First commute!

Corporate Camper

I cycled home from work for the first time this evening. First ride in months, first ride on my new bike, first time clipless!

I enjoyed it, but I'm not as fit as I was (and even then I wasn't, if you know what I mean) my average speed was pitiful. Distance was 16.74 miles, so I guess doing that twice a day should help to shed some of these extra stones I have...

The only drawbacks; my feet are painfully cold, I find it hard to clip in and I don't have a good enough front light.

meanredspider

Well done.

Should be plenty of help on here for your issues

Mr Plum

Hefty commuting distance! The good thing is that it'll become easier and quicker once you gain fitness and it's getting warmer so your feet shouldn't be too cold from now on...

davis

Yup, that's a decent distance. If you're just starting you'll probably find you're really tired at the end of the week. As for cold feet, Merino inner socks are good -- see this

Edit: Welcome, by the way!

sketchley

Well done, it does get easier quickly. My first ride home (14 miles or so) took me over 2 hours I was fat and unfit then. My personal best is 48 mins I'm still chunky at 17st10lbs but much fitter. Just keep riding and riding and before very long it's addictive....

Well done again

sketchley

Re cold feet, make sure your shoes are not too tight....

coopster_the_1st

Sketchley wrote:

Re cold feet, make sure your shoes are not too tight....

Additionally, keeping your legs warm(covered) will help with keeping your feet warmer

Corporate Camper

Sketchley wrote:

Well done, it does get easier quickly. My first ride home (14 miles or so) took me over 2 hours I was fat and unfit then. My personal best is 48 mins I'm still chunky at 17st10lbs but much fitter. Just keep riding and riding and before very long it's addictive....

That's encouraging. I'm somewhere around 19st at the moment (just over maybe), I'm not completely unfit; I try to do a few of those charity rides each year, but there's no substitute for daily riding for upping fitness and shifting weight. I was a couple of stone heavier, but I shifted that the last time I had a job where I could cycle occasionally.

My average speed was only just over 11.5mph, I want to aim to get that somewhere around 15-18mph before the summer...

veronese68

Well done, that's a good distance. I use overshoes if it's really cold. You'll get better at clipping in and out. Search for threads on good lights. I'd recommend 2 front and 2 back. Have 1 of each flashing and the other static. Flashing to attract attention and static to make it easier for others to judge distance. I use an Ultrafire torch on the front, really bright on full power, but with lower power options for road use. It has the added advantage of being cheap as chips. There are plenty of other options, lights can divide opinion on here nearly as much as helmet use.
Having opened a can of worms I'll be off now.
Enjoy the rides, it'll only get better.

nation

Regarding clipping in and out: if your pedal system has adjustable tension (like Shimano SPD) try backing it off as far as possible - it decreases the amount of force required to engage the cleat.

On lights, I'm liking my Electron Terra 2s. They're bright enough (just about) to ride on an unlit road and can still be found for £70-80 if you look around (the Evos are the new version and are more expensive).

Congratulations, too! Just you wait - pretty soon riding to work will just be routine and you'll find yourself plotting rides out into the countryside just for fun.

cjcp

Yep, well done. Very healthy distance, too: you'll soon notice the fitness improve.

+1 for making shoes for and aren't too tight. Overshoes help a lot, too.

Kieran_Burns

Bizarrely, keeping your head warm also helps with keeping the extremities warmer, so keep the top of your head covered.

Flyingbogey

Thats a similar distance to mine, when I started I would split my ride into 1/3rds (mentally). Helped me to keep going. After a few months I just stopped doing it but it helped in the early days. Good effort.

EKE_38BPM

Congratulations. That is a good distance to be commuting. Mrs EKE did her first commute today. All of 2.2 miles (should be much shorter, but she goes around the houses to avoid traffic).

Make sure your shoes aren't too tight. If they are the lack of blood circulation can lead to cold feet.
Adjust the tension on your cleats so that you can clip in and out easily, but not so easy that you risk unclipping when giving it the beans uphill or sprinting. When you get more used to clipping in/out you might want to increase the tension.

You've picked a nice time of year to start commuting. Bad enough to make everyone at work think you must be well 'ard, but coming into nicer weather which you will enjoy riding in and look back on days like this as the 'bad old days'.

Enjoy!

Greg T

15 miles is a good way.... Well done, don't feel like you have to do there and back five days a week. When I was first starting I did a couple of one way trips a week and that was plenty.... Speed's not important, just get used to turning your legs smoothly and at low effort and the rest will come. You can try too hard and knack yourself.

feet . . .

Overshoes are a must.
Two pairs of socks if you squeeze them into your shoes
Keep the rest of you warm as well.

Corporate Camper

Thanks for the tips chaps.

I rode back in this morning, felt a bit tired at the start but soon got in to the swing of it. I was 8 minutes quicker than last night (but, to be fair, there is slightly more decent than ascent in this direction).

I wore thicker socks today and I didn’t suffer with the chilly feet quite so much but I’ll try loosening the shoes and see if that helps. Overshoes might be on the list… but it’s almost Spring innit! I’m getting the hang of clipping in too, but I’m better with my left foot than the right so I tend not to unclip that one!

I’m not going to ride every day just yet, mostly due to logistics (my car is at work and I occasionally need it in the evenings) but I plan to ride most days starting the week after next week as I’m off moving house (only 1 mile closer!)