Cycling to work

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Hello,

I'm looking to incorporate some cycling into my daily commute in order to cut down fuel costs. At the moment I drive 30 miles to work which isn't too bad but obviously the price can mount up, and as I've just 'got the bug' I'd like to put my new bike to good use.

At the moment I'm thinking of parking up and cycling, but I'm a little nervous about leaving my car. There are car parks near metro stations but I need to look into time restrictions (near Sunderland), the other option is parking near my old house, which is in a street that I know is pretty safe.

I'd really like to know what you (the well-seasoned cyclists!) do? I know your circumstances don't necessarily match mine but as a relative newbie I wouldn't mind some general guidance. How long do you commute to work? How far would be too far? Does anyone drive some of the way and park?

Any advice is much appreciated :-)
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
I'm a park and bike person, though I get a lift with my husband and then cycle from there. He leaves his car in a a large free car park (shopping centre), near his work, and then I do about 10 miles from there. The bike goes in the back of the car with the back seats down, though it is an estate. I'm not the only one doing it from the same location I see another couple of people doing it, and that's only on the 5 mins I'm there.

If you have the option it would be good to have more than one location/distance and to work up to a longer distance.
 

Ganymede

Veteran
Location
Rural Kent
Hello,

I'm looking to incorporate some cycling into my daily commute in order to cut down fuel costs. At the moment I drive 30 miles to work which isn't too bad but obviously the price can mount up, and as I've just 'got the bug' I'd like to put my new bike to good use.

At the moment I'm thinking of parking up and cycling, but I'm a little nervous about leaving my car. There are car parks near metro stations but I need to look into time restrictions (near Sunderland), the other option is parking near my old house, which is in a street that I know is pretty safe.

I'd really like to know what you (the well-seasoned cyclists!) do? I know your circumstances don't necessarily match mine but as a relative newbie I wouldn't mind some general guidance. How long do you commute to work? How far would be too far? Does anyone drive some of the way and park?

Any advice is much appreciated :-)
Hiya! Welcome to the forum.

I cycle to a station and then take the train the rest of the way. This works well for me as the station is relatively safe to leave a bike - has CCTV and is in a nice, quiet area. Also you park for free, unlike leaving your car, so you save there. Maybe you can cycle first rather than drive first?
 

annedonnelly

Girl from the North Country
At the moment I'm thinking of parking up and cycling, but I'm a little nervous about leaving my car. There are car parks near metro stations but I need to look into time restrictions (near Sunderland), the other option is parking near my old house, which is in a street that I know is pretty safe.
Whereabouts do you work? I guess you're travelling from Washington. It's probably worth thinking about what route you want to ride and finding somewhere to park that suits that. You might not want to ride from the Metro station to work.
 
OP
OP
kayajs24

kayajs24

Regular
I currently live in Washington and work in Hetton. However, we will be moving further north before the end of the year, probably around Newbiggin (my partner works in Alnwick, Washington is too far for him to travel so we're hoping to move somewhere in the middle). Probably should have made that clearer, Washington to Hetton clearly isn't 30 miles lol. At the moment I'm happy to cycle from Washington, so I'm looking for options for when we move. My partner's parents live in Newbiggin so I can get some practice in for potential drive/bike options.

The train routes are a little awkward, the nearest to my work is Chester-le-Street, which is a nice distance to start with, but from what I can see there isn't a direct route from where we want to live in Northumberland and that isn't far away to drive to.
 

geekinaseat

Well-Known Member
Location
London
I'm not particularly well seasoned, but I've been commuting for over a year now.

I go 8 miles each way and I'm completely in the minimal camp and I don't really make any special preparations in order to cycle at all. I cycle in my suit, with a laptop in my backpack, just tuck my trousers into my socks and off I go.

The only concessions I've made are a good cycling jacket for winter and some waterproof overtrousers which I've never actually used. I also have a backpack that doesn't make full contact my back. If you could get within that kind of distance you can do a similar thing, much further and I'd be in full lycra and showering at work I think.

I think plenty of people on here do a multi-modal commute with the first part either by car or train and will be along with some advice soon. I assume you've got a bike rack or is your bike a folder? Other options include driving in leave car at work, cycle home, cycle in, drive home etc.This also is a useful way of managing ferrying in work clothes at the start of the week to change into. If you are just starting out 30 miles back to back might be a bit of a stretch at first, possibly something to work up to though?

Also some words of encouragement, getting some (any) cycling into your commute does wonders, you get your exercise in when you'd otherwise be sat in a car or train and arrive home de-stressed and full of endorphins as opposed to the grumpy git that I can be if I face the tube after a full days work!

It's awesomeness, Squared.
 

