Well after a unfortunate incident and trying to cut costs slightly I’m thinking about commuting by bike. Bike to train station and station to work at first and then 15 miles each way in summer. Cost on train is £3.50 return at moment 5 days a week which works out cheaper than what I’m paying in fuel at moment.

Good idea or stupid? Work has secure facilities for bike but no shower facilities but do have an area to change with a sink and toilet . Work for NHS.

I commute 9 miles each way. And always take it nice and steady on the way in. No need to shower that way. And smash it on the way home where I can shower.
Get riding. It helps with bike fitness no end

I do 14 miles each way 4 days a week all year round. Saved a fortune, do have a shower at work though.

Can you take your bike on the train during your commute? You can then build up nicely to teh full ride. 15 miles each way is do-able daily, but you will need a wash if there are no showers. And you will need to eat more. The ride to the train station will soon become a non-event in terms of distance.

Regular cycle commuters have the fitness of someone 10 years younger than their age.

14 miles each way here, 5 days a week when I can, all weathers.
I love it and originally started because I hated sitting in queues of cars.

Saves a fortune and makes you fit. My car has cobwebs on it.
My work does have great facilities now although I’ve worked in places that had none.
I would shower before leaving home then a quick strip wash at work in a cubicle or the luxury of the disabled toilet.

Sounds good but check for restrictions on taking bikes on trains at certain times of the day.

I cycle 10 miles each way when in the office. Wakes me up on the way in and I arrive home in a good mood. If you are reasonably fit I would start every other day all the way. Less hassle than the train and you save some coin.

Luckily I’m on 0700 to 1430 and 1330 -2130 so avoid peak times. I get a lift when I’m on earlies at the moment but lates I use the train.

I’m commuting by bike and do get a bit competitive on the way in. (Thanks you Strava). I use the muc_ off dry showed stuff and it seems to work at converting sweaty to cloying coconut.
Only 7 miles each way most of the time or12.5 if I start from a the second location. Easy peasey as most of it is cycle route

Good idea or stupid?

Always a good idea.

15 miles does not necessarily need a shower either. To minimise the need for a shower:

– under-dress a lot – you can wear far less than you think and survive
– don’t carry luggage on your back
– shower before you leave, thoroughly
– wear clean cycling clothes
– wear clean clothes when you get in

Sorry dupe post

15 niles each way love it

Only way i wouldnt consider it was if manual job / on t feet all day everyday.

I feel rough as dog after week commuting and wokring in the workshop.

It is a manual job. Orthopaedic ward. 8 hours five days a week. I can leave uniforms there I suppose.

The British Cycling website has a whole load of useful stuff on there about commuting (both bike/train and bike only)
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/commuting

It’s probably worth doing a dummy run one day, work out the route, how long it’ll take, what the roads are like etc when you’re not pressed for time. That way when you start riding it for real, you’ll be prepared.

Worth too sitting down with an A-Z, Google Earth/Streetview and possibly some sort of bike-mapping app and seeing if you can find a quieter route, maybe part off-road? I have two routes; a dry/frozen off-road option and a rest-of-the-time road route although I can mix and match them a bit.

10-15 miles is a nice distance, reckon on approx 1hr in city traffic. Always carry a couple of inner tubes, pump, waterproof and lights. Other than that it’s surprisingly easy how quickly it becomes a normal part of your day and you’ll soon work out options for leaving kit at work, when/how to swap clothing over and so on.

Do it, its a great way to get to work.
I biked to work for over 15 years before the employer gave a toss about cyclists and introduced showers, lockers, bike racks etc.
No one complained about the funk…..
Its a great mental buffer between the stresses of work and the rest of your life. Just pedal and let your mind wander.

Gonna do the train and bike for now as I have meniscus tear and surgery on 21st December. So leave it till after that for the full commute.

13.5 miles each way here.

Two or three times a week, more dependant on other commitment/time constraints than it being too much.

As per all the above. Good shower before you go, good anti-perspirant, clean cycling clothes, clean work clothes. Muc Off Dry Shower worked for me on a week in the Alps without a shower. A bit extreme but kept the body odour at bay!

Its generally sweaty clothes that smell the worst, rather than sweaty people.

Whilst cycling home this evening(in the rain) I was thinking “were can I move to that’s a few more miles from work/the station”. At the moment my commute is about 6 miles but I think 10 is about optimal, s,pose it depends on the terrain though and how busy the roads are.

What’s at the other side of your train commute ? Presuming the train station is near your work I would be looking at cycling to the station in the winter and all the way in the summer or if the weather looks fine anytime of year.

The shower thing is a red herring, some people do **** all and stink to high heaven, others (like me) can cycle everyday and smell of peaches. So you don’t need showers, your bike probably won’t get nicked, you wont get your soul taken for not wearing hi viz and you can drink beer all the way home without getting busted.

Go for it.

It will be getting the bike on the train that could stump you, but that all sounds reasonable and doable.

I have between 12 and 20 miles each way depending how much on road I want to do (50%-90%). The shower is a red herring – baby wipes and deodorant have avoided any embarrassing conversations thus far. Leave what you can at work to reduce the amount you have to carry.

“bike on train” — or a couple of hack bikes at either end?

All my gear is here ready on the dining table for the 5:45am commute tomorrow. 🙁

23 miles either way, did it loads in summer, 2-3 times a week, gets the fitness up no end.

Leave what you can at work to reduce the amount you have to carry.

2nd this, helps a lot IMHO

Do it!

