Commuting from Tadworth in Surrey

On_What

Looks like the end is in sight for the current house, I ride nearly everyday the 13miles into Moorgate, but I am sceptical if I can do it from Tadworth, some 5-6miles more. Does anybody else regularly commute 18miles + into London?

surrey_commuter

20 miles for me... been doing it for bang on a year so no fitness freak. Your advantage is that Tadworth has Oyster so you can opt out of cycling whenever you want as you build up your fitness

reformedfatty

Nothing to really add to this thread other than as a former resident (grew up there before escaping to the south west) I'm curious as to what sort of route you would end up taking? Anything vaguely direct is not at all bike friendly in my memory.

daddy0

50 mile roundtrip for me. The miles are not the problem, its the hills, oh and the wind, oh and not getting enough sleep because of the baby and toddler. I tend to do 3 or 4 days by bike. I take the car if the weather is bad and replenish my supply of clean clothes at work. I actually think 18 miles is about the perfect distance for a cycle commute. 25 does take it out of me some days, but when I used to commute 10 I was only just warming up by the time I got to work, so I reckon 15-20 miles is ideal.

Top tips - get plenty of sleep, eat the right food, don't drink heavily the night before, drink plenty of water, take it easy on some rides, keep the bike in top working order.

vimfuego

I ride in from Epsom - 16 miles each way & it's easily manageable. Admitedly you'll have the climb up to the Downs to contend with at the end on the way back, but I do extend the ride home on occasion to take that in (damn you Strava climbing challenges!) and it's nothing you can't deal with - though the prevailing South Westerly can make the rum home an absolute pig if the windspeed is up. No respite all the way!

j_mcd

Yep, 20 miles in from Surbiton to Canary Wharf and occasionally (OK, very occasionally) I'll cycle the 45 miles back to Guildford).

asprilla

I do 22 miles from Walton on Thames to Oxford Circus at the moment, but I used to more miles and more days.

I eat too many pies, drink too much and smoke occasionally so if I can do it anyone can.

andrewc3142

50km (31m) each way Woking to Cannon Street. But not in the office every day and tend to catch the train back to see the kids before bed. So between 2 and 4 times a week, inc round trip on Friday if I can sneak off a bit earlier.

Summer mornings a pleasure. Harder to be motivated in the middle of winter.

So perfectly feasible, but for me not as sole transport both ways all year.

RussAlf

22 miles each way, 4 or 3 times a week.

Pretty much echo what daddyo says.

Medders

looks like you are moving just down the road from me then. I moved from 16 miles each to 21 each way when I moved there. I don't do it everyday - it just takes too long but it is fine 3/4 days a week and I actually feel fresher for a weekend ride that way. The only problem is that Tadworth is on top of a hill (only slightly lower elevation that box hill) so the last 5 miles of the ride home are basically an uphill slog which is a bit soul destroying after 21 miles in the morning+full day at work+15 miles back to the bottom of a long hill.

Welcome to the area tho - it is very nice.

Medders

oh and if you like a bit of off-road there are some awesome XC trails on your doorstep.

As for the route in - do not take the A217! Did that my first day - it may be direct but terrifying (and I had been commuting through London everyday for 4 years by then). Route is Tadworth-Banstead-Sutton-Morden-CS7.

andrewc3142

Doing a reasonably long distance commute, for me the light bulb moment was realising that actually some (or even all) days I could just do a relaxed pace. No need to thrash it in. So much nicer - just ignore those with full replica kit, £7k bikes and a 10k commute and let them have their scalp to post on the scr thread.

PS I almost always use the fixed for commuting. Just works.

rower63

19 miles each way religiously every day for me, and I tryto be "on it" all the time. I love it. Only really feel fatigued after a 2 week break where I get tired after the first 4-5 five days, then quickly back to OK.

alansd1980

I have been commuting from Banstead into various parts of central London for the last 6 years.
i normally go in via the a217, it's fast but I found the route through Sutton had more people turning off the main road so more likely to left hook you.

Don't be fooled by the distance, the extra elevation is a killer. You will have about 1000ft of elevation on your journey home normally with a head wind which at the end of a long day is soul destroying. I try and aim for3 days, 4 is tough and I managed 5 once but was a dead man walking.

Want any more info just ask.

On_What

I was thinking of a route as follows: Tadworth, Sutton, Mitcham, Streatham, Brixton, London Bridge. I know the latter part well but the obvious flaw is the A217 - I'll take the advice and head towards Banstead. The 217 would be a prime candidate for a segregated cycle lane. I rarely manage more than 4 commutes a week anyway so it sounds as though it may well work out for me. I may bump into some of you chaps who already do something similar!

anonymousblackfg

For a while I was doing Slutton to London Bridge, all very grotty on that route but it avoided dual carriageways up to get on CS7.

I admit that doesn't help you much.

Medders

On_What - have replied to your PM but not sure it has sent. Let me know if you didn't get it and will try again.

On_What

To follow up on this, I've been doing this commute for nearly two months. Distance wise I have it down to roughly 18.7miles each way which is a good distance, some evenings are hard work due to all the climbing. I have been using the 217, but the smaller roads that run parallel and a little bit of off road at the end/start. I can't seem to crack the hour for the ride, but haven't done an early run on good legs, best time is an 1hr and 3minutes.

hegyestomi

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19700789#p19700789]On_What[/url] wrote:

To follow up on this, I've been doing this commute for nearly two months. Distance wise I have it down to roughly 18.7miles each way which is a good distance, some evenings are hard work due to all the climbing. I have been using the 217, but the smaller roads that run parallel and a little bit of off road at the end/start. I can't seem to crack the hour for the ride, but haven't done an early run on good legs, best time is an 1hr and 3minutes.

It is very hard to get any decent overall speed if your journey involves London: I was commuting for a few years in London and only a handful of occasions I cracked 30km/h on average. I moved to Cambridge and commuting on rural roads with probably 10 traffic lights in total (38 miles each way) and almost every ride I do will be more than 30 km/h with the same elevation. It's the start-stop+traffic jams that you can't combat except if you are Okgo...