and I hope you are happy either way. It is a shame that you don't feel able to ride the roads around your area safely due to the dangerous driving of others but if you don't enjoy the route then you've got to make that decision.

As you did cycle the same route before though then it is possible on a bike, you just choose not to do so for other reasons.

No choice about it mushroom. It's over. The End. And I seem to remember you were an "occasional" cyclist as opposed to a cyclist who rode 10k+ miles each year? Up north where you are the roads are very different far less traffic.