The Great British Drive

[BrumJim]

I love cycling.
I love driving.
I think that global warming is the biggest problem the world faces at the moment, and we all need to do something about it now.

OK, how do I square these? How do I sit watching F1 without wittering on about how much carbon is being burnt in order for 20 cars to go nowhere very quickly? How do I justify my driving day in an Aston Martin this coming weekend (birthday present)?
And do I shock my Mum and most other people on the driving day by cycling there (~40 miles)?

Answers, please. Prizes for the most imaginative use of the words "self denial" and "hypocrisy".

 

[MarkF]

I rarely drive anywhere and certainly not for pleasure, I have a Mazda MX5 that I bought for "fun", it just sits there doing nowt. However, I ride this all over the UK and get an enormous amount of pleasure from it, scoot about at 30-50mph, getting 120mpg and enjoying zero road tax on a depreciation proof vehicle.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I'd be interested in the answers to BrumJim's post, as I'm resonably environmentally conscious (recycle everything, don't drive if I can walk or cycle, etc), but in what is possibly the least eco friendly holiday ever, I fly to Bahrain every year to scrutineer for the grand prix. And I'm thinking of buying a classic Merc with a 2.8 litre engine.

 

[very-near]

I dislike driving. I see it as a neccessary evil having done it for 25 years (apart from when I get to go green laning which is done at about 10mph)

I dislike drivers who go out and drive at 30-40mph in the countryside because they want to 'enjoy the view' (find a layby and get out if you want to do this as your eyes are rarely on the road and the vehicles around you)

I love the m/cycle though as this requires 100% focus and demands real skill, and I love the cycle as it leaves me mostly alone with my thoughts and I can amble along on empty lanes without being a hassle to anyone or anyone being a hassle to me.

 

[Archie_tect]

Having had to endure 'day trips' with my parents, when my dad would drive from Leeds to Scarborough, Robin Hood's Bay or the Yorkshire Dales, I developed an intense dislike of pointless drives to 'see the scenery'.

Topped by a picnic [sitting in the car] overlooking the sea in a car park [usually in the rain] with sandwiches of tinned salmon and a flask of sweetened warm coffee, my day was complete.

 

[tyred]

I love driving. I'm blessed to live where roads are quiet (albeit poorly surfaced) so have no traffic problems to deal with. But like Linf, I do not agree with people driving as a means to go site seeing. Stop, get out the binnoculars and then concentrate on the road when you start driving again.

 

[byegad]

I used to enjoy driving 30 years ago, but now there are few open roads where you are not following some prannette in a Mazda 6 or Nissan Micra who drives too slow and brakes half way round every corner.

For me driving a car is a necessary evil if I am to do the other things I want to do.

 

[ChrisKH]

Nothing green in the motive, but I just dislike driving. It holds no attraction unless I have a bike on the roof (and/or a suitcase in the car) and I'm off to somewhere interesting which is rare these days. It is such a chore.

 

[belairman]

I have access to five very different cars within the family, I never go out to drive just for the sake of it, but I do enjoy a good drive on a proper single-carriageway road (which is about all there is in Lincolnshire) and often go the slightly longer way home to enjoy it.

 

[Norm]

The pleasurable semi-catatonic relaxing state of motorway driving is one of lifes pleasures.

Especially the M6 at 100mph...

I love driving, always have. From driving a 20 year old diseasel-powered Land Rover across fields to driving a Le Mans Porsche 962 around Goodwood, I'll take it all.

Motorbikes are fun, too, if things are working well, but I prefer cars.

I don't go for a drive without an excuse but sometimes the excuses are pretty darned flimsy.

 

[tyred]

I enjoy it...

The pleasurable semi-catatonic relaxing state of motorway driving is one of lifes pleasures.

Funnily enough, I hate driving on the motorway.

 

[Twenty Inch]

I love driving, me.

Love it. Love messing about on the car too. In fact I got rid of a nice, reliable little ZX in order to buy a £30 heap-of-junk MOT write-off BX, which I have brought back to life and is now our daily drive, despite being 20 years old. I was under the wheel arches this weekend, trying to sort out the clunk from the drop links.

Love it. Love the grease, dirt, macho, rufty-tufty manliness of it, and the tools.

Driving's great.

Pity it's not going to last.

 

[theclaud]

 

[Jane Smart]

I have to say I enjoy driving too, just not in busy towns that I don't know like Edinburgh or Glasgow


In fact, I have just been out for a drive for the sake of driving in my wee TVR with the hood down.

Poser?

Moi?

 

[yello]

I love the m/cycle though as this requires 100% focus

Pretty much in agreement there. It's one of the reasons I prefer the m/cycle, it engages me in a way driving doesn't. I'm shattered after a couple of hours on the m/bike, mentally exhausted. I have to stop for a break and a coffee.