My first car was an early 80’s Mazda 323 that my parents bought from my friend Jamie’s Dad. It was white with dark tinted windows that rendered myself and  my friends nearly invisible as we cruised the north Florida byways. And it was the first in a long line of hand-me down cars that I’ve driven for the last couple of decades.

 

About a year after Sinead and I moved to Britain we bought a mid-90’s Vauxhall Corsa for £600 (about 1,200 of your American dollars). This was the latest in the line of hand-me downs of questionable quality. To be fair, it lasted for over a year and a half, but by the end none of the electrical parts of the car (minor things like the radio and speedometer) functioned and there was a hole in the muffler which made it sound like a bus was coming up behind you rather than a compact European car.  When we found out Sinead was pregnant it became one of my missions to replace Crap Car (or Death Trap), as I fondly referred to it. It only took six months. On Monday we picked up a 2001 Toyota Corolla. This is the newest and probably nicest car I’ve ever owned. Sinead was awestruck by the “huge boot” (big trunk for the American audience) and exclaimed that it felt like driving a rental car (apparently a good thing). It’s a proper grown-up expecting a baby car.

 

However, I can’t drive this car. Or more accurately, I can’t drive this car without a responsible adult in the car. The UK does not respect my Florida driver’s license. While I am annoyed by this, considering the fact that the only requirement for a Florida driver’s license is a pulse, then maybe its fair. I have been lazy about sorting this problem. Earlier this year, I was granted a UK Provisional Driver’s License, which grants me the privilege of driving slowly with big ref “L” stickers on the car and Sinead yelling at me to “get in the right lane of the roundabout, while signalling left and WATCH OUT for that lorry!” I really should have had my full license by now, but there have been some setbacks and issues. This really isn’t the place for a discussion of these, but three major problems I face are: 1) wheel on the wrong side of the car, 2) car on the wrong side of the road and 3) roads designed for nothing wider than horses or Minis.

 

My preferred mode of transport in Britain is bicycle. Oxford is remarkably bike friendly, especially when compared to most American cities. There are cycle lanes along most of the major roads and some really pretty cycle routes that are entirely car free. One of my favorite routes is from our house near Rose Hill along the Thames River. Its a wonderful 15 to 20 minute ride to work in the morning. I ride in nearly every day rain or shine and cycling has lots of bonuses. First and foremost, it’s exercise and this is a justification for me to eat a second helping of ice cream after dinner whenever I want. As I’m not using a car, I’m not producing any extra carbon dioxide which allows me to be smug about my carbon footprint to green friends who drive to work. Finally, the pace is that much slower and much more calm than driving. I see more when biking and can stop and look and enjoy the bits of Oxford that people in cars may never see. Whenever I am forced to drive somewhere I am white knuckling the wheel and cursing everyone nearby. On my bike with the wind in my hair - or lack of hair - I where life like a loose garment.

 

If only I could convince Dr. O’Connell to ride my handlebars to the hospital when she went into labor...

 

Here’s a video of my bike trip to work. Warning, this is quite large and may or may not work. Apologies for my limited video editing skills.