How far is too far?

edhornby

have a look at ribble, they do some pretty good deals on audax machines, and you can go to the warehouse in bamber bridge to have a look

Surosa in Oldham also do em
Hewitts in Leyland, very highly rated

I think that you may be able to get a 2nd bike on bike2work scheme - don't quote me on this tho....I think the justification is that you need one for house to the train station and the second from the train to the office... you may be able to swing this with your distance


best of luck !

pottssteve

Hi,
I'm a weirdo and I commute on a Tricross. I've found it great with a little planning. I originally got the Tricross because it has the ability to take pannier racks, but I've not got any yet. I only commute 2 or 3 days a week due to other commitments, and it's only 16km if I do the longer route. This takes about 45 minutes but does include a big hill.

I'm going in later on Friday and am hoping to do the very long commute - 35 km, on roads, with hills. This will take about 1 hour 20 (I hope), but I know would be longer on an mtb due to the fact that the flat bits are a lot slower on an mtb. I can recommend the Tricross - a versatile bike. Not the fastest, lightest or prettiest, but it gets the job done.
Steve

mattrsa

Well i have just looked on bike hike and it seems the trip is a little longer than google maps seems to think .

It's giving me the total router and 23.1 miles! That is some serious distance.

Can I do it, I'm still not sure. But I do miss my mornings on the bike and do like the idea of getting fit on the way to work.

What should I do people?

sarajoy

Slick up your MTB and give it a go, and bear in mind it will get easier and faster with increased fitness (it happens fast, I wouldn't have believed how much easier my commute has now become when I started doing it in Feb), and easier still with a more fit-for-purpose bike.

Do it on a Sunday as a test run, less traffic and less time pressure, arrange for someone to pick you up at the other end....
...bit hard to decide when you've not yet had a go!

Over 20 miles is quite a way (for the likes of me anyway!), and possibly not possible to do daily (due to time constraints as well as having the energy) - but it's worth a try.

sarajoy

Oh, you might find, esp as it's flat - that with a stop and a sandwich at the other end, you won't feel too bad about cycling home again. But worth arranging the lift anyway just in case!

mattrsa

well the idea would be for the first few weeks to cycle to work and then get the train home.

Guess its off to the LBS after work for some slicks.

My girlfriend is work on sunday so providing the weather aint too bad I will give it a test run to see what it is like.

Can anyone reccommend some slicks?

MrChuck

Most I've done is 11 miles each way and that's about as far as I'd want to do personally, mostly because of the time it would take out of my day and my willingness/strength to go out at the weekends. That's not to say it's not doable though and if the alternatives will take a similar amount of time then why not?

I guess the time thing is relative though, lots of people put up with commutes measured in hours I suppose...

will3

On the time thing: it rather depends on your outlook. My current comute it 20 minutes by car or 35 minutes by bike so for 30 minutes extra a day I get 70 minutes of cycling/excercise that I wouldn't otherwise get.
Siimilarly on a longer20 miles you'll only be taking an our extra per day (ish). Now if that saves you an hour at the gym.......

mattrsa

well the commute by car can sometimes take and hour but sometimes on 25 min, so some days I would be looking at 30 min extra and others about an hour extra

it's a shame really as I would have not hestitation if the route was about 15 miles as plenty of people on here and at my work do about that but the extra 6 or so miles could be a killer.

sarajoy

It could be a killer, or could be a real joy

I think cycling in and then trying to do it home again in the same day would be pretty hard - but some days I've come in on the car and REALLY wished I had the bike at work in order to ride home. You'll have that luxury

Today, I'm listening to people in the office grumping about an accident on the M4 which has caused Bristol to be gridlocked. Aztec West business park is particularly badly affected, often the traffic backs up so far that you can't even leave the estate (as today) and the ring of companies which has only the one way in/out (terrible bottleneck) comes to a standstill.

I cycled in today. Thank goodness!!

mattrsa

well stopped off at the LBS on the way home to get some slicks but they only had one in stock

is this a sign that I should get the tricross?

itboffin

sarajoy you need a 2nd bike

Kieran_Burns

mattrsa wrote:

well stopped off at the LBS on the way home to get some slicks but they only had one in stock

is this a sign that I should get the tricross?

