Even as a Sunderland I can feel your pain. Wouldn’t wish Bruce on anyone. Maybe see you in the Championship next season.

Thanks k1100t!!
I’ve gone for 42:18 and happy with that so far – I’m SE Leeds so fairly flat really. I have a 16t cog somewhere if I need to make it harder (don’t think I will somehow).

I try to avoid carrying anything whenever possible, but am in a fortunate position of having a shower at work and plenty of space to keep spare clothes – I have my own clothes rail with various suits, smart trousers, shirts and t-shirts so I can dress according to need.

I can drive in within 15-20 mins and have keys to the office so tend to drive in at weekend or if in town in any event and replace when required.

The odd day I have to use a rucksack is a chore – particularly if need to carry laptop.

@brant – do you only stock 172.5mm cranks? Would ideally be after 170mm or 165mm

Have commuted by bike for about 15 years, basically because:
1. I enjoy it
2. A great way to de-stress (in a previous job i never realised how stressed I was half of the time because the bike ride home got rid of it)
3. Keep fit
4. Save money

Current commute is either a minimum of 10 miles direct route by road (only tend to do when in a hurry or weather really bad) or 10 miles direct offroad (canal towpath with only last mile on roads in city center)

In reality though I tend to average about 13 miles each way most days but will often up the distance, just because I can and want to.
I miss it when I don’t do it – just back on it after 3 weeks off following a crash on way home.

Thanks for that, excellent PSA.
Don’t begrudge paying for family Spotify anyway as a household of 5, so getting a freebie is ace.
Cheers

Edit: Just testing Tinypic, that was easy!!!

-6C this morning on canal into Leeds. I often run a bit cold but wearing the following was fine:
Cheap £10 Kooga baselayer
Stolen Goat long sleeve jersey
Sportful Flash Softshell jacket
Spokesman winter bib tights
Aldi waterproof socks
Tin foil wrapped round toes
Neoprene overshoes
Endura BaaBaa skull cap
Buff type thing round neck and mouth
Liner glovers
Galibier Deep Barrier gloves

I had similar issues – particularly when shifting to smaller sprockets, it just would not drop down and the mech was not picking up the slack in the cable.
Got the bike in September, SRAM replaced the shifter in November under warranty. Worked perfectly for a while, but went again and the bike shop replaced mech with a Rival one a couple of weeks ago. Same thing happened again.
I was fed up with taking the bike back into the shop every couple of weeks. Bike shop have now replaced the bike with an alternative model with Shimano and 2x as opposed to 1x. Has been faultless so far!
Researching it appears to be a recurring problem with SRAM 1x.
To be fair to the shop they have worked with me constantly and been brilliant.

Was out with a couple of mates on a road ride on Saturday. Was on gravel bike with 35mm Gravelking SKs – definitely harder work than the road bike and ended up sitting in a lot more than usual. Was much more comfortable on the crap roads though and the disc brakes much better than rim brakes.
I do have some spare wheels which I’m going to “slick up” and will see what the difference is.

21km, mainly offroad in -4C (according to my Garmin). Liked crunching through the ice.
Took a while for my thumbs to warm up though.

Panaracer Gravel King SK (35mm) set up tubeless – covers road and off road commutes. I just lower the pressure a bit if I know I’m going off road and vice versa. Not sure on puncture protection with tubes as only sued tubeless.

I’m with Binners – but with the addition of lashings of Tabasco.

I’ve got the Galibier one and really like it. Also worn it off the bike and good for hiking.

Canal/offroad commute this morning. Garmin said -4.5C.
Beautiful and always love the sound of the tyres crunching through the iced over puddles.

I’m currently running Gravel King SK in 35mm variety and have had them at about 50psi front and back recently but have been mostly on road .

Went offroad this morning and they were “fine” at that pressure, but a bit too hard. Planning a cross/gravel ride tomorrow morning so will drop to about 35 I reckon and see how that feels in comparison. Will be some road sections as well so will be good to see how compares.

In true recommend what you have got style – Toyota Auris estate.  Looks like a taxi (and loads used as taxis round here) but been a brilliant car for us.  Taken it to the Alps twice (2 adults, 3 kids) fully loaded and with bike rack on tow bar.

Only 1.4l diesel, but sits fine at 80mph on French motorways and averaged 58mpg there and back this summer.

With the seats down can get loads in – had 6 man tent, all camping paraphernalia, 6 (bulky) sleeping bags and 3 bikes in the back a few weeks ago.

S

Have commuted by bike for the last 18 years in both London and Leeds  and love it to be fair.

Basically, don’t give up on riding to work.  The key I find is (to try) not to get angry with people, just relax, enjoy and keep your wits about you – you generally know where the pinch points are most likely to be on any given route so just be extra vigilant and don’t let the b*stards grind you down. A smile goes a long way and people will generally apologise if they realise they’ve cut you up accidentally (I know not all are accidental).

Some have said life’s too short to risk being knocked off etc, personally I think life is just too short – therefore no way am I stopping doing something I really enjoy for the sake of a few numpties on the roads. Who’s to say if I stopped cycling to work I’m not going to get hit by a bus or something instead!

