Ambitious or unrealistic?

[Mike5537]

I'm hoping to commute to work on my bike in the near future, but I'm worried I'm being unrealistic. I've looked on google maps and have worked out a route from my house to work and its about 12 miles door to door, half hilly and half flat. Is it a sensible distance or am I kidding myself? I rode 8 miles the other day and I was ok afterwards apart from a sore arse and a bit hot. But is 24 miles a day too much?

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[Simba]

Only you can answer that, everyone is different. For me it's doable.

 

[Peowpeowpeowlasers]

If you're not used to cycling I'd recommend this:

Monday, Cycle in, bus home.

Tuesday, Bus in, cycle home.

Wednesday, cycle in, bus home.

And so on. A couple of weeks of that and you'll be ready to do the whole commute every day.

 

[Lyrical]

Like the above said, it depends on your fitness really!

The sore arse thing you'll get over in time, invest in some nice padded shorts.

Why not just give it a bash on a weekend?

 

[downfader]

If you're not used to cycling I'd recommend this:

Monday, Cycle in, bus home.

Tuesday, Bus in, cycle home.

Wednesday, cycle in, bus home.

And so on. A couple of weeks of that and you'll be ready to do the whole commute every day.

24 miles is workable, but for a beginner its true - you do need a schedule to ease yourself into it.

I would add:
- take a drink (water bottle holders and some OJ/water at 50:50 is my preferred drink) dont allow yourself to dehydrate
- after the ride do some gentle stretching (thigh, ham string, calves etc theres good details online on how to do this)
- if you dont want to get padded shorts then get a gel-saddle or cover

- if you have shower and locker facilities, check them out. Many people really appreciate a quick shower, and having somewhere to store spare drinks, clothes etc is handy. I also keep a spare lock in mine in case for any reason mine on the bike fails, gets lost of left at home.

 

[downfader]

[QUOTE 1895830, member: 45"]We moved a few weeks ago and my new commute is 13 or 14 miles (depending on whether I avoid the hill). It does take a chunk of the day (about 2 hours in total for me if you count riding and showering), but it's worth it. I've only been managing it a couple of days a week so far because of other factors, and I wonder how I'd do if I went straight to 5 days, but I suspect I'd be fine once my body got used to it.[/quote]

2 hours is nothing really. People like my Brother spend that at the local gym 3 nights a week. Incorporating it into your commute, I find, actually saves you time and money on training.

 

[Mike5537]

the plan I have is to try is to try it a few times on my day off to see how I get on then maybe try once I'm more confident. Fri, sat & sun its casual clothes so I can stick jeans &tshirt in a rucksack. I dont think I'll bother when I have to wear a suit. Using the bus isn't really an option as there is no direct route so it would mean 2 buses and a 3 hour journey! Quicker to walk home!
the route I've found is very picturesque which appeals greatly, il see if I can draw it on google maps and post it to see what you think, I doubt there are many nicer routes to get to work!

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[This Time Next Year]

I know it won't replicate the built up fatigue you'd get from doing it all week, but why don't you try it a few times at the weekends when there's no time pressure and see how it feels. As a newbie I can report the bum thing goes very quickly :-)

 

[Berties]

sore ass=padded shorts or padded pants,
time spent ,i commute 14 miles each way 22 mins in a car plus petrol,or sub 45 mins on bike and 50 mins return
also depends on your bike type and tyres,a mountain bike will make you work a bit but you will get stronger quicker! and just build up ,try and you will surprise your self what you can do

 

[Fab Foodie]

Like the above said, it depends on your fitness really!

The sore arse thing you'll get over in time, invest in some nice padded shorts.

Why not just give it a bash on a weekend?

Wot the arse or the commute?

 

[4F]

Doable with time, practice and planning. Mine is 14.5 miles each way and I started of 2 days a week and built up from there.

 

[palinurus]

See how you get on, but you don't need to ride every day to start with (however you might feel great and want to). Certainly not unrealistic.

 

[Mike5537]

Lets see if this works! Here (hopefully) is the route I'm looking at, through country lanes and open parkland, should be a very uplifting ride. I have a 20 year old Dawes Sterling road bike which I hope to upgrade soon to something like a Bianchi/Boardman/Merida once I've decided what I want and what I can afford!
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=warmington&daddr=Route+53+to:Unknown+road+to:Unknown+road+to:Ham+Ln+to:Ham+Ln/R21+to:Ham+Ln/R21+to:Ham+Ln+to:Ham+Ln+to:R21+to:Marholm+Rd/R21+to:52.58828,-0.286567&geocode=FWUvIQMdgL75_yn3HV0yy5J3SDErM_3Z0B79gw;FdUvIQMdOJT6_w;FUTiIQMdcDr7_w;FcLrIQMd_lb7_w;Fc7zIQMd4mj7_w;FUP9IQMdNFz7_w;FSj9IQMdTlz7_w;FbjwIQMd1m_7_w;Fc7zIQMd4mj7_w;FR8rIgMdIwT7_w;FdxBIgMdAAT7_w;&authuser=0&aq=4&oq=bretton&vps=15&sll=52.585868,-0.289571&sspn=0.010234,0.026243&vpsrc=6&hl=en&dirflg=w&mra=dme&mrsp=11&sz=16&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10&ie=UTF8

 

[Mike5537]

And here is my ride..... not bad for free eh?

View attachment 10223

 

[downfader]

Have a look at websites like cyclestreets/bikely too, they sometimes have routes recorded that might shave it down.