Longer commutes

245

Comments

  • kingdav
    kingdav Posts: 417
    I'm genuinely impressed by the distance being maintained and all the good ideas. Feeling a bit guilty this week with only one cycle to work day in the office with a little holiday, a wfh and a work trip taking up the other days.
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,167
    I do 28-30miles round trip, around 2 1/2 thousand ft climbing, 4ish days a week in when the roads permit. Like others that's an hour each way. More than that, and not only do I find I have no evenings to speak of during the week, but I am too tired for a weekend ride. I think I can only tolerate this because the first 5 miles of my commute is on quiet country lanes, which is where I'd chose to ride for fun anyway.

    If it is too long a commute, you'll find that you take the train more, and the balance between season ticket and individual tickets is about 3 days a week, at least up here.

    I really feel for you down south though. Here, we can put bikes on trains still, so if all else fails we have that bail-out option without having to ride a bike that folds down to suitcase size all time.
  • shoulder_of_orion
    shoulder_of_orion Posts: 529
    I have moved out of the smoke... But still work there...

    It's over 50 miles each way but I hardly ever do the whole thing as it means getting up around 5am to get into the office for 9 (and getting home around 9pm). I am trying to do it one day a week during the summer months to augment my training (but normally on consecutive days rather than same day). When I do it, I haven't found fatigue to be a particular issue just need to eat and sleep well after (might be different if I was doing it daily).

    That is too long at least for me to be practical to do each day.

    Normally, I just ride to the station which is a hilly 9 miles each way. Sometimes I do a partial commute, e.g. ride about halfway there or back and then get on the train. Because my work are flexible, sometimes I just rock up at about 11.

    Folding bikes rule is a pain but they're not (normally) complete Nazis about it and you can often get on (or off) the train even in rush hour (at London Bridge at least) if you're willing to put up with the dark looks and snidey remarks from fellow commuters. I normally prefer to do partial commutes on non rush hour trains because of this. I am starting to covet an Airnimal Chameleon...

    The main downside is all the blimming driving I inevitably end up doing....
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Where do you live Shoulder of Lamb?

    Sounds SE from the use of London Bridge...
  • shoulder_of_orion
    shoulder_of_orion Posts: 529
    On a farm near Goudhurst in Kent
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    A couple of years ago, the peasants were revolting ( train and public transport strikes ) and my car was off the road. So I had a few realistic options, not attend a meeting, and risk losing lots of money, use a coach, get a taxi, stay at a hotel, or cycle commute. I’m a cheapskate, so I cycled in and back. 80 miles each way.
  • greenamex2
    greenamex2 Posts: 272
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    A couple of years ago, the peasants were revolting ( train and public transport strikes ) and my car was off the road. So I had a few realistic options, not attend a meeting, and risk losing lots of money, use a coach, get a taxi, stay at a hotel, or cycle commute. I’m a cheapskate, so I cycled in and back. 80 miles each way.

    That is a pretty epic ride, did you make the meeting?

    Now feeling guilty about not trying the 28 miler into London. When the weather improves.
  • surrey_commuter
    surrey_commuter Posts: 18,867
    greenamex2 wrote:
    Milemuncher1 wrote:
    A couple of years ago, the peasants were revolting ( train and public transport strikes ) and my car was off the road. So I had a few realistic options, not attend a meeting, and risk losing lots of money, use a coach, get a taxi, stay at a hotel, or cycle commute. I’m a cheapskate, so I cycled in and back. 80 miles each way.

    That is a pretty epic ride, did you make the meeting?

    Now feeling guilty about not trying the 28 miler into London. When the weather improves.

    Don’t let the forum Walter Mitty put you off
  • kleinstroker
    kleinstroker Posts: 2,133
    I try to stretch my commute to around 10 miles each way by going long way to work. Can't imagine wanting to get much beyond 15 miles each way though. Kudos to those that do more!
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    10 miles each way was a doddle. The 55 is harder but very doable.

    The hard part is being organised enough to ride home as well later in the week with life getting in the way.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    In the process of buying a house. My commute will go from 12 miles each way to 29... I think it's doable late April to early October, whereas I will look at part-way driving for the rest of the year. Unfortunately no public trasport worth thinking of
    left the forum March 2023
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Congrats ugo.
    29 is probably doable, even in winter provided there is no danger of ice.

