I commuted to my new job by bike last night – great…..not so

1) My ratchet thingy stops working when trying to adjust the saddle before i leave
2) some emo ****tty girl looks at me coming 3 times then steps backwards into my path anyway and forces me into traffic
3) my messenger bag keeps slipping off my back (lost the stabalising strap) and the weight pushes me sideways into traffic
4) number 3 happens 4 times in a 2 and a half mile commute
5) my bag (a medium timbuk2 messenger) isn't big enough so i have to wear the same shoes all night at work – cheesy Vans
6) there are no lockers at work so i have to do a removal van impression every day and carry half my house with me
7) there is one shower int he whole place
8) i sweat more when i get out the shower than i did on the way to work and feel clarty all night
9) despite drinking water all night I can't get enough and have a splitting sore head
10) my crank works loose on the way home and I have to call my wife for a lift (she's not too chuffed as she took some convincing that the commute was a good idea)

now i'm seriousley thinking about getting one of these

if its only 2 and a half miles why don't you just walk in?

Rucksack is better than messenger bag (for that matter panniers are better than rucksack, but you probably already have a rucksack). Messenger bags are just something for fashion people (other than for messengers, where the ability to quickly swing it in front of you is useful).

If you ride further out from the kerb, then you have more time / space to avoid people stepping off the kerb.

To be honest, if it's a 2.5 mile commute, then just ride slower, don't wear too many layers and don't change clothes (you've obviously got flat pedals so you can use any shoes). It'll take you less time to ride there slowly, than to ride there quick and shower and change – even at a snails pace that's only 15 minutes ride.

Joe

or just ride in your work clothes – take it easy and you won't get sweaty.

I just ride in work clothes for my short 4 mile commute to the station – although I do change and shower when I do the full 12 mile distance and skip the train

Cool down before you jump in the shower
Dehydrated on a 2.5 mile commute – do you live in the desert!?

1) You mean seatpost clamp – you have to make sure its gripping before you do up the arm/cam?

2) Yup it happens but don't let that put you off….
3) get a panier set ot like me a good biking rucksack!
4) as above
5) Keep a spare lot of clothes / shoes at work – I wear flip flops at work and keep them there!
6) Haven't you got a draw or cupboard to put some stuff in – I still carry all my stuff to work (i.e. clothes)
7) I can't have a shower at work – I use deoderant and a change of clothes
8) have a colder shower. How long is the commute – is it oo taxing or far for you – get fitter out of work i.e. weekends and you may deal with the exercise metter (my commute is about 7 miles each way for ref). Do you chill out when you get home and when do you get home. If you are unfit it may take sometime to relax/recover?
9) despite drinking water all night I can't get enough and have a splitting sore head
10) No subsitute for making sure you bike works – if new take back to shop to sort out – if not and your not confident take to LBS to check over?

Taking your woes one at a time:

1)Fettling just before a ride is always more complicated than it looks – you should know that from MTBing!
2) Never underestimate the stupidity of a pedestrian, or a car driver, or indeed other cyclists.
3) Not necessarily a disaster. The more of the road you take up (up to a point) the more room people will give you. If you look wider and have a bit of a wobble on then car drivers will tend to pass you wider, in my experience.
4) Panniers or rucksack are preferred by a lot of people for this reason.
5) Just take some shoes to work and leave them in the cloakroom or your desk.
6) Ditto, find somewhere at work to stash your work clothes.
7) You're probably the only cyclist there.
8 ) Give yourself 10 minutes to cool down when you arrive.
9) Sounds like you were bombing it; leave yourself a bit more time, relax and take it steady.
10) Assuming they're square taper cranks, get yourself a multitool with an 8mm key.

Firsly I commute every day, 4 miles there and back. so I'll try and make it eaiser for you.

