And I've tried out most of them, trying to find the right fit. Near the north end of the train, not too full so that I can get a seat facing the direction we're heading (to head off motion sickness), etc. And most important, the people. Each car has it's pros and cons, and each had it's own weirdo.

I've tried all the cars and was about to settle on a favorite. But then they added a new car to the train.

I and one other commuter bravely tried it out. "No snoring guy." "No odd smell." "And there's not that one lady on her phone." "WHO IS SHE CALLING AT 6:30 IN THE MORNING?" "I know, right? At first, I thought maybe someone in another time zone, but-" "But she makes plans to go out with them and stuff, so they have to be local!" "So weird!"

After congratulating ourselves on picking a car with no car weirdo, we sat and pulled out our books to read. As I pulled out my book, out fell my green alien stuffed animal.

"Kids?"

"No."

"Oh." And then he quickly buried himself in his book, and I realized, I'M this train car's weirdo.

I have to admit that I was quite intimidated by that distance, and actually was trying to convince myself that I wasn’t crazy. Prior to this ride the farthest I had gone was a little over 8 miles each way, for a total of 16 miles round trip. Now that is nothing to a lot of you riders out there, and I know that guys like Tom do more than that every day on their commute to work, but for me it was a new adventure.

Overall, the ride went well, and I felt quite strong on the way there. The ride home was more difficult, and I was awfully glad when I pulled onto my street and could see my house up the block. Not only did I survive, but I did it! Even though I was tired, 20 miles really didn’t seem like 20 miles, and I would definitely do it again.

What about you? I know that some readers are just starting to ride, while some readers have been riding for years. What are your longest commutes? How far is too far for a commute?

I would love some ice cream... I even had a scoop during lunch today. Jamoca Almond Fudge from Baskin Robbins.

I titled this "Webisodes" suck bc I tried to watch the office online and it only showed a short clip when it said it would be a full episode.

nobody.

they all just look at me and say, 'ya, me too.'

jebus chrest where the heck did i move to?

the drive is KILLING ME.

im so damn tired that i no longer want to do normal things -- like blog, cook or work out.

the two hours a day i had free to do such things have now been turned over to the 103.5 morning show and the B96 commercial free hour at 5 p.m.

and hot damn if im not cranky.

my bff just asked, 'do you want these wheat thins? they're expired.'

normal roommate question.

but what i heard was 'why the hell don't you make something of your life you stupid idiot? gawd, you can't even throw away expired food.'

and don't even get me started on road rage.

why the H3LL do truckers need to tailgate me when im going 55 mph on a 45 mph road?

GIVE ME SOME D*MN SPACE PEOPLE!

*deep breath*

i don't know if i can make it in the burbs.

im starting to reconsider my decision to leave south dakota. and that was TWO jobs ago.

sure i had to drive an hour and a half to the nearest Target, but at least my job was 5 minutes away.

why the heck does ANYONE live here?

ug.

I would find a way to safely ride my bike to work.

That didn't work out, but I did find a compromise alternative. I discovered a way to ride my bike half way to work. So using multi-modal transportation, I've increased my commute time from 35 minutes to about an hour each way. Here is a map of my ride:

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/dallas/87733486

In my quest to find a way to ride my bike to work, I learned about a hike and bike trail that starts near a commuter rail station (so I have free parking) and ends about a mile from my office. That last mile is through a residential neighborhood. In addition, I have access to a shower in my office building. So all the stars are aligned for me to ride my bike for about half of the distance of my regular commute.

Some of the benefits of this new commute are:

• reduced use of gasoline - If I ride three days per week, I will save at least 3 gallons of gas per week (17 miles round trip), thereby reducing my gasoline expenses by as much as $500 to $600 per year at $4+ per gallon. Since something like 70% of the oil-based products I use come from foreign sources, I will personally be responsible for reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil.
• improved health - Riding over 50 miles per week has got to be good for me, which should result in lower medical bills and lower medical premiums over time.
• boosting the local economy - If I ride as much as I hope to ride, the only one that can help me keep my bike in good shape is the local bike shop down the street. That will keep my tax revenue in my community, making my economic impact in my town that much greater.

