doh. added 40% to my journey time. Late for work.

DavidTQ
DavidTQ Posts: 943
edited March 2008 in Commuting chat
I was cycling along my regular commute when my dad pulled up along side me in his works van and told me to sling the bike in the back and he'd give me a lift. Without even thinking about it I did so and jumped in, within 2 minutes we were at the section of my commute that motorised traffic crawls along then I remember, the bikes faster than cars...

Added 10 minutes to my normal 25 minute commute... :lol:

Comments

  • dirk_van_gently
    dirk_van_gently Posts: 826
    Nice morning for it, well at least at 7am it was.
    Found part of my route completely blocked due to sewer works on some new houses closing the road. I saw the signs "Road Closed ahead" but being a SA I decided, it's only a bicycle, should be able to pick it up and walk round. WRONG! :evil:
    5 miles detour later!! I get to work.
    T'was a nice ride though.
    If you see the candle as flame, the meal is already cooked.
    Photography, Google Earth, Route 30
  • BentMikey
    BentMikey Posts: 4,895
    Make sure you tell him, LOL!
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    Late for work? I normally give myself plenty of time for any unexpected incidents, and have a shower/coffee/surf on the net before work.

    What if you had got a puncture? Would you have been late then?
    I like bikes...

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  • MrGrumpy
    MrGrumpy Posts: 288
    redddraggon wrote:
    Late for work? I normally give myself plenty of time for any unexpected incidents, and have a shower/coffee/surf on the net before work.

    What if you had got a puncture? Would you have been late then?

    thats assumming you have a nice short commute !
    http://veloviewer.com/athlete/352771/
  • Belv
    Belv Posts: 866
    I had 10 mins added on by a puncture this morning - an inch square piece of metal went straight through my rear tyre. Luckily i'd left early for a change so i wasn't late.
  • cee
    cee Posts: 4,553
    I like to arrive at work at about 8.30. That then gives me half an hour to have my washup, porridge and coffee, and a read of the news before starting.
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    MrGrumpy wrote:
    redddraggon wrote:
    Late for work? I normally give myself plenty of time for any unexpected incidents, and have a shower/coffee/surf on the net before work.

    What if you had got a puncture? Would you have been late then?

    thats assumming you have a nice short commute !

    Well the OP has a normal commute time of 25mins, mine is 35mins in the morning - I still get into work early.

    It's personal choice in the end. If you want to leave home at a time that might mean you're late to work, it's up to you. I leave home at 7ish to get to work by 9. Obviously I get there at about 7.30, giving me plenty of time to do what I want for 90mins or start work early (meaning I get to go home early).
    I like bikes...

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  • MrGrumpy
    MrGrumpy Posts: 288
    flexy time must be great :( unfortunately shift work aint so forgiving hence minimum time required to get in to work and washed etc. My longest shifts are 9hrs and thats this week, looking at a 12hr day :( not good !
    http://veloviewer.com/athlete/352771/
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Why did you get in the van in the first place? Call yourself a cyclist! :lol:
  • DavidTQ
    DavidTQ Posts: 943
    redddraggon wrote:
    Late for work? I normally give myself plenty of time for any unexpected incidents, and have a shower/coffee/surf on the net before work.

    What if you had got a puncture? Would you have been late then?

    Yes if I had got a puncture Id have been late as well,being "late" isnt really much of an event for me I turn up at 8am normally because thats when the factory starts up I leave at 4:30 normally because thats when they stop, but theres no event waiting for me at 8am, and Im on a salary rather than hourly pay. Theres no "end" to my work at 4:30 my working hours arent contracted at all, when I leave Ive not "finished" something for the day. I dont take breaks either, lunch is eaten at the keyboard.

    My job is trouble shooting, strategist, insurance policy. Im there to fix things when they break, to plan for the future, to dream up new solutions and to get production going ASAP if production is stopped. If production is affected at a critical time the company loses out big time, but if nothings broken at work then I can still be doing "my job" whilst im sat in my dads van running behind my normal schedule. Now if something had broke and I was late in Id get dirty looks :lol: Otherwise its really not a big deal for me.

