First commute done

[Twizit]

Finally got my arse in gear and commuted in on the push bike today rather than the motorbike. 15 miles done and the legs even feel like they might get me home too. Better still that's £4 of petrol money saved and donated to the new kit budget

Now just need to find an alternative route to the Kings Road which was horrible this morning....

 

[Beebo]

Great stuff. Keep it up. Lidl has a cheap kit sale on at the moment, it's not going to set the cat walk on fire but it will do for the daily slog into town. £4 will by you half a pair of shorts!

You just have to play around with a few routes to see which works best in the morning and evening.

I come in from the South East of London, Greenwich was terrible today and Jamacia Road had road works, which ever route you take you will hit some traffic.

 

[Panter]

Well done, that's a good distance for a commute!

 

[Twizit]

Beebo - I know, I snaffled the last saddle bag tool kit thing from Lidl in Clapham last night for all of £4.99 - checked out the other kit, but I'm fairly well stocked with everything else.

Panter - it will be if I can keep it going - starting with twice per week for now (plus gym on other mornings) and will see how it goes. Can't quite get my head around a possible 150 miles per week right now but am not getting ahead of myself - slowly slowly catchy monkey....

 

[Panter]

I know the feeling!

Twice a week is my usual (if the weather's Ok) and I do a few 3 times/week, especially in the Summer

There's a few long distance commuters on here (Ianruk is one) but I'm not sure I'll ever be fit enough to do my 32 mile commute each and every day.

 

[aembleton]

Well done. It gets easier from here. 15 miles is an impressive distance to do in the morning.

Lidl cycle computer for £3.99 works great, and includes temperature, calories and fat burnt as well as the usual functions.

 

[BrumJim]

Congratulations

15 miles? At least twice mine, and through London too. Impressive commuting, that man.

 

[DrSquirrel]

15x2 is very good. Doing that 5 days a week would be very good indeed - but no one here would think you are a pansy for only doing that a few times a week, even if it was a 5x2 commute.

I do 20x2 sometimes to another job, but not yet used to the distance.... still, on my 10x2 mile commute, I do 20 home sometime, just for fun


Though, £4 to do 30 miles on a motorbike - some powerful beast? Still surprised at that itself. It's not often we'd see people around here riding a push bike to save money costs for a motorbike specially at them distances.


Well done, and welcome to the club...

 

[Twizit]

Cheers all - just got to make sure I keep this up....

DrS - not just about saving money, although that in itself is no bad thing

Motorbike gets filled up once a week and costs around £18 - £20, so about £4 per day, although by motorbike it's a little longer, so around 35 miles each day - computer says 57 MPG so it's actually pretty frugal for an 800CC

To be honest commuting by cycle actually means I can get up an hour later than normal... usually up at 6am, onto motorbike then gym near work before getting into work around 8 - 8.30. By cycle, up at 7am, into work by 8am, shower, dressed and still at desk by 8.30

That and it's a darn sight more interesting than the gym, even get to wave at the deer in Richmond Park as I go by

Yes I've still got the cycle home to do, but am not thinking about that just yet.....

 

[Sheepy1209]

£4 is entirely realistic for 30 miles on a motorbike - I reckon on just under £3 a day for 20 miles!

Motorbikes often aren't that economical - I ride a modern 650 (59-reg) and only get between 40 and 45 mpg on an urban commute. Small bikes are better (Honda CBF125 is around 100 - 110 mpg) but get much bigger than that and 40mpg is the norm.

Some manufacturers are getting better - BMW in particular has a reputation for squeezing 70-80mpg out of their 800s.

Don't buy a motorbike to save money!

 

[DrSquirrel]

Surely an equal mpg motorbike vs car you will be saving? Specially on smaller engines, running costs and all that? Cars with high MPG tend to attract a premium.

 

[Beebo]

To be honest commuting by cycle actually means I can get up an hour later than normal... usually up at 6am, onto motorbike then gym near work before getting into work around 8 - 8.30. By cycle, up at 7am, into work by 8am, shower, dressed and still at desk by 8.30

That and it's a darn sight more interesting than the gym, even get to wave at the deer in Richmond Park as I go by

That is exactly why I started the commute. I save on gym membership and I get a free 24 mile work out on the bike and it is "free time" that I would have spent on the train.

Once you factor in the walk to and from the station and the waiting for the train, it takes the same time to do my 12 mile commute by bike as it did by train. No one at work believes me, but it does.

 

[palinurus]

That's a pretty long commute to start with! I've been lucky in that mine has gradually increased over the years, it started off at about 4.5 miles. As you suggest, build it slowly- once the summer gets here you could be doing those 150 mile weeks.

 

[BentMikey]

Good stuff mate, most impressed!

p.s. don't let the 15 mile one way get you down. It's easily doable 5 days a week, and there are lots of fit people on here who do that. Of course it's tough to start with, it's a big jump in exercise volume that most people would suffer with.

Some things to make it easier:
Pay extra attention to eating and drinking enough.
Ride sloooooowly, well within yourself, enough that you could hold a conversation the whole time.
No hard accelerations from traffic lights, and low power up all the hills.
Take many weeks to build up to the full 30x5 commute.
Don't be shy to take a rest day or three if you're suffering. You'll come back stronger and ready to do more.
Lots of sleep will be needed - late nights will leave you unrecovered and suffering.

 

[4F]

Beebo - I know, I snaffled the last saddle bag tool kit thing from Lidl in Clapham last night for all of £4.99 - checked out the other kit, but I'm fairly well stocked with everything else.

Panter - it will be if I can keep it going - starting with twice per week for now (plus gym on other mornings) and will see how it goes. Can't quite get my head around a possible 150 miles per week right now but am not getting ahead of myself - slowly slowly catchy monkey....

Nice one, plenty on hear who do 30 miles a day so it is very doable with the right planning