Reasons to Commute

seajays

Well that's me over three months into my cycling commute now, and time has really flown by. I have to say I'm really loving it too.:

1. I feel much fitter and healthier
2. I'm fortunate to have a lovely picturesque route in.
3. It's so much quicker than my one hour bus journey!
4. It's cheaper* than the bus
5. I have the smug satisfact… err… I'm helping the environment.

Still improving from then to now as well (onwards and upwards)!

So what other reasons do people out there have for commuting by bike?

* Please ignore the other stuff I keep buying - that's a one-off "investment"

asprilla

I like riding my bike.

Gallywomack

Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly
Good golly, Miss Molly and boats

Hammersmith Palais, the Bolshoi Ballet
Jump back in the alley and nanny goats

18 wheeler Scammels, dominica camels
All other mammals plus equal votes

Seeing Piccadilly, Fanny sniffin' Willie
Being rather silly and porridge oats

timothyw

Because my hi-vis yellow jersey is as close as I'll ever get to the tour leaders jersey?

vermin

To get to work

nicklouse

vermin wrote:

To get to work

exactly.

surrey_commuter

5 months in for me and I as well as being 9kgs lighter I much prefer it to the train... only downside is that it takes longer than the train so making me unpopular at home. Oh and each day that I cycle saves me £15

MonkeyMonster

Quicker than two trains to paddy. Not far off the taxi time on 2nd segement over 7-8 miles.

I look good in castelli bibs

Nothing like the feeling as you set off out from the house to smash away any doubt you're not doing the best thing for you.

msmancunia

Wakes me up and clears my head. Plus I hate driving.

rubertoe

It means i can eat as much cheese as i like.

Kieran_Burns

The cape, the seals....

CiB

Fun, fitness, free trip to work, chance to ride the nice bike without having to make time for it, get to show off the legs at work, and you really can't beat being called 'mad' or 'nuts' by a colleague just for riding in every time you do it.

notsoblue

Er, its the quickest way for me to get to work. Why spend ~£4 and 45 minutes when I can do it in 15 mins for free?

kevess

37 years plus commuting in the smoke, I just love riding the bike!

daddy0

When I started commuting (again) 3 years ago my reasons were:
Lose weight
Get fit
Stop smoking
Save money - mostly because I wasn't buying tobacco, but also petrol

These days my reasons are:
To get fit enough to race. I'm already fitter than I ever have been, but now I've got the bug.
To keep myself slim and attractive to the opposite sex (whom I have no time nor energy to chase, just as well as I'm happily married).
Save money - I save between £150 and £200 a month by not buying petrol.
I enjoy it - as I have 2 kids now I don't get time to go out for leisure rides very often, so my commute is my "my time".
To stop myself from taking up smoking again.
To justify to the EPO spending money on my bikes.
To guarantee I arrive on time(ish) - by car my 25 mile journey can take anywhere between 50 minutes (never happens) and 150 minutes (happens too much), by bike its 80 minutes one way and 70 the other, give or take 5 minutes.
To be a positive influence on others - I have spread the love by convincing a couple of my friends to take up commuting by bicycle.
To maintain a high level of zen - I arrive at work super chilled ready for the IT guy vs user struggles. If I drive I arrive at work already stressed out.
To avoid sickness. Since taking up commuting I've not really been ill. I used to get ill a lot. Everyone I work with get ill a lot - and don't seem to get better very quickly. Riding in the countryside exposes me to a healthy dose of bacteria which keeps my immune system sharp! Being super fit can't hurt neither I spose.
To bolster my Strava stats and own the people in the bike clubs I sometimes ride with by regularly topping the leader boards.

Theres probably a bunch of other reasons... :P

Gallywomack

Daddy0,

Is one of those clubs Bigfoot? Can't remember what but something you posted gave me the impression you were a member. I joined recently, been going out on Saturdays and the odd evening MTB ride.

daddy0

Gallywomack wrote:

Daddy0,

Is one of those clubs Bigfoot? Can't remember what but something you posted gave me the impression you were a member. I joined recently, been going out on Saturdays and the odd evening MTB ride.

Yeah I have been riding with Bigfoot, and Bromley based Mid Life Cycle Club. Bigfoot wise - I was at the 10 year anniversary at the Cyclopark if you were there? I was the guy who won the fastest lap and highest power output on the trainer competitions (been meaning to boast about that to someone for ages) :twisted:

However, I've recently moved out to near Gravesend, and the family has grown by C+1. I've toyed with the idea of riding down to meet the Bigfoot level 1s on a Saturday morning, but after commuting 50 miles a day 5 days in a row the last thing I want to do is get up early and punish my poor legs some more... I intend to get back to riding with Bigfoot though, they're a good bunch.

I went out with Gravesend CC a couple of weekends ago - they meet on Sundays at 9am about 2 miles from my house, so will probably be riding with them from now on. They seem like a nice bunch too.

pastryboy

Seajays wrote:

I have to say I'm really loving it too.:

But the question is will you still be loving it come January when it's cold and dark.

roger_merriman

its generally less hassel, though mildly slower by a few mins than driving most of the time.