You should ALWAYS get a CX bike.

You know it makes sense.

salsajake

Second the CX choice - mine was a base model Kona Jake that is being upgraded as things wear out, and as I save money on my commute. It has pannier rack, so that I can take food, pants and socks in on a monday, and bring used stuff back again on friday (can I point out that wednesday is a rest day, so I do take monday's pants home then, they don't fester all week!)

I currently run a 32section slick on the rear, thinking it would need it for the cushioning when I have a full pannier, but think I can get down to a 28 section. I have a 25 on the front.

Basically you just need to give yourself plenty of time and do it. And it will probably hurt you for about 6-8 weeks, if you are still doing it then, it will get easier and you will do it faster and it will become normal for you.

Good luck.

And yes, the edge is bike specific, its great for following new routes, but obviously you won't need it once you have your route sorted. I was still tweaking my route several weeks after starting and discovering little cut-throughs etc. Buy a detailed map like an OS for countryside or an A-Z for cities and spend a good hour studying it, its all part of the fun

sarajoy

itboffin wrote:

sarajoy you need a 2nd bike

Had a little MTB with slicks for a while some time back, it got nicked. Boo.

More fool them mind, the seat post was totally jammed into the frame. I'd had to whack it further with a hammer to get it a bit lower myself, that thing was never gonna come out...

...finding myself looking at the dark side of drops out of curiosity (I know, I know!), but I can't really justify a second bike and hardly have the space for it
E.g. http://bristol.gumtree.com/bristol/00/40484700.html

kiwirob

Unfit? Take it easy over the first few weeks....once or twice a week to start. No grind.Remember: Traffic is a source of stress..too much could put you off.
Traffic fumes are not usually that good for you.
5 days a week IS a grind
Get a road bike...steel!...£130 for decent second hand one on the bay
Use flat pedals...how many people fell off in cleats on L2B?
Get a mirror!
Good luck
KR

salsajake

kiwirob wrote:

Traffic is a source of stress..too

Drove in today with a boot full of files. God, it was far more stressful than being on a bike, even though I was in no rush!

Also, whoever was advocating TT set up and riding it like a TT, surely that would only work on a non-urban commute?

mattrsa

yeah drove in again today, Really did not enjoy it, Was the perfect morning for biking.

Going out on the bike tonight to try rack up a 10 miles or so as not riding in the mornings is starting to take and effect on the waistline.

On the subject of the bike I'm still not sure. Until I have done the router once I don't know if its worth it.
Going to try a test run on sunday but will have to be on the normal MTB tyres
How long should I expect to knock off my time on a proper road bike with 700c road tyres?

sarajoy

mattrsa wrote:

On the subject of the bike I'm still not sure. Until I have done the router once I don't know if its worth it.
Going to try a test run on sunday but will have to be on the normal MTB tyres
How long should I expect to knock off my time on a proper road bike with 700c road tyres?

Good plan.

I can't really give you numbers, but when riding with a friend on her MTB-style commuter (wide-ish slick MTB-size tyres) - I spend a lot more of my time freewheeling and braking than she does - she almost pedals the entire time.

It might partly be that my bike's newest and less likely to suffer friction in bearings etc but I would have though that negligible...

salsajake

mattrsa wrote:

yeah drove in again today, Really did not enjoy it, Was the perfect morning for biking.

Going out on the bike tonight to try rack up a 10 miles or so as not riding in the mornings is starting to take and effect on the waistline.

On the subject of the bike I'm still not sure. Until I have done the router once I don't know if its worth it.
Going to try a test run on sunday but will have to be on the normal MTB tyres
How long should I expect to knock off my time on a proper road bike with 700c road tyres?

I would say you will be at least 30% quicker on a slick shod decent road bike compared with a knobblie mud monster, for the same effort. You'll also find it far less frustrating and far more enjoyable. If you are already fit, then it could be even quicker.

mattrsa

I would say that I was fit up until about 4 weeks ago when I moved,

I have really noticed the difference not riding the 11 miles a day to and from work.

