MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Hi,
This has probably been done before, but as I'm getting old, and I'm starting to fail at all things tech.. I can't find it.
Anyway, maybe moving back to UK soon, so I'm looking at houses and distances from work.
I'm not used to the British climate anymore, so I'm looking at what people normally do.
Regards,
Travis
UK to Guyana and back, every 4 weeks, takes 2 days each way.
ah... should've added the word cycling to it.
How long is your Cycling commute...
I do 14 miles to and from Edinburgh each day.
At the moment the only problem I'm having with the British climate is that it's so blooming windy but then i suspect I'll soon have to add cold and wet to that. Having good or bad shower facilities at work can make or break any commute though. Fortunately mine are good.
1.9km but I live in Oz...
In the UK the distance and the time are not proportional, google maps directions with a time of day is good at this stuff now. Better to say where your working and planning to live. I've worked in the same place but lived 15 miles to the east and 30 miles to the west, commute could be similar (all on motorways)
Ah 7 mins downhill so no shower needed
50 miles each way by car or train
6 miles each way but 10 would be fine year Round. Depends how fit you are and what the terrain is. I wouldn't want my commute to be more than 1h as it would be a significant chunk of my free time.
18 miles each way - 50mins give or take. Just about to set off.
M
5 miles each way. I like it because I can make it longer quite easily, but take the shortest route home if I really need to.
15km, downhill to flat on way in, uphill and prevailing headwind on way home,
I did 11 mile flat in Bedfordshire where it's relatively dry. 6-8 in wetter areas on Wirral. 30-40 mins is reasonable, much more takes a fair amount of dedication.
A pretty flat 10 miles which is about perfect. 35 mins +/- 5 mins depending on traffic and weather conditions. Enough to be a decent work out but not too long. I tend to go a bit easier in and blast home.
12K each way for me. Relatively flat, sub 30 mins most days, really looking forward to the dark, cold mornings.
Also feel like Im getting old...
3 flat miles, some tow path, I get to see herons & kingfishers. Its good therapy 🙂
Just under seven miles each way, not in anyway an onerous route profile but up through south west London so the traffic is a bit cheeky. Can't usually be bothered doing it every day especially as its much quicker on the tube and the shower and locker facilities are poor at work. Homeward tends to be dicier than going in to work, mainly due to Tooting being particularly dangerous when busy, kamikaze pedestrians, crappy driving, etc
15 miles each way. Do it two to three times a week, sometimes take the scenic option through the peaks (yes I know it's the Peak District but that doesn't read write and it's early in the morning) which pushes it out to 25-30 miles each way.
18 miles each way essentially flat - 330 ft of climbing!!!
Considerably slower than Daffy but it is mainly shared use and pretty rough and meandering path 1 hr 15 mins ish.
Leeds to Heathrow four times a month. 3.5 hour drive, or 40 minute flight, or 3 hours on the abomination that is Virgin Rail East Coast.
12 miles each way, usually do it 160+ times a year. This time of year weather doesn't stop me riding in, winter time I drive if it's wet or below freezing.
Pretty flat, with about 4 miles off road.
21 miles each way, do it once a week. [i]Just[/i] too far to do it every day.
10 miles each way if i take the short route.
700ft on the way in & 1500ft on the way home.
7 miles in, 11.5 home flat commute. May add a bit extra if it is a nice evening.
Only drive in if the puddles completely span the road.
40 miles each way.
2 days per week on the train.
3 on the bike. Normally do half way in and then get the train for the second half then ride all the way back. Sometimes do full ride both ways, sometimes get the train halfway back too. Depends how energetic I'm feeling.
12 miles ish each way depending on my exact route. I keep things interesting with different variations on a theme.
All road + paved cycle paths - 50 minutes ish
Mix of roads, tracks and trails + cycle ways - just over an hour ish.
Inside secure bike storage and a shower at work is a bonus.
I'll do that on average 3 times a week and leave enough clothing supplies at work on the days that I come in the car.
And yes, this thread theme does come up quite often!
10 miles with 1000ft climbing each way following the shortest route.
Usually do it twice a week with a bimble easy ride in and take a longer 20 miles home ridden at threshold or with sprint intervals or via the hilliest option. Drive the other 2 days. Try and get one longer ride at the weekend.
I do 14 miles to and from Edinburgh each day.At the moment the only problem I'm having with the British climate is that it's so blooming windy but then i suspect I'll soon have to add cold and wet to that. Having good or bad shower facilities at work can make or break any commute though. Fortunately mine are good.
that saved me the typing
UK to Tanzania every 6 weeks. 4 flights, 2 days each way.
