527 miles in........ some observations
jonno_01
Posts: 7
On the evening before April 1st 2008, I suddenly had a rash thought, why don't I start using my bike that is sat in the shed doing nothing, to get me into work.... my reasoning for this was simple -
* I'm fed up with paying silly money to run a car
* I'm fed up with spending more time sat looking at the grass verge on the A10, than I actually do driving on the A10, making me ratty and irritable
* I'm fast approaching 30 and could do with the exercise
So, on the morning of April 1st, I set off into the world of commuting, Rucksack packed, complete with towel and shampoo (I have the luxury of showers at work)
Just over 13 miles later I made it, arriving in Enfield town in 1Hr5mins. (home is Roydon, Essex) route taken (for anyone local) is Roydon - Hoddesdon - down the high road, and onto the A10 opposite brookfield - over the M25 - Then into the back of Enfield Town, most off which was done on the road and not pavements etc.
Legs shaking and feeling a bit like jelly, I was quite chuffed with my achievement.
My tool for the job is a 6 year old GT agressor 3 which has rarely been used, this was treated to a good clean, some continental sport contact tyres, and a speedo to monitor my progress.
The Ride back was a little harder, I made it about Six miles to Cheshunt, before deciding on jumping on the train back to Roydon (I get free rail travel as a perk at work)
Having completed my day, I actually felt quite pleased with myself, and after some jibes from the Mrs, decided I would atempt repeating this 3 times a week
So.. to cut a long story short, this cycling thing is actually quite addictive!!
I NOW
+ cycle everyday (but still only do half the journey back, 20 mile round trip)
+ Read these forums daley
+ Read Cycling Plus
+ Have done 527 miles since April 1st
+ Went to Aldi to experience padded shorts, and yellow sun glasses
+ Get a huge grin on my face when I get on the A10, its rammed, and I get to fly down the middle of the traffic
+ Dream of Carbon Fibre
+ Really begrudge putting fuel in the car
+ Wake up on the weekend wanting to go out for a ride
+ Try and go faster and faster each day and have set a personal best of 47 Mins!
+ Preach to the office the pros of cycling
+ Nod and raise a hand to other Cyclists (with a mixed response)!!
+ Have lost nearly a Stone
+ Have got soaked twice, and drizzled on once
+ Am starting to get upper thighs that look like arnies
and have only had to bang on the side of 1 van for cutting me up!
Anyway
Happy Cycling
Jon[/img]
* I'm fed up with paying silly money to run a car
* I'm fed up with spending more time sat looking at the grass verge on the A10, than I actually do driving on the A10, making me ratty and irritable
* I'm fast approaching 30 and could do with the exercise
So, on the morning of April 1st, I set off into the world of commuting, Rucksack packed, complete with towel and shampoo (I have the luxury of showers at work)
Just over 13 miles later I made it, arriving in Enfield town in 1Hr5mins. (home is Roydon, Essex) route taken (for anyone local) is Roydon - Hoddesdon - down the high road, and onto the A10 opposite brookfield - over the M25 - Then into the back of Enfield Town, most off which was done on the road and not pavements etc.
Legs shaking and feeling a bit like jelly, I was quite chuffed with my achievement.
My tool for the job is a 6 year old GT agressor 3 which has rarely been used, this was treated to a good clean, some continental sport contact tyres, and a speedo to monitor my progress.
The Ride back was a little harder, I made it about Six miles to Cheshunt, before deciding on jumping on the train back to Roydon (I get free rail travel as a perk at work)
Having completed my day, I actually felt quite pleased with myself, and after some jibes from the Mrs, decided I would atempt repeating this 3 times a week
So.. to cut a long story short, this cycling thing is actually quite addictive!!
I NOW
+ cycle everyday (but still only do half the journey back, 20 mile round trip)
+ Read these forums daley
+ Read Cycling Plus
+ Have done 527 miles since April 1st
+ Went to Aldi to experience padded shorts, and yellow sun glasses
+ Get a huge grin on my face when I get on the A10, its rammed, and I get to fly down the middle of the traffic
+ Dream of Carbon Fibre
+ Really begrudge putting fuel in the car
+ Wake up on the weekend wanting to go out for a ride
+ Try and go faster and faster each day and have set a personal best of 47 Mins!
+ Preach to the office the pros of cycling
+ Nod and raise a hand to other Cyclists (with a mixed response)!!
+ Have lost nearly a Stone
+ Have got soaked twice, and drizzled on once
+ Am starting to get upper thighs that look like arnies
and have only had to bang on the side of 1 van for cutting me up!
