how do you feel you benefit from commuting to and from work?

[PBB]

I started commuting last Spring, to start with it was purely a cost-saving exercise and I was laughed at by some members of the family and some colleagues.

Cycle in most days now, you get used to it and realise how efficient it is as a general method of transport around town.

Nearly a year on and I have lost 1.5 stone - wasn't specifically trying but that's a good result as the years progress.

Take it easy and enjoy the rides, you won't look back and you'll welcome the saved petrol, better fitness and beating those jams.

P.S. Great thread!

 

[Becs]

Back commuting into Camden (~ 14 miles each way) this week after about 4 months off (job moved). This week so far the benefits have been:
saving £40 in rail fares
burning 2000 calories (ish)
losing 1.5 pounds
feeling amazing when I get to work
sleeping like a baby when I get home (I'm normally quite restless)
cruising along the bus lanes feeling smug next to stationary traffic.

Also I think 3 years of cycle commuting in London has made me a better driver!

 

[Recycle]

I started commuting by bike about 7 years ago. I was a bit sceptical about whether I would stick it out but the bug bit. It's not the worst addiction to be afflicted with.
I commute by bike because I enjoy it. Even the bad weather commutes gives you a sense of satisfaction. There is something therapeutic about it.
On day's I don't feel like it, I just think of the Jubilee line. Problem solved.

 

[Recycle]

Also I think 3 years of cycle commuting in London has made me a better driver!

Forgot about that. It definitely changes the way you drive. I now know that in urban areas speed and journey time are not directly correlated. Cycling enlightens you in that way.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I started commuting about a year ago, the catalyst was years of bring frustrated at not being able to find enough time to cycle and getting even more frustrated that at some point in my late twenties someone appeared to have snuck into my house and night and attached a blubber cushion to the front of my body.

A lot of folk here have a commuter bike, I built a single speed bike from a cheap frame and parts that very kind friends gave to me. It's easy to ride, easy to clean and tough as boots.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Scrap that, the best thing about cycling to work is going weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee on a bicycle.

 

[Kookas]

I remember that the main reason for cycling was just being in control of my own transport, so that if I was ever late anywhere it would always be my own fault and (hopefully) completely avoidable. I hated how you had to get out 25 minutes early to catch a bus, when with a bike I could (and often did) leave 5 minutes before I had to actually arrive at school a mile up the road.

Changing to cycling instead of the bus made me realise just how much fun it actually is; I often challenged myself to find a bus and follow it to its destination, just as a fun way of exploring Birmingham. Doing that once took me along a route for 15 miles.

I really needed a reason to cycle, or a goal, though - a regular bus to follow. Getting a proper commute (16 mile round trip) gave me a reason to take it up as a real hobby.

By the way, that commute by bike takes 30 minutes less than a car and 1.5 hours less than a bus during rush hour. Another plus.

 

[J.Primus]

I remember that the main reason for cycling was just being in control of my own transport, so that if I was ever late anywhere it would always be my own fault and (hopefully) completely avoidable. I hated how you had to get out 25 minutes early to catch a bus, when with a bike I could (and often did) leave 5 minutes before I had to actually arrive at school a mile up the road.

Changing to cycling instead of the bus made me realise just how much fun it actually is; I often challenged myself to find a bus and follow it to its destination, just as a fun way of exploring Birmingham. Doing that once took me along a route for 15 miles.

I really needed a reason to cycle, or a goal, though - a regular bus to follow. Getting a proper commute (16 mile round trip) gave me a reason to take it up as a real hobby.

By the way, that commute by bike takes 30 minutes less than a car and 1.5 hours less than a bus during rush hour. Another plus.

This x10. The number of times I was late for work because the bus decided half way there to change it's destination or for some reason they are all full and you have to wait for about 4 to go past before you can fit on.
Also if I'm a bit tired or nursing a bit of a hangover there is nothing like a cycle on a crisp morning to blow the cobwebs out before you sit down at your desk in the morning!

 

[Lance Jack]

Few years since I rode a bike and was pushed into it because I was getting up very early just to get a parking space at work, then end up sitting in the car forty five minutes because, having found a parking space, I am now to early for work!
Now I am thinking I should of done it years ago! I get an extra forty five minutes in bed as there is secure cycle parking at work. I feel better as I arrive at work, a more positive frame of mind. I have started to feel fitter and there is a bit more money in my wallet at the end of the week.
The one down side to this new me is, I now go the longer route home as I like riding so much.

 

[paulw1969]

For me:- i started commuting (15miles round trip) by bike again last March in readiness of moving workplace. After over 20 years off the bike. Under fit and over weight.
1) Saves money on petrol.
2) wakes me up.
3) Moving workplace soon with no free parking and a more central location so save on not having to pay a parking levy.
4) I dislikethe hum drum of using buses cycling will help keep this to a minimum.
5) I am fitter than i was.
6) Id like to say its helped me lose weight.....but i haven't .......working on that.

New workplace in February.......around 18 miles round trip........further than now yeah.

 

[tomahawk]

The fresh air, feeling fitter, the views of the sunrise on a cold winters morning.

 

[Miquel In De Rain]

I've cycled Thailand twice,better sightseeing by bike.Dont know if it's relevant to this thread but it was great fun.I think it keeps me looking younger than I actually am.Some people don't believe my age.

 

[Lancj1]

All the health and financial benefits are clear. For me cycling to work (plus the the gym and swimming) just makes me feel so much better. I don't claim to have ever suffered from any mental health issues, but my "mental state" has improved - I worry about things a little less, work issues don't seem quite as stressful, I feel sharper and more energetic. I sleep we'll too and wake with the alarm. It's all good