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Oh, and 127 sets of traffic lights - anyone beat that?
Yep, afraid so - I lost count around 120, it's close, I've got about 135 I reckon on the short route, not counted on the long one, possibly fewer due to more lanes.
One tip if you are doing the pannier thing: get two and balance them out weight wise. It's surprising how much you notice having only one on, and if you're like me then that slight feeling of things being unbalanced is annoying.
aP - Member22 miles each way, on my 853 mudguard bike, carrying an OMM sac.
Oh, and 127 sets of traffic lights - anyone beat that?
as lights per mile a few above can, possibly, but I defo can:
me - 3.5 miles 24 sets of lights = 6.86 sets of lights per mile
you - 22 miles 127 sets of lights = 5.8 sets of lights per mile
ooh, I love stats 🙂
but not loving our love for traffic lights. Less than 4 miles an over 20 sets of traffic lights, WTF????
10 miles each way on a fixed wheel road bike with rack and mudguards. Laptop, work, shirt and underwear ride in an Ortlieb Downtown briefcase pannier (superb kit). Suits stay at work. I also get nice fresh towels and a pound per day for spending in the bike shop.
Today, however, was two miles to Slough station on a Dutch roadster in my suit. It's all cycling though 8)
My best tip is buy some decent tyres. Schwalbe Durano plus and Marathon plus have remained puncture free.
My commute is 15 miles each way across the Quantocks (1000ft of climbing each way), I ride a CX bike which means I can do a fair bit of the route offroad if the conditions are OK. I use a Camelback Octane rucsack and always take a second set of kit for the ride home. I work 12 hour shifts so I don't ride as often as I'd like because I just end up knackered.
did 34kms this morning in an hour 20 now that our showers in the office are back running after much complaining - now if only we could get our lockers back - mines dissapeared complete with my washbag, workshoes , trousers a couple of sets of underwear and shirts after i got shipped abroad for 3 months at short notice.
Was raging but work have reimbursed me for the lost items !
23 odd miles from sunny essex into the city.
Would love to commute by bike (and see the triathlon bike splits drop like a stone) but love my life, wife n kids more.
Please be careful out there everyone.
30 miles, no traffic lights. Beat that, suckers 🙂
Would love to commute by bike (and see the triathlon bike splits drop like a stone) but love my life, wife n kids more.
It's not that bad - the biggest issue is the other cyclists! IMO if you've got your wits about you (ie you're a half reasonable cyclist) you'll be fine.
I predict that within month of commuting, you'll experience the somewhat liberating feeling of going commando in the office. Rummaging through your courier bag, once you arrive in, to discover you've forgotten your shreddies, is a right of passage 😀
Any of the regular commuters [i]not[/i] done this then?
Forgot my bike lock key !
Keep emergency shreddies in desk drawer is my top tip for regulars without lockers
commute is 16.5 miles each way depending on the exact route i take. try to do it 3-4 days a week, but to be honest i find jan and feb the hardest months, winter never seems to end 🙁
Having not ridden for the last three weeks i suspect i am going to have to spend the next few weeks building up the mileage again.
24km each way on my road bike with a small rucsack.
Fortunately I have a locker at work in which I keep a spare set of clothes and underwear for those "oh pants" (or lack of) moments!
Aye, emergency ones kept in desk drawer, forgot a shirt a couple of times in 5 years, no real hassle as I have a works polo shirt stored in the desk.
Forgetting my trousers a couple of weeks ago caused a few issues....
Forgot my bike lock key !
Done that before. Just took my bike into the office, didn't give them a say in the matter!
If so how far and what on ? Im toying with the idea of starting a few days a week now its getting lighter but it would be a hilly 14 miles and i'll no doubt be a sweaty wreck by the time I arrive. Any tips on decent bags to hold a change of clothes etc welcomed ?
* Take clothes for the week in on a monday and take home dirty stuff on friday - this gives you 3 days with little to carry.