There are some negatives:

• Unwanted admiration of my newly hardened buttocks. Although, when it comes from my gay co-workers, I feel just a little weird.
• Angry co-workers when I can't drive for a lunch out of the office.
• Cramps, especially 4 miles into my ride.
• Cycling, I have discovered, is expensive. Used bike, $160. Tune-up and fix broken parts on used bike, $150. Commuting accessories, $50 to date, but I'll probably spend at least another $150 to $200.

30 minutes of peace before work and then again after work: priceless.

So I've run some numbers and it's looking like my two-hour round-trip commute back and forth to work is going to cost me ...

$100.

a week.

and that's only if gas prices don't go up at all.

go ahead. start crying.

She's everything I asked her to be, including sturdy, cheap, and roomy without being too bulky.  She has just enough room for all the stuff I shlep to work and back everyday, such as my pellegrino, my books, my crochet project, my veggie pita, that little green stuffed animal alien I won at the fair, ect.  You know. 

Very Important Work Stuff.

PART 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Nevertheless, while waiting on the Blue Line platform this morning, we were cheered to see a Volvo driver playing a flute as he slogged his way through stop-and-go traffic on the Eisenhower. Sure, it was a risky maneuver on his part, considering that he was steering his $35,000 sedan with his elbows. But the sight of a nattily dressed middle-aged businessman playing a flute is sure to draw a smile, especially when he's doing so in the privacy of his own car rather than in the seat next to us on the El.

And you were not keen on my suggestion that you slow down and save 20% on gas prices.

But with gas prices continuing to go up, and Atlanta having the worse traffic in the US, you perhaps can appreciate this easy tip to save another $500/year on gas. It's called checking your tire air pressure.

That's it. Just make sure your tire pressure is on the mark. Every 2PSI is a loss 1% in fuel efficiency under the maximum level.

Now here is how it calculates

Consider the Environmental Protection Agency standard that a 1% loss of fuel efficiency occurs for every 2 PSI of air under the maximum level. Add to that the 2003 Department of Energy report that states that vehicles average 22.3 miles per gallon and 12,242 miles per year, and you find that each of the 81 cars burned 144 extra gallons of gas due to under-inflated tires. At $3 $4 per gallon, each car owner is spending $576 extra.

Most gas stations have an air pressure station. Some cost 25 cents. That is some serious ROI for you.

We would like to know how you think we can make Liverpool more cycle friendly. By completing the survey at www.liverpool.gov.uk/cycling, your views will help to inform the review of Liverpool's Cycle Strategy, which will include plans to improve our cycle routes and to encourage more people to make their journeys by bike.

All completed surveys received by Monday 11th August 2008 can be entered into the free prize draw to win:

• 1st prize - £50 high street vouchers and a signed copy of 'A Cycling Career in Pictures' by Chris Boardman
• 2nd prize - £30 high street vouchers and a signed copy of 'A Cycling Career in Pictures' by Chris Boardman
• 3rd prize - £20 high street vouchers

We look forward to hearing your views. Tell us your views on cycling in Liverpool - complete the cycle survey at www.liverpool.gov.uk/cycling and enter the free prize draw.

One, I am stunned that even a small number of people who listen to- and a smaller number who work at- The Ticket in Dallas still pay attention to anything I say or do.  When they do, it makes me feel like less of a loser.  Maybe it is one reason why I blog in the first place.  Then again, I could be anyone.  I have never directly said who I am.  Because this is a blog.  And who really cares?

Two, more wonderment over exactly what "success" is.  And what it means "to be successful."  I think one way of putting it is... that we feel successful when we can do things that most others cannot do... and that many others would find some level of awe in.  I ride a track bike with no brakes through traffic in Los Angeles.  I am good at it.  I guess we all carve identities out of these sorts of things.  I am just not sure I have ever been- or will be- comfortable with my "identity."  So few people are organic in this way.

