[Closed] Preparing to commute to work

Don't rush, either on the ride or to start doing it every day.

Start with 2 days a week then 3... you get the idea

Have everything ready the night before the first few times and soon it will become the norm and anything else will be a faff and extra expense. When I heard the wind in the night I thought about getting the train today but ultimately couldn't be bothered and just rode in carefully

take your time on the way there.

allow time for an unexpected puncture.

take a back-up light set or spare batteries where appropriate.

wear overshoes.

keep shoes at work and spare socks.

check the forecast.

enjoy.

Just two days a week to start, especially if you are not that fit, you will find it knackering especially if you are busy at work.

Will shift the timber though once you are doing 3 or 4 days a week.

Get mudguards.

Proper mudguards.

Will protect both you and the bike from the elements.

Charge your lights now and at work. Oh, and have a spare rear at least.

Also....

IT
IS
NOT
A
RACE

Relax, enjoy it.

The first day is easy, its the second, third, fourth, fifth, twelvety-hundred and seventy-seventh and ever onwards that gets you.

Take plenty of rest days and listen to your body. If you are exhausted don't ride, take a day off (the bike).

Depending on what you're doing at the other end, think about what you can keep at work to make life easier.

I keep my bike lock, suit jackets, trousers, shoes, belt and toiletries at work - meaning that I'm just carrying lunch, shirts, undies and ties in my bag.

I also carry a multi-tool, pump, tyre levers, puncture repair kit, USB charger cable and wallet.

Big lunches. You will definitely start to have a bigger appetite as your body adjusts to the extra work. Make a big load of pasta, rice, etc and take it in on your "off" days.

Don't get there and change straight into work clothes, give yourself at least 10-15mins to cool off, then either a quick shower (if you have one) or just a once over with some baby wipes. Not so much a problem this time of year, but defintely once the spring comes around.

Maybe invest in a dynamo hub and lights if you're going to keep doing it. Cheap sets available from Rose bikes and will mean you never have to worry about charging.

Also, it won't ever get easier, you'll just get faster 😀

Drink plenty of water throughout the day & have a stretch.
You can have a pudding with custard at lunch time.
& warm dry socks for the return leg!!

Leave as much of your work stuff at work as you can - I leave shoes, trousers, toiletries along with spare socks and underpants just in case I forget to pack them.

Ideally dynamo lights but this might not be practical for you. Have a spare rear light as you won't notice the main one failing. USB chargeable lights are probably easiest to deal with and charge at work.

Proper full length mudguards along with overshoes will keep most of the muck off you.

All of the above.

Don't do it every day. Start once a week for a month, then try twice.

Get plenty of riding clothes. The washing will soon pile up. Planet X or decathlon bargains work just fine, and saves your nice kit for nice days.

Mudguards, and lights - even on summer daytimes!

Panniers.

Kit ready the night before. Work out what you can leave at work.

I used to do 25 miles each way twice a week for three years. Really miss it. And I got very bike fit and didn't need to use my free time for training as I used my commute time.

Enjoy.

+1 for prepping the night before - having your clothes laid out ready to pull on, bag/pannier packed and bike ready to jump on and go makes a huge difference.

I found it useful to buy lots of cheap cotton t-shirts.

At this time of year, on my 10 mile round trip, I'd wear a gore-tex shell over the t shirt.

The t shirt would be saturated by the time I got to work but would either be hung up to dry or packed up for washing.

I'd still carry a fleece mid-layer incase you do feel a chill.

Coat hangers.

You might be better off with a pair of waterproof hiking boots than overshoes.

And an extra pair of gloves in case the ones you cycled to work in haven't dried out.

When you start, you will be tired. Very tired. A month later you'll just soak it up. Three months later you'll think it is routine.

The initial improvements in fitness are a joy. Beyond three months you can start to race yourself.

Oh, and mudguards, and leave shoes at work at the very least. A pannier is a better solution for most, but when hammering it, a lighter rucksack is faster.

Eat something an hour before leaving for home.

The hardest thing is always getting out of the door.

Arrid XX deodorant in the warmer months, if you've no showers.
Cheap disposable nappies stuffed inside will dry out sopping shoes.
And it's not a race.

Wow well some good inspiration there and good advice thanks.. I forgot to mention I'm doing It on a MTB with schwalbe road tyres on there like slicks. No knobbly bits haha.
I'm gonna have a go Saturday as I'm working but it's more of a relax day and I start at 8 finish at 12 so it's not a long day. Yeah as a phew people have said "it's not a race" for some reason I set of like buggery and before you no it's I'm knackered I need to learn to pace my self.

Depending on if you lash with sweat, spare cycling gear for return leg. Nothing worse than putting on wet stuff for a cycle home when you're tired after the day, and tempting to skip it from your packing to save weight!

Agree with everything above but get a pair of montane minimus waterproof trousers - they pack down to the size of an apple and weigh nowt - if you get caught out by rain on the way into work it will keep you dry and stop rain going down into your cycling shoes for the way home. Makes a real difference in autumn / winter.

Put your cycling kit on the radiator the night before then you've got nice warm kit to put on in the morning 😀

Oh, if it's icy then I usually bin it - not worth the risk IMO especially if your commute is along untreated roads.