1). do you mean seatpost clamp? is it quick release? If so make sure it well tightened and at the right hieght before you set off.
2). yeah speed up, don't slow down, she won't come out then 😀
3). get either panier bag to fit on your bike or a decent 2 strap rucksack and chuck all your gear in, then chuck it under your desk.
4).
5). On dry day just wear what you would normally wear should be fine.
6).
7). You need to find a speed where you are cycling at a decent speed but sweating to much, then you should be fine with a tin of deodrant. The right tire pressure and well oiled bike helps no end with this.
8). Have a beer to relax yourself before going in shower.
9). Maybe your not getting enough salt??
10). If your crank arms are loose take it to an LBS ASAP or it can damage them or the bottom bracket (if your bottom bracket isn't alread FUBAR)

We have all posted very similar response, all good advice.

Good Luck and don't give up on it!

so………

you'r bike was broken in 2 different ways, both previously known faults, cant realy blame bad luck for that!

messenger bag = pointless unless you need to be in and out of it all the time

messenger bag without strap: why bother, just bin/repair it, you know its going to be trouble?

you saw here looking to cross the road, so had presumably anticipated said idiocy and taken action well in advance?

The sweats disapeer once yor a bit fitter and your body's better able to deal with the excess heat.

As a rant im affraid you score -ve points, on the basis of +1 for agood point and -1 for an invalid one, you score -9.

I sweat like a pig so no to riding in work clothes. It isn't possible for me to do any exercise and not raise a sweat.

Is there nowhere at work you could safely leave a pair of work shoes?

Do you need a shower? As previous I sweat terrible but I manage with a cold wash at work.

Pedestrians, like All other road users even "us" are human so totally unpredictable. Ride out from curb if you don't already to give room. Try to make eye contact BUT don't assume even then that you are visible.

As for bike/bag problems. Without wanting to critise but unless you only got the job yesterday maybe checking bike and riding gear last weekend would have helped reduce these?

Keep at it and best of luck.

oh no, wasn't a rant, just stating fact 😆

I am grossly unfit, we don't have lockers, drawers, really anywhere to stash anything. I stupidly bought a singlespeed (although i love it for bombing around on and going to the shops)

I guess some people are commuters and some are drivers, i think i come into the latter

Are there really people who consider driving 2 and a half miles?
Cycling really isn't very complicated you know.

Stick with it. 2.5 miles is no distance at all to drive, but will quickly become pretty tiresome to walk. You'll get way fitter than if you only cycle at weekends, and you'll be able to go out for a drink after work with no hassle. 🙂

no no no! Don't give in and drive, really give it two weeks, you will get used to it, great exercise, fresh air, cheap, fun (?), fast (through traffic), easy to park.

At that distance drivng would be a crime.

Cripes. Can/do you ride a bicycle under normal circumstances? Not being funny, but 2.5 miles is just not a mission. You'll see girls in high heels on dutch bikes doing that distance with no bother. 😀

Is this a windup? I used to walk just over 2 miles to get to work, took 30minutes and I didn't get sweaty. Certainly wouldn't sweat cycling that distance.

With my first ever commute to work, I cycled the 9 slightly hilly miles in my work shirt. It was a very bad choice of clothing – I have never sweated so much in my life!

I recommend you keep your bike well maintained as you'll be relying on it working properly. Get a rucksack, or better still panniers, as messenger bags are not the best for carrying bulky stuff. If it's possible, then keep a change of clothes and some baby wipes at work, otherwise you'll have to carry them. And cycle a bit slower, then you won't crash into people and you wont sweat so much.

It doesn't take long to get into the swing of it and the sweatiness goes down a lot. I'm a long way from fit, but got by fine without a shower at work after a 7 mile commute – just wore cycle top and shorts under work trousers, then carried underwear and work top in my bag and got changed there. As others say, give yourself 10 mins to cool down first.

A stabilising strap (even an improvised one) will keep your bag secure – I used to use one for commuting with, no problems with it in place.

And while it's fun to race the traffic, there's really no need. Slow down and chill, and you'll arrive far less flustered.

OK, 2.5 miles isn't much to most of you, but i am terribly unfit, grossly overweight and don't ride that much so to me its a bit of a slog at the moment, and when you're bag is all over the shop it doesn't help you enjoy it too much.

I realise i'm not giving it much of a chance but at least i've been honest and at the moment really can't see the enjoyment.

