Quitting cycling

[MickL]

PS - I also find that buying the right gear helps - knowing I'll be comfortable on the bike - but also thinking that now I've gone & bought it I had jolly well better use it.

It's taken me a few years to get to the point where I'm comfortable with what I'm wearing when cycling.
Having close to a year of the bike due to injury. I am looking forward to winter commutes this year.
At the moment I am driving halfway. And cycling the rest. Soon be back doing the full 20miles round trip.

 

[fossyant]

Public transport motivates me,hate it.I like buses from the outside,though.

Ride the wrong way commutes are the answer. Make up some loops, out of traffic if you can. If you can't be bothered, then run/bike the short route. No reason you can't bike the long route home.

 

[Lonestar]

Ride the wrong way commutes are the answer. Make up some loops, out of traffic if you can. If you can't be bothered, then run/bike the short route. No reason you can't bike the long route home.

Eh? I mean I hate public transport so I have no trouble with cycling everywhere.So sort of like the opposite.Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

Last year I commuted until Christmas and then hardly at all until March. How do you keep motivated to do a commute in the middle of the winter? I hope that I wont quit this year but I'm not sure. I think part of my problem is that my commute is entirely optional. Ideas?

You need to understand the reason you didn't touch the bike after Christmas, then correct it.
"You hope you don't quit this year but you're not sure" - Only you are in charge of this my friend, the only person who can make it so you don't quit is you.
Get into the routine of getting everything ready the night before, this forms part of my daily routine. The only thing that differs on a daily basis is the type of clothes I lay out, warm/cool/wind proof/waterproof/chunky/thin etc.
Now my routine is habitual its not an extra part of my day anymore, and by doing it it means I have a bootiful commute everyday.

 

[winjim]

PS - I also find that buying the right gear helps - knowing I'll be comfortable on the bike - but also thinking that now I've gone & bought it I had jolly well better use it.

This. My winter bike gear is some of the most expensive clothing I own, I'll be damned if I'm going to let it sit around not being worn.

 

[Lonestar]

One of my workmates does this every year but his excuse this year is the roadworks down the Mile End Road are just too bad.So he's quit again.

Heh!

 

[Wolf616]

One of my workmates does this every year but his excuse this year is the roadworks down the Mile End Road are just too bad.So he's quit again.

Heh!

Such a rubbish excuse. You can get from East to Central London via slightly quieter back streets that essentially run parallel to the Mile End Road.

Tell him to look at Cycle Streets, that'll give him a much quieter yet only just longer (in time and distance) route


I only started cycling at the end of May but it's quickly become my favourite pastime and I cycle everywhere now, only catching the train when alcohol forces me to. So this will be my first winter of commuting (and my commute is about to quadruple to a 22 mile round trip) but I am really excited about this. Sure, Summer is great to cycle in because it's sunny and pleasant but in some respects Winter is better because you feel like it's you against the elements. Nothing quite like a fast downhill on a blustery day

 

[Lonestar]

Yes.I like winter.I don't really know of any real good backstreets between Bow and Aldgate although I do use about 2 miles of them from the Green Man and the bit to SW London from Lombard Street after Aldgate to Southwark Bridge and on...I have been doing the route for the last 25 years though.Discovered more backstreet routes in the last few years...

Mile End Road is a bit crappy at the mo but the motorists have to suffer it as well and it is for our benefit so I just leave a bit earlier and get on with it.

 

[mumbo jumbo]

Only ice and gusting gale force winds keep me off the bike in winter. That said, after 18 years of all-year-round commuting, and after this morning's drenching (even with overshoes), I have finally decided to invest in some proper winter cycling boots. Spesh Defrosters on order

 

[BrumJim]

You should have left a bit earlier. Only a light soaking for me this morning.

 

[mjr]

Why do you want to cycle in winter?

It can be really beautiful and quieter than summer. I use the Dutch bike more than the road bike though, because it stays put on the road better and hub brakes are mostly unchanged by rain. Winter speeds depend on the weather far more than on me or which bike.

 

[cyberknight]

Only ice and gusting gale force winds keep me off the bike in winter. That said, after 18 years of all-year-round commuting, and after this morning's drenching (even with overshoes), I have finally decided to invest in some proper winter cycling boots. Spesh Defrosters on order

Make sure you get the right size, i find spesh in general i need to go 1 eu size bigger.

 

[cyberknight]

You need to understand the reason you didn't touch the bike after Christmas, then correct it.
"You hope you don't quit this year but you're not sure" - Only you are in charge of this my friend, the only person who can make it so you don't quit is you.
Get into the routine of getting everything ready the night before, this forms part of my daily routine. The only thing that differs on a daily basis is the type of clothes I lay out, warm/cool/wind proof/waterproof/chunky/thin etc.
Now my routine is habitual its not an extra part of my day anymore, and by doing it it means I have a bootiful commute everyday.

+1
I will admit on night shift given the overtime im doing atm its harder work but normally i do the above and i find the commute the best part of my day .Waterproofs are always in the panniers for me all year around , if the weathers changeable i tend to lay out a selection the night before so i donhave to creep into the bedroom but then again im out the house at 5.45 am on day shift.

 

[Smurfy]

How do you keep motivated to do a commute in the middle of the winter?

How much money do you save by cycling? Driving would take longer or the same time for me, I'd spend a lot on fuel and parking, and the constant short journeys when the car doesn't have enough distance to warm up would rot my exhaust and shorten engine life, especially so in winter.

 

[G3CWI]

How much money do you save by cycling?

None. It costs me more to cycle 8 miles than to walk 1.5 miles. That wont be a motivator for me.