Restarting commuting - any advice please

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Hicky

Guru
If Rammy is Ramsbottom then coming from just over the way in Rochdale , "downhill" means steep :laugh:
What are your fitness levels, you might surprise yourself.
 
Do you have showers at work?
if not shower before the ride and you clothing wont be smelly.
Have enough clothes for clean every day.
Fit full length mudguards to keep clothes clean.
If you like drop bars, a wide tyre, low gear, disk brake model with rack and mudguard eyelets is good for this.
I used to stash an extra spare inner, underpants and socks at work.

Start riding a few times a week at an easy pace. Eat well, and pre hydrate esp at work 1hr before you leave.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Baby wipes and a roll on deo (roll on takes less space). 30-40 minutes is an ideal commute time TBH. Mine is an hour. Wouldn't want too much more, but the 13 miles off road takes as long as the car does doing 9 miles - bonkers.
 
I found winter commuting very tough on wheel rims, even with daily wiping of the rims and blocks.

Eventually I got a disc braked Giant revolt in 2015 for that reason.

7 miles is not too far at all. Sounds like it might be fun. There's no reason not to try the Carlton a few times to see how you like it, on dry days, but I would certainly agree with the proposal to get something less special for the daily grind. I still ride my best bike to work on dry days.

Give yourself plenty of time the first few times you do it, bear in mind you might want a snack soon after arriving at work.

I'm lucky that there's a shower at work & somewhere safe to lock my bike up.

Otherwise I used to just have a flannel wash in the gents on arrival, which was a while before everyone else turned up.

I would recommend you invest in some thick neoprene BBB overshoes at least, for the winter, if not winter boots. They made a huge difference to my comfort levels.

Defo winter boots - I brought some after following advice from forum members and they've kept my feet warm and socks dry.
 
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