Hello all,
Today I felt I have just got to share my rant about traffic in this country!!!
My journey to work consists of a motorway journey & 3 A roads, a total of 27.8 miles from Stevenage to Watford, only 27.8 miles I here you say!!!
On a good day the journey is completed in 1hour 35mins but good days don't happen very often, most days the journey is 2 hours plus... I have spent the best part of the summer riding my bikes into work to beat the traffic, but it is now getting to that time of year when it is cold & wet no longer fun to ride the bikes!!! A lot of the traffic we fight on a daily basis is school run traffic, little Johnny or Sophie being chauffeured to school instead of walking or cycling or getting the bus... I know times have changed over the years but in my childhood my parents never ran us around anywhere!! If I wanted to get to school or go out to see my friends, yes you guessed it I walked or cycled or got the bus... I am a parent so am well aware of the dangers out there today for the Kids, but I refuse to wrap them up in cotton wool & do every thing for them... We will have a generation of Children that can't walk anywhere, don't know what a bicycle is!! Or how to get anywhere without someone else doing it for them!!!
That's better Rant over....
If you aint on the edge your taking up too much space!
Makes me feel lucky doing my 30 mile journey in 35 mins on bike and 45 mins by car
Mind you, i'm with you on the traffic, some parents could actually walk their kids to school but instead have to drive a half mile to a school in their people carrier and then park up and block the road.
The one that is getting me at present is Truck drivers who have taken to using one of the roads whilst our local big road the A11 is dual carriagewayed, regularly slowed down to 40 mph nowadays due to the volume of traffic.
Then there are the holidaymakers who clog up our town on Fridays and Saturdays making their way to the coast.
Inconsiderate barstewards all of them!
There you go, left work at 16.30 & just got home 5 mins ago!!!
I know the A11 all too well, mind you its been long over due changed into Dual carriage way, once it is complete it will improve the traffic no end.. Been in many a jam on the A11!!! In my heady days as a field service engineer running a round the country like a looney Now that I spend most of my time driving a desk I have too much time on my hands to be able to bitch about the traffic... LOL...
If you aint on the edge your taking up too much space!
My work runs have got better over the years.
I used to be 23 miles each way which could take between 25 mins and an hour and a half to 2 hours in the snow, done this for over 10 years.
Then 12 miles which was always under 30 minutes no matter what the weather on the bike (except once that took 2 hours)
Nowadays I am 8 miles from work and can do it in 16 minutes, no motorways and 3/4 of it is 30mph.
I cant understand people that spend so much time travelling to work, I know sometimes people have no choice but its not for me.
I lived in Stoke on Trent years ago, well someone has to, and worked in Heywood north of Manchester. I was working for a big company to get my foot in the door as a sound engineer. Combination of not wanting to be on the dole in Stoke and wanting a better job in the field which I worked.
The journey was like death race 2000! Horrible, M6, M56, M62. In the car it took 3 hours, 1 1/2 on the bike. Luckily only did it for a year.
Used to roller skate to school when I was a kid. The only time we got a lift was on the way back from the dreaded dentist... so we didn't miss too much school
I'm still thick so it didn't work but boy was I fitter back then
Omnes qui me videt, me verentur, et ante me supplicant
I do not commute through choice, this is only the second time in my working career that I have to do some miles to get to work, I have always been lucky & worked for companys on my door step & have only had 5 min journeys to work, now I guess its my turn to commute to work!!! It could be worse & a lot longer & further!!! As the traffic gets worse I could face a longer Journey but I will cross that bridge when it comes to it... The bike always makes life easier & love getting to work with a smile on your face, just wish we had the weather to do it all year round.. Meanwhile its time to go face that traffic... Yippee...
If you aint on the edge your taking up too much space!
I can walk to work in 15 minutes or drive there in 8!!!! So much for traffic Its not even worth riding the bike there takes longer to kit up n drag it outta the garage.
Now that I spend most of my time driving a desk I have too much time on my hands to be able to bitch about the traffic... LOL... 
and an hour and a half to 2 hours in the snow, done this for over 10 years.
So much for traffic 