It was more of a pointless moan post rather than anything else

Commuting observations…
Get a suit cover, (couple of ££ from Wilkos). On Monday morning get good wife to drop off suit hanger with clean underwear, socks & clothes inside. Find somewhere for the suit hanger, be creative…!!! Ask, beg, etc.
Shower before commuting. Dont bother with shower at work. Baby wipes, micro-fibre towel & loads of ArridXX spray keeps my sweaty mass fresh after my 6 miles in, even on the hottest days.
This way your cleaning up clean sweat which isnt half as bad as dirty, smelly sweat. And changing into nice clean underwear is good.

Oh, & the main one…get a cheap old road-bike with a rack & buy a pannier so you can ditch the back-pack / messenger bag. Commuting on knobbly's is tiring. Is half the effort on a road-bike.

And stick at it.
Every time I've began a new commute some catastrophe or other hes be-fallen me. 😀

…and at the moment really can't see the enjoyment.

Commuting is not fun. Doesn't matter what mode you use, something that repetitive for something that you probably don't want to be doing anyway can't be fun. There are things to take your mind off of it but even sitting in the car you are not having fun are you.

My commute is 2.5 miles each way. I either cycle or walk, just to mix things up a bit. I turn up sweaty, I just stay outside for a bit or go and get a cup of coffee from somehwere.

Stick with cycling/walking. You'll get fitter if you do. It should also be a criminal offense to drive that little distance….

Tell you what then.

-Get the bag off your back if you possibly can to cut down on the sweating, fit panniers or a saddlebag.
-Go really, really gently, give yourself ages to do the distance so you aren't stressed and don't have to rush or sprint for lights.
– if you're going gently and don't have the bag worries, concedntrate on looking well up the road and staying aware of what's going on, so emo girls can do their thing without it being a crisis.
-Don't go straight into the shower, allow yourself to cool down first.

HTH 🙂

Commuting is not fun.

I beg to differ, for me (11 miles each way) it brackets the day and gets rid of any stress at the end of it. But you do have to be relaxed, have time and not get angsty about the peril of it all. 😀

^^he has already got a road bike.

To me the first thing you need to do is relax, give yourself plenty of time to get there, go slow if need be. and get your self an decent cheap rucksack, got to an old surplus shop wont cost much at all,make sure straps are nice and tight.

Panniers ftw – made my commute much more enjoyable.

FFS – you're driving 2.5 miles? That's just lazy. Sorry.

Either walk or ride at the same effort as walking. Within a few weeks you'll be wondering what all the fuss was about.

1)Im assuming you mean a tool when you say ratchet. With an allen key adaptor.
2)Leg straight brace your arms, she was probably trying to commit suicide anyway if she is an Emo.
3)Get a pannier a backpack will make you sweat more.
4)Shit happens
5)Whats wrong with vans at work? What do you do? Or get a larger bag with a new strap.
6)Its only shorts and a tee coat if the weather is bad. What do you do?
7)We have none count yourself lucky.
8)I don't wear a coat unless its supposed to rain to reduce the sweating with no coat the wind keeps my skin cool so I have no need to sweat. When I wash I get naked in the disabled loo and have a hand wash followed by paper towels to dry off. Also means I don't have to carry a towel with me.
9)Try lucazade or gatorade or similar.
10)Check things like that daily/weekly/monthly depending on how confident you are with the bike.

read a good collection of articles recently, but afraid i cannot find them now.
All about commuting, bike choice, setup, clothing etc.

most points are covered above.

ride slower, its not a race and you will save time getting changed at the end of the journey
full guards – no excuses
dress as if its 5 deg hotter than it really is, even riding slowly will warm you up
panniers to carry anything you need

if you ride as a hobby, most of what you should do for commuting is a bit counter intuitive

http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/travel/article/trav-20090709-How-to-Commute-by-Bike—Part-2-0

http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/travel/article/ww-Wise-Words-Sweat-Free-Commuting–0

anyway, dont give up just yet.

Walking it will actually help you lose weight far better than cycling… Cos you're exercising more gently for a lot longer.

But still – walk or cycle. You're doing the right thing 🙂

With all the faffing about with changes of clothes, it's probably easier/quicker to walk in, and be less sweaty?

