Quick bit of background, I re-discovered cycling in June last year when I went to get my son an MTB and ended up with one of my own. In October, I picked up a Specialized Secteur to keep it company in the garage, as I enjoy being a roadie as well as hitting the dirt.
My last job was around 22 miles from home, and the office was in the Chilterns so there was over 1,000 feet of climbing on the way in, and nearly 800 feet on the way home, so it took me a while to build up the courage to tackle the first commute. When I did finally get round to riding to work in early February this year, I was made redundant just a few days later - and no, I don't think the two were linked.
I (eventually) started another job last week, this time the office is about 9 miles away but it's pretty much riding along the Thames, with only 150 feet of climbing on the way there, so I've started off as I mean to continue and I've already done the cycle commute thing. And I've got to say it was great fun and it was also surprisingly fast - for a 46 year old, overweight etc etc My average speed on the way in was over 16mph door to door, and the average on the way home was 17.6mph. Given that the average in a car is only about 23/24mph, I'm only taking 5 or 6 minutes longer on the bike than I would do in the car.
The downside, of course, is that I'm acting FD at the moment and I am looking to get the permanent position, so I need to be suited and booted rather than sweating and dribbling, but I'm sure I can get around that one with a bit more practice.
My last job was around 22 miles from home, and the office was in the Chilterns so there was over 1,000 feet of climbing on the way in, and nearly 800 feet on the way home, so it took me a while to build up the courage to tackle the first commute. When I did finally get round to riding to work in early February this year, I was made redundant just a few days later - and no, I don't think the two were linked.
I (eventually) started another job last week, this time the office is about 9 miles away but it's pretty much riding along the Thames, with only 150 feet of climbing on the way there, so I've started off as I mean to continue and I've already done the cycle commute thing. And I've got to say it was great fun and it was also surprisingly fast - for a 46 year old, overweight etc etc My average speed on the way in was over 16mph door to door, and the average on the way home was 17.6mph. Given that the average in a car is only about 23/24mph, I'm only taking 5 or 6 minutes longer on the bike than I would do in the car.
The downside, of course, is that I'm acting FD at the moment and I am looking to get the permanent position, so I need to be suited and booted rather than sweating and dribbling, but I'm sure I can get around that one with a bit more practice.