Cycle commuting to work – first day today.

So if anyone had read my other posts about my car dying at the weekend I have decided to ride to work 4/5 days a week. I would do 5 but I always ride on a Tuesday night with friends and want to keep that going. The wife will either lend me the car or drive me to and from and as time goes on I might review this.

So my journey will be a 25 mile round trip, quite hill taking in a section through town and the rest on country roads.

I weighed myself yesterday morning and came it exactly 12 stone and I am about 5′ 8 (ish). I will be interested in seeing how much this affects my weight.

I will be doing it on a road bike (Trek 1.5) with some days on my SS road hybrid bike to mix it up a bit.

Oh and depending on the weather, on a Wednesday I might start taking the daughter to the grand parents on the way to work rather than my wife driving as I can do 75% on that journey on cycle paths.

First thing I noticed today, if I am going to be doing it full time is I need some comfortable shoes. Using Diadora road shoes and they aren’t that comfy. What do other people use on commute, road or mtb shoes? (spds)

If interested I am happy to give updates for those considering a life of cycling to work with my ups and downs.

First thing I noticed today, if I am going to be doing it full time is I need some comfortable shoes. Using Diadora road shoes and they aren’t that comfy. What do other people use on commute, road or mtb shoes? (spds)

I don’t think this is an issue with road shoes, but with your shoes and your feet. A 12.5 trip should not be uncomfortable. Go try on lots of different ones.

Good Luck with it!

I drive 60 miles each way, but try to get in a few days/week of parking the car up in a village and riding the last 12.5 miles in.

In the last week I’ve not had much success!

– Last Monday I found the front tyre punctured as I went out to the bike to ride back to the car. This was caused by too much pressure in the tyre damaging the bead, which I didn’t notice at the time. Stuck a new tube in & rode home.
– Wednesday I stop at my usual spot on the way in, get the bike out & realise the front tyre is fubared with a big bulge in the sidewall. So, drive all the way in.
– Friday all appears to be going well. But for some reason I can only change halfway up the cassette. Not a big issue, but annoying. Turns out the cable had ‘slipped’ somehow. Weird.

– Today – get bike out of car & realise my wheels are still in the garage at home. AAAaarrrggghhhh!

I think i need a checklist.

how much it affects your weight will depend on whether you increase your energy intake with drinks and extra food. If you drink water on the bike and eat the same as usual, you will (almost certainly) lose weight.

I use MTB pedals and shoes for my commute (15 miles each way), but I have lots and lots of traffic lights, and a bit of a wander around once I reach my office, so being able to walk properly is important.

Top tips:

if you are carrying anything with you, get a rack and panniers; rucsacs are horrible – sweaty in summer, and annoying all the time.

now that it is summer time, you shouldn’t have too much bother with lights, but make sure you wear something bright – gloomy mornings + black/grey/dark green cyclists = death. Until it gets to the real height of summer, a flashing rear LED is worth having even if it doesn’t seem dark.

When someone inevitably tries to kill you, try to avoid the red mist coming down – laugh at them, smile and wave, carry on. Their impotent rage is a pleasure to behold and your blood pressure will thank you for it!

Dave

now that it is summer time, you shouldn’t have too much bother with lights, but make sure you wear something bright – gloomy mornings + black/grey/dark green cyclists = death. Until it gets to the real height of summer, a flashing rear LED is worth having even if it doesn’t seem dark.

Definitely, this. I got some long sleeve tops from Mountain Warehouse that are fluo yellow with reflective bits for £15 each. They are very bright on dull mornings. And I always use my rear light, even if it’s fairly ‘light’.

Ideally I’d get panniers or a rack, but use my Inbred for commuting and non-commuting stuff, so don’t want the faff of taking stuff on & off.

As for shoes – I use mountain bike pedals & shoes, but only because that’s what I’ve got. At the moment I am finding my cheap Shimano ‘trail’ shoes the most comfy….

Iused to do a 30 mile round trip and found it best to only do it 4 days a week and take a weeks worth of clean clothes in on the 4th day by car, doesn’t need to be the same day each week though, sometimes you feel like a long weekend away from cycling.

