Cars in cambridge

[jack]

Based sort of on real events.

Me: You know, I really should get a car. It'd be so useful. It'd be quicker to get to places, I can give people lifts, go out and not drink, join rush hour properly,...
Naath: [interrupts] Where are the others? We've been waiting outside twenty minutes.
Me: Uh?
Naath: Oh sorry, what were you saying?
Me: Twenty minutes? Um, nevermind.

(OK, there would be many good things. Shopping. Lifts. Keeping dry. Long journeys. But is a lot of faff for something I'd use at most once a week and probably less.)

However, today, I definitely did meet my match in Douglas's low, two seater, open top, sportything[1]. We left games evening together and I kept up all the way onto arbury road[2], when he overtook and roared away on the long straight. (Apologies if I got in your way on the narrow bit.)

[1] It is very comfortable.

[2] Without even any dodgy road-cyclepath-road switching. Note for other cyclists: do not *literally* swap your road hat for a cycle path hat or vice versa to avoid traffic lights, even if you consider it a wise thing to do notionally. This tends to impair your ability to have children because, viz, respectively, (a) you look really stupid and (b) you will knee yourself in Mr and Mr gangly-googly falling off your bike.

Comments

[sunflowerinrain.livejournal.com]

For most city-dwellers, owning a car is daft, because it's much cheaper to hire a car for a day or weekend when you need one. Other benefits: if it goes wrong it's only your problem for a few minutes/couple of hours at most; you always have a new car which is clean and smart and shouldn't break down; best of all, you don't need to park it, so visiting sunflowers can park their truck in your parking-space.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

It would make sense when I want to visit people far enough out that we both have parking. And don't want to drink. But yes. Renting always feels profligate, but not compared to having one always.

Also, I really hate variance. I don't like planning journeys that take N(T,t) minutes/hours, because I need piles of contingencies; on a bike everything takes the same time regardless of traffic unless you actually break down.

Also, awwww. I have a lovely vision of my pspace full of sunflowers.