I confess, I’ve been using the car a bit lately. There are a few circumstances under which this happens and they’re less to do with weather than you might think.
In fact, the main time I use the car is when I need to transport my laptop backwards and forward between work and home. But there are other cases too where using the car is, I’m afraid to say, more convenient and quicker.
At least one of those reasons is not a reason at all. I suspect two of them are.
Anyway, enough of my self-induced guilt trip. Today I had the car, and I was forced to drive through West Swindon in rush hour and I realise that I’ve stepped over a line. A line where my cycle commute is so ingrained that it feels more natural than driving to and from work. Being in a traffic jam feels truly alien, incrediby frustrating and just generally horrid.
The difference is subtle. I’ve always known in my head that cycling is better, but today there was something more emotional and heartfelt, something more emotional about driving.
It’s taken a surprisingly long time to achieve this – probably mostly because I’ve avoided rush hour on most occasions I’ve commuted by car.
Today, I felt liberated from the car.
Now, how to convince others to join me?