Also do it for three weeks then either take a week off entirely if its convenient to get a lift, and just go out for a 30-45minute spin in easy gears each night or if it’s unavoidable take the commute really easily giving yourself at least 50% longer and making sure you use this time! Thoe body is designed to work hard then rest, if you just try and go at it week in week out its counter productive and you just feel tired and wont get any fitter. Plan something like….

Week 1 – midling pace, not too fast, but not too slow
Week 2 – alternate fast and slow days on the return legs, mornings are always slow.
Week 3 – go all out a couple of days, slow the rest
Week 4 – rest as much as possible, keep rides under an hour and at a gentle pace.
Week 5 – See week 1.

Look at buying some whey protein, a scoop morning and evening should be enough to supplement a ballanced diet, you’ll certainly notice how much harder it it to ride the day after eating pizza + chips compared to spaggeti bolognese!

http://www.myprotein.com has cheep whey powder and electrolyte powder.

if it is SSable, then plump for a dedicated SS commuter, attach a rack for panniers if you are ever likely to need to carry stuff, cover in refletive tape, fit a couple of permanent ‘be seen’ lights

drop bars or flats/ends so you can tuck up a bit

skinny tyres, puncture proof is much more important than weight/grip

lid/gloves/kit that you are happy to abuse

separate your ‘commuting’ to avoid spoiling your other riding

soobalias, I agree with all of that, except the SS bit. He’s got a 25 mile round trip. Why on earth would he want to singlespeed it?

Road stuff lasts and lasts – I’ve been running the same drivetrain with only new chains for 5 years now – not even changed a chainring; it just gets a clean every six months and some lube when it gets noisy.

Singlespeed in this case is pure masochism!

Dave

For that kind of distance I use the road bike and full road kit. To carry my things I use a Camelback Octane 8 that was in some super lightweight version, supposedly a limited edition a few years ago – not sure if there is anything else similar. A light pack realy helps. I take a towel and clothes in it, but leave shoes at work.

DON’T go too fast. Start really slowly all week (really hold back) and see how you get on. Burn-out is a big risk if you are piling straight into it I reckon.

Wouldn’t bother with SS – road gears are reliable anyway, and you’re just making it harder for yourself esp with hills.

Nutrition wise a shot of carbs (sweets, coke, whatever) immediately after riding helps, as does weak energy drink on the way.

Oh yeah and arm warmers are great – the thing is with commuting is that at this time of year it’s often chilly in the morning and warm in the evening so you need extra clothes. Arm warmers give a little bit of extra protection for next to no bulk to carry home.

if you are carrying anything with you, get a rack and panniers

I prefer the above mentioned light rucksack – easy to carry and handle in and out of the office, and also much lighter than panniers and rack. And probably quicker too, being less of an air brake.

IME SS means no shifters, cables, mechs, if you can do without on your commuter life is easier with regard to cleaning/servicing, the bike will stand up to living outside better, less attractive to thieves, correct gearing promotes a cruise to work that will be only slightly slower but more relaxing

the distance does not require gears, the route might.

Shifters and mechs are pretty flippin reliable, and cables aren’t exactly rocket science with a squirt of lube every month or so – unless you use ride-on.

I used to do at least 40 miles a day commuting, 5 days a week, all weather, all year.

a) eat and drink a lot – don’t aim to loose weight yet, or you’ll feel awful on the bike. Do it when you’re comfortably doing the distance.

b) back off the pace, its not a race.

c) invest in the bike – make it a comfy and plesant place to be.

d) get rested when you can. Riding again after work isn’t a problem though, if you’re not expecting to sprint around like a nutter.

I use dual-sided mtb pedals and shoes for commuting – easier to get in and out of in traffic etc. I only use road pedals & shoes for very very long road rides and audaxes.

Enjoy.

Using Diadora road shoes and they aren’t that comfy. What do other people use on commute, road or mtb shoes? (spds)

Are your Diadora’s the same as you wear on your Tuesday evening ride? (If not, why not just wear the same ones).

I wear my Specialized MTB shoes (SPDs) to commute. Perfectly comfortable for me.

Commute on my MTB with semi-click tyres. 12 miles each way if I go the most direct route (although I often extend it).

