Long rural commute

MichaelW

I may start commuting (ie working) soon. Its about 20 miles from home with rural B roads or minor roads.
Does anyone have a long rural commutes?
Does anyone do them in the dark or in winter?
I guess I may be able to ride in summer when the clocks go back but for the winter, Im probably going to drive.

fnegroni

Any chance you can park at station/combine with train or car?

For example, if I had a car and wanted to avoid roads altogether, I would drive from home to Wargrave, then park the car and bike it the rest of the way (around 8 miles) on the off-road cycle track NCN4 all the way into town.
This way I would avoid the busiest part of the route both by bike and by car. It would reduce mileage and would keep me going all year.

Since my commute is only 12 miles each way, and I don't mind riding on the rural roads, I just cycle the whole way.
But I have options (including the train).

Underscore

My commute changed to being 37-miles round-trip with 80% being rural (e.g. roe deer or hares being a more frequent hazard than cars) about 6 months ago. I happily kept going in the dark but I've now stopped since the roads are, obviously, untreated. Plan to start again in March next year, once things start warming up sufficiently.

Feels odd not cycling through the winter but, having come off on ice last winter, I've been convinced to wimp out now that my commute has increased so much!

_

eyebee

Mine is a 22 mile round trip, usually done throughout the winter except for really bad snow/icy conditions. The key to getting through it is adequate clothing and lighting.There are plenty of threads on here.

meanredspider

Mine's 15 miles each way in the Highlands of Scotland. I've done it in all conditions and certainly in the winter & dark. So long as you have mobile reception for the whole journey in case something goes wrong, you should be fine. I take spare clothing and an emergency foil blanket with me at this time of year but then I may only see 2 cars in the first 7 miles.

dilemna

Previous job 32 miles there and back, fairly flat but extremely demorailising if cycling into a very strong head wind which was often. But still ride 25-30 miles a day sometimes 50-60 miles depending where I have to go, although not in the early morning rush.

Key is good windproof clothing if windy and COLD, warm clothing, good gloves and over shoes, lights and spare batteries. Carry a camera, better still a head cam because doing that sort of mileage you are going to have occasions where your number is almost up.

Oh and spare hat, gloves, shirt and shorts for your return journey if you have difficulty getting your kit dry, especially so in this freezing weather.

meanredspider

dilemna wrote:

fairly flat but extremely demorailising if cycling into a very strong head wind

The only advantage of long steep hills - you rarely have a headwind on the way up. The demoralising bit is having to pedal hard down a steep hill....

dilemna

meanredspider wrote:

dilemna wrote:

fairly flat but extremely demorailising if cycling into a very strong head wind

The only advantage of long steep hills - you rarely have a headwind on the way up. The demoralising bit is having to pedal hard down a steep hill....

Indeed. Headwind up the hill, pedalling into a gale down hill. But in the Fens the wind is invariably a gale headwind out, headwind home .

meanredspider

dilemna wrote:

Indeed. Headwind up the hill, pedalling into a gale down hill. But in the Fens the wind is invariably a gale headwind out, headwind home .

Grew up and spent most of my life in and around Cambridge - I prefer hills to wind!

MichaelW

Thanks for the tips.
I'm pretty used to winter commuting and long rural rides in winter daylight, I've only cycled at night in the countryside on rare occasions. Since this is a 2x20 miler I may delay until spring.
I always treat rural B roads during "rush hour" with extreme caution, they are probably more dangerous than A roads, the regular drivers know every bend and just how fast they can go.
This, being Norfolk, there are more hills and less wind than the fens but its something to take into account.

Keiron Curtis

MichaelW wrote:

I may start commuting (ie working) soon. Its about 20 miles from home with rural B roads or minor roads.
Does anyone have a long rural commutes?
Does anyone do them in the dark or in winter?
I guess I may be able to ride in summer when the clocks go back but for the winter, Im probably going to drive.

My commute is 20 miles each way, half of which is on rural roads, and this time of year mostly ridden in pitch black as I work 12 hour shifts. Except for 3 weeks last year, and just over one, so far, this because of snow and ice, I've manged to keep the commute going all through, so go for it. You won't regret it.
Cheers.

fearby

I love my 21 miles each way commute. Empty country roads but not possible to ride on safely when the temperature drops as they get iced over.

meanredspider

fearby wrote:

I love my 21 miles each way commute. Empty country roads but not possible to ride on safely when the temperature drops as they get iced over.

A set of spiked tyres and it's fine. If I stopped because of ice, I'd hardly cycle from November to April. It's harder work than the road bike but great training.

Hoopdriver

I don't commute but I go out for 30-mile rides each morning, from 4:30-6:30am, year round and virtually all of it on country lanes. Being on the south coast, ice is less of a problem for me, but when the roads are icy, as they have been this past week I do stay in - generally though I go out every day.

I have used studded tyres in the past (although not here in the UK) and if I lived north of Inverness (see above) I imagine I'd be buying some; not riding November to April would be too tough a loss. I'd go stir crazy.

Lighting is the big issue for me. I like to see and be seen, with lots of reliability and plenty of burn time. I bit the bullet and bought a very nice Lupine light - very expensive, but given that I need lights about 8 months a year, given the hours in which I ride, it seemed worth it. I'm not rich - it was a big chunk of the annual cycling budget, but some years ago now, and I've never regretted it. Great lights, built to last.

I have a Cateye 1100 rear blinker and wear a reflective vest.

I also have a small Carradice Barley bag on my saddle with tools, spares, flashlight and always carry mobile phone.

wizzlebanger

I think the biggest thing you need to think about is your lighting. You need something that you can see by on the unlit lanes but also something that can last around 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your speed.

If you have somewhere to charge at work then I don't think it will be a problem. If not then to be safe you need to carry battery spares or get something with a 3-4 hour run time and charge each night.

In my opinion clothing and visibility are your main concerns for the winter commute. As long as you have the right gear then go for it!

meanredspider

Yes - I run 240 lumens front light augmented with a 110 lumen lid light - both matched with rear lights and reflective clothing. The issue with spiked tyres and the obligatory ear-warming Buff is not being able to hear cars behind you. Half my ride is on single track roads so it's quite important. I might get a mirror for the colder but brighter mornings. Darkness is ok because you spot the lights. I carry extra clothing and a foil blanket.

wizzlebanger

Regarding the Buff I picked myself up a pack of these from amazon...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000 ... ss_product

They may not be the real thing but I find they are warm enough and I can breathe through it when used as a full face balaclava setup. Slips under my helmet no problem and really helps keep the worst of the wind chill of my face, ears etc.

And I don't think they have impaired my hearing much. Obviously as it covers my ears there is a slight muffling but I can certainly hear well enough to have a conversation and hear traffic.

Pack of 3 as well so you can always double or triple up on extra cold days. (although I haven't found the need to do this yet!.........)

iainmoss

I used to ride 15 miles each way with 50% on rural roads. I did it all year, including the snow in Janurary. It was a challenging ride with big hills (Surrey Hills) and it took me on average 1 hour. In general I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My suggestions are:

1. Make sure you have suitable puncture repair!
2. Use a hub dynamo & Busch & Muller lights or similar.
3. Get decent waterproofs & a Gore windproof face mask.

I moved home in July and I now only ride an easy 12 miles!

Twostage

I live in a rural area and commute into Newcastle. My commute is 23 miles each way and in summer I do the first/last 10 in the car. In winter I drive another couple of miles as the first/last bit of the bike section is a windy (i.e. it turns a lot, not blows a lot) country lane which is a rat run for cars. I know I'd get knocked off on one of the blind corners no matter what lights I had on.