Vortex… just ride in and forget you ever posted here. 🙄

See you Wednesday mate.

post up in a year about how you completed the etape just based on your commute training 😉
Not see you weds ribs killing me rest healing well but massive facial bruise developing as well

If it rains = rest day
Out for beers = rest day

ie you dont have to do it both ways every day, 25 miles is a pretty long commute to work, mine is only 6 miles (on SS) but if its nice weather and I do it both ways for a couple of weeks I often really cant be arsed and take the bus instead.

hah theflatboy lives near me and works near me!

that route's not my normal one, mcboo – i generally go the shorter route down upper street and on from there. what bike do you ride in on?

Tandemjeremy
People riding under 10 miles each way and talking about having to take rest days and the like. FFS its only 1/2 an hour on your bike!

Tandemjeremy
Cynic al – I was refering to a 7 mile commute in 1/2 an hour or so

Tandemjeremy
Al – my 7 mile commute used to take 30-45 mins

Erm…average speeds of 20, 14 & 10-14mph ❓

Please mke your mind up 🙄

Feeling argumentative al?

Note the use of under ten miles

half an hour or so

all very approximate. I was simply trying to make a simple point that commutes under ten miles are not that knackering if you treat it as a commute not as a training ride or race.

My 13 miles takes around 50 mins on the SS without being a knob in traffic (I value my life, skin, bones and blood too much). Could probably shave 10-15 mins off it if the traffic wasn't there, I pushed myself and the lights were in my favour. That said I can do it without being too tired at either end and it gets miles on the legs.

Quite how I'd manage the SS without gears if there were hills on the commute I can't tell you 😛

what bike do you ride in on?

Lemond Filmore, Crouch End to Berkeley Square via Camden Town and Regents Park……you?

Mix it up, ride further some days, ride faster (chase other bikes, cars and sprint 200 yards every 5 minutes) on others.

SS is good as it means you have to work hard up hills but have to spin and rest on the downs, my mtb climbing has really benefited from this even if my overall speed hasn't much.

ah, i'm on my pompino but sounds like we go different routes. wondered if you were one of the many upper street riders, a few of whom i recognise from years and years of the same route!

I've recently started commuting also, came out of the car scheme at work, took the allowance/lump sum and have started riding.

Reasonably fit already, mine is 9.8 miles each way, which I do in anything between 29 & 33 minutes traffic/lights/weather dependant on mostly undulating country roads with a killer hill each end.

I would say its definately improved my fitness, i'm into week 7 now, having gone from trying every day, along with evening exercise on top (gym/squash etc) to realising right now thats not a good idea, so dropping the commute when playing squash.

Listen to your body, if you're tired and aching, take a day off, you will feel much better for it! Thats my best bit of advise.

wondered if you were one of the many upper street riders

I sometimes take a detour via Islington when I need to stock up on gluten free hummus and fairtrade recreational pharmacuticals.

8)

haha, sounds about right!

TandemJeremy – Member
Feeling argumentative al?

Only as much as you 😀

Seriously though there is a HUGE difference from commuting 10 miles at 20mph (which I'd say is impossible in city traffic and anythign even close would be a race) to 7 miles at 10mph, would you not agree?

My point is that you still change the goalposts as you go along (intentional or not) and can't concede that this is what you are doing….making you/your argument lose all credibilty.

I jumped straight into a 17 mile (each way) commute.
5 days a week, no rest days. It's been fine.

theflatboy – your route in is insane!

Seriously though there is a HUGE difference from commuting 10 miles at 20mph (which I'd say is impossible in city traffic and anythign even close would be a race)…

Depends if you're talking average speed for the journey, or average riding speed.

theflatboy's link earlier demonstrates him at an average of 17.8mph over 8.79 miles, and that'll be including waiting at lights and stuff. Probably pretty easily a riding speed of 20mph.

I am takling average speed, in a city EDIT with proper hills 😉

When I started my current job I didn't have any choice as to whether I cycled in or not as I didn't have a car, and with it being a 15 mile each way commute I found it very hard at first, but it did get easier. The problem as has been said before on this thread was that it left me at the weekends really not feeling like going out on the mountain bike, which for me pretty much killed the main reason for me commuting by bike… to get fitter to ride the MTB more…

I then swung completely the other way once I got a car and didn't ride the bike in for ages… only now am I getting back into riding into work once again…

theflatboy – your route in is insane!

well i realise it isn't the most direct! i had a bit of spare time this morning, doing that route is about 9 miles, the quickest way is about 6.5.

theflatboy's link earlier demonstrates him at an average of 17.8mph over 8.79 miles

yeah that's right – i was going quite hard but was held up at a few junctions and in traffic at points. probably added on a few minutes over the whole journey.