It's worth either making the bike virtually infallible or having plenty of time for the journey to work. Non-cyclists are very unforgiving of lateness when it's a bicycle malfunction rather than (say) train delays or a traffic jam. I ended up with things like Schwalbe Marathons to avoid ever having to fix a flat on the journey.

🙂

All the above.

Kit ready and warming the night before with bag packed. I usually leave pants and shirts at work. I aim to get to work 30 mins before i'm due to start to give me a bit of breathing room for emergencies. Lights charged etc.

The hardest thing is actually getting out of the door when its cold, dark and wet, but usually 5 mins in and all is forgotten leaving you to enjoy the ride.

Be careful, try to avoid confrontation with peds and motorists as this will mess up your mood all day.

Mudguards were the single biggest upgrade I did to my commuter. They were a revelation. The other thing was using tubes that had removable cores. I poured Stans Jizz in and have not had a flat since.

Plus1 for most of what's been said up there, particularly

Be careful, try to avoid confrontation with peds and motorists as this will mess up your mood all day

IME even trying to be reasonable with them when they've been an idiot isn't worth it as most of them can't see what they've done wrong and it'll just degenerate into an argument, which leaves me beating myself up about it all day. Not worth it!

Also, you may have a defined route to your work that you have to take, but if there are multiple options cyclestreets.net can be useful for finding the quietest one. Makes a big difference to me when I use the option it suggests, roads are much quieter and I'm not having to filter past traffic for 50% of it. Added about 30% onto my commute in terms of time and distance, but it's much less stressful!

An easy way to break yourself in is to drive in/ride home then ride in/drive home. That means you can leave spare clothes etc in the car and have less to carry. Also means you can't easily bail out of it in the morning when it's dark and cold.

A lot of good advice here, I'll add my view:
2 or 3 days per week is a good start. Ease yourself in.
Leave as much as you can at work. I have a suit at work and on a Monday take the train and drop in 4 lots of shirts and undies.
If you can put panniers on your bike they are much nicer than a pack. If you can carry nothing then even better.
There are 2 schools of thought on bike set up which can be summed up as fast and risky or slow and steady. Either is fine, both have their negatives. For me, I ride a normal road bike with normal, fast tyres and accept that I'll get the odd puncture or 2 but will be faster and will enjoy the ride more. Others will say that you should have Marathon Plus tyres, go slower and accept it's a commute and not a race. Neither party are right.
Pick your route well, often neither the shortest or the fastest are right, you need the right roads.
And finally, enjoy it. I enjoy mine by going as fast as I can and trying to break my work to home PB, but I'm a moron and accept this is a bad idea. Just being outside is enough I would suggest.

loads of good advice here,
Only thing I would add is decent gloves and check the direction of your commute vs prevailing winds. For me most cycles in were a 10 mile slog into prevailing South Westerlies. I then used to fly home.
the only other thing is it did make riding at the weekend less fun as I was usually tired and associated cycling with work.

stupid question: do you know your route?

maybe worth a dry-run at the weekend to work it out?

Lots of good advice above

Waterproof winter boots are handy at this time of year for keeping the tootsies comfy, I'm still commuting in shorts just now, if your hands and feet are warm you can cope with the cold

Be prepared for all your non-cycling colleagues staring at you in disbelief as you wander in/out in SPD's etc.

Oh, and despite every protest that it's not a race, if you meet another bike it's ALWAYS a race! 😆

My tips -

I keep my jeans, shoes and a few jumpers at work, so I just have to carry underwear and a shirt with me.

A bike set up for it helps with motivation - mudguards are essential to keeping you happy on the bike, and I'd recommend a rack and a pannier over a back pack. I'm more towards sturdy than fast, rigid fork, 8 speed shimano gears, disc brakes and 26" puncture proof 1.9" tyres mean I can get up and be confident that it'll work, even if I haven't washed or serviced it in months!

Sealskins waterproof socks are also great!

A back up cheap Decathlon plastic jacket in the bottom of your bag is also a good safety net for staying dry and warm if the weather turns really bad, or you have to fix a puncture.

Also, get a few gels to keep in your bag, they're a lifesaver if you've overdone it (as we all do sometimes) and bonk on the way home.

Either have a separate set of shorts for the ride home or use some chamois cream, otherwise you asking for sores.

Enjoy it! It's the best part of your working day. 🙂

Also, get a few gels to keep in your bag, they're a lifesaver if you've overdone it (as we all do sometimes) and bonk on the way home.

Alternatively, if you're carrying a lock, make sure you always have enough money for a packet of doughnuts at whatever shops you pass during your commute.

It's particularly easy to bonk in cold weather - I've been close due to cold weather, a day at work and about a 26 mile round trip, which isn't really that much on road (there's no way I'd need a snack on a 26 mile road ride!). I stopped for doughnuts as I couldn't stop thinking about food!

I'm with the purist for starters. Drive to work with bike and kit. Leave car at work if you are able and cycle home. The next morning, fresh and with dry kit ride in to work in the knowledge that you can drive home. Do this a few times to get used to 13 mile rides and it's an easier transition to ride there and back.

