I've changed

Kieran_Burns

Last week my car was off the road (again) and I had to use my bike to get to/from work, and I loved it.

Today, I've HAD to use the car (I have a car full of junk to take to the skip, and need to shop) and I miss the ride in

I find myself checking the weather every morning and looking at the outside temp to see what I need to wear.

I check the wind direction to see whether it's going to be a quick ride in or home (or neither)

I clean and lube the chain, check the tyre pressures and get all my kit clean

All this regardless of whether I am on the bike or not

If I finish at 5 and drive home I get home for 5:30 ish, if I finish at 5 and ride home it's 6:15 ish (15 mins to change and faff and 1 hr to ride) and I don't begrudge the extra time. In fact to me I finish the day at 5 rather than 5:30 as the drive home is part of the working day as opposed to ride which is my time.

I'm not fit (yet) but I AM at the stage where the ride is becoming less of a strain and I am enjoying the actual journey more... this is all very strange but you know what (well of course you do ) I think it's great!

Rich158

Fantastic, you've turned into a cyclist Even if the weather looks shite and I think 'do I really have to go out in that', once I'm on the bike everything else pales into insignificance for the sheer joy of being on a bike

Once the bug really gets hols you'll find you begrudge the time not spent on the bike, and you'll look to ramp up the mileage at every oppurtunity. I've now got to the point where I look at a 60-80 mile ride as medium length and to be attacked wherever possible :shock: Like you somethings happened to me since I started cycling that's completely altered my outlook

b0y1nterupted

i know how you feel,

i used the car this morning to swap over clothes etc & i'm playing 5-a-side tonight so had kit, boots etc

its so annouying sitting in traffic not moving when it takes the same time for me on the bike

so glad bike is in the back of the car as i can ride home after football as its just around the corner from work :twisted:

ince

I know that feeling, it's raning here atm. I have the day off work, i don't need to head out but I will be.

I to am far from fit, but it's getting better every day. The buzz of going that little bit faster for a little bit longer. I now have an excel sheet to log my times, speeds etc to help see the improvment. :shock: (is that going too far)

cjcp

ince wrote:

I now have an excel sheet to log my times, speeds etc to help see the improvment. :shock: (is that going too far)

You're not even close to "going too far". The level of geekery on here makes the conversations in Microsoft's R&D dept look like nursery. :P

CiB

cjcp wrote:

ince wrote:

I now have an excel sheet to log my times, speeds etc to help see the improvment. :shock: (is that going too far)

You're not even close to "going too far". The level of geekery on here makes the conversations in Microsoft's R&D dept look like nursery. :P

Indeed. Try 'old laptop running as web server under the stairs, with MS SQL Server DB + ASP.NET web pages to log & review rides from anywhere with a web connection'. Spreadsheets indeed.. Boys' option is that...

Kieran_Burns

You know - in the morning I just get on my bike and ride into work. Then at the end of the day I get on my bike and ride home.

I have a cycle computer to tell me the time and how 'fast' I am going at the time and lights to be seen when it gets dark.

Occasionally I change gear when riding :P

I'd love one of you city uber-commuters to share my commute in - I bet you'd set off radar traps and cause GPS trackers to crash out as you passed

CiB

Kieran_Burns wrote:

You know - in the morning I just get on my bike and ride into work. Then at the end of the day I get on my bike and ride home.

Check.

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I have a cycle computer to tell me the time and how 'fast' I am going at the time and lights to be seen when it gets dark.

Check.

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Occasionally I change gear when riding :P

Check.

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I'd love one of you city uber-commuters to share my commute in - I bet you'd set off radar traps and cause GPS trackers to crash out as you passed

But when the main event - the bike ride itself - is over, you'd still have the rest of the day to admire the improving figures, to think of other ways of extracting value from the stored data, anything. And it's all free.

City uber-commuter? What? In Bicester? The main road through the middle of town is called Sheep Street. Sums the place up.

gtvlusso

Change back or you will spend a fortune on bicycles and kit!

blu3cat

I'd love one of you city uber-commuters to share my commute in - I bet you'd set off radar traps and cause GPS trackers to crash out as you passed

Trouble with city commuting is that stretches of roads you can actually open up on are very short and you end up spending a fair amount of time in lines of traffic moving at a reasonable, but certainly not overly fast pace.

The only way I'll set off a radar trap is if it's alarmed and I try to steal it!

If you want fast, you need to get off of the city roads a bit (IMHO in London).

blu3cat

Change back or you will spend a fortune on bicycles and kit!

Which can be usefully offset against the savings you make in Travel costs

Only trouble is I still have about another 9 months of commuting before I have paid for the bike and can buy lots of other shiny new bits for it.