Last Friday, I decided to cycle to work. It took me a while to get to do it because my dad has always been driving me to work since it is on the way. I like the idea of reducing cost and redundancy, hence this logic made it difficult to get me off the passenger seat and onto my saddle. After all, why not hitch a ride when my its on the way?
The distance:
My office is 7km away from my house
The car/private transport:
Takes an unbeatable 15-20min for me to reach my workplace even in bad traffic. Clearly the ultimate choice of transport for anyone who can afford it right now.
Public transport:
Having such a short distance means that if I take public transport, waiting for the bus can take up a significant portion of my time since the actual "moving" time is actually quite short. In addition, the bus doesn't bring me directly to my office and I would still have to walk another 400m~ to my workplace. This brings up a total traveling time of about 30mins.Overall, quite an acceptable time for a daily commute but there is very little comfort in taking public transport during peak hours. These buses are often packed to the brim due to all the people rushing home from their workplace all at the same time. What really got on my nerves was that the road was rather clear but the buses were infrequent and mostly packed. So, I thought, why not get on the road myself?
Bicycle:
I have been cycling on the roads since I was secondary school and by now, I'm quite comfortable with vehicles speeding past me at close range. Possessing both motorcycle and car licences allows me to know the proper road etiquette. In addition, having driven for 5 years now, I have enough experience to preempt the moves of other motorists. Before I type and type about the benefits of cycling, I must admit that it won't be easy for any casual cyclist to pick up their bicycle and start cycling to work. It is important to first be acquainted with the roads. First try during off-peak hours and preferably with someone who is experienced with cycling on the road. I started off cycling on the road on my own and I was scared stiff during my first few tries.
Before I rode off to my office, I prepared several things:
1) Rear blinkers for better visability in the morning,
2) polo tee and jeans for my dress down day,
3) a small towel and a small bottle of hair/body soap.
4) a lock
and I was wearing dry-fit shirt and pants for the ride.
This wasn't a relaxed ride for me. I was trying it out as an alternative transport to bus and this was supposed to be comparable to public transport for it to be feasible for me to consider doing this on a daily basis. I have transport allowance so it did not make sense for me to use private transport unless there is something else I can gain to compensate for not using public transport. To me, I want to incorporate some exercise into my lifestyle as I am far too lazy to head to a gym or schedule some time for a run. Hence, cycling to work is my best option to provide me some exercise and transport.
Trying to keep up with cars and cycling at a speed that doesn't end up slowing down other vehicles really take quite some effort. By the time I reached office, I was so tired!
I took a quick 5min shower and I was at my desk. I made the mistake of not airing my cycling attire on my bike so that I could re-use it on the way back. This meant that I had to cycle with polo tee and jeans but it wasn't so bad as the evening was rather cooling and I did not bother to cycle as fast as in the morning.
So, if you are comfortable with cycling on the road, I urge you to give cycling
No comments:
Post a Comment