Hello
I [very] recently decided to try cycling in to work.
Work is 16 miles away with a few uppy-downy bits in the way, which I thought might be a bit far (as I'd not ridden my bike for over a year). So the weekend before last I decided to do a trial run. It took me an hour to get half way. At that point I figured that 16 miles was definately too far so turned around and went home. Slowly. I was saddle sore for days afterwards.
We came up with a compromise route - 7 miles to a small town with a train station, then 15 minutes on the train. A do-able route, and the train fare is still less than the petrol I'd use. Hurrah!
First attempt on Thursday - everything went as planned.
Second attempt today. All seemed to be going OK again. Got to the station in 45 minutes, plenty of time for the train. Opened my bag... no wallet! Erm....
7 miles from home, 10 miles from work, no money, no credit on my phone, already tired. Erm....
I could turn around and go home, but that'd take another 45 minutes (probably longer), then I'd have to drive 20 minutes. So I decided to cycle the rest of the way in.
In total it took me 2 hours to get to work. When I arrived I was a mess - could hardly walk (going up stairs was particularly painful). For some reason everyone I told found it highly amusing.
There was no way I could possibly have cycled all the way home too, so I borrowed some cash and got a train back to a station that's only 4 miles from home.
I'm still planning to cycle to the station again tomorrow - but we'll have to see what my legs say in the morning.
I learned 2 things today.
1) I am *definately* not ready to cycle the whole way in.
2) Always check you have your wallet before leaving the house.
If I can keep this up for a few weeks/months I'll buy myself a new bike (currently using my MTB - Giant Terrago). My LBS said they usually recomend a Ridgeback Voyage or Panorama (for £700 and £1200 respectively) for commuters. Does anyone have any experience/thoughts on those ones (as commuters)?
I [very] recently decided to try cycling in to work.
Work is 16 miles away with a few uppy-downy bits in the way, which I thought might be a bit far (as I'd not ridden my bike for over a year). So the weekend before last I decided to do a trial run. It took me an hour to get half way. At that point I figured that 16 miles was definately too far so turned around and went home. Slowly. I was saddle sore for days afterwards.
We came up with a compromise route - 7 miles to a small town with a train station, then 15 minutes on the train. A do-able route, and the train fare is still less than the petrol I'd use. Hurrah!
First attempt on Thursday - everything went as planned.
Second attempt today. All seemed to be going OK again. Got to the station in 45 minutes, plenty of time for the train. Opened my bag... no wallet! Erm....
7 miles from home, 10 miles from work, no money, no credit on my phone, already tired. Erm....
I could turn around and go home, but that'd take another 45 minutes (probably longer), then I'd have to drive 20 minutes. So I decided to cycle the rest of the way in.
In total it took me 2 hours to get to work. When I arrived I was a mess - could hardly walk (going up stairs was particularly painful). For some reason everyone I told found it highly amusing.
There was no way I could possibly have cycled all the way home too, so I borrowed some cash and got a train back to a station that's only 4 miles from home.
I'm still planning to cycle to the station again tomorrow - but we'll have to see what my legs say in the morning.
I learned 2 things today.
1) I am *definately* not ready to cycle the whole way in.
2) Always check you have your wallet before leaving the house.
If I can keep this up for a few weeks/months I'll buy myself a new bike (currently using my MTB - Giant Terrago). My LBS said they usually recomend a Ridgeback Voyage or Panorama (for £700 and £1200 respectively) for commuters. Does anyone have any experience/thoughts on those ones (as commuters)?