Another commuting to work thread

Dannyboy95

I'm contemplating cycling to work which is a 20 mile round trip the reason being i currently get a lift of a lad from work and i don't want to be relying on people. But the problem is how do you motivate your self to get up at 5 in the morning and cycle to work in all weathers someone on here must do more miles than that on there commute so how do you motivate your self to do it?

Cheers and merry Christmas BAH HUMBUG!!!

CitizenLee

My commute isn't that long, but the thought of walking to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, and then actually being on the bus is all the motivation I need in the mornings. Plus it saves me about 30-40 minutes and £5 a day, it also keeps me fitter for the MTB. Some days it is an effort, especially in bad weather (which covers 90% of the year in Aberdeen!), but once I'm on the bike and have warmed up it's never so bad. It also helps that I have quite nice shower facilities at work, otherwise I'm not sure I'd bother.

Why not try it a couple of days a week first?

whoof

Many ways.
I like riding a bike.
Money.
Exercise.
Weather is not that bad once your out in it.
After a while it becomes the norm and anything else is a bit of a faff.
Tomorrow I'm driving as I've got a 200 mile journey staight away work and not looking forward to the commute or the drive afterwards.

fatsmoker

Depending on where you live, it actually doesn't rain that much. On average I'd say I get wet once a fortnight. 10 miles in only 45-50 mins riding at a steady pace. If I took the bus to work it would take me 90 minutes at least. Put the money you save in a pot and spend it new kit and new jeans when your waistline drops 4cm.

The Rookie

I do 7 miles, 10 is only about another 10-12 mins cycling, if you get wet, you get wet, you arrive and change into dry clothes. I have next to no facilities at work so keep spare clothing in case I get wet through.

macleod113

after a recent injury i soon found out its approx £6 a day to get the bus (even more to drive and park). its takes 30 minutes longer to get the bus even when i take the scenic route on the bike.
i am blessed with showers at work so this really helps but i hope never to get injured again and suffer.

save the cash and enjoy

craker

Yeah that's the length of my commute. I now I find it easy to get up, having firmly established it into my day. Depending on your bike, fitness, time of year, road layout it's anywhere between 30 and 40 minutes. The days I do it under 30 puts a big smile on my face, that hasn't happened for a few months.

You're looking at 15 minutes or so in the car remember, so time isn't massively different.

Yesterday I did the longer version of my commute, 15 miles, dark, wet, windy. Still plenty more enjoyable than sitting in a traffic jam.

Initialised

Yesterday I drove into town in fairly motionless traffic, I would have been faster on the bike and not have to pay for parking, but that was pre-christmas traffic.

A while back I was doing ~12 miles each way; my rule of thumb,if you have to change buses it'll be quicker on the bike, applied, 40-50 minutes on the bike versus 70-90 minutes on the bus.

The Rookie

We've recently had road works on my commute, driving the 6.7miles can take upto 50 minutes, cycling takes about 25 minutes, that and the fact that parking at work is now a nightmare.

tomhowells

Same as yours, I do a 20 mile round trip on terrible roads, along A roads, over trail & it takes between 30 & 40 mins. If you pack all your change of clothes the night before, (or even better if you can take it all into work on the Monday) it very quickly becomes the norm. Unless like me, you forget to pack trousers & have to walk around the office in your gym shorts. Not pleasant.

Azhar

Hey Danny, for the past year I been doing a 36 mile round trip, 3 times a week (mon, wed, fri) and I get up at 5am, get to work in about 1hr 10/15 minutes and roughly the same coming back home (I try a lot harder on the way home - best time so far is 1hr 5 minutes). There are times when you suffer from motivation but I have everything I need to keep me warm and comfortable on the journey to work. The one thing I consider my most important purchase is my overshoes (feet can get rather cold when cycling in bad weather) and gillet. Of course I have the arm warmers leg/knee warmers, a hat etc etc. Whenever I lacked the motivation id be on wiggle or evanscycles.com and upgrade the clothing dept. recently bought some seal skinz gloves which are fantastic.

I love commuting on my bike, I don't need to rely on anyone to get me to work, I prefer the solitary feeling of the countryside roads when going to work (half my route is countryside roads) and its therapeutic, the quietness, the calm. get your stuff ready the day before the commute, make it a ritual. to be honest the first couple of miles you might feel like eurgh I don't want to do this but once the body warms up and you finaly get in to work you'll be glad you've done it.

download strava too to keep an eye on your performance getting to work and back. I wish my commute was 20 miles round trip.

Kieran_Burns

Going back to the original question:

Motivation comes from lots of things: enjoyment, improvement, satisfaction (ok this sounds like sex), a good ride (now hang on), getting to the end breathless and smiling... (Oh for God's sake)

I'll start again...

Going back to the original question:

Motiva... (snip)

Look - prepare everything the night before, get the bike ready and your rucksack / pannier loaded. Only have the stuff you NEED with you, leave everything else at work (main clothes, shower stuff, shoes, lock)

Make it easy to get on the bike and it will be.

Skin is waterproof and frankly I'd rather have a miserable ride home with a hot shower waiting for me than a guilty dry drive. Doing it dry is never good (Stop. It.)

Dannyboy95

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Going back to the original question:

Motivation comes from lots of things: enjoyment, improvement, satisfaction (ok this sounds like sex), a good ride (now hang on), getting to the end breathless and smiling... (Oh for God's sake)

I'll start again...

Going back to the original question:

Motiva... (snip)

Look - prepare everything the night before, get the bike ready and your rucksack / pannier loaded. Only have the stuff you NEED with you, leave everything else at work (main clothes, shower stuff, shoes, lock)

Make it easy to get on the bike and it will be.

Skin is waterproof and frankly I'd rather have a miserable ride home with a hot shower waiting for me than a guilty dry drive. Doing it dry is never good (Stop. It.)

Hhaahaha funny stuff lol must admit that has put a smile on my face as i tug.......ON MY SOCKS AS THERE TO SMALL.....ER I MEAN TOO BIG :P

matt@theforce

No motivation needed here, I love riding my bike. For me the hardest part is the 4:30 alarm call .

What makes it easier is to prepare everything the night before, then roll out of bed, into my cycling clothes then out the door by 5am.

My commute is a minimum of 16.5miles each way, about 50% on unlit a-b roads before I get into Sheffield or I can complete about 90% on various Trans Pennine/Sustrans cycle routes of which they are a mixture of surfaced & un-surfaced trails

So long as you enjoy your ride, you shouldnt find it too difficult for motivation.

daddy0

If anything, your commute is too short. I reckon 15 - 20 miles each way is perfect, but I spose you can always add on a bit.

Remember rule 5 and get out on your bike :P