What other people think ?

[J4CKO]

Its funny, I am quite into cars and my kids go to a private school so we have kids turn up to play/sleep over and they get delivered in some really tasty motors, I have a 2003 Saab Aero, its alright, remapped and it goes like stink but in the car stakes its worth not a lot and certainly isnt new or work 150 grand like the Fearraris and stuff that turn up.

However I got home the other night and a child was being delivered in a massive top end Merc, dad gets out and clocks the odd sight of me arriving, I let on and he recognises me and he was full of questions and seemed kind of embarassed about his big posh car, he started making excuses about how he would love to but its too far, yadda yadda.

So, weirdly, with a £679 bike I kind of inadvertently got into a game of one upmanship with a 70 grand car owner and came away feeling like I had got one over on him, even though I hadnt intended to as I am not a jealous type/competitive type.

 

[ianrauk]

What we have learnt here..
1: Your kids go to private school
2: You drive a £25000+ car
3: said car you like to drive fast
4: You ride a £679 bike
5: You like to brag about things
6: You got upset that he has a better car then you?
7: You arriving on a bike is apparently an odd sight
8: You try to justify all the above by implying that Mercman is jealous that you ride a bike.

 

[iacula]

One upmanship is always a problem in life I fear. I ride a bike and feel superior to all car drivers. When I'm driving my 10 year old Ford Fiesta I feel superior to all car drivers with a newer car than me.

 

[zimzum42]

However much I love my bikes, an however stupid the amounts I've spent on them, I'd still trade them in for a top motor.....

 

[John the Monkey]

...I'd still trade them in for a top motor.....

Not rubbishing that at all, but genuinely, I wouldn't.

I find driving a bloody chore, and very much prefer not to do it if I can get away with it. As for cars, the cheapest one with room for our stuff suits me just fine, personally. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks, I guess.

 

[numbnuts]

When I see nice new cars and then look at my 11 year old Mondeo I think to myself well at least its paid for

 

[hackbike 666]

Not rubbishing that at all, but genuinely, I wouldn't.

I wouldn't either.

 

[zimzum42]

I do sometimes feel a little on my own on here in that I'm into both bikes and cars

Ideally i would have a Landcruiser and either a BMW 8 series or a Merc CL50 or something alongside the fleet of bikes!

 

[iacula]

Isn't car ownership a cause of global warming, I feel guilty driving a car.

 

[zimzum42]

Actually, scrub the german cars, I want a Nissan Skyline

 

[HJ]

Not rubbishing that at all, but genuinely, I wouldn't.

I find driving a bloody chore, and very much prefer not to do it if I can get away with it. As for cars, the cheapest one with room for our stuff suits me just fine, personally. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks, I guess.

+1

 

[Amanda P]

I quite enjoy the feeling of waiting in a traffic jam in my battered Hilux that I bought for £4000 ten years ago, and being behind someone in a car worth ten times that figure.

All that money spent on wheels, and they're still just as stationary as I am.

Said Hilux has never, ever, broken down. So it's equally nice to pass an expensive motor with its bonnet up on the hard shoulder of the M1.

 

[John the Monkey]

Ideally i would have a Landcruiser and either a BMW 8 series or a Merc CL50 or something alongside the fleet of bikes!

Your bike fleet has the advantage of being cheaper to obtain and own, I guess

I think you have some kindred spirits here, wasn't there a dream cars thread a while back..?

 

[goo_mason]

Funnily enough, I've had a few comments over the last three years from drivers as I walk through the car park to get my bike. They'll usually say, "Oh, I wish I could cycle like you, as I could do with getting fit" (and they're usually severely overweight bloaters who probably drive all of a mile from door to door).

I've been tempted to say, "Well, get a bike like I did and after riding it every day you'll probably drop a few stones just like I did", but I bite my tongue and smile politely as the words wouild probably be wasted on them.

 

[John the Monkey]

Funnily enough, I've had a few comments over the last three years from drivers as I walk through the car park to get my bike. They'll usually say, "Oh, I wish I could cycle like you, as I could do with getting fit" (and they're usually severely overweight bloaters who probably drive all of a mile from door to door).

When I started riding regularly, I was about 3st too heavy, with no time to do gym based exercise. I did 8 miles each way then, starting with 3 days a week and working my way up.

I had a few weekends of achey legs, but I think most people who aren't seriously physically infirm would be surprised at the distance they were able to do, and how easily they could do it, if they gave it a try.