18 miles each way essentially flat - 330 ft of climbing!!!
Considerably slower than Daffy but it is mainly shared use and pretty rough and meandering path 1 hr 15 mins ish.
Mine's fairly forgiving, with about a 1/3 split between A/B road, Town centre traffic and cycle paths with a million* junctions. 500-800ft of climb.
* this [i]may[/i] be an exaggeration.
Depending on where my meetings are (current projects in Shoreditch and Chelsea mean a lot at the moment) anywhere between 3 miles e/w to 25 miles+ of riding around London from Paddington. I do it only once a week though.
I wear work clothes, no helmet, and ride like the Dutch in order not to get a sweat on. Out of 40 odd such days a year, I reckon less than 6 or 7 are wet days.
14 miles each way. I juggle between cycling and car.
22 miles each way, 4 times a week.
Depth of winter usually drops down to 3 times a week, sometimes in summer if i have no weekend riding plans i do all 5 days but it gets me really tired.
21 miles each way, do it once a week. Just too far to do it every day.
A teeny bit far to do 5 times a week, so you do it once? 😉
Mines 45 miles, try and ride once a week and usually get the train at least part of the way home, or drive halfway and ride, then it's 23 miles each way. From Surrey/Sussex to north London.
About 6.5 miles direct, 9.5 miles the pretty way with several variations in between. Takes 25-35 mins depending on route and how hard I pedal.
Ride to work by default, it's slower door-to-door to drive/get the train, and commuting by bike is good for my health (mental as well as physical - every time I drive to work I remind myself that doing it every day would be pretty depressing)
2 miles each way mainly via cycle paths. It's great.
4 miles if I take the quickest route via roads, 12 miles this morning taking in a mostly traffic free route via canal towpaths.
3.5 miles each way all off road though I often make it longer in and out. Last night I added in 10 climbs up a short steep hill for fun. It's a good distance as I can also walk it and when my foot is fully recovered hopefully I'll be back to running it as well.
13 miles each way a little hilly, never on a Friday though folk seem to be extra keen to get to the pub at the end of the day.
Approx 15 miles
either road or towpath so either 55 mins or 70 mins
relatively stress free but traffic in the afternoons can be interesting
I don't tend to mind the rain and the cold, it's strong wind that often stops me from riding as it's usually directly opposing my direction of travel. Anything above 15mph headwind and I'd consider driving half the distance and riding the rest.
18 miles (28 km) each way from leafy Surrey into the wilds of London via Cycle Superhighway 7, over Tower, London or Southwark bridge depending on how I'm feeling and out to Canary Wharf.
75 minutes and 119 sets of traffic lights each way with various options to extend to say 25 miles (40 km) e.g. home via Richmond Park on nice summer evenings.
I ride it all year round.
3 mile bike ride across Cambridge, nicest bit is about a mile along the river....
7.5-8 miles. Can't believe I managed to find a job such a perfect commuting distance away! Only downside is the site is at the top of a hill.
When looking at commuting distances, I think the crucial thing is how long it takes. If it is 15 miles, thats about an hour, plus changing/showering time... any longer and it starts eating into the day a bit too much.
I ride the 13 or so miles from Twickenham to the City a couple of times a week.
Traffic & lights mean it takes about 65 minutes.
Often extend with a cheeky trail through Wimbledon Common & Richmond Park on the way home, which pushes it up to 20 miles/100 mins.
10 mile each way. can be done offroad, or 50/50 road/canal path.
the 2 most important things about cycle commuting ( 35 year experience) are, full length mudguards and schwalbe puncture proof tyres. FACT
4 miles each way, 5 days a week. Sometimes 5 miles in morning in the Summer route home can be anything, especially on a Friday after a half day. Extended XC commutes on a Sunny & Frosty Winter morning are nice.
I think a key factor is what the commute time is vs other methods
I used to commute 16 miles (each way) to work. It took me about an hour by bike, but it was only 35 minutes by car or less by motorbike. Still quicker than the train though! I commuted by bike once a week.
I now commute about 15k (each way) to work. But I've changed direction and now commute into Central London, takes around 40-45 minutes. So driving isn't an option, commuting by tube takes the same amount of time, same as motorbike (due to one way systems). If I have a meeting offsite or I'm going out in the evening I'll take my Brompton and might tube it in/home for part of it
So commuting by bike was more hassle in my previous job, in hindsight though I do wish I'd managed it more than once a week. But in my current job it's a no brainer, doesn't take any more time than any other method
20 miles each way, 5 days a week. Cannock chase to Birmingham city centre, 1000ft of climbing on the way in 1200ft on the way home.
