Friday is the DAY

scoobywrx

Friday will the day I cycle to work
18 miles
1355 feet of hills
and Im on a Mountain Bike
......then cycle back

gauging what time to leave is difficult.......I average 12mph on my 7 miles early morning ride which is mainly in the wood

Oh well I will find out on friday......somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours me thinks :?

tardington

Maybe give yourself the longer time the first day... or have a trial run to see?

always_tyred

No, set off at the same time. Just make sure you take an inner tube into the office so you can claim to have had a puncture. (wipe hands on the chain so that they are convincingly oily also).

soy_sauce

give yourself more time would be better for the first couple of days (or weeks) and you might able to find some shortcuts.

scoobywrx

I brought everything in to work today so to make my journey as light as possible tomorrow. I have done my calculations regarding the route tomorrow. I work for a Map Company so im able to shortest,most countryfied and lowest altitude of climbing possible.....looking forward now to the route in the morning......5.40am start though zzzzzz

Kieran_Burns

scoobywrx - are you over from Scoobynet and tempted into cycling by the threads in NSR on there?

scoobywrx

used to comment 5-6 years ago on that site......so not been there recently

scoobywrx

Phase one completed!!

My first commute to work took place this morning
Alarmed at 5.20am little breakfast and out at 5.40am
It was a ideal start....8.6C no wind and plenty of sun
Reach the halfway point (9miles) in 41 mins, in the idilic kent countryside
Then the hills begun. One steep long hill at first, then a steady shallow climb, before a very steep decent. Last 3-4 miles were gently undulating
18.6 miles (and having climbed 1350ft) later and bang on 90 minutes me and my 20 year old marin mountain arrived at work.......loads of time for a shower and more breakfast
A few more hours and I'll be back in the saddle again.....interestingly see if I do the same time??
will report back later (if anyone is interested)

Eau Rouge

scoobywrx wrote:

I im able to shortest,most countryfied and lowest altitude of climbing possible

That won't be long changing I'd bet

Well done on actually doing it. Getting started is the hardest part.

Kieran_Burns

Always

Great feeling having a shower and feeling so refreshed isn't it? (I know you'll be completely shattered after that distance)

I always prefer days in the office when I've cycled in- even though it's only a difference of location for the shower, it always feels 'better' when at work.



Oh, and congrats!


(just think, once you've completed that steep uphill section on the way home it'll be EASY)

scoobywrx

It feels a little surealarriving to work on your bike after many years of driving
I could leave it til around 6.10am before i left for work, which is only around 10mins earlier than I used to leave for a 7M ride before leaving for work!!

Great feeling once in the shower knowing I'd cycled here

biondino

scoobywrx wrote:

Great feeling once in the shower knowing I'd cycled here

If you stand up occasionally while riding and get a more "anatomical saddle" then the risk of such embarrassment is minimised.

DonDaddyD

scoobywrx wrote:

Phase one completed!!

My first commute to work took place this morning
Alarmed at 5.20am little breakfast and out at 5.40am
It was a ideal start....8.6C no wind and plenty of sun
Reach the halfway point (9miles) in 41 mins, in the idilic kent countryside
Then the hills begun. One steep long hill at first, then a steady shallow climb, before a very steep decent. Last 3-4 miles were gently undulating
18.6 miles (and having climbed 1350ft) later and bang on 90 minutes me and my 20 year old marin mountain arrived at work.......loads of time for a shower and more breakfast
A few more hours and I'll be back in the saddle again.....interestingly see if I do the same time??
will report back later (if anyone is interested)

Chapeau!

Brilliant thread! Brilliant achievement.

These are the stories (believe it or not) I enjoy reading the most on this site.

Keep it up! What is the next step? Gonna ride to work every day through the working week?

scoobywrx

Made the return journey back in same contitions and same time more or less. Its not a journey I would do everyday, but when the weather and the days fall right, its a pleasure to do......its a 37 mile round trip on fairly hilly roads. I think I would waste away if I did it regulary

Kieran_Burns

Hats off to you for doing so. I find my 14 and a bit miles to be the ragged edge of what I would consider a suitable commute, so I am genuinely impressed with you doing that mileage. (not mention climbing!)

I would say to make sure you get at least one commute in a week, and if you start to find it easier add a second.

I aim for at least 3 a week, and want to get to to 5 but by the end of the week my legs are like jelly if I do :oops:

sarajoy

Aye, well done mate!

I'd also suggest trying to plan your days so that if you do want to cycle, there's no logistical tangle somehow preventing you from doing it on a day which would otherwise have given you a glorious ride.

I get really grumpy when that happens...

As it happens I tired my legs out already on a (not too long but rather bumpy and tiring) ride on Sunday plus long walks/strolls Sat and Mon, so they're complaining HUGELY today after the ride in! The fact that I now need the car for the next couple of days isn't really a problem as I reckon they need the rest anyway.

dirk_van_gently

Top story.

I ride almost everyday, however I plan, if that's what you can call it, my commutes based on the weather, because I am a wimp.
I prepare the evening before as if I will be riding the next morning. This means packing my rucksack with my goodies etc. If the next morning the weather is inclement I just grab the rucksack anyway, if the weather is good I am ready to ride.
Simple but effective.

Congrats, long may it continue.

Kieran_Burns

Dirk Van Gently wrote:

Top story.

I ride almost everyday, however I plan, if that's what you can call it, my commutes based on the weather, because I am a wimp.
I prepare the evening before as if I will be riding the next morning. This means packing my rucksack with my goodies etc. If the next morning the weather is inclement I just grab the rucksack anyway, if the weather is good I am ready to ride.
Simple but effective.

Congrats, long may it continue.

+1

I basically have everything ready laid out to be worn and / or packed in the pannier. The only thing left is the shirt.

I have clothes to change into in the office (inc. spare shoes) so really there is only the pannier to grab with shirt.