Dublin Bike Scheme Fail

On Monday night I had my first negative Dublin Bikes experience. Since signing up about a month ago I’ve been a big fan of the scheme. Working from an office on Talbot St with a Dublin Bike Stand right outside my building gives me a lot of scope for running errands around the city on my lunch break. It’s also handy when visiting Aily; I can get off the bus on Leeson St and nip up to her place in Rathmines on a Dublin Bike saving me loads of time.
 
However on Monday night, I took out a Dublin Bike from the stand on Townsend St. By the time I got to Portobello College at 10pm, the stands were completely full up and there was no space left to leave the bike. A quick check of the nearest bike stands revealed that all were at capacity. What the hell was I to do with this Dublin Bike I had been shafted with?
 
As it turns out, I was able to bundle it into the boot of Aily’s Nissan Micra and we drove down to St. Stephen’s Green where there was ample bike parking available. Unfortunately this highlights a shortcoming in the scheme when there are not enough bike spaces to satisfy demand. It will definitely make me think twice about renting a Dublin Bike in the future :(
 
Now away with ye…

Steam Train with Kreamy

On Sunday, Karima and I took a ride in an old restored steam train. The journey lasted 20 mins from Greystones to Wicklow and we had about ninety minutes to arse about Wicklow before the 20 minute journey back to Greystones. Once Karima had shamelessly used her female assets to persuade the geriatric conductor that she had bought tickets weeks ago but genuinely left them at home, we were allowed on the train. It was a beautiful day and we bought into the whole occasion by leaning out of the window and waving at all the jealous people on the beaches on the way to Wicklow. When I returned home and told my Dad about the day, he told me you have to be careful not to get soot in your eye from leaning out the window. This proved to be an untimely piece of advice as the extreme left corner of my left eye had in fact been on the receiving end of a boulder of coal.

Anyway, it was a great day out. Thanks Kreamy for the tickets! And kudos to the railway anorak we interrogated on the platform in Wicklow. He knew everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, about the history of trains in Europe. He impressed us with facts such as the amount of water the steam train consumes – 40 gallons per mile by the way! That’s less than 5% efficiency so it’s no wonder diesel and electric trains have taken over in the last half century. Oh and I can definitely vouch for the quality of the Guinness on board a steam train.

Now away with ye...

Student Discount Fail

I was just looking into the cost of a return train ticket to Belfast as I'm planning to head to a mate's house-warming up there next week. As the screenshot shows, any students planning on buying a return ticket to Belfast are getting a raw deal. If only there was some way for them to pass themselves off as adults to get a cheaper deal. Hmmm...

Now away with ye...

Burger King Fail

So I had an interesting consumer moment in Burger King on O’Connell St today. Basically I went in wanting a burger but nothing else because frankly although Burger King burgers are quite good I find their fries fairly sub-standard and who wants watered-down coke that will only rot your teeth and make you more thirsty? Anyway, a nearby sign advertising a double cheeseburger with small fries and small carbonated beverage for €3.50 caught my attention which inspired me to order a double cheeseburger on its own without the extras. When the cashier (let’s call her Carol) attempted to commit what can only be described as extortion I thanked my lucky stars because inconsistencies like this are what I live for! What follows is the gist of the conversation that took place:

Carol: “What would you like?”
Me: “A double cheeseburger please.”
Carol: “Would you like fries and a drink with that?”
Me: “No thanks.”
Carol: “Ok, that’s €5 please.”
Me: “What?”
Carol: “Yeah it’s cheaper if you get fries and a drink with it.”
Me: “But I don’t want fries and a drink. I just want the burger!”
Carol: “Then that’s €5 please.”
Me: “Well in that case I’ll take a fries and drink but I’ll just throw them in the bin.”
Carol: “What drink would you like?”
Me: “It doesn’t matter because I’m just going to throw it out anyway.”
Carol: “You have to tell me what drink you want.”
Me: “Ok I’ll have a coke please.”
Carol: “Ok that’s €3.50 please.”

I hand over the dosh. Carol hands me a tray with the goods. I pick up the burger and walk away.

Carol (calling after me): “Do you not want your fries?”
Me (over my shoulder): “Give them to someone else!”

The whole episode reminded me of a shop called Fresh in Grand Canal Dock where one can purchase punnets of grapes for €2 each or two for €5. Gas!

Now away with ye...

Thinking of posting to here a bit more regularly from now on. I will, however, rely heavily on the likes of Dan for inspiration :P