* leave work shoes at work
* Pannier/bag on bike (like Carradice SQR) is better than bag on back
* Get a lightweight towel - lighter to carry but also dry quicker at work
* Always keep an extra pair of pants + socks for commando emergency
* Commuter bike should have mudguards and decent puncture resistant tyres
* pressure employer to provide basic facilities - bike store, pump etc
couple of colleagues ride so just got them to lock my bike up to theirs.
i have in the past taken my bike into a uni lecture - lecturer protested a little , explained its value and the situation and that id cycled 20 miles to be at the lecture- he let me stick it in his office for the day after that !
* Always keep an extra pair of pants + socks for commando emergency
+1
😯 Hats off to you 45 milers.
Mines a measly 6-11 miles each way (depending on where I'm working) on by road bike with mudguards and [url= 
]possibly the biggest bag you can get for your back.[/url]
It makes me about 1st heavier which I see as a bonus as I'm positively flying when I've not got it on (I'd like to think anyway).
25km each way, 4 times this week, usually 3 times though. I go past ocean beaches, harbour beaches and over the harbour bridge at the end in to city and office. Riding a condor steel road bike. timbuktu Messenger bag works for me, bought in 1994 in detroit, still going strong in sydney 18 years later!! I have trousers and shoes at work plus wash bag stuff. Just carry my shirt (ironed, then folded and placed in plastic bag) and my boxers and sox. The plastic bag stops the shirt from getting creased - thats why dry cleaning comes back in plastic wrapping!
11 miles each way, once or twice a week. Only regular riding I get these days 😳
99.9% off-road & traffic-free, through country park and along the Tyne, which is nice.
Pannier/bag on bike (like Carradice SQR) is better than bag on back
Yep very good bag. Big enough for my laptop, change of clothes, tube, pump, keys, and mini tool. Needs a few minor customisations to make it perfect.
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Steel Rock Lobster with skinny commuter tyres, Ergon grips, mudguards, Lumi and.. err..phone holder 😕
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35 miles each way - rode in today for the first time this year. Tailwind all the way in - that can only mean one thing on the way home 🙁
I'm lucky enough to have an office to myself on Thursday and Fridays - bike lives in the office with me with stinky drying kit draped all over it! I bring clothes etc in the day before and just carry the bare essentials. Hardest bit is getting up at 5.15AM!
i have to say getting up at 5.15 was the easy bit today - weather was immense - if anything i over dressed ! beautiful sunrise.
Normal commute is 9 miles each way, on skinny tyre SS (Kona Bandwagon), unfortuantely all on road. Quite often go a different route which takes it up to about 20 miles (usually only on the way home though).
Another route I like to do once or twice a month is over the Pentlands which takes me up to about 26 miles with about 18 of that being off road, is a great fun ride home. Thats done on my old Cotic Soul.
a few days a week now its getting lighter but it would be a hilly 14 miles and i'll no doubt be a sweaty wreck by the time I arrive. Any tips on decent bags to hold a change of clothes etc welcomed ?
If you don't have the option of leaving clothes & shower-related paraphanalia at work then I'd definitely recommend panniers.
Once you add up the weight of towel, shower gel/shampoo/deodorant, trousers, shirt, underwear, shoes, lunch, emergency spares ... it can get quite hefty for a backpack.
14 hilly miles will take you around an hour (?) ... so that's 28 miles & maybe 2 hours a day riding ... I'd say 3 days a week would be sensible without wearing yourself into the ground, and only 2 consecutive days (i.e. Mon/Tue/Thu, Mon/Wed/Fri).
My commute is about 11 flat-ish miles if I go the most direct route, and I have a locker at work where I keep clothes, towel, shower gel bla bla (I bring clean stuff on days I use the car) ... I use a CamelBak (breakfast/lunch/emergency spares) as it's not too heavy ...
I find I [i]can[/i] do the commute 5 days a week but I'm pretty tired after the 4th day, so usually do 3 or 4 days a week so that I'm not so wrecked that I'm totally useless to my wife & kids when I get home 🙂
Having said that, I have a habit of treating each commute like some sort of personal time trial which means I'm tiring myself out more than is necessary.
Lftle
Easy 3 miles each way for me, four times a week at least on a £200 (brand new) Python Atlas fixie most days, leaving the fat tyres for the weekend
10 miles or so each way, geared Roadrat with rack & panniers. Trying to do it as often as possible, which is 2 or 3 days (out of 4) at the moment.
