Do we enjoy commuting?

[irc]

I love commuting. I've been between jobs for a couple of months and really miss getting almost an hours riding each way nearly every working day.

I enjoy almost every commute. Riding with peak hour urban traffic takes full mental concentration and gives a great workout as more sprints are required when keeping up with the flow in certain situations. Other times a ride home at midnight through city side strreets with no traffic is totally relaxing.

One of the most memorable commutes was a few years ago when I cycled home at 7am after a nightshift. It was Minus 5C or so. Much of my route (Kirkintilloch to Cadder, Glasgow) was along the canal bank through dry powder snow with no other footprints or tyre tracks on it. Magic!

There's a couple of strong jobs possibilities coming up in the next month so I'm looking forward to finding new commuting routes.

 

[hackbike 666]

Not all the time.Better than public transport though.

 

[Vikeonabike]

I love the freedom, I very rarely have to compete with heavy traffic due to the hours I work, It gives me time to get work head on/off. And it's a real point of pride now to answer in the positive when colleagues say "You cycled in in that rain/wind/cold etc". Mrs Vike even suggested that I could have a step through scooter to use for commuting! I'd rather have a recumbent trike for the winter if your going to spend £1500 quid!

 

[trio25]

Yes I love it. I couldn't even consider a job where I couldn't cycle commute. It keeps me sane and means that I get outside everyday!

 

[summerdays]

Kids had an inservice day yesterday... so we took the bus to go shopping. I was sitting on it thinking I was glad I didn't do it every day. Then in the evening cycled a mile to meet Mr Summerdays just so that I could have a cycle ride.

I think most of us enjoy a large part of our ride - we don't think to post it unfortunately which does mean that commuting is slightly scewed (sorry completely blank how to spell that and google isn't helping me) to the negative side of things.

 

[jonny jeez]

Commuting is like poker, you only remember the bad situations!

Very true, on Tuesday I saw a "river" at the side of the road, took a wrong "turn" and nearly ended in a "flop" on the slippery road.....the similarities are endless

 

[corshamjim]

Commuting

I do get very grumpy if for some reason I can't cycle in to work.

I only do about 3 miles each way, but it's all in nice countryside. I love being extra polite to the few drivers I see each day - almost all of them I'm likely to see again and again so it pays to keep them all sweet, and most of them give me a cheerful wave when I pull over to let them past.

At the moment, I'm splashing through puddles for much of the way in to work.

 

[hackbike 666]

Good news for me is I now feel I am able to ride 100 miles although I've only just begun to feel my old self again.When it got bad I was struggling to cycle ten miles.

 

[chap]

Commuting can be pleasant, I try to go before the Chelsea tractors, and Volkswagens decide to turn the winding country paths into a drag race strip. This means that I get to pay witness to the intense glory of nature, and gather my thoughts before returning to the godless rat-race.

 

[GrasB]

I have a nice luxury car & a small british sports car, both just the way I want them. For my commute to work they both get left at home & a bike used. I think there's nothing more to say really.

 

[J4CKO]

I am with Grasb, I get my bike out past a perfectly good, very fast Saab and get annoyed when I have to use the car, cycling feels real, been at it for a year and a half now and cant see me going back to car commuting unless I really have to.

 

[palinurus]

Pretty much all the time. I certainly don't enjoy getting to work any other way (it would probably be pleasant to walk, but I'd have to get up and out by 5:30 am)

 

[fossyant]

I made a physical job choice ...i.e. binned working 30 odd miles away for a job I could commute to within or about the 10 mile mark... ish....cos it get's extended...ho..ho...

The only thing I think is...weather, make your mind up..dribble or hiss it down....... that's it.... - clothing choice sorts the weather out.......

Sitting in a car going no-where.....dread it..hate it.....used to do it every day......

 

[Plax]

The majority of the time I enjoy my commuting, sometimes I hate it, usually this is when it starts getting dark, wet and windy.

I think there must be a correlation between my "mental wellbeing" and exercise. If I don't do much cycling/running (well I hardly run any more I must confess) then I start getting "grumpy". I don't realise it myself until somebody points it out to me. Apparently one day at work I came in and didn't say a word to anyone for a good hour or more and they were too scared to talk to me as they thought I was in a bad mood. I'd not been myself for the last few weeks apparently and they were concerned. This correlated to my not cycling for nearly 3 weeks (I'd only did a couple of commutes in that time). Personally I thought I was fine (other than putting on nearly a stone in weight!). Evidently I was not. It does make me grumpy though that I'm not allowed to be just grumpy because I want to be grumpy in case people start getting worried about me.

 

[cbgb]

Totally addicted to the commute. My day revolves around how i will cycle to work and back. If anything the worse the weather the more the challenge. I often finish work (all hours as i work shifts), the rain is bouncing, its freezing cold, blowing a gale and i get offered a lift in a works van putting the bike in the past. Other work mate commuters take up the offer but i have always refused. Its never that bad once you start peddling and you always feel better for it after.