Keep it up and you'll be looking for cheeky extension loops to ride on the way home in a couple of weeks. 150 miles a week by this time next year!

Sorry BD but whipper has a point, you can make commuting as entertaining as possible but ultimatley it's a monotonous excercise that gets you somewhere you'd rather not be (unless you live to work) If your favourite trail was between your home and work I reckon you'd soon get sick of it cos it's part of the daily grind.
I enjoy my job and the commutes alright, quite good in the sunshine actually but I'd still rather be elsewhere 🙂

Yea, but there's a big difference between not enjoyable and totally miserable. Sometimes I think modern life spoils us so much that something mildly boring or slightly strenuous becomes, in our minds, unacceptable.

FWIW I work about the same distance away from home – usually I jump on a bike, but sometimes I walk. Mind you, it is a nice walk.

I commute 32miles a day and this be how I roll.
Mon – Drive in with Bike on the back of the car with a weeks worth of clothes.
Mon eve – Fri I cycle to work I use a caradice saddlebag to carry pants, socks, waterproof, lunch & tools. I take home my dirty washing in it too.
Fri aft – Drive back with bike on the back and take all my hangers and stuff to.
It's best to get into a routine and you will find you stick to it no probs. I feel loads better for cycling especially in the wallet dept with petrol prices the way they are!! I am fitter and my waist has shrunk from 34" jeans to 32" jeans.

you can make commuting as entertaining as possible but ultimatley it's a monotonous excercise that gets you somewhere you'd rather not be (unless you live to work) If your favourite trail was between your home and work I reckon you'd soon get sick of it cos it's part of the daily grind.

You either live in the wrong place or work in the wrong place, or you have chosen a bad route between the two! Commuting is great fun. It's like a 'free' bike ride, cos it doesn't take much extra time out of your week compared to other ways of going to work, yet you get to play on your bike.

Admittedly my commute is a nice hilly road ride over Derbyshire, with some beautiful scenery at one end, then a nice blast into the edge of town at the other end, but even when I lived in London I loved my commute.

Joe

yup I mostly enjoy my commute, only exceptions being:

* crashing on ice

* punctures in the dark whilst it's raining

i can commute offroad, but after doing it for year i found i was not enjoying my mountainbiking so much.

now i commute ss on the road, its a pain, it gets me to work but i have fun when i ride offroad again.

(only exception this year was the snow, when i took to the woods, practically nobody else even made it to work)

You either live in the wrong place or work in the wrong place,

Erm nope and nope. You misunderstand me I'd rather be elsewhere, just for example
Get up in the morning and catch the first funicular up out of la daille and spend the morning on the slopes in Val, a spot of lunch at Manolis, a lovely little family run restaurant in rhodes. After lunch I'll have a ride up the 12k climb and ride "for 6" only" followed by "bryan adams" and "maple syrup". Tea, hmm dunno, Italian at Toscanas I guess (now closed but they'll move back to britain and re-open for me) Watch the sunset from mambos with a few beers. Midnight swim in the carribean. That's just a few places/things I'd like to have been/done today.

But yeah if you've got to be in work I'll quite happily bookend it with a commute, but can we have less rain next week please 🙂

Oh and I second soobalias's riding to work offroad in the snow, smug smiles at the stranded drivers on the odd road crossing, having fun while the rest of the country grinds to a halt and still getting in to work before everyone else.

yeah but donk, the comparison you're talking about isn't genuine. instead of sitting at work, i'd rather be relaxing on a sun lounger on a quiet beach in belize, being enthusiastically fellated by scarlett johansson while drinking a cold bottle of belikin.

in terms of feasible comparisons, though, riding to work beats walking to the tube, taking the tube, walking to work by an absolute mile. joe's right – two bonus bike rides a day that save money as well!

🙂

My commute is 2 miles, I can arrive in work clothes no problem but I sit downand I just heat up for about 1/2 hour after getting in. If you can take clothes in and store them somewhere do that if not get panniers. Travel towels are good for cooling down / cleaning up. I've always disliked road riding but now take a 10 mile singlespeed detour on my way in / home and really enjoy it.
Give it time, it will get easier and you'll start to feel like a smug tw4t like the rest of us.