    If hours are strict then certainly it makes sense to leave ahead of time, but if its not critical, well why spend longer away from my wife and children than I have to on the off chance of something going wrong... Its swings and roundabouts the company gets a fair deal and theyve kept me here for 12 years.

    The main reason for the topic was the "doh" moment as I realised that the use of motorised transport actually slowed me down. I already know im faster than cars, jumping into the van was just one of those bizarre unthought through reactions. My dad was offering help, I took it. It was a spur of the moment decision, with little thinking time :D If I had taken a few seconds to consider it Id have realised it was going to be slower, If the traffic had been slow already at that point I would probably have turned down the lift, I just wasnt thinking ahead at that point the traffic is faster than me. But it didnt occur to me till after I was in the van, and it seemed a bit pointless to jump out in traffic and get back on the bike.

    To be honest I dont think my Dad thought it through either he just saw me cycling and offered a lift :D He knows from past conversations that its faster for me on bike. Still saved me the effort of a couple of big hills.
  • redjedi
    redjedi Posts: 44
    and it seemed a bit pointless to jump out in traffic and get back on the bike.

    :lol: That would have been a great thing to do.
    Can you imagine the faces of the drivers behind you, as you stepped out of the van, whipped out your bike and disappeared into the distance. :twisted:
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    David - I wasn't attacking you personally, I'm just a person who's never late for anything and it annoys me when people (mainly motorists) make out they are in rush, because they haven't left enough time for their journey.
    I like bikes...

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  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    David - I wasn't attacking you personally, I'm just a person who's never late for anything and it annoys me when people (mainly motorists) make out they are in rush, because they haven't left enough time for their journey.
    I like bikes...

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  • DavidTQ
    DavidTQ Posts: 943
    redddraggon wrote:
    David - I wasn't attacking you personally, I'm just a person who's never late for anything and it annoys me when people (mainly motorists) make out they are in rush, because they haven't left enough time for their journey.

    I wasnt taking it as an attack just explaining why being "late" isnt a problem for me, which I appreciate is a bit different to many peoples work situations. Perhaps just feeling a tad bit guilty over the fact that I know I have a lot more free and easy schedule than many people and trying to justify it :wink:

    Im someone who doesnt wear or own a watch, the clock in my living room has no numbers on it :D Im often late but not often in a hurry. :D
  • TheBoyBilly
    TheBoyBilly Posts: 749
    Im often late but not often in a hurry............

    ..........that is so, so me :lol:
    To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity - Oscar Wilde
  • MrGrumpy
    MrGrumpy Posts: 288
    we had someone like that at work, got shot of him eventually :roll: seemed to think he had a differant start time than the rest of us and that tea break time started as soon as he turned up.
    http://veloviewer.com/athlete/352771/
  • abbots_mike
    abbots_mike Posts: 280
    @ David TQ
    Sods law dictates that if you hadn't taken the lift, the roads would have emptied and your dad and his van would have gone driving off into the distance.
    End result, you still end up kicking yourself! :lol:
    http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1679217/
  • BentMikey
    BentMikey Posts: 4,895
    At least you had a precious 10 minutes to sit with your Dad and chat!!
  • nwallace
    nwallace Posts: 1,465
    MrGrumpy wrote:
    flexy time must be great :(

    I'm on Flexi time, I sometimes no Often wish I wasn't as I keep allowing an extra "5 mins" in bed until I get to the point where the bus is gone, I would be guaranteed late if I cycled and the only option is to skip breakfast and drive.

    when I haven't been on flexi time I have wished I was for that extra "5 mins" in bed.

    The other down side of flexi time is I tend to build up lots of extra, so right now I am off for the day by being 7.5 hours up (i am allowed to build up 10) and had to watch my time yesterday to avoid going over the 10 hour limit. Others are constantly on the -7.5 hour limit.
    Do Nellyphants count?

    Commuter: FCN 9
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    +1 when I don't get round to shaving for x days
  • tardington
    tardington Posts: 1,379
    redddraggon wrote:
    David - I wasn't attacking you personally, I'm just a person who's never late for anything and it annoys me when people (mainly motorists) make out they are in rush, because they haven't left enough time for their journey.

    But an hour and a half early? :shock:

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