distance to work

gazeddy

does anybody think twnety miles is too far to ride to work this is each way. im looking at getting my bos to sign up to the ride 2 work but i just read about distances and it says cant be used where its an unreasonable distance to ride twenty mile each way seems ok to me

alfablue

It is irrelevant.

You can drive 15 miles and cycle 5, or take the train and cycle from the station - many people do this. There is no obligation to monitor use, either.

Just get signed up.

gazeddy

trying to but atm there is only me voicing an interest. will probly be half of the ride that gets driven anyway as i have a lift halfway then cang et picked up at the same point in the evening

ride_whenever

not at all, i did that 6 days a week for a summer on a mountain bike...

got bloody fit for it!

RockingDad

Some time ago I used to ride 18 miles there and back to work. You get used to it and end up doing it quite quickly really. It's just a different way to get there. When the weathers rubbish though it Sucks!

The Northern Monkey

My work is signed up to the cycle to work... starting to consider it now i've been there a year

Don't know how to work out how much they'll take a month though

RockingDad

Well if it's a help I got a £600 voucher and they take £48 a month. The company your people use to supply the bike will give your guidence as well.

pte1643

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Don't know how to work out how much they'll take a month though

There you go...

http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/employee,calculator.htm

pte1643

RockingDad wrote:

Well if it's a help I got a £600 voucher and they take £48 a month.

It's important to say (for those unaware) that the money is taken form your wages BEFORE tax.

Therefore (in this example)... You "effectively" earn £48 a month less, and hence pay less tax and NI.

This is where the saving is made.


Personally I pay £38 pm, for a £1000 bike. My company operates the scheme over 18mnths, which is nice. 8)

But I can't reclaim the VAT as they (NHS) don't pay it.

Bill-87

If you start cycling to work, you won't want to go there any other way.

My work run a bus but I started cycling for the earlier shifts, for the 9-5 it was a case of the bus is easier to get due to rush hour traffic but it is an absolute nightmare compared being on the bike!

butcher of bakersfield

It depends on the terrain really. I occasionally cycle to work. 9 miles there, mostly downhill. Nice cruise. Coming back is hellish. Up, up, up, dow...up, up..

welshkev

i drive about 10 miles and then cycle the last 14 sometimes. a guy i work with bought a bike on the cycle to work scheme and he lives in bristol and works in cardiff, a distance of about 50 miles!! no one checks these things, just buy it

Chronicbint

Really annoying I am self employed and work at home. I cant sign up.

Louis84

twenty miles would not be considered to far anyway. Can be done in less than an hour and a half. It's hardly in the reallms of impossible!

I cycle 18 miles from work. Although I get the train in the mornings and cycles from the station. But I cycle all the way home

beverick

I aim to do 20 miles each way when I commute on the bike although the direct route is 10 miles door to door (Monday's route was 35 miles in and 22 home).

My main consideration is the time it takes. If you take the journey time, changing and showering into consideration, you're probably looking at extending your working day by 3-4 hours which can be antisocial.

There's also the fact that riding an MTB 20 miles on road is a bit of a pain in the ar$e if you're on off-road tyres (and vice-versa of course!).

Bob

Silversladey

Depends on how hard the 20 miles is, on road and fairly flat it should be no problem, you will also find yourself trying to beat your best time.
My company offered the cycle to work scheme, no one checks when you use it, a couple of my mates got full suspension bikes (hardly commuter bikes) I got a scott contessa for the mrs and £300 woth of accessories.
Just get the bike and enjoy

mikee1979

I've had two mates who have used the scheme and made massive savings on bikes (one of them has just picked up a Trek EX8 and will only pay £1100ish for it!), no one checks how you get to work but you will enjoy cycling to work especially in the summer. If you get a bike rack you could drive to work, then cycle back. The next day you can cycle to work and drive back and so on.

paulbox

I used my £1k voucher to pay towards my Anthem X2...

I installed slicks on my GT hardtail and now cycle to work once a week, 23 miles each way. Takes 1h25m on the way in and 1h30m on the way home, 5 additional minutes due to being knackered... :oops:

The worst thing for me is being organised enough to have the right gear in the right place. E.g. on Sunday night I pack a bag with work clothes and shower stuff for Tuesday, this includes trainers to wear home on Monday evening (I only have one pair of work shoes...). On Monday I leave my laptop etc. in the office. On Tuesday I cycle in, shower and change for work, then Tuesday evening I change back and cycle home again leaving laptop etc... Don't forget to leave your lock at work on the Monday or you have to carry it with you on the Tuesday. PITA on Monday evening if you need your laptop...

There are some seriously committed cycle comuters on that section of the forum, worth popping in for a read.

hardcorerider

I have a lovely traffic free cycle/canal path all the way from mine to work which is about 7 miles. I cycle to work every day that way, most evening I take the long way home which is 16 miles. I got my bike through the cycle to work scheme and i've pretty much stripped all the parts off and sold them on ebay to finance upgrades.

Pufftmw

Your company doesn't have to "sign up to" the scheme, they can make their own.


IE
Company pays for bike (up to £1000)
Company gets VAT back immediately
Company then divides the amount remaining into 12 and takes that off your salary before PAYE is deducted, then calculates PAYE on the lesser amount

That's all perfectly legal and above board and is how the scheme works.

It's a willingnes on the part of the employer to "invest" that small amouint in their employees.

gazeddy

need to find leaflets though now. having some real difficulties on it.

Thick Tester

gazeddy wrote:

does anybody think twnety miles is too far to ride to work this is each way. i

Nope 45 miles each way does me just fine ta..