This should explain why I have to call home each time I make it safely
to uni...
First, the stats:
Cycling to uni - new PB today 57 minutes, usually about 65 minutes.
Travel outside of peak hours to use the roads, because the cycleway out
near my area is downright scary, especially at night.
Walk/bus or walk/bus/citycat to uni - approx 65 mins during peak hour
(lots of buses on the busway) or approx 105 mins late night/early
morning; cost $1.60 each way.
Walk/train - just not practical, walking to the station takes 40
minutes, nearest station to uni is about 30 minutes, and I have to
interchange at the city; cost $1.60 each way.
Drive - 25 minutes off peak, 45 minutes peak hour, 60 minutes peak hour
in the wet, 90 minutes if there's a four car pileup on the bridge (not a
frequent occurrence). Parking $2.50, petrol approx $3.00 each way. I
don't include rego because I need my car to get to and from my other
job, so I'd need to have my car registered anyway.
So unlike most of the commuters who have piped up about how grand
cycling is, I actually have a time/money tradeoff to consider. In terms
of the stress levels... well I go to uni early anwyay, so the driving is
quick and easy. One day a week I go to work straight after uni one day
to circus and cycling home at 10:30 pm is not my thing, not out where I
live, so I like to either drive on those days or drive to work/circus
(free parking) and then ride to/from uni). If it's wet, it takes the
same amount of time to ride or drive, and if I drive I stay dry. The
public transport is improving but I only ever use it if I am too tired
to ride back home or if it's peak hour when I'm travelling.
The best thing about cycling is it allows me to double up on my exercise
- I don't need to find another time to go for a ride. So the fact is,
the only reason I ride is because I want to and I like the exercise.
Sometimes when I'm poor I ride because I need to. But the last few weeks
I've been massively busy so I've had to drive - the cost to park/travel
meant less to me than the time!
Now this morning I finally got back on the bike and rode in, it was a
beautiful morning.
First I copped some abuse from a driver down on Logan Rd. I consoled
myself by thinking that he probably was born and (in)bred in Woodridge
or some other really dumb suburb.
Then I encountered a fellow who had something to prove. Well I assume he
did, but I don't know what it was because he never backed it up; after
passing him on a few hills I had a chat and that was a good thing
because had I become a statistic he would've been a witness. He was a
reasonably nice bloke.
Heading through Mt Gravatt, a truck driver seemed offended that I passed
him taking of from lights. ("Hello, I weight a lot less, of course I
took off, I thought it would be better to clear the intersection than to
eat your diesel fumes."😉 Despite there being another lane heading our
way, totally clear, he didn't want to change lanes. Begrudgingly did so.
Didn't even make a half-arsed effort to look like he cared about
clearing me - as soon as the nose of the truck was past he started
moving left, was about a foot away from me by the time I reached the
door (with me rapidly slowing, veering left and considering jumping the
kerb into the many bus-stop seats), brushing my shoulder as his tail
passed. Hmmm, good morning.
Rest of the ride was moderately uneventful, until Coro Drive bikepath
(shared path) where the bell once again proved to NOT work, as a pack of
cyclists passed on the other side several women didn't even think to
give a bit more clearance, and coming up a hill towards a crazy runner
in the middle of the path in a blind section, I was madly ringing my
bell AND calling out "cyclist right, passing on your right, cyclist
right" and she swore at me when I passed her - oh, she had earphones on
and hadn't heard me. I'm such a bad person, apparently I should have
ridden up, stepped off, tapped her on the shoulder "excuse me ma'am,
would you mind shifting a little to the left so that I may safely pass
you?"
Closer to uni I had to deal with small cycling groups cutting corners in
really unsafe places (they're lucky it was me they cut off and not (1)
another such cycling group or (2) a car).
SO... that's my relaxing daily commute. I think I'll hitch a ride home.
Brisbane drivers just do their best to make it hell for cyclists.