Cycle to work

[johnM]

I have been thinking about cycling as least part of the way to work, currently a 16 mile, 30 minute drive.

However the non-driving option could mean a 1.5 mile walk/cycle to bus stop then around 25 minutes on bus and then another bus for around 10 minutes.

The most direct route is about 13 miles, is this realistic to cycle there and back?

What's the furthest that anyone here has cycled to work on a regular basis?

Your thoughts would be great thanks.

[bogit & legit]

i cycled 4 miles to work 4 miles back,after a 12 hour shift it was a hard ride back,especialy after a night shift,i am not exacly fit but i did feel great when i got to work pretty energetic,so i would say give it a go and see how you get on.

regards b&g

[johnM]

Thanks for the encouragement, I work more or less 9-5 and sit on my backside in an office for most of the day.

[bogit & legit]

i think as you sit on your ass allday you should give it a go what you got to lose,beer gut,high blood presure?and you will be fit,and excersise is good for you.go for it.

b&g

[johnM]

less of that, this is a beer and gut free zone

[bogit & legit]

not it my house it aint.lol

[ina]

With my last (office) job in Germany, I cycled about 22 miles to work - but only one way most days! It was slightly hilly - more undulating, I suppose, and most of it good cycle paths. So generally I cycled there on Monday morning, took bus or train back home (which meant a few miles walk, too); public transport in on Tuesday morning etc. Fridays we were allowed to knock off at midday (flexi time!), so I often cycled both ways.

[Sky]

I cycle and the on road cycling is easy isn't it ... it's just the gravel roads I have probs with as the bike suddenly drags and peddling is harder.
The time factor is what's a prob for me for school etc but if you don't have that problem then no stopping you is there.
I bought a scooter in the end to get me to work and back, quicker than a bike and cheaper to run than a car.

[Geonz]

It's totally do-able.

The more you do it, the easier it will get.

I have a 6 mile commute (one-way) through this college town. At first it was an event. I figured out my route (practiced it on a weekend), read a lot about how to ride in traffic and practiced that, too.. and then I was working part time from 10-3 so it was all daylight hours.

For just about every excuse not to, there's a solution.

There's a forum at www.bikejournal.com with a "bicycle commuting century" thread where people tally their commutes through the year. RIght now the tallies range frm 2 to oh, somewhere in the 70's .... with lots of encouragement.

Go for it!

Siouxgeonz
http://bicyclecu.blogspot.com

[Thomzo]

The bf regularly cycles 11 miles to work. It takes him about an hour and a quarter.

More often what he does is to drive to somewhere about half way with the bike in the back of the car. Then cycles from there. You could try doing that and gradually decrease the distance you drive and increase the distance you cycle. Until you reach a sensible point for you.

Each mile less that you drive will be a mile saved for the environment and mile more that you cycle.

I cycle every day now but then it is only a touch over 2 miles each way.

Have fun and enjoy it.
Zoe

[johnM]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone, I'm still mulling it over.

Currently I don't have a bike, but the weekly petrol saving would be help pay for it especially in the current market.

I don't know how easy it would be to include public transport in part of my journey as the train wouldn't be an option and I don't think I'd be able to take the bike on a bus?

There is secure storage for bikes at work and showers which is helpful.

Any more advice would be welcome.

[ina]

If you cycle to the bus stop - is there anywhere you could leave the bike securely while you are at work? When I lived near Loch Lomond for a while, I cycled to the nearest village on my days off (15 miles!), and then took the bus to Stirling. Fortunately, the bus stop was right outside the police station; I just locked my bike to the lamp post, and funny enough, it never got stolen!

[Geonz]

GET THE BIKE :D :D :D

Then find your route and practice it...

Set a goal for getting it done... You'll wonder why you waited!

even if you don't bike to work right away... consider teh "two mile challenge" per www.2milechallenge.com or http://www.friendsjournal.org/friends-d ... ends-drive

[happy place]

get the bike. dont worry about getting the lateist style look in the local ads 2nd hand bikes from £25 as long as wheels are true and every thing else works your quids in. i cycle 11 miles too and from my day shifts but drive on night shifts. a good web site to help with route planning is www.cycle-route.com





try hard mean well and never give up

[Sky]

A nice light bike with lots of gears will encourage you more though, some cheaper bikes are really difficult to cycle on as they're so heavy with hardly any gears.
You don't want to get discouraged before you even get into it.