Takes me about 35-45 minutes. Fairly flat with a few short sharp hills. On average it’s downhill to get to work & uphill to get home.

Food-wise… Mug of strong black coffee & a banana when I wake up, bowl of muesli when I get to work, couple of snacks plus lunch during the day. Other than a sensible balanced diet I’m not convinced it’s necessary to be eating much more for a commute of less than an hour each way, but you’ll know if you’re feeling hungry or lacking energy.

For the past month I’ve been trying to commute 5 days a week – start feeling tired by Thursday, but not so much to defer to the car…

Having said that the weather for the past 4 or 5 weeks has been dry and fairly calm… the real test of my commitment is when it gets wet and/or windy 🙂

I’ve just started again this year, well 2 weeks ago, my commute is 16.5 miles each way. This is my 4th year and I’ve started adding extra days, I used to ride in on just tuesday and thursday, last week I did tues\weds\thurs and have to say really felt it on the last ride home.

I think the main point up above is related to the speed, I have this horrible tendency to treat each ride as time trail and really need to take it steadier on some of the rides. I’m planning on adding mondays as well, but this is also the day I ride at night so we’ll see how that goes.

Oh, I ride a flat barred road bike with spds. I have a porridge breakfast (usually) and on the bike I have a protein shake with milk. I buy bananas for mid morning and just before leaving, lunch is quite often a baked potato, and I have a protein shake when I get in.

I’ve turned my bike computer off now as I was constantly trying to beat my time resulting in a sweaty broken mess when I got to work, trying to pace myself now, my only worry is I’m less bothered about weekend riding now so will have to rectify that

Interesting thread.

I do a sporadic 28 round trip in from the ‘burbs to Southwark in London. I say sporadic, as cycling in London has made me take a risk based approach to the days I cycle based on daylight and weather.

Been doing this for 10 years and a these are the things I would share:

If you want to ride your other bikes at the weekend – make the commuter as simple and as robust as you can. This cuts down on maintenance time at the weekends and cost (me – pompino and strong wheelset).

I second the panniers idea – done both backpacks and panniers over time – and for work, the load carrying and water proof abilities of a rack mounted system has won hands down. I use only one pannier and I also use this as real estate for extra reflectivness and lighting.

If your lights have batteries – keep a spare set at work.

Don’t be one of the endless stream of idiots who will start to cycle into work now the weather is better who insist on wearing ipods / MP3s. Traffic and headphones is IMHO a bad scene.

Finally – let your SOH know that you have arrived safely at work / when you are leaving. This creates domestic calm to offset your new requirement for laundry hanging space mid week.

And the best thing about cycling to work is cycling to work!

water proof abilities

That sorts me out.

Water ingress through pack zips has been an issue for me in the past – well not so much for me but for my laptop 🙁

I have a selection of these lightweight dry bags, good for all sorts on te commute!
http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product441.asp?PageID=98

I commute on a flat barred road bike, normal SPD’s, panniers & guards.

13 mile each way into and out of central London. Lights all year is good, wear decent shorts, shoes you can walk in.

Unless you’re aiming to break records a bit if a snack pre ride and a decent brekkie, normal healthy lunch and a normal dinner will do you fine over that distance.

Don’t forget to get good locks

I don’t take a laptop (fortunate there) but if I did it’d be wrapped in a placcy bag or two.

rOcKeTdOg – Member

I’ve turned my bike computer off now as I was constantly trying to beat my time resulting in a sweaty broken mess when I got to work, trying to pace myself now, my only worry is I’m less bothered about weekend riding now so will have to rectify that

Hmmm, the commuting curse!

Summer sun normally cures it mind 😉

Don’t be one of the endless stream of idiots who will start to cycle into work now the weather is better who insist on wearing ipods / MP3s. Traffic and headphones is IMHO a bad scene.

Not IME, but then I live somewhere nice and don’t have to put up with mentalists trying to kill me all the time 😉

Yeah iPod is fine if you are not in mental/busy traffic. Im sure deaf people manage to ride bikes effectively! If anything it makes me a little more vigilant.

And the best thing about cycling to work is cycling to work!

