Longer commutes

njee20

I decided I needed discs and Di2 on an all weather commuter - no cables that way. Sorted.

frogonabike

njee20 wrote:

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.

Yeah at the moment the early start can be quite a nice experience but both ways would be too much. I have found that I drive to anywhere between Dorking and Cheam depending on time, tiredness and weather. I think about 15 miles is the sweetspot where I can ride as hard as I like and enjoy it but without having to take in extra fuel mid ride and without getting too tired doing it 3-4 times per week.

15 miles full of traffic lights and traffic that is... the out of town equivalent effort of about 20-25!

Thanks for the route, I have been going the same way as far as Leatherhead then sticking to the A24 just because it's what I know (used to commute in that way from Ashtead) but have been meaning to go via Richmond Park at some point so I'll pinch that!

shirley_basso

njee20 wrote:

I decided I needed discs and Di2 on an all weather commuter - no cables that way. Sorted.

Fairlight Strael 2.0 Ui2

sgt.pepper

Totally depends on the bike, terrain, fitness level, and riding style.

I had a 3 week break between jobs, and have been suffering horribly from trying to maintain my usual all-out pace. My current commute is 13 miles each way, with about half of it through countryside and with some nasty climbs. Forced myself to take it a little easier this morning and haven't been so wiped out.

Also, I'd advocate making sure your bike is the perfect fit for both you, and your commute. I fitted my (annoyingly, flat barred) commuter with 28s, mudguards, panniers, SPDs and aero bars. This is ideal for saving some energy on the winding country section of my route, and keeping the weight off my back.

njee20

frogonabike wrote:

15 miles full of traffic lights and traffic that is... the out of town equivalent effort of about 20-25!

Thanks for the route, I have been going the same way as far as Leatherhead then sticking to the A24 just because it's what I know (used to commute in that way from Ashtead) but have been meaning to go via Richmond Park at some point so I'll pinch that!

Yeah I spent 5 years going up the A24, but it's vastly nicer going up via Chessington/Richmond Park IMO, far fewer lights for a start! I mix it up whether I go along the Embankment or up NKR once I cross Putney Bridge - that route is up NKR, but the Embankment is usually better.

Shirley Basso wrote:

Fairlight Strael 2.0 Ui2

Looks good. I built this:



Does the job.

bompington

For me the commuting frequency is not dictated by length but by life.

I have no doubt that it's possible to commute vast distances very frequently: I'm in my mid-fifties, overweight, LVH, high blood pressure, hip replacement, ...
... and I find it fairly easy doing 19 miles each way (slight-moderate hilliness) three times a week.

But the issue is time: if I didn't have anything else to do then it would be fine, but 19 miles is well over 1½ hours each way by the time you factor in shower and change etc. That compares with under 30 minutes to drive.

shirley_basso

Perfect commuter !

I did my 60 miler this am on my colnago. Seemed deserving given the weather!

fenix

bompington wrote:

For me the commuting frequency is not dictated by length but by life.

I have no doubt that it's possible to commute vast distances very frequently: I'm in my mid-fifties, overweight, LVH, high blood pressure, hip replacement, ...
... and I find it fairly easy doing 19 miles each way (slight-moderate hilliness) three times a week.

But the issue is time: if I didn't have anything else to do then it would be fine, but 19 miles is well over 1½ hours each way by the time you factor in shower and change etc. That compares with under 30 minutes to drive.

But most people shower each morning anyway - and you don't have to find time to keep fit as you've just done it.
There's also a lot of cycling commutes that's faster than driving in.

njee20

Yes I brought the nice bike out for the commute yesterday, rude not to!

bompington wrote:

But the issue is time: if I didn't have anything else to do then it would be fine, but 19 miles is well over 1½ hours each way by the time you factor in shower and change etc. That compares with under 30 minutes to drive.

That's the 'advantage' (using the term loosely) of a London commute. For me it is a bit slower - about 2 hours door-to-door versus 90 minutes on the train, but actually if you're not near a terminus station you can often end up with substantial commutes being quicker by bike. It was the case for me when heading to Camden.

slowbike

bompington wrote:

But the issue is time: if I didn't have anything else to do then it would be fine, but 19 miles is well over 1½ hours each way by the time you factor in shower and change etc. That compares with under 30 minutes to drive.