Find I'm getting a bit tired by the middle of the week though, but I do usually ride at the weekend and Monday night too, so being a bit tired on Wednesday is perhaps not too surprising. Be interested in any tips for reducing fatigue if anyone's got any? 🙂
20 miles each way for me, 3-5 days a week. I use a roadified kona jake the snake. I use a small camelbak in winter for carrying stuff as I'm not worried about a sweaty back and it's somewhere else to hang lights. I summer I use a largeish saddle bag but I'm thinking about getting one of those big ortlib ones. I usually switch to the saddle bag in March.
Be interested in any tips for reducing fatigue if anyone's got any?
If you're riding Sat and/or Sun, then Mon/Tue/Wed commute & Mon evening ride I think you're going to feel fatigued no matter what.
The best you can do to help yourself is a eat/drink properly & get good nights sleep.
And rest, i.e. a couple of days a week off the bike.
Find I'm getting a bit tired by the middle of the week though, but I do usually ride at the weekend and Monday night too,
I'm usually feeling it by Friday, commute all week plus Thursday night ride. Mind 5/6 pints after the night ride probably explains why i feel sluggish on Friday 😀
3 miles each way from home, but as I rely on my family to feed me, it works out about 100miles per week in total.
Ride an LHT with drops, full mud guards and panniers.
Usually only have one pannier on and don't really notice the unbalanced feel of it, thought I would, but really no issue.
3 miles each way from home, but as I rely on my family to feed me, it works out about 100miles per week in total.
Your maths disturbs me. How often do you eat??
Are you a mormon? Or just polygamous? Do you have a number of families within a 3 mile radius of work? Do they all feed you? How fat are you?
Every day, 2.5 miles each way, fixie skidder, rucksack.
I don't own a car so i'm careful to make sure my commute isn't too long.
Monday night - Grannys house - macaroni cheese
Wednesday night - Dads house - whatever's in the freezer
Thursday night - Mums - Fish and chips
6 mile round trip if going from home to work to home, but I rarely do that.
About 4 miles each way, downhill mostly on the way in.
On my one and only bike - full sus MTB. From a chainstore 😳
Drive in on a weekend and swap over clean / dirty work clothes for the week and use my Camelbak.
re. fatigue - as someone said earlier, at least a day a week rest from the bike helps.
full sus MTB. From a chainstore
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In my defense it was "Best Bargain Full Sus" or whatever in What MTB mag when I bought it.
That's not much of a defense really, is it?
edlong - MemberOn my one and only bike - full sus MTB. From a chainstore
As long as it was a chainstore that sells good bikes- Halfords, decathlon?- then why the :oops:?
Most recent and highly effective commuting tool is a Berghaus Freeflow Rucksack. Looks slightly weird but works amazingly well at stopping the terrible sweaty back, and I can get just enough stuff in it if I plan properly and leave stuff like shoes at work. 11 miles each way on my Scott carbon roadbike, so no fittings for panniers or guards unfortunately. Poor thing needs a total rebuild after this last winter of salty, appallingly pot-holed roads.
shoes, belt, towel, ties, showergel and emergency outfit all live at work
4 miles of fixie****ting each way, rucksack
Rummaging through your courier bag, once you arrive in, to discover you've forgotten your shreddies, is a right of passage
Done that, and worse. Took the work shoes home before Christmas, forgot to take them back in January. A day walking around on tiptoes in Look cleats raised a few eyebrows. At least the blue matched my suit 😆 . I keep a spare set of underwear at work.
I think I work for the most bike friendly employer : Free towels each day, locker for clothes, free bike servicing at the in-house bike shop (Evans) and paid £1/day to spend in said shop. Why wouldn't you cycle?
I got to work one day to realise i'd forgotten my trousers, had taken the week day onces out and forgotten to sling jeans in, Damn you dress down friday!
I walked down to new look and got some cheap jeans - got some very strange looks walking through manc at 0830 with cleats and tights on!
15 miles each way. Fairly flat, but mostly offroad. I do it fast. 4-5 times a week depending on how many shirts I have in work and whether I have any off site meetings.
When I had no showers then I would shower and shave before leaving home, then strip wash when I got to work in the disabled toilets.