The best thing about work, is cycling to work 😉

It’s quite a lifestyle change, at least for me, but I echo rOcKeTdOg’s comments on less cycling at weekends. I barely use the MTB now 🙁

I do have my eye set on a lighter, faster commuting bike, something like an Orbea is catching my eye right now…

I had my first 2011 ride home from Harrogate to South Leeds on thursday, 23 miles. After a break from riding I find the full 46miles too much to do in one day so I ease myself into it for 2 or 3 weeks by doing Yuppie commuting…leave a car at work and cycle home. Use another car for 2-3 days then cycle back to work one morning and pick up the first car. Works for me and gives me plenty of space at work to store my stuff.
Doing the ride back into Harrogate tomorrow.
After a break off cycling this distance its a mental effort to get going again. I remind myself that its a treat to be out on a morning and being able to ride through sunrise. I also don’t set any speed targets for the first few rides. If you listen to your body then it will tell you the days it wants to go a bit faster.

do it slow get used to it do it faster
Eat and rest
Enjoy

I wouldn’t use an iPod anywhere where a car might come up behind me.

Wouldn’t play football with one on either cos you also need peripheral awareness.

Try and vary your route a bit, adds a bit of interest. Depending on the areas you’re riding through, it also stops the local scrotes getting a hang of your routine and where they might best mug you… 😉

Personally I hate panniers, they add massive weight to the rear wheel and they’re draggy as hell. Lightweight bike-specific rucksack for me. I have some specific commuter tools and pump which live in there permanently so I never have to worry about remembering them, same goes for a waterproof which lives in there all the time.

Since getting my Exposure Flash/Flare combo, I use lights all the time, unless it really is broad daylight. Cars give you a noticeably wider berth when you’re lit up.

Enjoy it, don’t turn it into a race and enjoy the extra fitness you get on your normal non-commute rides!

I am going to do my first commute 18 miles each way this year, finally got my arse into gear probably with the weather being good and am doing it on my Merlin Malt 1 frame with On One rigid forks fitted with risers with bar ends (for comfort) SPD’s with Sidi extra wide fit shoes, and Ortleib Back Pack in dayglo yellow and the obligatory Continental slick 26″ tyres and loud Pro 2 rear hub in leu of a bell 😀
I am going to try and ride it to enjoy it and not as someone else put treating it as a time trial-bet I fail though 😆

Been riding in for about 3 years now and loving it, when I do. Unfortunately my job requires me to be all over the place (bike comes with me if I can slide a ride in) so i only get to commute once or twice a week if that.

I used to do it on my “parts Bin” Inbred but sold it. I got a Specialized Globe elite then, mainly as I only had a big full sus bike and felt a prick going for family rides on that.

The Globe belts along and is ace. Its got mudguards to make it look ugly but they really work a treat when its rained. I arrive dry as a bone.

I also have an Allez that gets a go every so often..Over 9 miles, its only a minute quicker than the Globe!

I also take the 456 in sometimes. It takes 6 minutes longer than the Allez.

I wear 5-10’s on all but the Allez, which i need shimano road SPD’s for

I’ve turned my bike computer off now as I was constantly trying to beat my time resulting in a sweaty broken mess when I got to work, trying to pace myself now..

Funnily enough I’ve just put my computer on the bike in an effort to slow down 😕 today I made a real effort to take it steady and what a difference; my first checkpoint (usually 14 mins) I was down 2 mins, my second checkpoint (usually 32mins) I was down 3 mins and by the end I was down 3mins on my fastest this year.

The big difference not being anywhere near as gubbed as normal, can 3 minutes make THAT much difference, or was is the carb (beer) loading over the weekend??

3 minutes makes a lot of difference. Try shaving 3 mins of your fastest time, you’ll see what I mean 🙂

my mistake was haveing great legs one day last week and beasting the whole route, then the inevitable backlash as i tried to equal it, legs felt the 19 mile off road ride i did sunday yesterday, feel better today though, we shall see tonight 🙂

molgrips –
3 minutes makes a lot of difference. Try shaving 3 mins of your fastest time, you’ll see what I mean

Yeah, when you put it like that it does seem a lot, heaven knows how I’m going to get back down to my fastest which was 52mins!! Mind you that was on a different bike, which as we all know is what really counts 😉