Through Bushy Park is fantastic, in many ways the winter is better than summer.

Public transport is remarkably long, take best part of a hour, vs a very easy 30mins within which is wiggle room and time to make a hot drink etc when I get at work before the mayhem starts.

Gallywomack

Daddy0 wrote:

Yeah I have been riding with Bigfoot, and Bromley based Mid Life Cycle Club. Bigfoot wise - I was at the 10 year anniversary at the Cyclopark if you were there? I was the guy who won the fastest lap and highest power output on the trainer competitions (been meaning to boast about that to someone for ages) :twisted:

However, I've recently moved out to near Gravesend, and the family has grown by C+1. I've toyed with the idea of riding down to meet the Bigfoot level 1s on a Saturday morning, but after commuting 50 miles a day 5 days in a row the last thing I want to do is get up early and punish my poor legs some more... I intend to get back to riding with Bigfoot though, they're a good bunch.

I went out with Gravesend CC a couple of weekends ago - they meet on Sundays at 9am about 2 miles from my house, so will probably be riding with them from now on. They seem like a nice bunch too.

Yeah, I've been enjoying it. I've been going out with the L3s or 4s for the time being, as I am unfit. The MTBing is good too, I would never have thought there would be such fun on a MTB to be had within a short ride of home.

I didn't go to the Cyclopark day, I'm just getting SWMBO used to me disappearing for half of every Saturday so didn't think it was an opportune time to suggest a day of bike-related fun on the Sunday too!

Yeah, with that daily milage, the local Sunday ride seems the sensible option alright!

seajays

pastryboy wrote:

Seajays wrote:

I have to say I'm really loving it too.:

But the question is will you still be loving it come January when it's cold and dark.

Well I hope so... this is Aberdeen - it's already dark at 6.30am! (Plus we were down to 4°C the other day and it was fine - and I haven't got my winter gear yet!). Dark, cold, even wet I'm not too bothered about. The thing that concerns me is icy/snow ground conditions - have yet to decide about that one...

Initialised

Seajays wrote:

pastryboy wrote:

Seajays wrote:

I have to say I'm really loving it too.:

But the question is will you still be loving it come January when it's cold and dark.

Well I hope so... this is Aberdeen - it's already dark at 6.30am! (Plus we were down to 4°C the other day and it was fine - and I haven't got my winter gear yet!). Dark, cold, even wet I'm not too bothered about. The thing that concerns me is icy/snow ground conditions - have yet to decide about that one...

You need a pair of these:



They work a treat in ice and snow and in my experience the 26x1.9" Snow Studs are immune to punctures (you don't want to be fixing punctures in sub-zero do you) and work as low as 25 PSI with plenty of traction.

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/spikes.html

Kieran_Burns

Plus they are a right laugh when you're the only thing moving on the roads

Initialised

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Plus they are a right laugh when you're the only thing moving on the roads

Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads!

Part of why I use them is that they open up off road paths that no one else uses when they are covered in ice and snow.

mlgt

For a free shower on the way to work.
Just like this mornings unexpected downpour

daddy0

How far do you guys ride in the snow? I'm thinking that a 25 mile commute might be a bit too far, or am I being pathetic?

Kieran_Burns

I did 12 quite happily... took some time but as I was the only one trying to get in, no one minded

daddy0

mlgt wrote:

For a free shower on the way to work.
Just like this mornings unexpected downpour

Yeah, it was a good one this morning. I'm coming to the realisation that I prefer riding in the rain - it spurs me on, plus I think it cools my legs down, I feel like I can push harder when it rains anyway. This morning I was half expecting to have got a KOM, but 2nd place out of 1085 aint too bad (that KOM is going to take some beating):
http://www.strava.com/activities/201771985/segments/4753236112

daddy0

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I did 12 quite happily... took some time but as I was the only one trying to get in, no one minded

Yeah I was thinking 10 would be no problem, 15 maybe at a push, but 25 would be a hill too far...

UndercoverElephant

Daddy0 wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I did 12 quite happily... took some time but as I was the only one trying to get in, no one minded

Yeah I was thinking 10 would be no problem, 15 maybe at a push, but 25 would be a hill too far...

25 miles each way or in total? I do a 25 mile round-trip no matter what the weather, and after a week on snow-tyres, that adds up to some pretty sore legs. They're hard work and heavy.

I use Suomi/Nokian w106 tyres on the MTB, they're excellent in both ice and snow. I line them with Panaracer Flataway kevlar liners to make them thoroughly resistant to me having to fix them in a blizzard.

seajays

Initialised wrote:

You need a pair of these:

…

They work a treat in ice and snow and in my experience the 26x1.9" Snow Studs are immune to punctures (you don't want to be fixing punctures in sub-zero do you) and work as low as 25 PSI with plenty of traction.

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/spikes.html

This means I need a second set of wheels then…? Having no concept of cost of a complete set of wheels (as opposed to a whole bike), what's that likely to run to? (for this)

I know, I know, but N+1 is out of the question just now!