To be honest although there are plenty of “near misses” I think the overall general awareness of drivers (not everyone through obviously) in respect of bikes on the road has improved over the years, particularly as there are more and more of us out there.

S

shermer75 – my strategy is usual winter socks on, then wrap some tin foil around toes before putting on shoes and overshoes. Helped me out this morning.

I did look at the car and thought about driving in, but then had words with myself.

Toys could have a whole new meaning! Yep, toes!

That myself, Axl Rose and a load of other people were breaking out of somewhere (not sure what/where). Managed to escape down a long spiral staircase and then break through a padlocked metal gate.
At this point Axl was nowhere to be seen and I was with some random woman. We appeared to have walked into a Nazi training camp and then… woke up!

I did it a few years ago and had various Samsung and Sony phones. I liked the customisation of Android but the phones never lasted that long – at the end of a 2 year contract they seemed to be on their knees. Went back to Apple and much prefer it again.

Still have a non-iOS tablet (Amazon Fire) which is fine for what I use it for, but will eventually get an iPad.

Just had a corned beef, cheese, red onion and tabasco toastie for lunch – delicious.

Exposure TraceR? Had lots of favorable comments using one in respect of being seen! £36 at Wiggle so slightly above budget but Evans or Cycle Republic will usually price match is asked.

Geetee, you are obviously one of the world’s good people.
As everyone else has already said you could not have done anything more and did much more than most would ever do.

No idea on those lights OP, but in my experience and as others have said, get decent lights. Definitely worth a little extra expenditure for your own safety.

I run Exposure Trace on front and TraceR on rear all year round on the commute – I like the pulsing mode as it is constantly on and people noticeably give my a wide birth.

I also use the Aldi Moon copies as additional LEDs on the back and have an old Hope Vision One which is still going strong and use for longer rides home int he dark when I hit the dark lanes.

My wife and kids drove past me cycling home the other evening and all commented that my lights were bright and no problems seeing me at all.

I picked up a Rivelo one recently off Sports Pursuit. £35 and been useful for cooler early morning rides and is water resistant enough for a few light showers.

+1 for the Anker. Picked one up couple of months ago for kitchen use and been very impressed.

Forget to say we booked an apartment though Vaujany Ski Company who were helpful and a 3 bed apartment in Chalet du Verney (at top of village by the shops) was I think about £550 for a week in July/August. Was a great apartment for us (family of 5) and would happily stay there again.

We stayed in Vaujany last year – 20 mins drive to Bourg d’Oisan and is perched halfway up the Col du Sabot which is itself a fairly brutal climb.

The ride from Vaujany, to the balcony road (Pas de la Confession) which comes out at hairpin 6ish (I think) on Alpe d’Huez is absolutely stunning.

If staying in Vaujany just bear in mind the road riding will end with a c. 6km ride back up to the village at average gradient of about 9%.

S.

Just picked up a sleeveless one from Velo Champion (currently only £16.49) – wore it for the first time on the ride in this morning, and although it wasn’t hot here then (only about 17C) first impressions were good. The ride home tonight should be a better test.

The 55 bends of the Col de Soller in Majorca. Not particularly difficult (5km @5%), but stunning.

I’m in – but a bit last minute and random selections

Only got one on a road bike – descending Sa Calobra last month
/IMG_1831 by Simon Langdon[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Cheers OP – had the BC offer through yesterday. Would be rude not to.
I like their gels.
S

Cycled up Alpe d’Huez with my eldest (age 11 at the time) in August this year – had a tear in my eye as we reached the top as was really proud of him.

Up Alpe d'Huez by Simon Langdon[/url], on Flickr

Hate the early build up and play up to the scrooge role with the kids, but… with three kids getting giddy as we speak, first bottle of black sheep on its way down, just knowing the kids are going to be so excited in the morning and will love their presents makes me one happy person come Christmas day.

Even making a special effort with the Mother-in-Law this year – wife lost her dad in October so extra effort to make new traditions with the smaller family. Looking forward to a few beers with my old man tomorrow whilst doing dinner.

Merry Christmas all! Hope everyone has a good one!

S

As others have said commuting is your friend if able to ride. And an understanding other half. My Mrs likes to run and ride as well so it’s a question of ensuring we both get our fix.

We’ve got three kids (12, 9 and 5) and I’ve been fortunate my better half has not worked since we had the first so I don’t have drop off and pick up duties.

I struggle with the mountain bike nowadays due to injury but clock up plenty of distance on the road bike and vary routes in and out each day. Typically average about 20 to 25km each way.

Also, personally I found riding kept me sane in those early months/years of kids which although great, are hard work.

Not meaning to hijack thread, but has anyone tried the new Crud RoadRacer Mk3 or SKS Raceblade Pro XL yet?

Looking for something for Giant TCX but prefer being able to remove them as and when I want.

Looking at similar for son’s 12th birthday.

Originally looking at Android and at Samsung Tab S2 – he has android phone. I’ve had problems with Android phones and tablets not lasting long in the past (Samsung, Sony, Asus and Nexus) whereas the iPhone 4 and original iPad we have are still going ok.

Now looking at either iPad mini 4 or Air 2 for son (with contributions from grandparents and himself to get better model).

I moved back to Apple after 4 years away this year and find it much better but that’s only my views.