    For me the downside in longer commutes is the return trip. I am happy to get up early as it doesn't mean missing anything, but when you don't get home until 8, that can become a real downer day after day.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    I think my commutes are about average distance for this forum - not this thread though ... it's ~10miles each way give or take ... 500' of climbing no matter which option I take.
    Nice bit about it is that I have some options of extending the commute - in or out - up and over a decent hill, with several options to get up and down - or go the other way and really extend it to ~25miles - again with some shortcut options.

    I did try CXing it once - distance wasn't huge, but the time taken was much longer partly because I didn't know the paths and partly because it was wet & boggy ... not the best of ideas.

    For me, it's not the distance - it's the time - I'm taking just over 30 minutes to do the ride which is long enough for a lazy oik who can't get up in the morning - and getting home - I just want to get back to see Little Slowbike ... so if it was always going to take an hour to get home then I'd drive... fortunately it doesn't - so if LSB is out I can take the longer route.

    Kudos for those of you putting in the hours & miles - I'd like to, just different priorities.
  • kingdav
    kingdav Posts: 417
    Hi Ugo, I'll be interested to hear how you get on. Your new plan sounds similar to what I do, though I doubt I'll ever get to 29x2x5, doing a long one as a treat once or twice a week works for me.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    kingdav wrote:
    Hi Ugo, I'll be interested to hear how you get on. Your new plan sounds similar to what I do, though I doubt I'll ever get to 29x2x5, doing a long one as a treat once or twice a week works for me.

    I doubt that too. July to October I don't have to go in every day... maybe 3 times a week, so doable. April to June will be full on, weather allowing, but I take that as training for the long Audax events.

    WInter scares me a bit... I fear another crappy one... oh well
    left the forum March 2023
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    I think winter cycling is going to be a new beast to me as well, having had the cushty life riding from Barnes to the City. Never really got that cold and I was in Cape Town when the snow hit!
  • greenamex2
    greenamex2 Posts: 272
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    I think winter cycling is going to be a new beast to me as well, having had the cushty life riding from Barnes to the City. Never really got that cold and I was in Cape Town when the snow hit!

    During the winter, every extra penny you spend on decent kit will pay you back many times over.

    I am quite comfortable going out out in -3 degrees C, snow, ice etc.

    Queue some of the Scottish guys piping in with -10 and blizzards!
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    I have the kit. Just not a bike with studded tyres. Ice on the roads is my only worry not the cold.
  • greenamex2
    greenamex2 Posts: 272
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    I have the kit. Just not a bike with studded tyres. Ice on the roads is my only worry not the cold.

    Probably a good time to start looking for a bargain!

    I use these, really happy with them -

    https://www.schwalbe.com/en-GB/spike-re ... inter.html
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    greenamex2 wrote:
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    I have the kit. Just not a bike with studded tyres. Ice on the roads is my only worry not the cold.

    Probably a good time to start looking for a bargain!

    I use these, really happy with them -

    https://www.schwalbe.com/en-GB/spike-re ... inter.html

    I have thought about studded tyres, I did go down this year, ice on a shared path. It previously hadn’t been a problem since my commute had been gravel tracks etc, and MTB tyres so smooth ice wasn’t a issue.

    But now it’s mostly shared paths and due to the amount of glass and what not I have marathon plus, would I trust a marathon winter to cope with riding daily though glass? Probably not to be honest.
  • greenamex2
    greenamex2 Posts: 272
    roger merriman wrote:
    greenamex2 wrote:
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    I have the kit. Just not a bike with studded tyres. Ice on the roads is my only worry not the cold.

    Probably a good time to start looking for a bargain!

    I use these, really happy with them -

    https://www.schwalbe.com/en-GB/spike-re ... inter.html

    I have thought about studded tyres, I did go down this year, ice on a shared path. It previously hadn’t been a problem since my commute had been gravel tracks etc, and MTB tyres so smooth ice wasn’t a issue.

    But now it’s mostly shared paths and due to the amount of glass and what not I have marathon plus, would I trust a marathon winter to cope with riding daily though glass? Probably not to be honest.