Third, and I need to write more about this when I get the time to take and upload photos, I really like Los Angeles.  Taking the side and less-trafficked streets here (like Fountain which is in between Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards) on a bike makes me feel like I am in a real city.  I recall riding in San Francisco, but it is not like San Francisco.  Los Angeles is its own place with a real bad rap.  I need to take pictures to show what I am saying.  I also need to get more shots of Elliott's Wall up.  It's a mess.  They need to repaint it.  I might MySpace the folks who take care of it and see if I can help.

Like, a lot.

So ............................ yeah."

The assault on the pass through San Clemente Canyon takes place twice a day; I descend in relative ease and silence but spend the uphill battle sucking down exhaust and lactic acid in equal measures.  It is the centerpiece of my bike commute; I prepare for it and still the length and steepness surprise me.  According to Google Maps, it is a brief 1.2 miles from Genesee & Lehrer to Genesee & Governor and falls neatly into the middle third of the 3.5 miles I bicycle each way.

Net elevation change is only 6 meters between the two waypoints, but the difference between the highest and lowest points on the route is 61 meters.  It helps me center as I work on the task at hand:  dragging some two hundred pounds of bike and man up the hill and over to the van; away from the folks at work who've figured out that I'm good for more than making the seat warm, away from the responsibilities of learning and teaching at the same time.  Up the hill and all I can think of is the next revolution of the crank.

Yet it's best to come home; I ring the bell and everyone knows who it is; figgy turns expectantly towards the door and the dogs jump up in anticipation.  Home again on the magical time machine, home again to everything amazing.

Mike

Do you feel like people are playing games with you when you walk to work? The same way people used to play games when you would commute by car? I don’t know if any of you experience that at all but I do. I realized the cost of going green this morning and its human traffic (no slave)

Pretend you are driving down a residential street. Don’t automatically assume it’s a nice or grimy street. Just imagine a place where people live rather than party. You look up and you see that there is a SVU aiming down at you; of course they are riding the dotted yellow or white line in the street like it was meant to be exactly along the bottom center of their chassis. The driver is looking directly at you but pretending they are focused behind you and they happen to be white…..

You are on the freeway. It is 643 am/pm as you head/leave where you drive to earn your income. Just Over Broke. You know you need to get off two exits down. You check your right lane both by turning your head and…..you even check the mirror. You notice there is car in your blind spot so you figure you can get over eventually, plus you have got two exits of time. You turn on your signal only to realize the car is keeping pace with you. Being the good and safe person you are, you slow down to pull behind and the car slows to stay in your right blind spot. What that you say? Speed up? Guess what? They did too.

Fucking hate that right?

“Rii rii rii”

Me too. Makes me ape shit. If there was a paper trail (I never leave evidence) one might notice I had at least four road rage incidents in 2005 resulting in the annihilation of people who shop at REI and think convertible beamers make them tough. That’s another story though.

Every morning I have been riding the train to work. Gas price is up, environment is fucked and parking is rape. Apparently the trend is growing. I keep hearing about this going green movement and how everyone is working toward a more environmentally conscience life. They apparently have put down the SUV and picked up a BART card. They commute with me everyday. I stand in places that make me easier to make space for others to pass. I even walk down the platform and find the empty black Lego patch that signals where the doors of the commuter rail will align for entrance once the train has stopped. I will literally come down the stairs from the street, scan for people, and head directly to the most unpopulated area of the platform. Just me…..the quiet….my ear phones….a cup of coffee….and that sound of the BART announcements that switch from the girl on the to Homie the Clown as they tell you which train is coming. I stand there alone as the train comes shooting down the tube bringing half of the wind off the Bay with it.

As magically as the fog that appears in tunnels in the morning is the hordes of fellow San Franciscans who materialize as the train slows down to open its doors.

They become a horde where there was once nothing. They stand...............right in front of me some how. Oh yeah, I forgot, I move when people try to back into me. When its one woman with that great Monkees hair cut and a canvas tote slung on the shoulder with the supporting grip like my mother carries, its simple.

