Navigational Nupty and Cycle Commuting Evangelist

I picked the perfect week to get serious about cycle commuting. I have faced two main hurdles with cycle commuting.

The first is that I am seriously spatially challenged (I’m not calling myself fat, I’m saying I have no sense of direction, that I am a navigational nupty). This has been mostly solved by the purchase of a seriously overpriced handlebar mount for my iPhone (which is in a similarly overpriced Lifeproof case, which has paid for itself many times over when I drop, drown and generally mistreat my phone). This in combination with Google Maps (with which I have a love/hate relationship of complete dependence, it’s like a boyfriend that treats me like rubbish, with occasional bouts of brilliance) has meant I can confidently get on the bike and find most places.

The second is the feeling that it all seems so hard, and it would be so much easier to just take the tube. But just like Tony Abbott’s spouting about the ABC’s left wing bias this is based on a feeling, and not real world experience or evidence.

Taking the tube wastes two of my most important resources: time and money. Whilst I have this idealistic vision of sitting on the tube, reading a book and arriving at work easily, the reality is this: descending into the bowels of the earth (some call it Hell, others The Northern Line), waiting for a few trains to pass, and then squeezing onto one when you realise its not going to get any better, a mad rush when you arrive at your destination with everyone acting like the whole public transport has been setup to torment them personally. And this is a good run, not allowing for any line disruptions.

This has been the most rubbish week of weather I've encountered since moving here. All my commutes this week have been rainy and cold. But you know what- its not that bad. I get to work and I'm awake, and I've had a joke with a few cyclists at the lights. I've also probably had a scenic tour of London (some people can't be helped, even with Google Maps and a handlebar mount for their iPhone).

But the factor that has pushed me over the edge to commit to cycling to work as often as possible is that it means nearly 1.5 hours of training each day with no extra time commitment and if I cycled every day allows me to put in an extra 100km of training. So drivers, be friendly to commuting cyclists. Or better yet, become one yourself.