Ha! Sometimes I decide to be bloody minded and singlespeed my way home. I know it’s not the same as a proper singlespeed as I can always cop out but it’s a good workout nonetheless. The last 3Km are all uphill with a maximum gradient of 12% – definitely feel that!

Nothing much more to add other than it’s definitely doable and just to echo what others have said.

Guards are a must have, the longest front one you can get.
Leave as much as possible at work
Have more lights than you think you’ll need

I do 20 miles each way 5 days a week with over 1000ft of climbing each way and it’s hard some days, but I’ve only not ridden when I’ve been hungover.

Autumn winter is the best time to start too IMHO, because it doesn’t get any harder before it’s become habit. My last train ticket expired on the 14th December last year.

I do 16 each way, every day except when I’m feeling brave and do the full 42 each way. Sometimes fixed, sometimes gears – changing bikes can remove the boredom.

Lot of good comments above, especially about the dry bag. Nothing worse than getting to work and finding your socks and pants are soaked from the rain. Fresh gloves too if you can, makes such a difference putting dry ones on.

Also – clothing wise layers are the way forward. there’s a good article on cycling tips about what pro’s wear to train in. Briefly, a string vest then layers over the top make a massive difference.

You’re toasted by Friday though, and as a result I tend not to ride at weekends.

I also find having lights on my lid as oppose to the bike saves time and helps with charging. Therefore a self contained unit like an Exposure saves loads of time, and running it flashing in built up areas and switching to full beam saves the battery a bit.

My husband has been riding that kind of distance with 250m of climb either way for 6 years now and I’d be surprised if he’d driven to work or taken the bus/train 20 times in all that time. All the above is good advice. I’d add that a full set of decent waterproofs is a good option – in really wintry weather my husband finds it’s warmer and more comfortable to pootle along in a zone 2 training sort of way, wearing a few cosy layer under waterproofs, than it is to get all of a lather and try and get it over and done with as quickly as possible.

You will eat through kit like never before. You may also eat like never before – make sure you don’t keep eating at that rate if you stop riding for any reason! For the first few weeks it might be an idea to have your tea ready and quick to cook when you get in.

Dry your chain and lube it every night, do a proper job on it at weekends, consider running two chains. It’s a pain in the bum but a whole new groupset every few months is worse.

Make friends with any building porters/security staff at work. They will know where all the cosy corners for drying your kit are, and where the extra safe storage places for your bike are.They might even have a shower that no one else knows about.

Enjoy! (And I don’t fancy meeting you at a race come the other side of winter!)

Lots of great advice above.

One other thing – learn to spin, especially at first. Go a good couple of gears down from what you think and do 90+ rpm at a moderate heart rate (zone 2 – lots on the web). Might feel crazy slow to start but your legs will thank you by Thursday evening. Once you can happily make it to Friday you can start upping the speed on some days.

Good luck!

Before you start, take a spare set of clothes to work and leave them there.

Then when you forget to sort out clean clothes overnight/leave something at home/find that your bag wasn’t as waterproof as you’d hoped/realise you packed a short sleeved top and it’s freezing, you have clothes waiting.

If you have to use your spare clothes, make sure you replace them the next day…

middle of winter: i find it reassuring to carry a warm extra layer (£5 skiing base layer from decathlon), and maybe a energy bar in the bottom of my bag.

If you get knocked off you will be really cold, standing around waiting etc; the extra layer will be really handy. I got knocked off on a wet november morning, the only thing i wanted was a warm top.

energy bars last well, and the wrappers are robust. just knowing there’s a bar is enough to keep me going 99 times out of 100 (my commute’s only 14km each way though).

Decathlon is great for cheap warm kit. Don’t be afraid to look in ski/ running depts too.

On the washing front I do a strip wash on my top in the toilets hand sink with soap and flannel then baby wipe posthalf. if I was not comfortable with that I would keep a small washing up bowl at work and take water into cubical. It is 90% as good as a shower.takes about 10 min from locking bike, grabbing stuff from draws to being washed and changed.

The idea that you will do 16 miles slowly enough not to sweat is a joke! Better to have a good solution.

middle of winter: i find it reassuring to carry a warm extra layer (£5 skiing base layer from decathlon), and maybe a energy bar in the bottom of my bag.

Good idea. It’s also good for when you have a mechanical. Makes it easier!

The idea that you will do 16 miles slowly enough not to sweat is a joke

Not too hard to do at all. What’s meant by “sweat” is not dripping in the stuff, you’ll get damp clothes almost whatever, you just don’t want to be lathered when you get off the bike. Easing off for the last five or ten minutes is enough to get me cooling down even in summer. At this time of year averaging 26kmh for the ride in doesn’t get me sweaty.

Still need a wash at the end if you don’t want to smell