I can step back. I am still not sure where these people come from in the low hundreds but they all collectively back into me like Juvenile was performing in Beijing. I think about how in a traffic jam if every car around you goes in reverse at the same time, aren't I supposed to?

"hahhaha....they want to pretend its a Tokyo subway"

You mind your business on the train. Everyone knows that rule. That’s why all your fellow passengers seem to wear earphones. Its a very My and itype space for people playing with Phones. Loud phones. You know....EARphones.

Why is that I you hear someone in the next car's tinny mp3s through their Maxell earbuds? Everybody is fucking loud. Why do they stare at you when they are the ones with the loud music on like

you are supposed to turn down your commute. Its basically the guy in the morning traffic with his window rolled down staring at you but he's music is on and you are listening to the traffic report. You could do what you do then such as removing your sunglasses and letting your eyebrows raise as if you were asking a question. You know what's going to happen don't you?

Yes you are correct, this person staring at you with the earphones is going to close their laptop bag a bit faster like suddenly you are the bad guy. Then they will look away. You wonder if wild life experience this sort of thing. Do lions decide to ignore other animals or documentarians? Do seagulls make other seagulls uncomfortable? How do they all know which animal to befriend and which to eat or even which NOT to eat. Oh yeah. They have markings.

I avoid the human herds and walk on the curb between parking meters and the lip of the asphalt. Sure enough, I will run into Katie. Who is Katie? I don't know Katie. That's the name I've given this spirit that comes over the woman who comes off the escalator, I start power walking past, she strides ardently to get in front of me, so that she can slow down after she zoom into walking right behind some guy but only ends up half a block behind me because I can step to the right, zoom for a block, step on the sidewalk and light a cigarette. That same woman always coughs about my smoke.

Different woman every morning, but at least one of them does the same Katie maneuver. So I call her Katie. I'm not mad for her getting her Captain Janeway on, I'm just starting to get annoyed by this interaction with one person a morning if I go into work. I go into work 5 days a week, perhaps 6. That’s a lot time with these people and I have to tell you.............a lot of folks are bringing their commuter games to the sidewalk. Maybe I am too by writing this and just simply tompooling™ if you will but some of you playing games on the drive home and most of you are playing games on public transit. Only difference is I can drive away in my car. I can avoid you. This whole walking thing is really provoking people to finger jab one another.

You think about a direct collision with a car. Imagine you are back on the street in front of your house. Think about the cars who want to collide with you. Most of the time the person driving on the wrong side of the road with a bee line for your front bumper has more to lose than you. The direct collision that people invoke on your ride along public transit when you are headed to or from work, are always from those who ain't built for it. It never seems to be the weight lifting physical trainer who is leaving the gym full of creatine and wheatgrass. It always seems to be the cherubim over inflated ego stubby law clerk carrying an arm full of folders that finds it necessary to walk diiiiiiiiiiiirectly towards you not knowing the disastrous consequences of his pedestrian pisssing contest because he's never been called on it before. Not even the truck driving lesbian with gloves on and a dolly full of boxes is trying to be in your way. You are not trying to be in hers. No. What about Ms. Cubby (cute + chubby) corporate mudshark holding a Veinte™ green tea fusion macchiato in one arm with the other balancing an accordion folder (the trapper keeper of the law profession), a hand bag and (yes you guessed it) on the fucking phone that decides she is going to compensate for Hillary's embarrassing loss by making a Curves step class learned trajectory into your abdomen with her breasts. You always move out of the way. There will never be contact. It won't be a clumsy move either. Graceful, like a fucking monk making tea yet the sadness occurs from certainty that you will sidestep and dodge.