Joe79

Regular
Hi and welcome,
I'm fairly new to the cycle commute. I found it a bit of a pain doing the part drive, part ride so now I just do the full commute 2 days per week and will increase as I get fitter.
My commute is 25 miles each way which takes me 1h20m in either direction. I found that by the time I get the bike on the car, drive, park and get sorted and cycle I'm not saving much time.
It suits me better to have days I drive, which allows me to take clean cloths/lunch for days I cycle and travel nice and light when I ride.
Joe.
 

w00hoo_kent

One of the 64K
I've been driving then cycling for just over two years now.

An estate car/car the bike just goes in to is much nicer than using a rack (I've done both and while I still have the rack option will go to great lengths to avoid using it because of the hassle, might be different if it was a permanently mounted rack).

You faff heading off, the more organised you are as a person the better but it's worth having some sort of mental checklist and routine to make sure you have everything you expect to have when you start the ride. Haven't forgotten the bike yet, but helmet and gloves was annoying.

I was driving and parking on the road, I have three different distances I might cycle, but pretty much know which one I'll use before I set off (generally based on how well I did at getting up and out of the house) I now commute with my wife, we park up and cycle our different directions on a couple of days, the other three she drops me and drives in to work. Leaving the car hasn't been a problem so far, I try not to park it in exactly the same place every day, partly as a security thing, partly because I don't want to hog the same parking space I've been lucky enough to find spaces that aren't directly outside peoples houses. There are a lot of places to park on road if you're cycling 8-16 miles in to the city (at least that's what I've found with the SE edge of London.)

Coming back to the car soaking wet is a bit grump inducing, I put the car mat on the seat and drive on that. I leave the house in cycle kit with a hoodie over the top, when I get back to the car I lose the cycle jersey (and maybe waterproof) and replace the hoodie, I just find it works comfort wise like that.

Oh, you also need to be organised at the leaving work end, I have managed to arrive at the car to find I'd left the key in my desk at work. This was not funny. I've only done that once!
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
Yes I had forgotten a couple of points that @w00hoo_kent mentioned. When you cycle from your house it is harder (not impossible) to forget gloves or helmet. So I often carry spare gloves in winter time when it's nice to have a dry pair to change into. And it have sometimes left spare clothes in the car if only a jumper. And heated car seats are good too!
 

annedonnelly

Girl from the North Country
You could use the train from Morpeth and change at Newcastle. Northern Rail allow bikes and then I imagine you could get a Cross Country to Chester-le-Street. You have to book bikes in advance on East Coast. But maybe a bit complicated.

I guess you'll want to drive somewhere south of the Tyne to park up - either through the tunnel or round the A1. What about the industrial estates round Birtley/Washington services? Is that a rideable distance from Hetton? There's parking at the Great North Park - for the Park & Ride - but that might be further than you'd want to ride.

Not much use for your commute, but NCN1 passes very close to Newbiggin so it's very easy to ride north or south along the coast.
 
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kayajs24

kayajs24

Regular
Thanks all, some really great tips here!

Annedonnelly, I want to avoid having to change on the way, purely to save hassle, I haven't even looked at the price yet. It would have been ideal really because Chester-le-Street is only about 6 miles from my work.

The Galleries is a nice distance but I don't know what their parking restrictions are and whether I can only stay for 2 hours or so. I'll have a look at industrial estates and see what there is. I think I've got it in my head that my car will get robbed if I park it on a random street! I'll have a look at housing estates too, hopefully I'll not park outside anyone's house and cause a fuss :-) Like I said, I still have my old house to park near, the street is pretty quiet and safe. It's 10 miles from work and until I move I'll get to have some practice runs.
 
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kayajs24

kayajs24

Regular
Oooh actually, Newbiggin to Morpeth is 20min in the car, Morpeth to Durham is 30min on the train, then 6 mile cycle from Durham to Hetton. That's pretty doable actually and the train times would enable me to get into work in good time.

I'm liking this, got some options now :-)
 

annedonnelly

Girl from the North Country
Thanks all, some really great tips here!

Annedonnelly, I want to avoid having to change on the way, purely to save hassle, I haven't even looked at the price yet. It would have been ideal really because Chester-le-Street is only about 6 miles from my work.

The Galleries is a nice distance but I don't know what their parking restrictions are and whether I can only stay for 2 hours or so. I'll have a look at industrial estates and see what there is. I think I've got it in my head that my car will get robbed if I park it on a random street! I'll have a look at housing estates too, hopefully I'll not park outside anyone's house and cause a fuss :-) Like I said, I still have my old house to park near, the street is pretty quiet and safe. It's 10 miles from work and until I move I'll get to have some practice runs.
When you mentioned parking near your old house I wondered - would any of your current neighbours let you park on their drive/parking space during the day? - after you move, obviously. I know there are schemes where people rent out their driveways to use as parking space. You might not want to pay - and I think they become liable for tax - but if it was someone you're friendly with...
 
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