new commuter?

[dave coe]

56 year old,fat,&f****d,not willing to die yet & wants to get fitter.
Problems:-
Commute is 40 mile round trip with 12 hour shift in middle.
Showers but no drying facilities for clothes!So possibly need set to & from work & set for whilst in work.
Thinking of hub gears as only ridden 3 speed sturmy archers before on 40 year old Dunelt.
Probably need pannier / bag for laptop, clothes, some tools?
Can only use Edinburgh cycles on our CTW scheme.
Any thoughts on above please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

 

[hackbike 666]

Get the train a bit of they way?

Oh and welcome to the forum.

 

[MrGrumpy]

think I would split that journey up or only do it 2 or 3 times a week. Its a big commute with a 12 hour shift inbetween. I do shifts myself and can be dead on my feet by end of one and my commute is only 28miles approx.

 

[upsidedown]

That's quite a way and looks like you'll be riding with a lot of gear.
A train or part of the journey by car would seem the best bet to start off with. If you can be a bit more specific with the from and to i'm sure some locals will be able to offer better advice.

Good luck with it whatever you decide.

paul

 

[sadjack]

First off welcome and good for you

What I have found its not just the distance you cycle its the profile of the route. If its nice and flat great, if its hilly then not so great!

As others have suggested, can you break up your journey to start with driving part way or a train? I would be concerend that if you did too much too soon you will be put off and stop, never to start again

I would be looking for a decent tourer for that sort of journey so that you have a rack for a pannier or two and plenty of gears. Edinburgh cycles do them if I recall rightly so go in and ask their advice and try for size.

Dont forget to get some decent clothes as well, for that length of journey its worth spending some money to be comfortable as possible.

Best of luck.

 

[Stephenite]

Plenty of Mancs on here, kid, that can help with the choice of route. Start a thread titled "Help needed with route in Mcr" or something in Commuting.

As said above, 40 mile round commute is a bit much to begin with for a beginner - even for many non-beginners. So you may be wanting to break it up with train/car part way. Alternatively, bike it in one day and leave the bike at work for a day or two, before cycling home. Then rest again. Another idea is to cycle in to work and bring the bike home on the train. Or, if you can get a lift with a mate, buy him a present for his car - a bike rack! Plenty of ways to break yourself in gently.

Edinburgh bicycle co is a good shop with helpful, knowledgable staff and a good choice of bikes so no probs there. They do a few own-brand bikes that get good reviews. Do a search on here for "Edinburgh bicycle co". I, personally, wouldn't bother with hub gears and most would agree. Get a bike with a good range of gears like a tourer. Edinburgh bicycle co do a good-value-for-money tourer, so that's an option.

Also, you may be fat, but you're not f****d. Just you wanting to get out on a bike proves that.

Do it, you won't look back.

 

[DrSquirrel]

56 year old,fat,&f****d,not willing to die yet & wants to get fitter.
Problems:-
Commute is 40 mile round trip with 12 hour shift in middle.
Showers but no drying facilities for clothes!So possibly need set to & from work & set for whilst in work.
Thinking of hub gears as only ridden 3 speed sturmy archers before on 40 year old Dunelt.
Probably need pannier / bag for laptop, clothes, some tools?
Can only use Edinburgh cycles on our CTW scheme.
Any thoughts on above please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!.

Put your wet clothes on when going back home - don't be a pansy!

Clothes should be mostly wet on the outside, if its sweat on the inside try other/less/thinner clothes. Use a wicking layer, they tend to air dry fast/

20 is a bit, but once you get going difference between 10 and 20 isn't that bad. It's the starting that is a problem - so do some test runs first, half way runs, etc etc.

(as others) train options partily or not? This way you could bail out in bad weather etc

You can get pannier bags for laptops. If you do that much milage, you'd want to keep it on a rack not your back.

Leave your work clothes at work (assuming you don't need a whole set everyday etc), only take them in on your first day, and out on the last.