Shit Commutes! Oxford and back tomorrow

[scooters]

Got contacted about a new opportunity for a roject in Oxford this week, only problem is if I am going to secure it I need to be in Oxford by 10am. This means leaving Edinburgh at about 3.30 am and returning around seven...I have porroed mums Xsara Picazza as the 306 is stil sans MOT and the Scoob is...well...leaky! So a 730 mile rond trip - oh joy!

 

reminds me of my old job...you know..that one that put me in hospital! the 1k + every week, the one I swore I would never do again?

 

any other shitters have a shit commute or schedule behind the wheel this week?

[tonedepear]

Not technically a commute, but I live and work in Sheffield, and Ms_tone and daughter_tone both live in Durham. Added to that I have a season ticket at Stoke. So I get the odd mile done.

[scooters]

In laws live in Durham. Durham to Sheffield is a deceptively nasty commute...the slogging down the horrible bits of an overcrowded A1

[tonedepear]

In laws live in Durham. Durham to Sheffield is a deceptively nasty commute...the slogging down the horrible bits of an overcrowded A1

 

It is. It's bareable if you're patient and don't mind sitting at 60/65 or slipstreaming lorries and playing at saving fuel.

 

Stoke-Durham, however, if absolutely the worst journey evar, and one I'm looking forward to repeating on Saturday evening.

[The Moog]

Nope moved so I live mile from work which means walking But also removes need for shite

[Pete-M]

A 'local' run for me in work is 100ish miles each way. To random places. I quite enjoy it.

 

A 300 mile each way commute would be seriously irritating. Last thing I'd want for that would be an 'interesting' or 'alternative' car. Something spectacularly dull but comfy and reliable with a/c, cruise, decent seats, a decent stereo and 50 mpg must be the only way to do that and survive? A top spec Avensis or 8 yr old Accord diesel or summat? Something so fucking dull it makes blanking the actual trip from memory easy?

 

Some of the chod you do it in would have be questioning my sanity. How you do it I'll never know!

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

This week is going to be shit. Once I wake up, I'm spending the day travelling Sheffield to London (with stops at Watford to see Des's electric trike and Harpenden for some pub food with friends). Weds afternoon I have a job interview in one of the most central bits of London (hello congestion charge!). Thursday morning I am flying to Dusseldorf, however I hadn't known about the interview when I booked the flights, so Wednesday evening will be spent travelling from London to a shitty Premier Inn in Heald Green (next to Manc airport). Then I will fly to Dusseldorf via ZURICH (the direct Lufthansa flight was 300 quid!), stay there for 1.5 day before returning again via Zurich. At least the last part of the journey (Manchester airport to Sheffield) is only an hour's drive.

 

 

Speaking of commutes, if I am fortunate enough to get that job (STOP LAUGHING AT THE BACK), how long does it take to drive the 30-40 miles from Luton-ish or Bishops Stortford-ish to Central London during rush hour? I should be able to avoid the congestion charge and can get parking for about 200 quid a month, so I am thinking that it can be done cheaper than the train...But no point in the exercise if it takes three hours.

[maxpower]

beating the rush hour is all well and fine... but london is "one constant bumper to bumper rush hour" plus all the roadworks that is going on due to olympics coming. it is a giant headache in london

[garethj]

how long does it take to drive the 30-40 miles from Luton-ish or Bishops Stortford-ish to Central London during rush hour?

I did Luton to South Kensington for many years. By train, tube and walking it was 1:15 on a good day, by motorbike it was 1:05 regardless of traffic, by car it was 1:30 best time ever, closer to 2 hours otherwise.

 

Don't do it by car, it's insane unless you're getting into work before 6:30am. There's no good time to leave by car, maybe 9:30pm?

[andrew e]

Meh. Its not all stationary in London, but you need to pick your timings very carefully indeed. Luxo, I'd try Stortford straight down the M11 to Harlow then Epping undergroud station and park there. That's the cheapest, but the straight foward train is quickest. Otherwise you need to hit the North circular before 5:30 for any hope of sucess. You would need to avoid 14:00 - 19:00 to exit sucessfully.

 

Otherwise I'm with Pete, and I actually implement what his sez - comfy barge (Vectra auto CDTI COMING SOON!) and head down, 65 miles of M25 each way after a 12 hour shift. But hey it pays the bills!

