The joys and pains of commuting by bicycle in Bermuda
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Water, Water, Everywhere
Hi all,
On Thursday I took some time to document my current morning commute. I'm fortunate enough to be able to utilise public transit for my entire journey. It short, it consist of a short walk to a bus shelter, a ride on a shuttle, a fast ferry through Little and Great Sounds and Hamilton Harbour, and then a short walk to the office.
The Bermuda day begins with a north-westerly view overlooking the neighbourhood flanked by Hog Bay Park with shimmering glimpses of the mid-Atlantic blue peeking through the tree-line.
Good Morning
From here it is a quick five minute walk to the bus shelter on Middle Road (point A). Most shelters are built of limestone block and are very sturdy since they must (and do) withstand hurricanes. I did not make it to the bus shelter on Thursday as I was running a bit late from sourcing the camera. The shuttle picked me up along the way.
All aboard
Cosy, yet spacious
The shuttle service is operated on a Bermuda Government contract with there being no direct cost for its use. This may change as a month or so past there was a civil servant conducting a survey inquiring if and how much commuters would pay to use the shuttle and if having to pay would effect their use of the ferry service.
Typical limestone bus shelter
After a quick five minute drive we arrive at the Rockaway Ferry Stop (Point B).
Cruising The Sounds
Welcome to Rockaway Ferry
Here we queue and await the ferry. Notice that ferry shelters are of similar sturdy construction to that of bus shelters. Since they are of more recent construction they use reinforced and filled concrete block instead of limestone They are also prettied up a bit with a coat of pink paint.
Queueing in pink
Their are three classes of fast ferry but I've been unsuccessful in finding any detail on the Bermuda Government website. For now, let's just call them Small, Medium and Large. There are two of each class and they are all catamarans (I believe aluminium alloy) using water-jet propulsion. On Thursday, the L. J. Cecil Smith (Large class) arrived to ferry us to Hamilton.
To dock at Rockaway the fast ferries wedge their bow into a bumpered catch that has a centred raised gangplank. Once firmly nestled in position the gangplank's winch is remotely activated to lower it onto the deck. The mass of commuters then herd aboard while flashing their passes or depositing their tokens.
Ferry docked at Rockaway
One month pass
I generally make my way to the upper deck to enjoy the fresh mid-Atlantic air. Here, I spend the commute reading the morning paper on my Notion Ink Adam Android tablet. This, I will miss most. I have a PressDisplay monthly (31 issues) subscription and use their PressReader Android app to download the International Herald Tribute each morning. I used to get the Wall Street Journal: Europe but they have disabled their newspaper for mobile download.
Top of stairs looking forward
Amidships looking aft
Notion Ink Adam with PressReader app
The route takes us past Morgan's Point (a former US Naval Annex), out to the marker on Pearl Island (Point C), down through Lefroy and Agar's Islands (Point D), and on to the Hamilton Ferry Terminal (Point E).
Below are some some pictures along the route. I don't remember exactly which of the Great Sound islands I photographed and the images are not geotagged. They are displayed in chronological order inbound from the Rockaway Ferry stop.
An aside: My Nexus One Android phone's screen cracked a while back and I attempted an at home repair. The results were catastrophic. I'm waiting on the Nexus 3 (or is it Nexus Prime?) before I purchase another smartphone. Until then all the pictures and video are supplied via the wife's green Olympus Stylus 1030 SW. It is a very good camera that is about 4 or so years old; shock resistant and waterproof. In any case, there wont be any geotagging until I obtain the Nexus 3.
Gibb's Hill Lighthouse in the distance
The Fairmont Southampton Resort
Bits of Warwick and Southampton parishes from Great Sound
A stretch of Harbour Road
One of the Great Sound islands
A bit of Paget parish from Hamilton Harbour
Hamilton Harbour and Ferry Terminal
Into the harbour we pass by the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Resort, the Newstead Belmont Hills Resort (on the far side of the harbour), Barr's Park, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Point Pleasant Park, and finally, the Hamilton Ferry Terminal.
The Fairmont Hamilton Princess Resort
The Newstead Belmont Hills Resort
Barr's Park and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club
Point Pleasant Park and rounding to the Hamilton Ferry Terminal
The fast ferries are generally only used on the longer ferry routes. For the harbour routes the mono-hull ferries are used. These have been in use for decades but they still consistently carry on with their duties.
The Coralita setting off on the Pink line
The Coralita and White's Island
Next are a few shots as the L. J. Cecil Smith brings us around to dock. But first, have a look at the shipping docks to the far rear of the Holland America's Veendam cruise liner. A container ship can be seen at the docks. Could my 2012 Trek 7.5 FX Disc bike be on that ship? Will the stevedores unload it in good time considering the current industrial action? If so, when will the bike arrive at Winner's Edge? Are there bikes in the assembly queue preceding mine? The mind whirls with the possibilities. Actually, Greg at Winner's Edge said that he would call me when the bike is in. I might be able to get a few shots of it on the assembly rack.
The Veendam, Holland America Line, Front Street, Hamilton, Bermuda
Front Street, Hamilton around 8:15AM
Lining up the dock
Welcome to Hamilton
Now all that remains is to exit the ferry, pass through the terminal, and take a short walk to the office.
Stern of lower deck facing forward
Entrance to the Hamilton Ferry Terminal
Looking East down Front Street outside of Hamilton Ferry Terminal
So there you have it. Thursday I left home at 7:40AM and was at my desk by 8:20AM. Most of that time, around 25 minutes, is spent on the ferry ride. The other bits being the 5 minute shuttle ride and the two 5 minute walks. Yes, it is tough making this arduous trek each and every morning but there are bills to be paid and retirement to plan for so I do what I must and soldier on.
Switching to commuting by bike for the 15km will perhaps take me an hour or more at the start. However, I'm planning to get that down to 40 minutes. If that is possible I'll have no increase in transit time with the added benefit of slimming down.
I'm extremely hopeful that my next post will come mid week featuring glamour glossies of my mechanical, sweat fed stallion.
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