    I have done a couple of thousand miles with zero punctures on mud, road, the horrible bit on the side of the A414 and glass covered shared paths.
  • kingdav
    kingdav Posts: 417
    I did about 3k miles on the gutters of Streatham, Brixton and Croydon on Marathon Plus without a visit from the fairy. On snow and ice they were no worse than anything else, only time I came off was a silly mistake on a drain cover.
  • craker
    craker Posts: 1,739
    I'm quite a hardened cycle commuter, 5 days a week without fail, 10-15 miles each way. Then there are days like today with the wind in my face and water coming from above, below, all directions really. Properly sh1t commute when 10 miles seems ludicrous. Anyone doing much more gets my sympathy / admiration.

    (I don't recall seeing another cyclist this morning, come to think of it. Where were you all?)
  • greenamex2
    greenamex2 Posts: 272
    craker wrote:
    I'm quite a hardened cycle commuter, 5 days a week without fail, 10-15 miles each way. Then there are days like today with the wind in my face and water coming from above, below, all directions really. Properly sh1t commute when 10 miles seems ludicrous. Anyone doing much more gets my sympathy / admiration.

    (I don't recall seeing another cyclist this morning, come to think of it. Where were you all?)

    I managed to just get in before the rain fell. The wind added 4 minutes despite the same average heart rate as normal.

    And will the wind be assisting me on the way home?
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    I managed to get home before the apocalypse this morning, that’s one of only two positives of having a five o’ clock / six ‘o clock in the morning commute, the other one is that there are not so many nodders out at that time of the morning. Fortunately this was only a short commute ( 10 miles ) so I got it done before the rain hit.
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    greenamex2 wrote:
    roger merriman wrote:
    greenamex2 wrote:
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    I have the kit. Just not a bike with studded tyres. Ice on the roads is my only worry not the cold.

    Probably a good time to start looking for a bargain!

    I use these, really happy with them -

    https://www.schwalbe.com/en-GB/spike-re ... inter.html

    I have thought about studded tyres, I did go down this year, ice on a shared path. It previously hadn’t been a problem since my commute had been gravel tracks etc, and MTB tyres so smooth ice wasn’t a issue.

    But now it’s mostly shared paths and due to the amount of glass and what not I have marathon plus, would I trust a marathon winter to cope with riding daily though glass? Probably not to be honest.

    I have done a couple of thousand miles with zero punctures on mud, road, the horrible bit on the side of the A414 and glass covered shared paths.

    I’m sure the winter is a studded marathon, with slightly more open tread. Normal Marathons are hard to puncture, but doesn’t have the full plus protection, which I fully accept is probably not needed, but when I’m crunching though broken bottles and what not, it’s peace of mind as I’ve only ever had one puncture with a Marthon plus, which was a nail though the sidewall!

    There is also this is a fire and forget bike, I feed it chains and brake pads every few 1000 miles but generally let it be.
  • j_mcd
    j_mcd Posts: 473
    First big commute of the year. When the weather is like this, it's harder to convince yourself not to do it!

    https://www.strava.com/activities/1557271497
    Giant Defy Advanced 0 - Best
    Planet X London Road - Wet
    Montague Fit - Foldy thing that rarely gets used these days
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Nice one.

    I brought my stuff in ready to come in tomorrow.
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    frogonabike wrote:
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    Jesus what's your commute frog!?

    Billingshurst -> Camden

    It's insane how expensive it is for a 1hr train! Only short ish term hopefully so I'm grateful I moved as the clocks changed! Plan is to be a bit closer by the time they go back again...

    Bit late to this as I just happened to duck into the thread, but very weirdly I did Billinghurst - Camden (Greater London House) for 2 years. Now work in Southwark. I drive to Leatherhead once or twice a week and ride in, which is 22 miles or so. Combine with a bit of WFH and the train isn't too bad - you can make a weekly ticket cover two weeks if you're flexible on which days you ride. Not done it as much as I'd have liked this year as life gets in the way. I find it more tiring than doing a similar distance door to door as the driving is a bit of a pain, and riding in London is just more stressful and stop/start than out in the sticks. Personally find that 3 days usually leaves me a bit wiped out, even though it's not actually that many miles.

    Used to ride in one day, back the next, but frankly I hated riding home, so I then used to get the train home with the bike, but that's a faff, you have to wait until after 7pm etc. This was the best route IMO.
  • greenamex2
    greenamex2 Posts: 272
    Starting to plan my first commute into London. About 27 miles.

    Figure I need to spend a load of money on upgrades...thats my excuse and I am sticking with it!

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