[Guest]

My view is that if you live in Sheffield, you should probably get a job in Sheffield. It's a city, I'm sure there'll be something you can do.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

My view is that if you live in Sheffield, you should probably get a job in Sheffield. It's a city, I'm sure there'll be something you can do.

 

That's a good strategy as long as you plan to live in Sheffield for all your life. I'm hoping to be out of Europe (preferably to S. America and if that's not possible I'll head to Malaysia/Korea/the Middle East) within 7 years or so, therefore I need to build up a bit of meaningful experience in order to be able to get a job there.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

My view is that if you live in Sheffield, you should probably get a job in Sheffield. It's a city, I'm sure there'll be something you can do.

 

Indeed. The trouble with Sheffield is actually getting out and onto the M1/M18 or A61 - the morning traffic is horrific.

 

I used to do 30-40 thousand a year. Now I work largely from home but still manage 10'000 a year dicking about. My recent experience trying to get to Aylesbury from Sheff reminded me what an arseache driving in the UK can be. No thanks.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Just to clear that up, I never said I intend to commute from Sheffield to London. I hate commuting, but I will have to do it if I get a job in the smoke, and it'll probably be from a chavtown like Bedford or, god forbid, Luton because they get mainline trains.

[worldofceri]

any other shitters have a shit commute or schedule behind the wheel this week?

 

I commute by bicycle at the moment, 5ish miles each way. Starting at 3:30am. Sometimes (especially when there's an epic headwind like today) I really think I must be mental.

[Lord Sterling]

Due to my often changing (agency) jobs, my commute could be anything between a mere mile up to about 50 miles each way. I like driving, but not so much, shortish/local distances are fine for me, but long distances can be irritating. I once had a job in Telford, I found travelling from Birmingham to Telford every evening rather daunting and irritating.

 

At the moment I'm doing a cross city commute to various places around Birmingham. A short term long distance commute would be interesting, but then again, that would have to be short term.

 

I'm also I'm pondering a (self-employed) position which involves driving up to Scotland severeal times a week, sometimes even staying there. Anyone had a similar job before?

[scooters]

#LS - I'm self employed and do this in reverse - where in Scotland would you be travelling to? Big place n'all. routes depend entirely on what time of day you are travelling and how far you are going. Judging traffic volume by hour becomes an art. Vehicle wise it depends on who is paying for the gas - in my last big contract I got 55p per mile so I did it in luxobarges - XJ4/E34/940 Turbos - you need big comfy good suspension 'legs' and silence like Pete-M says - chod wise - no brainer rreally 406 or Xantia Td - Xantia probably for the long motorway slog because of the HS suspension. 406 for the windy bits. If you have a bit more cash then big jap oil burner or maybe a W124 300D.

 

Pete-M totally agree with you - I used to to mad drives in chod but only every couple of months or so - more often than not I had a daily along the lines you said and it would be a Jag/BMW/Volvo/XM maybe a Shogun in the winter - as I pay for my own fuel these days that is why I have the 306 Td...

 

HOWEVER. the 306 is still out of action cos I have not yet done the brake nipples and MOT - we have not had a dry day in Edinurgh for a week. So, given the oil leak in the Scoob and the cost of gassing a 2.5 I borrowed Mum's 2006 1.6 Xsara Picasso - now these are ok for scooting round town or doing a couple of hours but they are hopeless for yesterdays foolishness.

 

I left home at 2.30am and arrived Oxford at 8.30am. Due to the A702 being closed I had to drive the long route via Glasgow there and back Departed Oxford 11.30 am arrived Edinburgh 8.00pm - totally done in. Bearing in mind I would do this every few days for 4 years until last October my level of exghaution horrified me and was a sharp reminder that:

 

a/ I am a bloody fool for tackling this 10 days after abdominal surgery,

 

b/ the last 12 months of illness have really taken it out of me - in the past I have pushed myself and been tired but I have never physically collapsed and yesterday I came as close as I have ever to doing so, Fool!

 

c/ thie importance of doing this sort of drive in a vehicle built for it - you don't really appreciate this until you get a wee bit older and when you have to function at the other end. A 1.6 Picasso doesn't have the legs, handling or suspension for that sort of jorney - yes it will do it but if you are not a 30 year old and have the physical condition I have at the moment it will fuck you up.

 

d/ had to stop 4 times on return and slept for an hour at Carlisle - pro plus was used - the Picassso is shit for napping in as well - the best for drivers seet shut eye are XJ40s/940/960s IMO

 

I might look at replacing the 306 with a Xantia td if I can find a cheap one