Why then have I have become such a magnet. Surely it is nether my charisma nor my devilishly good looks. One could file it under a need for attention by other pedestrians and passengers but generally I feel that people just don't know any better. They have taken the competition of their daily behind the wheel tomfoolery and brought it to their foot traffic between public transportation and their place of employment. Hence; human traffic. They are all still slaves to a position in the struggle rather than arriving at their goals with a sense of liberation for all. At times, I tempted to tell the loud strangely Riverside valley accented young Asian woman rushing to get in front of me so

I can hear EVERY detail of her fascinating tales about her failed engagement via a Blackberry pearl sponsored phone conversation that if she spent less time taking care of the men in her family and more time developing herself, she might be self actualized enough in the Maslow sense to stop playing larger penis games behind the wheel or on her way back from lunch.

"Irony..........the universe's sense of humor"

I walked down Market street toward Farmer Brown's, crossing through a patch of dreaded, white t-shirt, blue jeans, Nike'd young gentleman of African descent imported from West Oakland and Richmond as part of the great promise of "big dough over in the city" due to heroin sales in the Tenderloin. Between the group, the must have been a minimum of 81 bullets available. No standing in my way, no chest beating, no threatening looks, no brandishing of weapons, no resistance and not a single comment about my suit. Just a series of hushed, back of the throat, nasal, bull frog toned, lack of eye contact multiple "my bad" as each of them stepped out of my way. Irony. I don't miss being stuck in two hours of traffic to travel eight miles (at 40 mph that’s 5 mins) just to pass a bunch of stopped cars near the Treasure Island exit without a single dent in any of the stopped cars but three SFPD and five CHP because some one made the mistake of yelling at another driver "pull over and I'll whoop your ass". Not at all. I don't miss it. I don't miss the Italian convertible sports car with the butter milk driver who keeps turning up his G-Unit when I'm enjoying some Simon and Garfunkel with the bass turned up. Now as I sit on buses where people lean in toward me with their headphones as if you are supposed to tap them on the shoulder and say "HEY IS THAT FREEDOM ROCK??? WELL TURN IT UP DOOD!", I realize how the cost of oil has dumped a crab barrel full of fuck faces into my commute all over again. All over the fuck again. I'm far too invested in my new life to allow my old tyrannical nature to take it back to some side walk road rage. However, I won't be surprised if I come out of the Montgomery station to see some portly entitled New Englander career builder until she breeds laid the fuck out like Suge Knight while the BART police hold a 60 year old Chinese woman in hand cuffs against the wall as they ask her "is this your first violent offense Ms.Quon?"

Irony.

This has been a Tom Wars Editorial brought to you by Mickey Cooney

]]> http://basedinboston.wordpress.com/?p=26 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:19:21 +0000 Miss M http://basedinboston.wordpress.com/?p=26 I was pondering while cruising around on my Navigator today…

Notice I said “on” and not “in,” as I don’t mean Lincoln Navigator, the car, but instead refer to my 2002 Trek Navigator mountain bike. Yes, it’s pretty pimp, cherry red, with the usual wear-and-tear of a 6-year old bike that was my main method of commute for several years before I got my Rav-4. It’s actually been a blessing to have it in Boston recently, and though I still have my car and the T is fairly reliable, it takes me only 10 minutes to get to Fenway by bike. Walking takes over 30 minutes, taking the T would be retarded [I am on the E line, the only part of the green line not Fenway-accessible, so I’d have to go downtown and transfer back – oh, it’d be a mess], and driving takes about the same amount of time as biking, but with the added pressure of where to park. There are metered spots all along Brookline and Commonwealth Avenues, but with two-hour meters every day but Sunday, that’s a huge waste of highly-coveted laundry quarters. So that leaves the sensible bike for transportation. With the hot, sunny days we’ve been having, it’s been gorgeous riding to work and home, as well as other destinations – the Public Garden and Boylston Street Starbucks this week so far. It’s been freeing to just go for a ride, enjoy the summer, and just enjoy doing whatever the hell I want. The only sad part is that Boston weather doesn’t permit biking all year, and I’ve only got a good three, maybe four, months of bike-worthy weather before I have to retire it for the winter.

