First 8 days without a car
Just realised this blog could be made themed for the next 3 months about “life without a car”. I am always impressed by people who regularly commute everywhere by bike, travel from home to work to pub to shops and do it all by bike.
And now I might have to become one of those people. The first 7 days without a licence went something like this:
Day 1-3: arrange to spend weekend at yoga retreat. Am driven around by Jane who is really really nice and get to know her better. Walk around my garden and admire the colourful purple and orange sky. Vaguely notice that my garden looks different.
Day 4: at last minute pike out of cycling to work and beg colleague to give me a lift. Shout her a half strength vanilla capuccino to say thanks. Try to catch bus home but different colleague sees me sitting at bus stop and decides to drive me home, which turns out to be fortunate because I was 30 minutes early for the bus. Stand in front garden trying to work out what looks different> Bruce the neighbour calls out and spends the next 15 minutes pointing out all the plants he’s put in my garden for my (agapanthas are the only name I recognise-he brought the bulb’s back from his Mum’s house in Sydney).
Day 5: Catch early bus to work, try to catch late bus but still am looking at the wrong column on bus timetable and am 30 minutes early for the next bus. Give in and get taxi home. Taxi driver asks if I regularly catch taxis. Swear it will not become a habit.
Day 6: catch taxi to work. Catch bus at home: now am reading bus timetable correctly and arrive at bus stop less than 5 minutes early. Observe that the bus trip takes 40 minutes and acknowledge that I can cycle to work faster than that.
Day 7: grab the packed bike panniers that have been resting by my front door for 3 days and cycle to work. It takes me 35 minutes! This is because of Mark’s advice about taking a bike route that allows you to maintain a constant speed. Excessive hills or change in directions interfere with your momentum he says; it is better to cycle slightly further but at a steady pace than take an inefficient short cut. The other reason I only take 35 minutes is I observe a cyclist ahead crossing Hogbin Drive just before the big hill and whilst all the cars are in slowed down in 40 kmh. I had been crossing Hogbin Drive about 500 metres north, which meant I cycled up and down a hill and further around a roundabout. Crossing Hogbin Drive further south turns out to be much more efficient. I cycle home and only take 25 minutes to reach my local shops, perhaps 5 minutes from my house. Hurrah, my fitness HAS improved which makes the entire cycle much easier.
Day 7 evening: feel too tired to concentrate properly on Peep Show. Am pleased I feel tired and looking forward to the ease of sleep however want to stay awake to keep reading Lisa St Aubin de Taren’s Memory Maps, which means I am fighting between two opposite desires, physical and emotional.
Day 8 avoid alarms and decide not to cycle to the bus stop to catch a bus to the drawing group in Bello. This turns out to be a mistake because the local art class on Friday afternoons has been cancelled and so I am left without any drawing tutition. I nearly lose my bike pannier, but am relieved to return home and find it sitting on my verandah, probably put there by the same mystery person/angel who took my washing off the line before it got wet from the rain. After arranging for a friend to look after Mr Right in his time of need, I catch bus to town and go to library and borrow lots of interesting books and purchase ONCE on DVD and get excited about my reading options for the weekend. I also see the delivery van for the local organic supplier and resolve to start getting my fruit and vegetables home delivered. Hurrah! And I organise a tennis game for Sunday.
And now I might have to become one of those people. The first 7 days without a licence went something like this:
Day 1-3: arrange to spend weekend at yoga retreat. Am driven around by Jane who is really really nice and get to know her better. Walk around my garden and admire the colourful purple and orange sky. Vaguely notice that my garden looks different.
Day 4: at last minute pike out of cycling to work and beg colleague to give me a lift. Shout her a half strength vanilla capuccino to say thanks. Try to catch bus home but different colleague sees me sitting at bus stop and decides to drive me home, which turns out to be fortunate because I was 30 minutes early for the bus. Stand in front garden trying to work out what looks different> Bruce the neighbour calls out and spends the next 15 minutes pointing out all the plants he’s put in my garden for my (agapanthas are the only name I recognise-he brought the bulb’s back from his Mum’s house in Sydney).
Day 5: Catch early bus to work, try to catch late bus but still am looking at the wrong column on bus timetable and am 30 minutes early for the next bus. Give in and get taxi home. Taxi driver asks if I regularly catch taxis. Swear it will not become a habit.
Day 6: catch taxi to work. Catch bus at home: now am reading bus timetable correctly and arrive at bus stop less than 5 minutes early. Observe that the bus trip takes 40 minutes and acknowledge that I can cycle to work faster than that.
Day 7: grab the packed bike panniers that have been resting by my front door for 3 days and cycle to work. It takes me 35 minutes! This is because of Mark’s advice about taking a bike route that allows you to maintain a constant speed. Excessive hills or change in directions interfere with your momentum he says; it is better to cycle slightly further but at a steady pace than take an inefficient short cut. The other reason I only take 35 minutes is I observe a cyclist ahead crossing Hogbin Drive just before the big hill and whilst all the cars are in slowed down in 40 kmh. I had been crossing Hogbin Drive about 500 metres north, which meant I cycled up and down a hill and further around a roundabout. Crossing Hogbin Drive further south turns out to be much more efficient. I cycle home and only take 25 minutes to reach my local shops, perhaps 5 minutes from my house. Hurrah, my fitness HAS improved which makes the entire cycle much easier.
Day 7 evening: feel too tired to concentrate properly on Peep Show. Am pleased I feel tired and looking forward to the ease of sleep however want to stay awake to keep reading Lisa St Aubin de Taren’s Memory Maps, which means I am fighting between two opposite desires, physical and emotional.
Day 8 avoid alarms and decide not to cycle to the bus stop to catch a bus to the drawing group in Bello. This turns out to be a mistake because the local art class on Friday afternoons has been cancelled and so I am left without any drawing tutition. I nearly lose my bike pannier, but am relieved to return home and find it sitting on my verandah, probably put there by the same mystery person/angel who took my washing off the line before it got wet from the rain. After arranging for a friend to look after Mr Right in his time of need, I catch bus to town and go to library and borrow lots of interesting books and purchase ONCE on DVD and get excited about my reading options for the weekend. I also see the delivery van for the local organic supplier and resolve to start getting my fruit and vegetables home delivered. Hurrah! And I organise a tennis game for Sunday.
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