Similar here - I'd love to commute 5 days a week - but with Little Slowbike drop off duties - 2 days a week being in the wrong direction and at the wrong time and the 3rd being after I should be at work it's a bit tricky to fit it all in. I could probably just shift my day by an hour later and get the rides in - but that means missing the tail end of the day too.
So for now, I just drive to work on those 3 days (although on the 3rd day LSB gets dropped at pre-school by bike first)

shirley_basso

I suppose you could mix it up and do morning duties one week (so sacrifice the return trip) and evening duties the next, or mix and match to kind of make it work?

I am finding that getting in the inbound trip is easy enough but it's a huge wedge of time riding in the evening and not getting home to 8/8.30 is a pain - mind you, it's only once per week for me.

It is super fun though although I wouldn't go so far as saying that every mile is blissful. That said I am noticing some semblance of a calf muscle developing. I passed someone today and when I mentioned I was heading to London he nearly veered into a hedge!

slowbike

Shirley Basso wrote:

I suppose you could mix it up and do morning duties one week (so sacrifice the return trip) and evening duties the next, or mix and match to kind of make it work?

Me?
No chance of mixing it up - although an earlier drop off may be achievable occasionally -but then I've got the logistics of a 6-10 mile journey to drop off followed by an 6-10mile return + 10 mile commute.
Instead I do (when I can) a bit of turbo work which is a bit more controllable and doesn't take up the time.

shirley_basso

Understandable, and probably more practical in winter. A 30 mile commute in today's sunshine, on the other hand, would have been lovely.

slowbike

Shirley Basso wrote:

Understandable, and probably more practical in winter. A 30 mile commute in today's sunshine, on the other hand, would have been lovely.

It would - as would a good long ride or two over the weekend - but other commitments mean my time is spent elsewhere - I'll get back to riding more as he gets older - hopefully he can drag me around too - although I'll still end up paying the bar tab no doubt.

bompington

Mind you, this thread has just revived an old idea I've had ever since I started this job: to commute home via the A93 to Glenshee. I get an early finish on fridays now, normally I do the school pickup but Mrs Bomp doesn't usually work on fridays so there's no excuse...

In no sense could this be considered a logical route home: you have to head about 30 miles in the wrong direction before doubling back the 35 miles home.
But there is a certain nagging appeal about the idea of commuting home via the UK's highest public road...

shirley_basso

Can you not make it a loop as doubling back would be bleak.

65 miles after work would be pretty good going, especially with hills.

bompington

Yeah, you could go on over Glenshee and back via Deeside and the Cairn'o'Mount - that would take it up to a commute which would surely beat anyone else's here, at 135 miles.

shirley_basso

Cairn o Mount is beautiful. Must remember to take bike next time I'm up that way. Maybe just ride into work, stamp your time card, then head off again?

bompington

Haha, I could try that but it tends to get noticed when the teacher's not in class...

shirley_basso

Do the register then leave the collie to run things.

roger_merriman

njee20 wrote:

Yes I brought the nice bike out for the commute yesterday, rude not to!

bompington wrote:

But the issue is time: if I didn't have anything else to do then it would be fine, but 19 miles is well over 1½ hours each way by the time you factor in shower and change etc. That compares with under 30 minutes to drive.

That's the 'advantage' (using the term loosely) of a London commute. For me it is a bit slower - about 2 hours door-to-door versus 90 minutes on the train, but actually if you're not near a terminus station you can often end up with substantial commutes being quicker by bike. It was the case for me when heading to Camden.

Indeed by Car or Lycra it’s 45mins by commute bike and civics it’s 60/75mins and far less hassle much less traffic to deal with, and I guess just works.

elbowloh

My commute is 18 miles each way, but I only do it 2 or 3 times a week by bike.

It takes about 1hour 20 mins (even cycling in london can be slow).
It takes 1hour 15min by car in the morning, but 2 hours on the way back
It takes 1hour 30mins each way by drive to station, train and tube (3 different tubes) by public transport.

So it is actually quicker overall to cycle.

