Guest Bloggers: The Napier-Hastings Commute: Logistics

This week we talked to Tanya Winter who lives in Napier and often bikes to work, in Hastings!



I have been cycling for 25 years and when I moved to the Hawke’s Bay I knew I would be spoilt for choice in terms of opportunities for cycling. My decision to live in Napier whilst working in Hastings was a conscious one, driven somewhat by the perfect commute distance of 20km between work and home. The only part of this that seems a tad unfair is the prevailing winds in the Hawke’s Bay seem to work against me. It is generally a South-West wind in the morning and a North-East wind in the afternoon. Some would say the resistance training is good for me.

I biked into work today taking the Marine Parade walkway-Clive route. My decision to ride today was made last Sunday as it requires a number of things to line up. They are:

- the weather – I keep an eye on the forecast about 5 days ahead of when I am going to ride in. Call me a wimp, but I actually want to ENJOY the ride to and from work, so it’s important that the weather is good.
- my work commitments – I often have meetings that start early or finish late. I try to find days where this is less likely to happen. The ideal time for leaving work to bike home is 5.30, as the initial rush of traffic has gone. I also try and find days where I don’t need a vehicle during the day, although I have used work cars if necessary.
- personal commitments – I ride on days where I don’t have personal commitments after work, unless they are later in the evening and I can get home with plenty of time to go out again!

I left home today at 6.30am, and it’s a 45min ride from home to work. I carry all my work clothes in a pack on my back, and things like my swipe card, mobile phone, bread for breakfast, purse, sunglasses. I leave a towel and a fully kitted toilet bag in the shower facility at work. That lessens the load to carry. I don’t like ironing, so its relatively easy for me to find clothes that I can stuff into a backpack, and they come out the other end looking OK. I know for some people, particularly guys with shirts, this would be more difficult. For this reason, some people leave clothes at work.

I shower in a building adjacent to the main offices which is frequently used by tradespeople...and that itself is an interesting exercise! I remember using the back shower one morning and coming out only in a towel to find one of the painters there. I’m sure it was a start to his day he would rather not have had. I guess we were both lucky I had the towel!

I am able to make toast and a cup of tea and am ready to start my day just before 8.