Friday is the DAY

scoobywrx
scoobywrx Posts: 111
edited May 2009 in Commuting chat
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 :?
kendoddsdadsdogsdead

Comments

  • tardington
    tardington Posts: 1,379
    Maybe give yourself the longer time the first day... or have a trial run to see?
  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    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
    soy_sauce Posts: 987
    give yourself more time would be better for the first couple of days (or weeks) and you might able to find some shortcuts.
    "It is not impossible, its just improbable"

    Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc 08
  • scoobywrx
    scoobywrx Posts: 111
    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
    kendoddsdadsdogsdead
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    scoobywrx - are you over from Scoobynet and tempted into cycling by the threads in NSR on there?
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • scoobywrx
    scoobywrx Posts: 111
    used to comment 5-6 years ago on that site......so not been there recently
    kendoddsdadsdogsdead
  • scoobywrx
    scoobywrx Posts: 111
    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)
    kendoddsdadsdogsdead
  • Eau Rouge
    Eau Rouge Posts: 1,118
    scoobywrx wrote:
    I im able to shortest,most countryfied and lowest altitude of climbing possible

    That won't be long changing I'd bet :D

    Well done on actually doing it. Getting started is the hardest part.
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    Always :D

    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)
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • scoobywrx
    scoobywrx Posts: 111
    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 :)
    kendoddsdadsdogsdead
  • biondino
    biondino Posts: 5,990
    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
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    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?
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • scoobywrx
    scoobywrx Posts: 111
    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
    kendoddsdadsdogsdead
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    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:
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • sarajoy
    sarajoy Posts: 1,675
    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.
    4537512329_a78cc710e6_o.gif4537512331_ec1ef42fea_o.gif
  • 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.
    If you see the candle as flame, the meal is already cooked.
    Photography, Google Earth, Route 30
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    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.
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter