Please say it gets easier!

Long_Time_Lurker

I don't own waterproofs - I just carry an Altura Pocket Rocket in my backpack (foldable, lightweight, bit sweaty but does a good job in heavy rain). That and Sealskinz waterproof socks - expensive but worth it.
As long as you have lightweight kit, it will be dry by the time you have to cycle home.
Besides, rain isn't the biggest problem, it's wind. I use the MetOffice website and an app called WindAlert - you can see the wind readings on all of the local weather stations (Longbenton, Airport, Whitley Bay) and alter your route/decide to take the car.

As for the route - I join the coast road at Billy Mill too but I leave at the turning at the Wills Factory - I work near the airport.
Not knowing where you work, I don't know where the best place for you to leave is, but the Corner House is a good place to cross (unless you are heading for the Haymarket/Jesmond/Gosforth). It's the crossing I use if I'm going to Byker.

tuktuk

My office is at the end of byker bridge on stepney bank.

At the moment im coming down heaton rd then through a park in/near sandyford.

Took 40 mins thismorning but i wore a jumper and a hoodie so i was boiling haha

See how quickly i can get home thisafter

tuktuk

Had the bike in 4 times now and im taking just over or just under 40 mins for the 8 miles. There are still people flying past me with an extra 5mph or so though.

Quick question on the bike, i have been fiddling with the handlebars and seat as the guys at work said i couldnt be more upright if i tried an all im missing is the wicker basket.

Im now left with this lump where the bars have been lowered. Is there any way i can lower it ?

gosport_commuter

yeah, mark the fork tube carefully and hacksaw off the excess, then put back together with less spacers. Be SURE of the level you want before cutting, alot harder to go the other way!

tuktuk

So is it literally just a tube ?

I assume i take off the bars and undo the bolt at the top to release it ?

gosport_commuter

Undo the top bolt and remove spacers etc, and undo the clamp bolt/bolts to release the stem from the fork tube - it should then - with handlebars attached slide off the top. If you want to remove forks from bike to chop - you will have to disconnect the brake cable also.

inside the tube there will be a star nut (that the top bolt screws into) make sure this is low enough as to be below the cut line. you should be able to move it lower with a bit of tube and a mallet if not.

Again - be SURE of the height you are cutting before committing. It can be a good idea to spend a few weeks with it as you have it to be confident that is where to cut it.

BigLee1

I`d agree about keeping things as they are before you go cutting bits off!!

It looks as if your brake and gear levers are too close to the grips and angled too far up. Slide them in a bit so when you stick your thumb out to change the pad on your thumb hits the change lever and angle your brakes down so they are the same angle as your arms without having to bend your wrists up to pull them

Have your seat so it`s level too

Dannyboy95

I don't believe it gets easier but you will build up an endurance level and you will be able to get your mind focused and be for you know it you will be up and over them hills with minimal of fuss.

Initialised

Maybe not easier but definitely faster for the same effort.

jomoj

tuk tuk - I ride from Whitley Bay (Monkseaton end) to the Quayside most days and can recommend some bits of route for you if you want to vary it a bit or avoid the crap bits - you can do most of it off road if you don't mind a bit of extra distance and dodging some broken glass here and there. More to the point you can get off the coast road and onto quieter roads / tracks.

For example, you can cut under the coast road via a subway at Battle Hill then off road through Wallsend Dene, short road ride south then you're on bike path NCN72 which you can follow all the way to the quayside, divert onto the Hadrians way which runs at the rivers edge to St Peter's Basin or take a faster road route through Walker / Byker on the A186 (which is actually pretty quiet apart from a few goods vehicles at rush hour) to the Quayside. These all take you round the bend of the river rather than cutting straight across but only add a mile or so and make the journey more pleasant IME.

seng84

I'm going to be cycling soon from Chillingham Road in Heaton to Southwick in Sunderland.

Any of you geordies recommend any routes? Think it'll be through the pedestrian tunnel

jomoj

From Chilli road I'd head down the Fossway then join the NCN 72 path or A187 to the tunnel. Not sure what's on the south side of the tunnel but I heard there be dragons.

anthdci

seng84 wrote:

I'm going to be cycling soon from Chillingham Road in Heaton to Southwick in Sunderland.
Any of you geordies recommend any routes? Think it'll be through the pedestrian tunnel

thankfully not a geordie but might be able to advise anyway. I am starting to cycle from home in sunderland to work at newcastle city centre. I know your heaton but I that's not too far from the centre. Go along the a184, felling bypass all the way to testos round about (a19 junction) then through east boldon is one route. Alternatively you could use this one http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/42175192 which I was recommended when I was deciding upon my route. It avoids the fastest part of the a184 and takes you right into southwick.

If you go through the tunnel you need to be getting to the john reid road then go through cleadon and into sunderland that way. I don't know how you would get to that from the pedestrian tunnel though.

Take a good lock or two if you are leaving your bike outside in Southwick, and if you have a quick release seat take it inside or it will disappear.

tuktuk

jomoj wrote:

tuk tuk - I ride from Whitley Bay (Monkseaton end) to the Quayside most days and can recommend some bits of route for you if you want to vary it a bit or avoid the crap bits - you can do most of it off road if you don't mind a bit of extra distance and dodging some broken glass here and there. More to the point you can get off the coast road and onto quieter roads / tracks.

For example, you can cut under the coast road via a subway at Battle Hill then off road through Wallsend Dene, short road ride south then you're on bike path NCN72 which you can follow all the way to the quayside, divert onto the Hadrians way which runs at the rivers edge to St Peter's Basin or take a faster road route through Walker / Byker on the A186 (which is actually pretty quiet apart from a few goods vehicles at rush hour) to the Quayside. These all take you round the bend of the river rather than cutting straight across but only add a mile or so and make the journey more pleasant IME.

Thanks mate that would be excellent. I find the coast rd a bit open and im sure a different route will make it less windy, plus that path is really run down for the most part its like loose gravel. The most difficult part of my commute is when i reach the roads, i feel like i dont know what im doing haha. I feel like im holding people up plus coming to cross over a junction or coming into a roundabout i panic.

So far i have the bike, some lights, water bottle and just ordered a helmet. What other items would you say are essential for a commute ?

Another thread pointed me towards new tyres, mudgaurds and spd pedals (i have looked at these but im not too sure what they are? ).

Im out this weekend to get a saddle bag to keep bits and pieces in for when i get a puncture. Some more shorts as the ones i got (endura cadence?) have split after their second use. Also need a jacket or some sort, gloves and shoes if im going to need specific ones to use with the pedals ?

Anything else i might need ?

jomoj

No problem. I'll make a google map and post a link to it. So you start in Tynemouth and end at the Quayside or thereabouts - is that right?

Apart from a few bits and pieces of gear to make the commute easier it sounds like the main thing is you're lacking a bit of confidence in traffic. There are some good strategies and habits to learn that will help keep you safe and it could well be worth looking for some bikeability training to help get you up to speed. You need the confidence to take control of your lane at junctions and not stress about holding people up - let them wait, your safety is more important than delaying them for 15 seconds. There is a bit of an art to riding in traffic but it can be learned / taught and is the best thing you can do to improve your riding.

here's one place that does it locally:
https://sites.google.com/site/recykeybikecycletraining/


anyway...

As far as equipment goes - a good waterproof jacket is an essential for commuting and if you can fit mudguards then you're pretty much weatherproofed. Even so, the number of days when you have to ride in the rain is less than you think but you often have to deal with water on the road and its no fun having a wet stripe up your backside when you get to work. I can recommend the Altura Night Vision jackets, well made, tough and the hi-vis colours (yellow and orange) are super bright but they also do red and black.

Good gloves are worth getting, you shouldn't need anything too warm until autumn now. I'd get a few cheap tops and base layers, Start Fitness / Start Cycles in town are pretty good for picking up that sort of thing or the specials at Aldi and Lidl.

SPD pedals are the type that have a clip mechanism that engages with a cleat on your shoe, they help you pedal more efficiently and are definitely worth getting BUT wait until you're more confident on the road. You can get SPD type shoes that look like trainers and that you can walk in, they can also be used without cleats until you're ready for them. SPD are specifically Shimano but you also get similar system from Time, Look and others that use different designs but the shoes are mostly capable of taking any of the cleats - best off asking in a shop for advice and trying out!

Toolkit - you need a pump, a spare tube (or 2) a patch kit and a multitool - and know how to use it - but the spare tube and pump should get you home.

Tyres - skinny road tyres will make your MTB faster to ride (although not as fast as a road bike!) and it's worth getting some with puncture protection - there's loads to choose from. Schwalbe Marathons, Conti Gatorskins and Specialized Nimbus are 3 that I've used.


One final philosphical thought - in order to make it easier to cycle commute you need to make sure you have the gear to make it comfortable and stick at it until it becomes a habit. You know it's a habit when you take another form of transport and wish you'd taken the bike instead!

cheers

Joe

Kieran_Burns

Altura Nightvision jackets are too warm for temps above 5c btw. Waterproof tops are very much boil in the bag, so end up getting more wet from sweat than you would do from the rain.

Skin is waterproof and there's only so wet you can get - you actually need to stay warm more than dry and keeping moving does this.

Saying that though - a shower proof top is fine (I have an eVent top which packs down very small and light) to carry around. If it buckets it down, you're gonna get wet. At some point you start laughing and enjoying it...

BigLee1

I agree, try for something windproof otherwise you`ll be another overdressed commuter with a red head and soaked in sweat

jomoj

yes good point - maybe something more springlike but the nightvisions are good for autumn / winter in my experience sometimes with just a base layer underneath.

Cityslicker7

It gets easier.......

tuktuk

jomoj wrote:

No problem. I'll make a google map and post a link to it. So you start in Tynemouth and end at the Quayside or thereabouts - is that right?

Apart from a few bits and pieces of gear to make the commute easier it sounds like the main thing is you're lacking a bit of confidence in traffic. There are some good strategies and habits to learn that will help keep you safe and it could well be worth looking for some bikeability training to help get you up to speed. You need the confidence to take control of your lane at junctions and not stress about holding people up - let them wait, your safety is more important than delaying them for 15 seconds. There is a bit of an art to riding in traffic but it can be learned / taught and is the best thing you can do to improve your riding.

here's one place that does it locally:
https://sites.google.com/site/recykeybikecycletraining/


anyway...

As far as equipment goes - a good waterproof jacket is an essential for commuting and if you can fit mudguards then you're pretty much weatherproofed. Even so, the number of days when you have to ride in the rain is less than you think but you often have to deal with water on the road and its no fun having a wet stripe up your backside when you get to work. I can recommend the Altura Night Vision jackets, well made, tough and the hi-vis colours (yellow and orange) are super bright but they also do red and black.

Good gloves are worth getting, you shouldn't need anything too warm until autumn now. I'd get a few cheap tops and base layers, Start Fitness / Start Cycles in town are pretty good for picking up that sort of thing or the specials at Aldi and Lidl.

SPD pedals are the type that have a clip mechanism that engages with a cleat on your shoe, they help you pedal more efficiently and are definitely worth getting BUT wait until you're more confident on the road. You can get SPD type shoes that look like trainers and that you can walk in, they can also be used without cleats until you're ready for them. SPD are specifically Shimano but you also get similar system from Time, Look and others that use different designs but the shoes are mostly capable of taking any of the cleats - best off asking in a shop for advice and trying out!

Toolkit - you need a pump, a spare tube (or 2) a patch kit and a multitool - and know how to use it - but the spare tube and pump should get you home.

Tyres - skinny road tyres will make your MTB faster to ride (although not as fast as a road bike!) and it's worth getting some with puncture protection - there's loads to choose from. Schwalbe Marathons, Conti Gatorskins and Specialized Nimbus are 3 that I've used.


One final philosphical thought - in order to make it easier to cycle commute you need to make sure you have the gear to make it comfortable and stick at it until it becomes a habit. You know it's a habit when you take another form of transport and wish you'd taken the bike instead!

cheers

Joe

Yeah Tynemouth to inbetween byker bridge and the quayside I noticed the path which goes off and under the coast rd near the golf driving range, is that the one you mean ? It probably is as from what can remember its quite a quiet and wide road from there.

Im not using the mtb anymore i bought this



I think the wheel size is 700c x 28, those numbers ring a bell anyways. Are these a compatible inner tube ? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=58741

Got the bike with me today, took just under 40mins, definately the fastest i have made it to the office.

Last night i was fiddling about straightening the seat, pumping up the tyres, i removed the wheel reflectors and angled the brake/gear levers to a more comfortable position... Im now getting a 'click' noise once per revolution of the pedals. I tried moving up/down the gears and its still there. Not sure what i could have done but im going to have to look at it before i leave.

jomoj

here are the routes I use to and from work, you should be able to work out where you can join them onto your route.

http://www.bikely.com/listpaths/by/joemmo

About your saddle - might be just the photo but it looks like it's tipped too far forward - it ought to be more or less level from nose to tail with a bit of adjustment for personal comfort. Also, if you want to get a bit more of a stretched out position, you can flip the stem the other way up to get the bars lower.

BigLee1

Check theres no cable ends from your front derailleur catching on your crank or the crank hitting something else. To get the same bar height but with less spacers on top try flipping the stem over

tuktuk

Thanks for the maps and tips guys

tomb353

welcome!

Aged 40 and been doing Tynemouth to city centre for the last 3 years. I started out after just having done the C2C so that helped me make the jump to 9 miles. The toughest thing is the head winds, when its really blowing against you, always on the way to town, that can really wear you down, but at least you get to fly home. December can be tough and you are best switching away from the path to the roads once it gets icey (or invest in studded tyres).

The surface of the coast road path is shocking in places. Join Newcastle Cycling Campaign (who also do North Tyneside) Newcycling.org for free, amongst a lot of other things we are trying to get the council to resurface it. Also email your local councillors saying what a scandal the condition of the path is, its election time next month, you never know they might do something.

New cycle route being built from Walker over Byker Bridge latter this year may be a help, as will upgrade to the Benfield-Heaton-Town Route and the Newcastle end of the Coast Road route in the next year or two. Newcastle currently spend around five times as much cash on cycling as North Tyneside.

I use the path a few times a week (black kinesis drop bars or a brown surly singlespeed, black carradice saddlebag which you'll see as I overtake you :-) My other main route is following the A193 all the way to town. Crossing the A19 is a bit iffy, but the rest of the road is pretty OK on a bike, its about 10 minutes quicker than the path, best time 1/2 an hour town to the beach. The riverside path is nice but much longer and slower, but if you've got the time and the sun is shining over the Tyne on a morning.......

I don't think you can beat this as a way to end your day come the summer, as long as the sea fret holds off, beat yourself up on a sweaty ride from town, straight to longsands beach and a quick dip in the sea in your cycling shorts followed by a cold beer. Life can be good sometimes.

tomb353

just read through a few more of your posts.

On riding on the road, it'll come naturally over time. If you want some coaching this is available free for anyone who works in Newcastle, worth doing if you want advice on road positioning and roundabouts etc. That said if I've got the extra time in my day a stress free ride on the path is

Golden rules are never concern yourself with holding anyone up, your average speed is better than theirs, always ride around 1/2 a metre further out from the kerb than feels natural, on a roundabout ride the same line that someone would do on a motorbike or the line followed by the driverside seat in a car. You have the advantage of being young and fit enough to be able to accelarate quickly when you need to, you'll beat most cars away from the lights.

Maybe ignore my suggestion of the A193 for now, or cut down to it at Wallsend rather than braving the A19 junction.

godders1

I started a 16 mile each way commute back in December. My biggest piece of advice would be to ease yourself into it and initially not to worry about how long it takes, how many people are overtaking you or whether or not you can keep up with “a lycra’d up bloke on a posh carbon bike” for a few miles.

Get your fitness up, get to a stage where you can complete the ride comfortably on consecutive days and then if you’re so inclined start worrying about how quickly you’re doing it.

jomoj

@tomb353 - you mean North tyneside actually spend any money at all on cycling? Actually I may know where their budget went... over the winter they finally paved a half-mile section from Earsdon to Shiremoor. First they moved the lamposts back then laid the foundation then put a lovely smooth tarmac coating on. Then, a few weeks later, came back and dug various trenches and holes in it to lay some cables and badly tarmacced over the holes. Finally, a few days later, they scraped all that and more off again and relaid the tarmac.

Good to know your council tax is so well spent eh?

tomb353

yep, thats N.Tyneside's one project last year, £40K from them match funded by Sustrans. Next financial year its back up to the princely sum of £90K which will be matched with central government money from something called the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. There is also some cash for paths and pavements which might cover the coast road path. This compares with Newcastle who spend about £1/2million annually. Historically N.Tyneside have been very good, and they've got the highest rate of cycling in T&W as a result, but a year or so ago the tories decided cycling was a soft touch and cut the budget to next to nothing and redeployed the cycling officer. Newcycling have been making their lives misery ever since so will hopefully start to see it creep back up to a more sensible level. There is however a limit to what you can do with a council that thinks regeneration = building giant car parks.

jomoj

To be fair, NTC must have spent a bit on the waggonways over the last few years so I won't knock them for that seeing as I make use of them every day. Your comment about car park building made me smile though, my sister has had some professional dealings with Linda Arkley and her crew and they're not exactly imaginative thinkers, shall we say...

Just for kicks I rode in on the A193 from wallsend this morning and it wasn't too bad, just got a bit lost finding my way back down to the river.

tomb353

The story I heard was that the Wagonways are down to one bike crazy rights of way officer in the 1990's who off his own back started converting all the wagonways to bridleways, also went out and put cycling OK signs all the way along the sea front. Then along came some lottery money and they upgraded the wagonways to the condition they are in today. Unfortunately I think he killed himself a few years back.