First Commute of 2010

Corporate Camper

Because I'm fat and lazy, my plan to commute part of the way to work by bike never really got off the ground (so to speak), but I went for it today.

Part 1 is to drive 40 miles to Ickenham/Uxbridge area and park in a side street

Part 2 is to cycle 20 miles to Camden.

It went OK actually, big traffic jam on the M40 ruined part 1 but the cycling bit was pretty smooth. I cycled down the A4020 through Southall, Ealing and Acton, then eventually up to the A40 and up again through Camden.

19.96 miles, average speed of 14.7mph. I was shocked by just how many sets of (red) traffic lights I encountered on the route, I could have shaved massive amounts of time off my commute if I was a little more lucky in my timing...

Does anyone else ride this route?

Clever Pun

good effort for your first dig at it

lost_in_thought

Good on you! That's a fair way.

I join in from Ealing as far as Shepherd's Bush, then head south to High Street Kensington and on to Mayfair.

Corporate Camper

Clever Pun wrote:

good effort for your first dig at it

Thanks! I'm hoping I can do it a few times per week and improve on my time while losing some lard (currently 19 stone of kebab and beer). I'm curious what sort of average speeds are achievable in cities if you obey red traffic lights...

The Rookie

That's a long way for your first go, well done!

My commute is nothing like most on here as I'm not a Londoner, so can't really relate to commuting in 'the smoke'.

Simon

jonginge

Corporate Camper wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

good effort for your first dig at it

Thanks! I'm hoping I can do it a few times per week and improve on my time while losing some lard (currently 19 stone of kebab and beer). I'm curious what sort of average speeds are achievable in cities if you obey red traffic lights...

Very good going.

I average between 15 and 18mph for my 11 and a bit miles. Loads of traffic lights which is what causes the variance rather than the density of traffic.

Good stuff, keep going

craker

Oxford to London sounds hellish (hang on, I did Newbury to London for 6 months..)

Well done on your first bikey bit though! Are you planning on carrying this on into Autumn?

If you want to do year round cycle commuting is there an option to leave a hack bike at Paddington & do that commute? I did that every day in Bristol for a while & really enjoyed the train / bike combo.

Corporate Camper

mr_si wrote:

Oxford to London sounds hellish (hang on, I did Newbury to London for 6 months..)

Well done on your first bikey bit though! Are you planning on carrying this on into Autumn?

If you want to do year round cycle commuting is there an option to leave a hack bike at Paddington & do that commute? I did that every day in Bristol for a while & really enjoyed the train / bike combo.

It's not a great commute, and I drive in to London rather than travel by train... not sure if that makes it better or not tbh.

I'd like to think I can keep going, maybe not every day but 2-3 per week perhaps.

I really want to lose weight and get fit, cycling is something I enjoy so it makes sense. Also, I love filtering through the traffic on the Marylebone Road as normally I'm sat in the car for ages on that road.

london_scottish

20 miles is blummin good going for your first effort, hate to see the state of the car after I'd cycled 20 miles then sat in it for another 40 though tbh

I do 16 each way at an average of 16-17mph but I probably started off about the same speed as you. I'd like to say it does get easier but the faster you go the faster you want to go. All good fun

Norky

Nice one fella. 20 miles is a big distance to start with, even if you're doing it 2/3 times a week.

Wrath Rob

+1. The best thing is to try and find a route that has the minimum of TLs but isn't a narrow side street where you get crowded by cars. You'll see lots of people on here posting about Embankment, its great as there's only a few TLs and plenty of space for cars and bikes.

My normal average (for 9 miles) is in the mid 17's, yesterday was a record day as I hit 19.2!

Corporate Camper

My return journey last night wasn't so good. Average speed of just under 11mph!

Not sure what the problem was really, traffic was much heavier for sure but I just felt like I had no energy. I made it back to the car OK, but I don't think I could have gone many more miles... I was hungry too.

I suppose it could be that I hadn't eaten enough in the day, or possibly that a 40 mile round trip commute is a bit much for a fat-bloke... I think I'll give it another go on Monday though and see how that goes.

dhope

Corporate Camper wrote:

My return journey last night wasn't so good. Average speed of just under 11mph!

Not sure what the problem was really, traffic was much heavier for sure but I just felt like I had no energy. I made it back to the car OK, but I don't think I could have gone many more miles... I was hungry too.

I suppose it could be that I hadn't eaten enough in the day, or possibly that a 40 mile round trip commute is a bit much for a fat-bloke... I think I'll give it another go on Monday though and see how that goes.

40 mile round trip is a bit much if you're not used to a 40 mile round trip. Don't worry, try again Monday and then try again more after that and it'll get easier. Then, when it's easier, push it some more. Rinse and repeat