I used to do a 25mile each way commute, but again only 2-3 times a week. tbh, i found that to be a bit to far. We're looking at moving to Kingston at the moment, which should make it about 15miles each way. If we do that i'll probably try cycling every day.

prawny

I was getting sick of riding in the other week so I had a week's pass for the train. I'm back on the bike now and feeling better about it, I do think the distance is a bit wearing but I can't face the train again, I think I need a new bike, lose some weight off this one or a big motor on it to cheer me up a bit.
Or a new job nearer my house.

I've done near enough 20,000 miles in the last 2 and a bit years commuting. You'd think I'd be thinner really.

kingdav

I had an involuntary week off due to a work trip to Boston. There were a few cyclists about in downtown Boston but not many. Loving being back on my bike today.

I've recently agreed to sell a cheapo hybrid with v-brakes I'd converted to drop bars to a friend (though she wants it flat-bar again so I'm busy taking it back to stock for her). This N-1 gives me scope to build/buy a new commuting masterpiece...

Last year's build was a 2010 Allez I power coated and loaded up with a new (ebay/classifieds/bargains etc.) sram drivetrain and £100 dtswiss wheels and is my go-to daily. It rides on 25 tyres and has a pannier rack and guards, it's very decent really considering it's value. It's a touch heavy so if I do the full 30 mile each way commute I plan it a bit and don't bother with luggage and take my crash repaired colnago. Allez not super in the wet (still has the tiagra calipers from 2010 though with koolstop salmon blocks) so in deep winter days I used the hybrid.

So I'm starting to think about the super-commuter now, just gathering ideas at this stage, maybe progress soon into gathering bits. I'm thinking discs, maybe carbon, wider tyres, lightweight, comfy, responsive, fast. It's probably not possible given I am as stingy as anything and will be trying to cheat and my requirements may contradict one another.

bompington

bompington wrote:

Mind you, this thread has just revived an old idea I've had ever since I started this job: to commute home via the A93 to Glenshee. I get an early finish on fridays now, normally I do the school pickup but Mrs Bomp doesn't usually work on fridays so there's no excuse...

In no sense could this be considered a logical route home: you have to head about 30 miles in the wrong direction before doubling back the 35 miles home.
But there is a certain nagging appeal about the idea of commuting home via the UK's highest public road...

Well, the chance arrived sooner than expected...


So there we are at the snow gates, altitude 670m or so and nearly half way home from work. Yes, those are knobbly 42mm tyres that weigh about half a stone each. Of course this means I should have headed on up the ski centre access track to Meall Odhar and Glas Maol... but for some strange reason I didn't.



Bit of a PITA that my "decent" bike is currently wheelless, as they're in for servicing: so it had to be the crosser. Definitely a bit of a struggle getting that up to Glenshee, although a rip roaring tail wind helped - the uphill leg at 48km and 550m overall height difference ended up at pretty much the same average speed as the downhill leg at 68km and -550m: grim but satisfying.

cjcp

Same bike as me!

That scenery is insane. *wild applause*

kingdav

Supreme effort!

bendertherobot

I've swapped jobs. It's more flexible and less. The one thing that I really feel the need to do (to rack up flexi and leave early most days) is arrive at 7-7.30.

So, my 1 hour in commute (17 miles) is ok, at the moment, but less so in winter. So, now I mix it up. Bought a Brompton.

3 days a week I do 12 miles in the car, away from all the other traffic, to a point 5 miles out. Pretty much all of that is car free.

One day I get dropped to that some point by my dad, and do the whole way home. One day I get up really early and do the both legs.

The beauty of the Brompton days is that there's no stress about leaving, weather, light, dark. If I get a call 10m before I was planning on leaving, I stay, knowing that where my car is will always be relatively traffic free with no need for major a roads or motorways. I can also dress how I like rather than dressing for a full on pelt.

prawny

Jesus Bomps! I've got a set of them tyres, no way I'd be riding up mountains on them. I honestly think they're what saved me when I got hit by a car last year, they're so heavy the gyroscope effect topped me from falling over when I get rear ended, even though the back wheel was folded.

bompington

Well, you know what they say - "train hard, it's a sportive not a race easy"