The hard work begins

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Road Fiddler

New Member
Tomorrow I move and on Tuesday I start commuting proper, a round trip of 36 miles from Chichester to Portsmouth and back. I know I will suffer for the first week or so but i am really looking forward to it.

I wont be on line for a while at hopefully get on here in work so i will keep you guys informed of my trials and tribulations.
 

515mm

Well-Known Member
Location
Carmarthenshire
good luck Fiddler!

My commute is a round trip of 28miles and takes about 50mins each way - you'll soon get used to it. Just take it easy for the first couple of weeks.

have fun!
 
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Road Fiddler

New Member
Cheers guys, it won’t be too bad I regally cycle further than that but it’s a much nicer distance to commute than the 6 miles a day I do at the moment.
 
You'll do it RF. I have fairly recently started commuting from say, Heathrow to Kentish Town which is 54km +/- round trip - if I can do stuff like that - so can you! Trouble is...the Altura, the overshoes, the raceblades, the lights,the bulletproof tyres, the buff, the bags, the tossers in cars, on 'phones, the doors magically opening in front of you, the peds, the skids, the. :biggrin:

Ha ha - have fun - I'm enjoying it - I get little opportunity to do the Saturday and Sunday tours so it is the best substitute. :biggrin:
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
Good luck mate, I'm about to step up to the same sort of commuting distance, I'm currently on 30 miles, and will be doing 40ish round trip shortly. Eeeek!
 
I jumped from a 10 miles round commute to a 26 mile round trip recently and I was a bit worried that it was going to be too far, but it turned out to be a doddle, it's actually more enjoyable!! I think I would be happy up to the 40 mile mark before I started reconsidering transport.

Good luck and enjoy!!
 
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Road Fiddler

New Member
Cheers guys. I am really looking forward to it, the route is along the old A27 with some nice views and lovely sun rises and sets. The road is not too busy and the part from Havant to the top of Portsmouth is a cycle path along the top of Farlington Mashes which is a bird sanctuary. Being on the coast though the wind can be horrendous, i have cycled along that road in 50+ mph winds in the past which is not fun.

I am aiming to do each leg at an hour dead for the time being until i have adjusted to the increase in cycling, that's 18 mph i see no reason why i cant see why i cant get that time down to 45 mins within a short time.

I get little opportunity to do the Saturday and Sunday tours so it is the best substitute.

I have the same problem, i am often out teaching courses at the weekends and do most of my riding early in the morning or evenings durring the weekdays, this will combine the two so its a great oppertunety to get into better shape.
 
Blimey! This puts my 7 miles each to shame.
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
Wow that sounds like a wonderful commute!!! At least I will have a bit of country at the Biggin Hill end, but nothing as nice as yours.

Please won't you take a camera and post up some pictures for us?
 
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Road Fiddler

New Member
Mate i will take my helmet cam with me, if you really want to watch and hour of me grunting, groaning and cursing. The problem I have found with the helmet cam is you need good light conditions for the best footage and at this time of year and the time we commute the light is not great so the footage is too dark.

I often carry a camera with me when I cycle to catch the views so will happily post some images up once i am back on line.
 
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Road Fiddler

New Member
Well im enjoying the commute doing it in around 50 mins for the 18 miles which is far better than i expected, the roads are very quiet.

I am lot looking forward to a windy day though the route is very expossed. Ill give it a couple of weeks then look at taking anouther route a bit more in land which will add ten miles but i wont be battling against the wind so much.
 
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Road Fiddler

New Member
Day three and my legs have nothing left in them it seams, not even power to walk up the stairs.

I am looking forward to a gental ride home i am going to take a different longer road to see what its like. Legs will get a bit of a rest as i will just spin all the way
 

bonj2

Guest
When my potential change in job situation came along it gave the potential for a long commute (23.2 miles :biggrin:) and I thought there's no way I'll ever manage to cycle it. But now it's been getting increasingly likely, I've actually been psyching myself up to tackling it, especially since my dad told me in no uncertain terms there's no way I'd manage it, even though he himself managed a similar distance in the eighties (and on the west coast aswell). I am planning a test run one-way soonish...
 
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