I try to walk or cycle to work. Both have their challenges. The good thing about cycling from my home in Regents Park is there is a cycle path for quite a lot of my journey to Ocean village area. I start cycling on the wrong side of the Millbrook dual carriageway, and go under the subway to the other side - feeling a little anxious about the subway because there is evidence that people drink there. Once on the cycle path, it is generally straightforward. I sometimes feel annoyed by electric bikes and electric scooters on the cycle path because their speed is signifcantly faster and it disrupts the cycle traffic. Once I reach the rail station, I climb the hill to the civic centre and from there, I can cycle (carefully) through the town parks to the old Debehams and onto my place of work. If I'm walking, I walk alongside the dual carriageway until I turn off at Paynes Road. It is not a pleasant experience and I sometimes feel quite scared by the close proximity of large trucks. If it is raining I will be soaked by the cars and other vehicles going through puddles. However once I turn off, it is quieter and I walk up Millbrook Road East to the rail station and then follow the same route as when I'm cycling. On the days that I walk, I usually get the bus home from West Quay. I have found the service to be less good since Bluestar became virtually a monopoly bus provider. My least favourite experience is when I see the bus is indicated as due and then suddenly it is wiped off the screen and the next bus is 10 or 20 (sometimes more) minutes away. On those occasions, I wish I had driven instead.
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