This shit just got real yo

I have just moved into a flat on my own, thus no longer having access to former flatmate's car. I am therefore entirely dependent for my mobility on public transport, and the Silver Machine. Is this even possible in Auckland? Only someone as demented as me would dream of finding out.

The first hurdle to cross is learning exactly how much shopping I can carry home from the (thankfully very close) supermarket without risking the whole thing falling off. Gone are the days of weekly or fortnightly huge grocery shops - now, brief stop-offs for two bags full or so, most days after work.

I am not used to being popular

One thing you hear a lot of in the news these days is how much Auckland car drivers hate cyclists, to the extent of suggesting banning them from the roads and cheering on drivers who run them down. But when stopped at the lights the other day, one car driver asked me friendly questions about the Silver Machine. Perhaps that's a clue - unlike many other cyclists, sadly, I take my responsibilities of driving a vehicle seriously, and I stop for red lights (and at least slow down and give way at stop signs). Also, they do say that it's only male cyclists who get the massive hatred from car drivers - apparently if you wear a blond wig, cars no longer intentionally ram you.

But yeah. Cyclists love it, scooter drivers love it, and even car drivers seem to be getting the point. Nothing's fallen off it recently - although the handlebars seem to be coming a bit loose and the Allen keys need to be dragged out recently.

The big test comes up very soon. I have been using my flatmate's car on and off for three years, but I am now moving out on my own. I will be living in Auckland with no car, just the Silver Machine. And that may well be the real test. For example, I will have a very limited mobility while the trains are not running over Christmas.

Enhanced practicality

Latest purchase: handlebar basket ($60), to make small shopping trips practical without having to hang plastic bags off the handlebars. Yes, it looks retro. No, I don't care.

One absolutely necessary accessory if you want to run a Wisper bike: a set of Allen keys (also known as "hexes", I believe). I have had to adjust the handlebars once, the screws on the mudguards and the brake cables twice each since I got this thing. I get the feeling that perhaps the construction crew didn't quite imagine it would be going over as many potholes as you find in an average Auckland street.

The fact that the brake cables start slipping after riding in heavy rain is a bit disturbing.