Motorcyclist's Creed.

[gemfyre]

Just something I came up with as a sports bike roared off at a set of lights clearly exceeding the speed limit withing 2 seconds.

Motorcyclist's Creed

Now that I own a motorcycle...

• I can ride along the white lines in the middle of the road because that is the lane specially reserved for me.


• I can sit in your rearview mirror so that you only see me at the last minute and have to practise your avoidance tactics.


• I can travel at dangerous speeds on any road because the speed cameras cannot catch me. I only have a number plate on my rear end because one's on the front may prove lethal if I have an accident caused by my travelling at dangerous speeds.


• I have the right to do all of these stupid things and still blame car drivers when I am in an accident.

Comments

easy way to avoid traffic congestion

[jet-ski.livejournal.com]

Don't drive! =)

And it is possible to get by without a car, just takes planning.
My lawyer friend has never owned a car. I got rid of mine, and I am benefitting muchly both psycologically and budget-wise.

Just so I sound as anti-car as possible, cars by their very nature are dangerous. It has alot to do with the laws of physics. Is it really safe to be careering around at 80 kilometres an hour encased in over a tonne of metal/plastic and rubber? No. And why do we call it the road-toll? Like it's acceptable that so many people die and are injured on the roads? Inevitable? Aren't we doing something wrong here?

Re: easy way to avoid traffic congestion

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

The problem is I live one hour's driving distance from uni for starters(over 2 hours via public transport). And I often find myself needing to take lots of stuff with me to places.

Hence a car is extremely useful for me as well as being dangerous, polluting and downright expensive.

Re: easy way to avoid traffic congestion

[jet-ski.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I know the feeling. I used to live in Mandurah!
I was quite happy catching the bus, until my parents insisted it was silly and that I should drive. I started to driving to uni in my little green mitsubishi colt. With all the extra k's, extra stuff started going wrong with it. I spent ridiculous amounts of time driving, and started to seriously suffer from driver fatigue. That, and pressure from my parents who didn't appreciate my lifestyle, led me to do some calculations. Turned out I'd be better off financially if I moved closer to uni.

I moved to Success. I was still stuck with my car, as the nearest supermarket at the time was 4 kilometres away on uncyclefriendly streets. The ride to Uni was okay, but a little yucky. One day when I had run out of money I was forced to walk home. It was an interesting experience. After that I moved to Como, and dittohed my car. My finances looked so much better all of a sudden. There was no Canning Bridge interchange in those days, so to get to Uni I had to catch the 106 into the city and the 185 out again. After my flatmate's folks bought her a new bicycle, I decided it was a worthwhile investment, bought a nice blue Malvern Star and got rid of my Toyworld bike. I cycled to Uni. I had never been so fit. I could run from bush court to the guild and back, without even puffing and gasping for air! After Como, I moved to Kardinya, and bought another car, and then to a duplex across the road from Murdoch. I got lazy and unfit cos I didn't have to ride anywhere. Then I had a problem, my new gf lived in Wilson. I drove to her house alot. I tried to ride there a few times and ended up exhausted. I moved to Wilson eventually, and drove alot until I gave my Mazda the flick because it was about to require major maintainence investments. Bought a Gemini Panny, it was cheap and rusty, I just wanted it for moving big stuff and to go camping in. I started cycling to Uni again in preparation for my cycle tour to Europe. Was a tough ride, and at first I couldnt do it more than once a week, but by the end I was doing it 3 or 4 times a week and beating the Circleroute to Uni. I still had to drive to work though, as I did nightfill (11pm-3am) in Thornlie. Then I broke up with Fi and moved to Maylands. I sold the Gemmi because it needed money spent on it and the rego was up. So now I catch the train/bus to uni, and cycle almost everywhere else. Not as fit as I used to be though. =(

So yes, I understand that it depends on what stage you are in in your life. But I maintain that there's a certain amount of control you can exert on circumstances...