Anyway
Happy Cycling
Jon[/img]
0
Comments
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Congrats and welcome.
Looking forwards, its nice when you hit that 1000 mark to calculate how much you've saved on fuel!0 -
Great post man, thanks for starting my day right.
If you think it's addictive now, just wait six months, you'll be thinking about selling the car :-)
Don't get caught up by the carbon fibre BS, nowt wrong with steel or ali.0 -
Starting on April 1st? I like your sense of humour!!! 0
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Nice one - wasn't today a lovely day for it as well. I was tempted to head the other way this morning and give work a miss!0
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...great jonno...it just gets better and better keep going, and yes that first 1000 miles is sweet!
...my route is Bishop's Stortford to Harlow and back. I know your neck of the woods as I used to work down at Brimsdown. Cycled it a few times, down the "crooked mile" to Waltham Abbey....all the way...'til the wheels fall off and burn...0 -
Well done Jonno, an excellent post. 47 minutes is very respectable too. I'm glad (and slightly jealous if I'm honest) that you are enjoying it so much. I only wish I could manage my full commute the 30-odd miles each-way to Gatwick. I don't know your route, is it very hilly?To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity - Oscar Wilde0
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No seriously.... it was April 1st!!
47 minutes was a best, average around 50 mins0 -
excellent.
:?: But if you get free train travel, why were you using the car before?Training, highway design and increasing cycle numbers are important to safety. Helmets are just a red herring.0 -
jonno_01 wrote:
So.. to cut a long story short, this cycling thing is actually quite addictive!!
Jon[/img]
The addiction has only just begun. The riding is the easy part. Now you have to convince
the wife that you REALLY do need all the new stuff you are going to end up buying. To
which she will respond "what's wrong with the stuff you've got now?" Just tell her it's a safety issue. Might work. At least for a while.
Dennis Noward0 -
In answer to whome's question, I can only put it down to ignorence of other modes of transport, after using the car for nearly 10 years.
Coming from a small rural village originally, driving was the norm. And I percieved this as "normal"
It's just a shame it took me too long to realise!0 -
Jealous.
I'd love to have a commute of that length to get more bike time in.
Great stuff.0 -
What a great post, good inspiration for me
I've started cycling in as well (fair weather so far, we'll see how I do when it's wet), I did 2 trips (16 miles one way) a couple of weeks ago, then went on holiday for 2 weeks in the US and put on 8 pounds! So I've started for real this week and am planning to do 3-4 cycle commutes a week, so about 100+ miles a week on average. I'm hoping to lose my holiday fat and tone up to just general decent shape by the end of the summer, and see how I feel about cycling in the dark and wet.
Thanks again for the thread, good to hear from someone else sick of 1p/week rises in petrol...'99 Giant ATX 890
'?? Raliegh something-or-other, commuter
Trying to keep the rubber side down!0 -
47 mins for 13 miles is very impressive - I managed about 13km in 45mins the other day
Training, highway design and increasing cycle numbers are important to safety. Helmets are just a red herring.0 -
whome wrote:47 mins for 13 miles is very impressive - I managed about 13km in 45mins the other day
Damn right it's impressive. I can just about manage 10K in 40 minutes on my route from Brixton Hill to Olympia, although the bulk of that is on streets where it's almost impossible to get a decent run without having to either filter or stop completely.
The jaunt over Wandsworth Bridge is nice, but I always feel like stopping to admire the view.Bike/Train commuter: Brompton S2L - "Machete"
12mile each way commuter: '11 Boardman CX with guards and rack
For fun: '11 Wilier La Triestina
SS: '07 Kona Smoke with yellow bits0 -
The wind must have been behind me that day because i'm struggling to match the time!
I'm sure apart from the small climb out of Roydon at the start of the ride, the lie of the land is slightly in my favour. The rest of the way is basically down the middle of the Lea Valley corridor down into Enfield, and i'm sure its ever so slightly down hill all the way 0 -
Well done and keep it up!!
Your story is so similar to mine. I started back in late January when it was still cold and wet. I had a similar mileage in the first 6-7 weeks. I did bike-train-bike for the 28 miles each way commute but I have built it up gradually. I try to do the full 56miles round trip commute once a week and one-way 28 miles 2-3 times a week.
I covered 624 miles last month and will reach 2000 miles tomorrow !!!
Soon you will cycling both ways and finding excuses to justify extra cycle trips. before you know it you will be hitting 1000 miles, 2000miles etc 0