If you don't have a shower at work then a towel and a pack of baby wipes.

As for carrying stuff - I've an Ortlieb 4 litre saddle bag. Waterproof and mounts/unmounts in seconds so when I get to work it's a simple matter of unmounting the saddle bag, taking off the rechargeable rear light and the Garmin. The Ortlieb is big enough for waterproof, shirt, underpants, phone and wallet.

CaptainFlashheart - Member

Also....

IT
IS
NOT
A
RACE

It shouldn't be a race, but it clearly is.

Don't forget your towel and carry some nitrile gloves just incase you have to change your tube. If you're locking your bike somewhere accessible to the public, lock it down, right down Those thieving scrotes will try and take anything/everything.

Look for alternative routes to keep it varied, i ride a longer route home to add some change to the routine.

i also have backup plans in case of mechanicals (train / mrs) as needed

I've only seen it mentioned once, but as well as all the good advice above keep hydrated during the day. My commute is about an hour and I don't have water with me but I noticed on the days when I forgot to drink more than usual (when I get the bus in) I was more fatigued at the end of the day and suffered on the way home.

drive in/ride home then ride in/drive home

Second this. Used to do a 19 mile commute each way a couple of times a week and the above was much easier.

I also fitted a big Ortlieb pannier on the offside with some more reflective tape stuck on. Made sure I was as visible as possible

Great advice above.

I used to do a 16 mile each way commute once a week. I wanted to do it more but it tired me out and meant I couldn't go to the gym. Plus it was longer than going by car/motorbike

I then changed job. I now have a 10 mile each way commute which I do everyday I go to the office (c. 4 days a week). Still struggle with going to the gym, only manage 1 boxing class a week. But the tube and motorbike take the same time, can't drive here, and it's free. It's also short to manage every day no problem

In hindsight I should have done the previous commute more regularly. In frequent commuting is easier than day in day out commuting I find, as the latter doesn't give you rest days and you also need to be more planful with taking stuff to the office. I usually cheat and take 10-12 shirts into the office by tube/Brompton, then cycle all the way home.

Personally, I CBA with taking clothes in everyday. I have loads of clothes at work, till the clear desk/office police really get to work anyway

I did one spring/summer with a commute of 16 miles each way.

I found I could only manage it 3 or 4 days a week without getting too tired.

Did boost my fitness & no matter what what you plan it is likely to turn into a race against yourself at times. I managed to get to work in just under 55 minutes and home in 45 at my fittest.

Used the 1-2 days I did drive to transfer fresh clothes etc.

I deliberately worked out a route which took in more country lanes where I could - this increased the distance ever so slightly, but it was a much more pleasurable experience.

My current commute is much less & I have no issues doing this every day of the week, all year round by bike

Make sure the number of spare inner tubes you carry exceeds the number of punctures. 😳

Though I did get a great close up view of a buzzard as I walked the last 3 miles home.

Lots of gloves, spare pair if the morning set are wet

Cycling cap under helmet, for warmth, keeps rain out of eyes and low sun

Full change stashed at work because you'll forget your trousers one day...

Punctures on the roadside are best dealt with a stick on patch to get you home then a proper repair with rema tip top size zero

All depends on the elevation and climbing involved. If I ride to work it's 10 miles and 1000ft each way. I usually do it twice a week and ride a longer route home of 18 miles and 1500ft elevation. I use it more as a training ride and do lots of sprints and threshold type climbs on the way home. I could probably ride everyday but would have to take it very easy and lots of slow climbing.

The other huge thing is road craft and awareness.. Positioning yourself in key situations so idiot drivers can't overtake you at pinch points and coming up to junctions etc.

If you're doing just a few rides a week to start with, check the forecast and try to avoid the windiest days. Wind against you on the way in makes a big difference to how knackered you are!

Well I've decided what I'm going to do to start with is drive to work and bike home then either get a lift in with guy I work with following day or bike in. Keep doing this for abit see how I get on, that way I'm never late to start with. Hopefully it will do my weight the world of good too.

Dunno if this works but I used to have a 45 mile each way commute, I would drive most of the way with the bike in the boot and cycle the last ten or twelve, worked really well for me (2 or 3 times a week generally, only ever once did it every day and I didn't enjoy it. 🙁 ). 16 miles is a big chunk on an MTB with slicks if you're just starting out - if you have the means and a safe place to leave the motor, I recommend the car/bike combo. 🙂

Good lights with batteries you trust and always packing night before / religiously charging lights as soon as you have any question over charge level and don't overdo it to begin with. I found myself enjoying roughly timing myself by wris****ch and keeping track to see the improvement. Almost inevitably this obsession ended up on Strava, but that's how it goes.

Overall I find I'm in a better mood all day at work and certainly more awake if I ride vs drive. Access to a shower and changing space is a huge plus if you have it!

Trouser clips.

Forget the naff metal ones.

You'll find some proper sized elasticated Velcro types on ebay.

And an old baseball cap to wear under your bike helmet when it starts chucking it down.

[i]Trouser clips.[/i]

I'd suggest riding in cycling gear rather than your flares.