Now that things are a bit more settled, the time has come to figure out what my long-term transport plans are. This week I’ve walked with Tom to a bus stop near his school (30-40 mins), and then taking a bus to the University at a cost of £1.70. I then walk home, which takes about 45 minutes. All this works, but I spend an awful lot of my life walking, and it would be nice to have at least one faster option available without spending a ton of money.
I’ve thought pretty seriously about getting a bike, but an exploratory visit to a bike shop today suggested that even getting a cheap bike is going to be pretty pricey for 9 months in Colchester. A decent low-cost bike is around £100 (about US$200), plus £30-50 for a helmet and lights, and another £50 for a rack and a bags. So we’re talking between £150-200 (US$300-400) for a reasonable kit.
On the other hand, a monthly university bus pass (which I’m still not 100% sure I’m eligible for) would be some £30 a month for “all you can eat”. This would definitely give me more flexibility, and would be nice in the rainy weather (which we’re bound to have), but would also encourage me to use dinosaur bones to move myself around town instead my own steam, which is too bad.
So I’m torn. If I could find a decent second hand bike that might be a nice option, but there doesn’t seem to be a shop that sells such things here. There’s what looks like a nice cycling group in Colchester, but their monthly meetings are quite a hike from here, and the September meeting was the night of Sub-Evil Boy’s first day at school so I missed it. I might e-mail one of them and see if they have any suggestions.
In the meantime, there’s a whole lot of walking going on…
Thanks to tripflyin for the cool photo.
Hi Nic! You might try the classifieds in the local paper if you are looking for a used bike. You could even advertise in them. Also, post a notice on campus that you are in the market for a used bike and you might get lucky. As for the Helmet I could bring you one from the states (at a considerably lower price than thirty pounds) I’ve got an extra one sitting in my garage (or I’d grab one from Wal-mart) and bring it in October.