It’s something I’ve always said that I’ve never wanted to
do.
I’ve never liked the idea of running bikes into the ground,
letting the salty, muddy roads corrode your pride and joy. Surely public
transport or just walking would be a worthy sacrifice to save your treasured
bike?
However after recently coming into a new job, I’ve been
forced into a 3 mile commute. There are no buses at 5:30am, so for the first
few weeks I had a miserable 45 minute, winter walk every morning. It was bleak and cold every morning and
caused me to wake up very early to get to work on time.
Then December came. The Virago was finally on the road; a
cheap and cheerful, bombproof bike that I didn’t really care about
cosmetically. In my eyes, it could be thick with rust and corrosion but as long
as it had that solid, reliable 35bhp engine in it, I couldn’t care less. A
perfect winter hack.
So that’s what I did. Every morning since that day I have
jumped on the old thumper and went off to work… and I’ve got to say, it’s
fantastic.
 |
| The old lunker |
Half past five, the roads are empty and quiet. Not a sound
to be heard, just the rippling exhaust note and the pitter patter of rain drops
on your visor; riding down a few country lanes with no light, except from the
small, dim beam protruding from my rusting Yamaha’s headlight.
Although amidst the fun of the past week, there was one
slight mishap. Twice on the same journey to work, my bike broke down. Angry and
pissed off, I fiddled around with the electrics at the side of a round-a-bout,
as previous breakdowns have been electric related. After a few wiggles I
managed to get it going again. I continued onwards for another mile before
breaking down yet again. Irritatingly, I had broken down at the bottom of a
very dark and very wet hill. I gave up and began to push my little nail up the
daunting incline.
But despite this, I still love it. Looking back on that
experience, it was horrible at the time but man… it makes going to work such an
adventure. And that’s what commuting does doesn’t it? It turns your dreaded
journey to work into an exciting escapade and there’s no machine better to do
it on than some battered up, 24 year old cruiser. Well not for me at least.
But even still, the most strange thing is, is that in the
past month I have not had a single dry commute to work. I’ve rode through rain,
ice and hail every day. And it’s warming to think, if it’s good now… what’s the
summer commute going to be like?
Bring it on.