Nothing is prefect, though. I’ll admit, it’s partially exhilarating, but partially frightening. Biking the mean streets of Boston is a gamble – the people drive like maniacs and I’m concerned that one day, cruising down Parker Street I’ll get crushed by one of those huge Escalades that zoom around Mission Hill’s corners and that’ll be the end of me. One morning I was scared shitless – a truck opened its door into my path right as I was rolling by. With my cat-like reflexes, I was able to swerve out of the way, but had traffic been thick I would have been like a smashed bug on a windshield. A scary thought.

So why keep biking if it is so dangerous? Well, I love it. But for seriousness’ sake [ha], here is a list of pros and cons regarding biking in Boston:

PROS

1) Easy to get around and easy to park. Just lock up the bike to a light pole and go!

2) Can ride on streets or sidewalks. There aren’t any signs saying not to. Options = a girl’s best friend.

3) Don’t have to pay for gas. And thereby also help out that whole global warming thingamajigger.

4) Burn up fat from my ass. I already feel less fluffy.

5) Work on my tan while I’m commuting. So it’s a farmer’s tan, whatever. At least it’s color.

6) It’s fun! And I’m sure I look super-cool with my shades and my…bicycle…

CONS

1) Scary. I don’t wear a helmet [although I know I should] and am afraid of possible serious brain injury/maiming/death by accident.

2) Don’t get “holla’d” at enough. I mean, c’mon guys! I’m here, on a bike, in a short khaki cargo skirt! Can you please yell a bit at the cute blonde rolling by?? I even rode by a group of construction guys on their lunch break today. Nothing. Humph.

3) Summer heat + exercise by bike = excessive sweat. Hmm, maybe that answers lack of getting “holla’d” at…

4) Having to carry the bike up and down stairs every day. I store it in my apartment, because I don’t want to leave it outside, exposed to the elements and possible theft. One day I fell on it. No, not off it, on it. I was walking down the stairs with it, dropped it, tripped and fell on it, making a huge, nasty bruise on my calf that looked like a weird bite mark. I was questioned about it for weeks.

5) Drunk biking = no-no.

6) Can’t multi-task in the same way. I have had phone conversations while biking, true, but they’re always choppy and I get out of breath pedaling uphill and distracted by jumping curbs and looking out for traffic. Although today I saw two bikers go by me, one was drinking Starbucks coffee and the other had eaten some sort of snack and was holding an empty Tupperware container in his hands. I thought, ‘Hmm. Well, that’s impressive.’

By simple numbers, the pros and cons sides tie. So I guess that means go get a helmet [and thus resign myself to “helmet hair”], a milk crate for the front of the bike, and keep on pedaling.

I have been looking online at Craigslist.com primarily to pick up a scooter or moped. I hope to use it as the primary mode of train transportation and to run a few errands in town if necessary instead of using my car.

Quick details that may help form opinions. I am about 6" 245lbs. I don't expect to go further than into town and home, I don't need the fastest wheels and I don't want one with biggert than a 50cc engine.

I like the look of the Vespas but have no desire to spend 3-5K on this, I'd actually like to spend $1,000 or less. I seem to think the Honda Metro, Yamaha Zuma, seem to be reliable and some people seem a little off put by the Korean bikes (Kymco). Since I know buck nothing about all of this any thoughts you have would be cool.

Pour me rendre a la gare, j'ai environ un quart d'heure, vingt minutes de marche. Je longe le sud de la baie, donc j'ai le joli soleil du matin qui m'accompagne.

Le Caltrain est une sorte de RER ou TER, qui relie San Francisco a toutes les principales villes de la Silicon Valley, jusqu'a Gilroy, au sud de San Jose. Celles-ci sont reparties en zones, et forcement le tarif varie en fonction du nombre de zones traversees.

Il est possible de prendre soit des tickets a la journee, soit un pass de 10 trajets utilisables sous 90 jours, soit un pass au mois. Par exemple, un pass de 10 trajets sur les zones 1 a 3 coute $49, soit environ 30,7 euros au cours recent.

