My first commute in or nay?

[Mike!]

Today i took delivery of my Schwalbe City Jets and inner tubes so with some luck i'll be fitting them tonight when i get home.

Now the thing is i really want to ride in to work tomorrow but after yesterdays quick jaunt (a couple of miles - but at a fast pace) i was knackered. Most of it was in a headwind but it shocked me how unfit i am now....

The ride in is easy enough (flat or downhill) and the prevailing wind is usually behind you but the ride home has an evil hill whatever way i go and i'm a bit concerned about biting off more than i can chew

I guess a smooth tyre will be easier to ride than a knobbly one and i can always get home on a bus to do the return leg the next day....

One of my concerns is being tired and switching off to traffic, i do have a good amount of roadcraft and defensive riding skills from a Motorbike but am a little worried that it will all go to pot if i'm knackered!!

 

[Inertia]

How far is it? A couple of people who I know barely ride have started riding into work recently, one woman cycled 7 miles each way and managed ok though she was sore the next day :-D. She said she got off an walked for up a couple of hills that she struggled with which is a good idea IMO.

 

[Mike!]

Ahh yes, i meant to put that!

It's five miles each way, my current thinking is to go for it and take it steady (something i find hard as i always go nuts with everything )

 

[Iainj837]

Do you normally comute or is it the first time and how far would u be cycling ? I cycle 20 plus miles a day which takes between 40 50 mins. It used to take over an hr.

 

[perplexed]

Ahh yes, i meant to put that!

It's five miles each way, my current thinking is to go for it and take it steady (something i find hard as i always go nuts with everything )

Sounds eminently sensible, do it but take it steady so you don't "blow"!

Good luck...

 

[potsy]

I started last year 9 miles each way and for the 1st few weeks walked up my nemesis hill,there's no shame in it.
Now the hill is just an annoyance rather than an impossible mission,spin up it between 6-7 mph and have a rest at the top for half a mile or so.
Go for it pal,can tell you want to.

 

[Cubist]

Today i took delivery of my Schwalbe City Jets and inner tubes so with some luck i'll be fitting them tonight when i get home.

Now the thing is i really want to ride in to work tomorrow but after yesterdays quick jaunt (a couple of miles - but at a fast pace) i was knackered. Most of it was in a headwind but it shocked me how unfit i am now....

The ride in is easy enough (flat or downhill) and the prevailing wind is usually behind you but the ride home has an evil hill whatever way i go and i'm a bit concerned about biting off more than i can chew

I guess a smooth tyre will be easier to ride than a knobbly one and i can always get home on a bus to do the return leg the next day....

One of my concerns is being tired and switching off to traffic, i do have a good amount of roadcraft and defensive riding skills from a Motorbike but am a little worried that it will all go to pot if i'm knackered!!

Mike

You're trying to talk yourself out of it! Put the tyres on tonight, and set off an hour earlier than normal to work. Take it really steady and have a breather when you get to work. Don't spend all day thinking about that hill on the way home, you'll spoil your whole day. If you have to push up it in the evening, then so what? At least you've given it a go. If you do push up the hill tomorrow, take a day to recover and then see if you can't get further up the hill on Thursday. In three weeks time you'll be laughing at yourself for fearing the hill in the first place.

Go for it, your inner self deserves the motivation.....

 

[Dilbert]

Go for it Mike. I started last week 11 miles each way and had been putting it off with various excuses for ages. As others have said just take it steady and stop if you need to, its not a race and you will feel brilliant when you get home however wet and tired you are.

If you do feel so tired you think it would be dangerous to come home you can always get the bus, although with a day at work (unless you do something physical) and something to eat you should be OK.

Good Luck

 

[PaulSecteur]

Just to stick my pedal in...

When I brought my bike about 2 months ago I could barley do 2 miles witout frequent stops and drink breaks, This weekend just gone I did a 42 miler. I took 2 litres in my backpack, and my drinks bottle. On gettin home the bottle was untouched and about half a litre still in the backpack.

It seems to me that if you put the effort in, the reward of improved fitness soon comes.

Seems to me you are in an ideal situation for cycling to work, easy to get there, and a challenge for the ride back that you can rally get stuck into, soon it will be "what hill?"

 

[vickster]

I have started commuting to work and also to my gym near the office which is 4 miles each way, flatish with one 6-7 mph hill each way (or one steep hill I can't ride up yet). Takes me 19-23 minutes depending on the lights, wind, how tired I am after the gym etc...I am still a bit nervous being back in the saddle after the crash so am not pushing it too hard

Here's the rub, I had arthroscopic surgery on my left knee in early Feb after a fall off my bike last September, so I am sure you can do it I had been doing some leg focussed gym work for a few weeks before getting back in the saddle, but my fitness (and weight) are still pretty suspect! My knee is still painful especially up hills or if I stand and pedal to get moving!

 

[Mike!]

Right. Well i decided to go for it but my new tyres are posing a problem....

https://www.cyclechat.net/

 

[getfit]

Good for you Mike, make sure you let us know how you get on.

GF

 

[slowmotion]

Mike, it isn't some kind of exam, mate! Just have a go and take it really gently at first. I was hopelessly unfit a year ago. ( Probably still am) On my first five mile trip to work, I really felt like being sick half way there. I must have looked like Death warmed up as I leaned against a bollard on a traffic island. A WVM stopped and said "Are you OK, mate?" "Oh, fine", I wheezed back " but thanks anyway". Well, it got a whole lot better, surprisingly quickly. Now, if I have to drive to work, I feel cheated. It really is a whole lot more fun on a bike. That's what it's supposed to be isn't it...fun?

All the best.

 

[Mike!]

Mike, it isn't some kind of exam, mate! Just have a go and take it really gently at first. I was hopelessly unfit a year ago. ( Probably still am) On my first five mile trip to work, I really felt like being sick half way there. I must have looked like Death warmed up as I leaned against a bollard on a traffic island. A WVM stopped and said "Are you OK, mate?" "Oh, fine", I wheezed back " but thanks anyway". Well, it got a whole lot better, surprisingly quickly. Now, if I have to drive to work, I feel cheated. It really is a whole lot more fun on a bike. That's what it's supposed to be isn't it...fun?

All the best.

Yeah i'm really looking forward to it now, having fitted the road tyres and gone for a short test ride the bike feels so much easier to ride. The effort level needed to produce forward movement is so much less without knobbly tyres!!

On only wish i'd have known that 5 years ago when i did the London to Brighton..... lol

Roll on the morning

 

[Mike!]

Well I normally leave at 7.30am in the car, arriving around 7.45am for an 8am start.

Was unsure if I should leave at 7am or 7.15am but decided the later of the two (I had warned them I might be late or not turn up at all!!).

I eventually left at 7.13am and arrived at 7.35am, so 23 mins. Surprised at that and very pleased. I feel fine and the bike is so much better with the new tyres (and the nice downhill bits helped of course!!).

One (nasty) leg to go!!