If I don't start riding to work again soon I will have to start using the gym again and I hate the gym

salsajake

mattrsa wrote:

I would say that I was fit up until about 4 weeks ago when I moved,

I have really noticed the difference not riding the 11 miles a day to and from work.

If I don't start riding to work again soon I will have to start using the gym again and I hate the gym

if you were riding 11 miles a day every day, then you will still have a good level of fitness after 4 weeks - it will have slumped, but is recoverable! I was out of action for about 12 weeks earlier this year with a series of viral infections that also meant I lost a lot of weight (not in a good way) and most of my muscle mass. It took a measured approach to getting back up to speed, but I set a PB on tuesday this week after just a month of building back up.

Good luck on sunday, if it goes down well, we'll see, if it doesn't I guess you will disappear from the 'commuter' section of the forum!

mattrsa

well I made the mistake of walking up snowdon on saturday which out me out of action on sunday so I did not get to do the trail run.

Hopefully I should be able to have a go this w end fingers crossed.

salsajake

You should check out the silly commuter stats thread, get yourself on the table on your commute and you will soar up the board!

will3

mattrsa wrote:

well I made the mistake of walking up snowdon on saturday which out me out of action on sunday so I did not get to do the trail run.

Hopefully I should be able to have a go this w end fingers crossed.

Krikey, if walking up Snowdon knocks you out for a whole day, might I politely suggest that you might need to work up to a 20mile commute?

PS how does one walk up Snowdon by accident, I mean it's a bloody big obvious bit of rock, no?

salsajake

will3 wrote:

mattrsa wrote:

well I made the mistake of walking up snowdon on saturday which out me out of action on sunday so I did not get to do the trail run.

Hopefully I should be able to have a go this w end fingers crossed.

Krikey, if walking up Snowdon knocks you out for a whole day, might I politely suggest that you might need to work up to a 20mile commute?

PS how does one walk up Snowdon by accident, I mean it's a bloody big obvious bit of rock, no?

depends in what way it knocked him out. I have found that doing lots of cycling has made almost sod all difference to my hillwalking ability (and I do a fair bit of both), I also get bad knee pains on most hillwalk descents and after a big walk probably wouldn't want to ride the next day (35 mile round trip).

If you were basically out of puff and that's why you didn't get on the bike, then admittedly, you might have to build up - parking the car further and further from work as you go

Don't lose heart until you have given it a good crack and been beaten by it.

SimonLyons

to mattrsa
re:
well the idea would be for the first few weeks to cycle to work and then get the train home.

On a train the cost of a single is usually pretty nearly the same as a return.
This really gets on my nerves.
Where I live its 5-80 return compared with 4-90 for a single. Very rarely do I only bike one way - though it is good as a bail out. This is for a ~17 mile door to door journey.

mattrsa

hey guys

When I say it knocked me out i just mean I was a bit tired and did not think it was a good idea to over do it. I did go out on the bike on sunday but just for a gentle loosener.
I really did not realise how steep some parts of snowdon were.

With regards to the cost of the train. Yes this does piss me off too but I have a rail card which I will use which means that the journey home(on the train)will cost approx £3 compared to the £7.50 for a return, which is a fricken joke if you ask me.

Was looking at the route i sould have to take again this morn and seem to include alot of A roads. Is it safe to cycle on a road with a 50 mile an hour limit?

Kieran_Burns

The other thing about the Snowdon walk is the surface - even if you do the Llanberis path back down it's murder on your feet, calves and thighs. The loose surface and repeated impact jolts do take it out of you

prawny

mattrsa wrote:

Is it safe to cycle on a road with a 50 mile an hour limit?

I do,for about 5 miles, it doesn't bother me, as long as the road is wide enough and your confident on a bike it'll be fine. On my old routh there was a very twisty section that was narrow and national speed limit, that wasn't too bad either but was scary from the car thinking about it afterwards.