Takes me an hour and 25 mins if I take it slow, an hour and 12mins if I rag it, but I only ever rag it home.
No showers/facilities at work, but it's not caused a heap of bother so far and I've been riding full time since 15/12/15.
the 2 most important things about cycle commuting ( 35 year experience) are, full length mudguards and schwalbe puncture proof tyres. FACT
the 2 most important things on my commute bike are fast tyres (I do more commuting miles than almost anything else, why would I want a dead feeling bike) and good brakes (morons don't look...). I have neither guards or punture proof tyres on my commuter bike. In fact, it's my old summer road bike, drop bars, 25mm tyres, slammed stem. Why bimble when you can go fast. SSSTTTRRRAAAAAVVVVVAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!
Why bimble when you can go fast.
my cycling as always been about the journey, rather than speed. i dont ever want to rush something i enjoy so much.
20 miles each way, 5 days a week. Cannock chase to Birmingham city centre, 1000ft of climbing on the way in 1200ft on the way home.Takes me an hour and 25 mins if I take it slow, an hour and 12mins if I rag it, but I only ever rag it home.
No showers/facilities at work, but it's not caused a heap of bother so far and I've been riding full time since 15/12/15.
Flipping heck! You must be fit as a butchers dog!
Do you race? (as in enter races not commuter racing)
Shortest option - 15 miles each way.
Couple of hills and a wee bit of traffic.
Longest - 20 miles each way.
Mostly flat and hardly any traffic.
5 days a week in Summer,3 in Winter.
Love it
People enjoy different things
I like having guards - once the rain's stopped you can still get soaked!
Marathon Plus tyres here, so far so good
Good lights too
Plus rack, and a proper honking horn
9 miles by car each way, 40m each way
12-14miles by bike, 40m ish each way
No idea distance by train, 15 mins each way.
9 miles each way down the canal, 6 if i brave the direct route.
Ive not done the direct route since i got my new bike 3 months ago.
20 seconds from my front door to the train station
13 minutes on the train
5 seconds from the train to my office
Absolute torture 😆
@BoardinBob - I agree, you have to travel with the peasants
@prawny - you cycle 20 miles into work and don't shower when you get there? I'm not sure if that's impressive or gross. I would be a sweaty mess by the time I got in
0.6 miles each way before we moved, I was just too close to work and was constantly there.
I can't say moving 1.2 miles away from work has made much difference (apart from doubling my mileage).
My cycle commute is a minimum of 22 miles each way and I have a system of riding 6 journeys and driving the other 4. Although sometimes I get a little over enthusiastic and take a longer route on the bike. Last night was 46 miles with a 26 mile pedal back in this morning. One of the benefits of being a single living alone man, I can ride as much as I feel like.
25 mile drive to Orpington station, then 15 miles on the bike into Fenchurch st. Have been doing it every day since 2/01/2016.
Drive take around 30 mins, ride takes around 50 mins due to traffic and lights. Have tried most types of bikes, from fixed track bike, gravel bike (shudder) and full on carbon road bike. Currently alternate between disc braked roadie and fixed. Last night I broke a rear spoke and had two punctures, commuting is hard on bikes!
(Oh, and I don't run guards or big puncture proof tyres as the guards get buggered up taking it in and out the car and I hate slow rolling tyres).
1.6 miles and almost all downhill to get here. Anything from 1.6 to 40 miles to get home. I've got a nice route back with an easy 20 minute scenic pedal along the canal then a bit of fannying around, then a nice steady 20 minute or so climb to get back, lovely.
I find guards are a must. I don't mind water falling onto me from above but water spraying up from the road is an unpleasantness I can live without.
i find the mentality of someone not using guards a bit odd. the keep you clean. they allow you to go in cafe's and pubs and sit down without making seats filthy and wet. standing water being thrown up is far worse than rain.
ton - Memberthe 2 most important things about cycle commuting ( 35 year experience) are, full length mudguards and schwalbe puncture proof tyres. FACT
Fully agree about guards, but I prefer large volume thinner (much lighter) tyres set-up tubeless with some Stans. Schwalbe PP tyres are made so through a layer of Tungsten judging by the weight.
No punctures in 13000 miles of commuting.
~4.5 miles each way, with the time very much influenced by luck with traffic lights on the way in and my energy to ascend on the way home.
Sometimes I despair of the sensor not acknowledging me if I arrive at the Milton Rd/ Hill Lane or the Howard Rd/ Shirley Rd junctions with no car behind me to trigger a green light!
I do 30 mile round trip plus 20 miles by bus. Thinking about replacing the bus with scooter. For me I view the 3 hours I spend a day as cycling + reading time - not commuting.
I like having guards - once the rain's stopped you can still get soaked!
Highly antisocial not having mudguards, you spray shit at a rider behind you.....
When I cycled 8 minutes. Most of the rest of the time between 60 and 90 minutes by public transport (walk, train, tube/bus)
16 miles each way if it's not raining. A couple of times a week. The train is easy enough that I mix up cycling with going in by train or I work from home. I wish I could say hand on heart three times a week but that's more an aspiration than what actually happens. I ride it on the cross bike, and thought that was to give me off and on road options but rode it yesterday on the road bike and realised the road surfaces are far nicer ridden on the cross bike. Things you just ride through on the cross bike, the road bike makes you want to swerve round and with the volume of traffic that's not an entirely good choice.
@trickydisco - No racing for me, I'm far too tired 😆 I don't really ride socially either, so it's tricky knowing if I'm fast or not, I don't think so - I'm still fat, and there's plenty of people quicker than me on Strava, but I'm never really going for it the whole time due to traffic.
@benp1 - I wear a HR monitor on every ride, so I really take it easy in the morning generally I don't go over z2 and for the last 3-4 miles I really back off.
Full guards, Schwalbe Durano Plus (rear only at the mo) and disc brakes on my commuter - gear goes in a carradice SQR slim, I'd be curious how I'd go on a nice bike now, this one is a tank.
3 miles to and from, going to work its all downhill, I'm not even sure I would call it a cycle, tend to not bother changing into commuting clothes stick to my work trousers/shirt. Coming home sometimes I go down the canals add another 10 miles but tend to go home change and take the road bike out. I was walking but 40min walk cut down to a 10 min pootle.
Full guards, Schwalbe Durano Plus (rear only at the mo) and disc brakes on my commuter - gear goes in a carradice SQR slim, I'd be curious how I'd go on a nice bike now, this one is a tank.
I've found it make surprisingly little difference on a commute.
18 miles on the Niner with guards, racks and panniers - 55mins
18 miles on the Pickenflick with nothing - 50 mins.
I do have to put [u]much[/u] more effort into the climbs on the Niner as it weighs around 10lbs more with the bags.
7 miles each way across Plymouth; hilly and treat it as a workout so smash the rides. I have an acceptable shower at work however which is essential in my (humble) opinion.
I think a key factor is what the commute time is vs other methods
For me, its anywhere from 45mins to 1h15mins on the bus, or consistently 40 mins on the bike.
I think a key factor is what the commute time is vs other methods
90 mins door to door on the train, 60 in the car, 120 on the bike.
But, the car means I have to sit on the M40 which I hate so that's out. That leaves the train, which is fine, and the bike which is better but harder.
Mudguards - I'm not sure its antisocial as such ( I don't do club rides on the same bike), plus there seems to be a lot less standing water and general filth on the roads for my current commute. However I'm moving out to the sticks again with my commute involving country lanes - different kettle of fish then.
As I said earlier, at the moment lugging a bike in and out of the car means mudguards soon get bent out of shape which just becomes a pain in the arse.
30 miles each way, 1300ft. Try and do one way each day and there and back on a Friday. I'll be honest though and say that even after 3 months of doing it, I find it hard going and it is too far. Shame as I really enjoy it, but no matter how slow I cycle I always find the ride into work (1hr 50 mins) leaves me feeling rather tired. The ride home is great though.
12.5 miles each way with 1200 ft of climbing on the way in, and 1000 ft on the way home. I try to do it once a week, usually on a Friday, but this morning apathy won, and I stayed in bed for an extra half hour.
I do just under 20 miles each way 3-5 days a week all year round. I have a winter/wet weather commuter, a disc brakes road bike with full guards and summer commuter, doesn't get used much as it's always ****ing raining.
I love it, wouldn't want it any shorter, most of the time. Its a mix of 7.5 miles through town/suburbs and 12 on a cycle path over a moor with only the odd house on it.
@ Daffy - agreed I was more thinking individual segments, the hill up to my house is about 800m @ 7-8%, PR is 2.02 but I can't get under 2.15 on the commute (TBF its at the very end of the return leg so I'm not as fresh as I could be) I'd like to go under 2 mins and nip up the leaderboard a bit