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graduating to a longer commute

wyadvdwyadvd Posts: 590
edited February 2010 in Commuting chat
im going from a ten mile commute to an ocassional 23 mile run. Any advice anyone?
15 miles each way commuter (soon to be 20)

http://www.endomondo.com/profile/756236

http://www.strava.com/athletes/wyadvd

Posts

  • always_tyredalways_tyred Posts: 4,965
    Set off 45 minutes earlier.
  • berylburtonberylburton Posts: 13
    Why not try once or twice a week on the longer run to get used to it, then build up to every day.
    And, eat a bit extra!
  • wyadvdwyadvd Posts: 590
    yes .....only 45 minutes earlier?.....i do 9.7 miles in 33 mins. will i need to cut speed a little to get there in one piece ? its a rural route from a village called littlebourne to a village called west brabourne....a rural route south east and parallel to the a28: a few stiff hills. i was going to allow 2 hrs on the first shot!
    15 miles each way commuter (soon to be 20)

    http://www.endomondo.com/profile/756236

    http://www.strava.com/athletes/wyadvd
  • coopster_the_1stcoopster_the_1st Posts: 5,158
    wyadvd wrote:
    yes .....only 45 minutes earlier?.....i do 9.7 miles in 33 mins. will i need to cut speed a little to get there in one piece ? its a rural route from a village called littlebourne to a village called west brabourne....a rural route south east and parallel to the a28: a few stiff hills. i was going to allow 2 hrs on the first shot!

    Ummm, some nice lumps around that way :?

    What about cycling to Canterbury and using the train to Wye or Ashford and build up from there. Then you will always have a bail-out route that is a lot shorter if needed.

    That way, you could still do the commute everyday :)
  • Mountainboy2465Mountainboy2465 Posts: 121
    I built up from 10 miles each way a few months ago to doing the full 20/22 miles each way. It is a bit of a drag sometimes, especially at the end of the week when I can feel every mile & every little hill.

    I have a 'get out of jail' clause in that I can jump on a train to shorten the trip by 10 miles if I am feeling particularly unmotivated.

    By building up relatively gradually ie a few weeks of 20 miles a day, then a few at 30 then a few weeks of 4 days at 44 and one rest day it has been pretty pain free.

    Go for it!
  • wyadvdwyadvd Posts: 590
    gotta get a dahon !!
    15 miles each way commuter (soon to be 20)

    http://www.endomondo.com/profile/756236

    http://www.strava.com/athletes/wyadvd
  • wyadvdwyadvd Posts: 590
    I did it... there and back 1hr 50mins each way.... stiff headwind on the way in ...... very enjoyable indeed especially the view over the downs as I came out of brook village..
    15 miles each way commuter (soon to be 20)

    http://www.endomondo.com/profile/756236

    http://www.strava.com/athletes/wyadvd
  • mattrsamattrsa Posts: 143
    I have gone from a 5 mile each way commute to a 19 mile each way and the biggest problem I am finding so far, granted I have only been doing it a couple time is the getting up earlier. Especially with this weather like it has been.
    Was meant to do it this morning but woke up and saw the rain and decided not to bother, I did not mind 5mile is the rain but I can't face 1hour and 15min of cycling in rain

    Do you commute every day?
    Commuter - Trek 1.2
    Fun - Specialized Rockhopper
  • SmellTheGloveSmellTheGlove Posts: 697
    :idea: Get a decent saddle
    "Consider the grebe..."
  • chuckcorkchuckcork Posts: 1,471
    mattrsa wrote:
    I have gone from a 5 mile each way commute to a 19 mile each way and the biggest problem I am finding so far, granted I have only been doing it a couple time is the getting up earlier. Especially with this weather like it has been.
    Was meant to do it this morning but woke up and saw the rain and decided not to bother, I did not mind 5mile is the rain but I can't face 1hour and 15min of cycling in rain

    Do you commute every day?

    35 mile round trip for me, I do it every day. Knackered usually at the end of the week.

    Knackered usually by Tuesday in fact!
    'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze....
  • wyadvdwyadvd Posts: 590
    hey , whats wrong with you!

    I positively enjoy cycling in the rain. Just get a decent set of roubais tights and a waterproof jacket. infact rolling resistance seems to reduce on wet roads and the miles zip by! only two things make me think twice: ice on minor roads and cross winds over 50 mph (headwinds I can handle just use a lower dear and allow a bit longer!). I was out in 75mph cross winds a month or so back and my wheels nearly disappeared from under me when I came out from behind a hedge along side the road!

    I have to say I had a very early night after my 25 miles each way, but I dare say I could get used to it. The nice thing about longer runs also I have discovered is you have a choice of routes without increasing mileage unduly.--just dragand drop those way markers on gmaps!
    15 miles each way commuter (soon to be 20)

    http://www.endomondo.com/profile/756236

    http://www.strava.com/athletes/wyadvd
  • cjcpcjcp Posts: 13,345
    wyadvd wrote:
    hey , whats wrong with you!