Le train fonctionne tous les jours, les jours de semaine de 4h30 a 1h32, pour respectivement le depart le plus tot et l'arrivee au plus tard. Pour autant, tous les trains ne font pas tous les arrets. Il y a par exemple les "baby-bullet" : ce sont des trains express qui ne font que les arrets principaux, ce qui est bien pratique lorsque l'on vient de San Francisco et que l'on descend loin dans la Valley. La ou le train s'arretant dans toutes les gares va mettre 1h08 au mieux pour aller de San Francisco a Mountain View (la ou je m'arrete le matin), l'express ne mettra "que" 44 minutes.

N'esperez pas frauder, car le train est tout le temps plein de controleurs, d'agents etc. Et quand je dis tout le temps, c'est dans TOUS les trains, car ils remplissent de multiples taches : ils annoncent les arrets (!), ils aident les personnes agees ou deficientes a monter, s'installer dans le train et descendre, controler les tickets des voyageurs, gerer les soucis en tout genre... Par contre ils sont relativement cools. Ils n'ont pas "l'amendite aigue" et si vous avez une bonne raison, ils peuvent vous laisser repartir sans vous verbaliser.

A la descente des principaux trains s'arretant a Mountain View, des navettes affretees par Yahoo! nous attendent pour nous emmener directement aux portes des bureaux, et ce en vingt minutes environ. Pratique ! Un privilege que de nombreuses grandes entreprises dans la vallee octroient a leurs salaries : chaque matin, c'est le defile des "shuttles", desservant pele-mele Apple, Google ou encore Cisco.

Donc si vous avez bien suivi, la duree theorique porte-a-porte de mon trajet chaque matin ET chaque soir s'eleve a...1h15 au mieux. J'ai bien pris soin d'employer les termes "theorique" et "au mieux", car ce n'est pas toujours comme ca...

En effet le Caltrain est repute pour avoir regulierement des soucis, les fameux "soucis en tout genre" que j'evoquais plus haut. Selon les dires de certains, et apres une premiere experience reguliere, le Caltrain a au minimum un souci serieux par mois. Et si rien ne survient pendant un mois, le mois suivant risque de voir survenir deux problemes serieux...

Pour ne rien arranger, c'est parait-il une solution "efficace" pour qui veut se suicider...

Je vous rassure je n'ai pour le moment rien vu de tel, mais c'est vrai qu'il a souvent du retard, de quelques minutes a au moins une demie-heure, sur un trajet comme celui-ci ca commence a faire... L'autre matin, nous avons meme change de voie sur quelques centaines de metres, l'agent se voyant oblige de faire une annonce une fois arrete pour indiquer aux gens montant dans le train que nous n'allions pas a San Francisco mais en direction de San Jose...

En resume, pour le moment c'est cool, ca remue pas trop, on peut se reposer dedans. Mais au final, ca coute, c'est pas toujours tres fiable, et faut habiter pas trop loin de l'arret pour que ce soit interessant.

Je pense donc delaisser cette situation au final, pour me rabattre sur...je ne vous ai jamais parle des navettes qui partent de San Francisco pour arriver directement au bureau ?

* Equivaut a "Attention a la fermeture des portes" que l'on peut entendre dans le tramway de Grenoble.

The monorail will take commuters on an East-West journey across Brickford and will service the recent residential and commercial development areas. The multi-million pound scheme, which is supported by Westminster, will initially include two stations (one allowing travellers to connect with the mainline rail network) and one two-carriage engine but is likely to expand in size and route depending on its popularity.

It is hoped that the monorail will help ease Brickford's congestion which has been steadily growing over the last five years, causing gridlock for residents and commuters alike. 

The city council voted unanimously against developer White Elephant's alternative proposal of a 'guided bus' system, similar to that in development at nearby Cambridge.

"When a guided bus reaches the city at the end of its guided journey, it's just another bus joining just another queue" (Hon. Mayor Roger Hibbert).

Construction work is scheduled to begin in August/September.