We have had rain storms lately that have been as ferocious as they have been sudden, so when today I had to go to Hamilton and it was looking ominous I thought about taking the car. Then it occurred to me that I would have to find parking and that can be difficult. There might not be enough petrol in the car. Maybe I would ding it as I am not so used to driving now. And then I realised that it was harder to take the car than to ride and if I got wet, so long as I was not totally sodden on the way there, which was fairly unlikely, it would not matter. Getting wet on the way home would not matter at all. This is how I used to view things in reverse: I used to plan taking the bike and try to mentally overcome the hassles in advance: where was my helmet and my bike lock and what would I wear and did the tyres need pumping up or the front wheel putting back on. Now all these things have become so second nature that taking the car has become the hassle. Anyway, pics from Hamilton ….
Riding no hands…
a typical Novocastrian cyclist …
my reflection …
And I did ride and it didn’t rain.
Ah, rain. The great psych-out. Glad to hear it didn’t intimidate!
I will have to let it not intimidate me by getting better wet weather gear I think.
Yes, I hear you. I’m glad that driving for you is now the hassle. We live 1 mile from downtown where it is a major inconvenience to locate parking, then you have to pay the meter, etc. It’s much easier to walk, bike, or take a free bus to anything within 2 miles of our house. It’s amusing to me that so many of our neighbors constantly do the driving thing.
I amazed now when I hear of people doing that too, taking the car where they know there will be all sorts of parking problems and riding is such an easy alternative! Today I had to go to another shop when getting a new iPhone and they gave me all sorts of directions re parking and I relied that I am on the bike so it wouldn’t be at all a problem for me!
I’m much more patient on a bike because it’s more free and enjoyable and there’s nearly always some alternative path to take to avoid a frustrating holdup. Free flowing, instead of stopping and starting.
Hehe, yes I had that experience today at Adamstown gates again, Peter, got through in no time.