    I positively enjoy cycling in the rain. Just get a decent set of roubais tights and a waterproof jacket. infact rolling resistance seems to reduce on wet roads and the miles zip by! only two things make me think twice: ice on minor roads and cross winds over 50 mph (headwinds I can handle just use a lower dear and allow a bit longer!). I was out in 75mph cross winds a month or so back and my wheels nearly disappeared from under me when I came out from behind a hedge along side the road!

    Are you Belgian?

    Take an extra inner tube with you, and maybe have a banana before you set off.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • wyadvdwyadvd Posts: 590
    btw I commute almost every day 10 miles each way. the 25 mile run is only when im asked to work at the ashford hospital on occasion
    15 miles each way commuter (soon to be 20)

    http://www.endomondo.com/profile/756236

    http://www.strava.com/athletes/wyadvd
  • wyadvdwyadvd Posts: 590
    apart from having a rather mysterious germanic sounding surname, Im as english as they come LOL
    15 miles each way commuter (soon to be 20)

    http://www.endomondo.com/profile/756236

    http://www.strava.com/athletes/wyadvd
  • cjcpcjcp Posts: 13,345
    wyadvd wrote:
    apart from having a rather mysterious germanic sounding surname, Im as english as they come LOL

    So, you're German then. :)
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • wyadvdwyadvd Posts: 590
    i got two inner tubes just in case and I live on mounds of cous cous!
    15 miles each way commuter (soon to be 20)

    http://www.endomondo.com/profile/756236

    http://www.strava.com/athletes/wyadvd
  • Robstar24Robstar24 Posts: 173
    my usual commute is an easy 8 miles from southeast london to victoria, which only takes around 40 minutes...two or three times a week i go from my girlfriend's house out near rickmansworth in hertfordshire to work, which works out at 22 miles each way. i actually prefer the longer route as you not only get a longer workout but with it being less urban for a substantial proportion of the ride there are fewer traffic lights and other such disturbances.

    The only disadvantages are having to climb Batchworth Hill a mile or so in, and the getting up earlier. it can be a little depressing leaving the house at 7 on a dark, cold and wet winter morning, but you get used to it. I can't wait for the summer months, think it will be really nice doing an early morning summer commute.

    ps: had to take the train in this morning, it was stiflingly hot and full of people, never mind the cost of it...just a reminder of why cycling to work is so much better.

    pps: reading the experiences of some posters i'm very jealous of the fact some of you seem able to commute to work through country lanes and suchlike (the guy at ashford hospital comes to mind), getting to work on a bike through Kent's countryside sounds perfect!
  • teagarteagar Posts: 2,100
    cjcp wrote:
    wyadvd wrote:
    hey , whats wrong with you!

    I positively enjoy cycling in the rain. Just get a decent set of roubais tights and a waterproof jacket. infact rolling resistance seems to reduce on wet roads and the miles zip by! only two things make me think twice: ice on minor roads and cross winds over 50 mph (headwinds I can handle just use a lower dear and allow a bit longer!). I was out in 75mph cross winds a month or so back and my wheels nearly disappeared from under me when I came out from behind a hedge along side the road!

    Are you Flemish?

    Take an extra inner tube with you, and maybe have a banana before you set off.

    Corrected that for you.

    :!:
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • Mountainboy2465Mountainboy2465 Posts: 121
    Robstar24 wrote:

    pps: reading the experiences of some posters i'm very jealous of the fact some of you seem able to commute to work through country lanes and suchlike (the guy at ashford hospital comes to mind), getting to work on a bike through Kent's countryside sounds perfect!

    Yeah, those country lanes... Like the lovely Clevedon Lane & Norton Wood Lane I am forced to detour down at the moment.
    5 miles of hellish permanent pothole, off camber, strewn with cow sh1te and dead Badgers, suicidal Pheasant trying to jump under your wheel and drivers of oncoming cars thinking they are taking part in a stage of the RAC rally...

    Ok, it was a bad night and I am sure I will start enjoying it again soon but grrrr...

    Oh and its my 42nd birthday, think I should have been carried in by a troop of fair maidens!
  • Robstar24Robstar24 Posts: 173
    Mountainboy2465 wrote:
    Robstar24 wrote:

    pps: reading the experiences of some posters i'm very jealous of the fact some of you seem able to commute to work through country lanes and suchlike (the guy at ashford hospital comes to mind), getting to work on a bike through Kent's countryside sounds perfect!

    Yeah, those country lanes... Like the lovely Clevedon Lane & Norton Wood Lane I am forced to detour down at the moment.
    5 miles of hellish permanent pothole, off camber, strewn with cow sh1te and dead Badgers, suicidal Pheasant trying to jump under your wheel and drivers of oncoming cars thinking they are taking part in a stage of the RAC rally...

    !

    think i'd rather that than what i often get, which is having to divert through some shitty south london back streets because Peckham High Street has been closed off by the police because of some horrible murder or t'other.

    happy birthday by the way!
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