13 miles each way for me, typically 3 days a week, all 5 if lucky and no off site meetings. Done it for over three years now all weathers and love it.

I’m lucky to have good showers, changing room, lockers and secure bike store at work.

I’m fitter, feel more alert / energised in the morning, also feel more relaxed when I get home.

Full guards, good warm boots and gloves recommended to keep you going in winter.

I’ve just moved much nearer work so my commute is all of 8 minutes but before I moved I did 8 miles & a 55 minute train journey each way.

Shower before you leave, correct clothing (merino) & anti persperant, gentle (ish) 7.5 mile ride to station (I always sweat so would end up @ the train sweaty), bike on train, 0.5 mile other end to work.

Left jeans/trousers in work & wore different tops in. Never smelly in work & felt much more alert & awake than I do know with my 8 minute journey!

Despite not having to get up 2 hrs before needing to be in work I do miss it…

20 miles each way. Do it one way all year round, and both ways during the summer.

It’s a total winner for fitness and your bank balance – I’m steely fit because of it.

I have two options I can ride across the street to train station but this involves a change at Blackburn. Or a 4 mile ride to Blackburn and train straight to Preston. At the other end its a 2.5 mile ride to work. Mostly flat A roads, one slight incline on the way there.

Once I’ve had my knee op I’ll probably start riding further on the way back to a station further along the line.

Will be on a Hardtail Mtb for now. Also suggestions on a good hearty breakfast but I don’t do milk or egg!

I have two options I can ride across the street to train station but this involves a change at Blackburn. Or a 4 mile ride to Blackburn and train straight to Preston. At the other end its a 2.5 mile ride to work. Mostly flat A roads, one slight incline on the way there.

What about riding from home to Preston, it can only be 10 -12 miles or so. Can’t it?

edit, sorry just noticed it’s 15 and you only fancy doing it in summer.

TBH its not that bad in winter, just get some good lights and keep your eye on the weather forecast.

I’d start now but due to nature of job and been told by my Orthopaedic consultant to not push my knee too much on the bike. But surgery is 21st December so once fully recovered I’m up to doing the full 15 miles. And probably get a road bike after Christmas as its more suitable.

My commute is 15 hilly miles each way, but I doubt it’s cheaper than the car due to the extra amount I spend on food when I get to work.

At the moment my commute is about 6 miles but I think 10 is about optimal

Agree with this.

In the summer I often took the long way home just for fun but now it’s dark I ride straight home. My 6 miles commute doesn’t really seem like far enough to justify getting into lycra etc. Depends if you’re planning on changing at work though. I sweat a lot and I have no self-control to ride slow – particularly if there’s another cyclist a bit further up the road. I think a shower is important for me!

I actually started enjoying my commute a lot more when I stopped using Strava and took the speedo off my bike. Trying to break records every day is tiresome and it makes me noticeably more tired. Having said that, I usually try and make up challenges to make the ride more interesting (E.g. sprint to a lamppost, try and stay seated, on another day try and ride without sitting etc.

Dibbs i started taking my food in with me ….. At one point i was up to nearly a 10er a day on food in the canteen nd still starving – says more about quality of canteen food than anythng.

Now i have a box of cereal in desk drawer and take in last nights left overs, some fruit , a yogurt and a couple of biscuits/cereal bars – much less hungry

For 6 miles? When I started, I found if I intentionally ate significantly more, I would just put on weight. Strava reckon it’s 300ish calories each way IIRC. Which maybe allows an extra snack, but not a whole extra meal, unfortunately.

15 miles is a different kettle though.

porridge. breakfast of champions. definitely.

2 1/2 mile at other end is also possible on foot TBH..

£3.50 return on the train!? 😯 I can’t even get to the next station for that, and i can see it if i stand on the passenger bridge over the line. Where to you live? 1985?

Dibbs i started taking my food in with me …..

1. The extra weight would make a surprising difference on the climbs. 😉
2. I’m too lazy to plan ahead like that. 😳

16 miles each way here, trying to average out at once a week if possible

Cycled on Friday and the weather and conditions were awful, had to go a different way as the bike path was flooded (and I discovered too late unfortunately)

Would like to do it more but want to go to the gym as well and can’t manage both, plus offsite meetings and other commitments make it difficult

Try and avoid cars where possible by using quiter routes. Don’t add stress to your day by mixing with cars too much!

Do it! Even the most rubbish day at work can be made slightly worthwhile with a bit of a bike ride. I now do about 100 miles a week commuting by bike whatever the weather and its made a huge difference to my general well being. I used to be stuck on train and tube and that was grim. No decent shower facilities at my work so I try to under dress where possible and have clean trousers & shirt to wear at work. The worst days are warm wet ones, I prefer to get wet from the outside than the inside generally but its not ideal on the way into the office. But never a big problem.

I had a lovely ride 6 miles each way, 4 of which was along a canal path, unfortunately a nice steep climb on the way home but good for fitness. Then in August someone stole my bike from the train station – fortunately they caught him and he will be in court in feb but this still didn’t replace my bike 🙁 I have an Ibis for the weekend rides but wondering what I should get to commute to station and back as missing those rides especially when the sun is out

Shortest route for me is 6 miles each way. Usually I tend to do more, only have access to a sink in the toilets at work, so just have a good wash in there, tend to try an ride easier on the way in and for it a bit on the way home.
Ride every day that I’m in the office, so 18 out of 20 I guess…

I tend to leave clothes at work at the start of the week, I still carry my rucksack every day.

I love being able to ride every day