Well, I've done it...

[Tony Sutton]

Annnnnd now back home from work! Much harder than this morning. Stopped a few time to take a breather. I assume this is normal... ?

 

[kedab]

i used to have to take a break on the slope i have to contend with on the way into work - took about 3 weeks and i was motoring up it - keep it up and you'll wonder what you were worried about

 

[Deleted member 20519]

Congrats. I found building it up slowly worked well for me. Wednesday 1st week, Tuesday & Thursday 2nd week, Mon Wed & Fri 3rd week, Mon Tues Thurs Fri 4th week, and then effectively a month in, full time.

+1 on panniers
+1 on shorts/leggings.

Also try a little wobble every now and again - great for getting cars to think swear words and give you more space! I also stuck a few inches to the right of the double yellow lines (or imaginary ones), so avoiding all grids and usually forcing drivers to acknowledge you are there and go around you rather than trying to force their way through without altering their line.

I also have the 3M Spoke Reflectors on all our bikes (every other spoke to save money) - they light up something amazing even when dirty. Not sure who is cheapest at the moment, but being hit from the side rather than behind was the greatest risk on my completely unlit commute and these apparently made me shine according to collegues who would meet me on route.
The piccie of them below is after 5,000km of them not having been cleaned.

View attachment 11562

What do the spoke reflectors look like during the day? Are they 'pretty'?

 

[BentMikey]

What do the spoke reflectors look like during the day? Are they 'pretty'?

Click the link in his post and you'll see a picture.

http://cyclechat.net/attachments/11562/

 

[Deleted member 20519]

Click the link in his post and you'll see a picture.

http://cyclechat.net/attachments/11562/

Thanks for that! I saw a really tiny picture and didn't realise I could click it

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Well done Tony: don't worry about the details, you made your first commute, from now on you will gradually get faster and fitter.
Remember that once you know your route down to every pot hole you will need to concentrate less on where you're going so you can concentrate more on the traffic around you.

 

[daSmirnov]

Nice work. Great to see you on your bike!

Keep it up for a couple of months and you'll be trying to have a crack at the 30 minute mark. You'll be surprised at how fast fitness can build.

Don't worry too much about the seat yet - any seat will hurt if you've not been on one for a while. A few rides will normally break one's bottom in.

Could be a few reasons why heading back is harder. Could be slightly uphill, even an average 1% gradient over the commute is noticeable on times. Could have been the wind too, or just being tired.

 

[jefmcg]

When I went to full commuting from train/cycling (3 miles each way to 12 miles each way) I was fine for the first 2 days, but heading home on day 3, I bonked ... or something. about 3 miles from home, just didn't want to pedal any further.

So tiredness does build up. Try going every second day for a while, or if you can cycle in one morning and cycle home the next day, it's a good way to ramp up, without knocking yourself out.

Oh, and no jeans! Leave them at work, if you can, and pack a clean pair of pants in your backpack.

 

[MattHB]

Well done! Urgg jeans in any weather is just going to hurt! Seams + butt + saddle =

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

What do the spoke reflectors look like during the day? Are they 'pretty'?

Most people seem to think they are spoke strengtheners! Time and time again we would be asked about them. They are exactly the same colour as the spokes and just make the spokes look that little bit wider where they are on. As for pretty - well they are pretty functional. I used to cross a roundabout at rush hour where traffic came off the A3 - if there was no traffic alongside me I could almost guarentee that the driver would not see me, that was until I started using these. In the amazon.co.uk link - one of the pictures shows them on during the day without any additional light. My picture was taken at 00:30am with flash in the midnight sun, so they are not as obvious as they could be in full darkness.
For me, they have been one of the better - see me I'm a cyclist products I have come across and still work well even when dirty.

 

[BentMikey]

To be fair though, you should never expect reflectors to help you to be seen by people waiting to join the roundabout you're on, or waiting at a side road you're going to be passing. There is no light source pointing from them towards you. You need lights for side-visibility for that.

 

[LabRatt]

Feels good, doesn't it. As another who only recently started the bike commute, I say welcome.The stats don't mean too much without knowing the route, but they're certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Neither's having a rest on the way home.
And don't worry, it does get easier. I've found it a fantastic way to start the day.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

To be fair though, you should never expect reflectors to help you to be seen by people waiting to join the roundabout you're on, or waiting at a side road you're going to be passing. There is no light source pointing from them towards you. You need lights for side-visibility for that.

Never helped - and because everything except the roundabout was unlit, I had 2 front lights at slightly different angles (the road had no solid white line to follow, so you needed to be able to distinguish from grey tarmac to grey dirt with your own lights), 2 rear lights that both met legislation (270 degree visibility), and a bright reflective top. The difference came with the spoke reflectors - then I noticed a serious change in the motorists at that roundabout and a crossroads I had to do.

 

[BentMikey]

Give us a google maps link to the roundabout, then we can see whether a motorist would have been able to see reflectors.

 

[jonny jeez]

After a few weeks of delay, I have finally rode to work this morning. At first I thought it was 10 miles, but after studying the routes on Google Maps, I have managed to cut it down to 8 miles which is much better.

As some of you may know, I have not rode a bike for over 10+ years so this was an challenge. Here's my endomondo stats. Good? Bad? Average?

Distance: 8:32 miles
Duration: 45m 57s
Avg Speed: 10.9 mph
Max speed: 22.2 mph

Few things I've learnt from this:

1) I need better bike seat!
2) I need better backpack!
3) Don't wear jeans.
4) Vehicles overtaking me not leaving me enough space - inches between their side mirror and my handlebar is NOT acceptable! :/

Hopefully, over the time I will be learning how to position on the road to protect myself. These cycling videos on YouTube does help.

I already protect myself on the pinch points, BTW

Thanks all.

Excellent stuff. 10mph is a fine average speed, but for the future calculations that you mention, expect that over the next few months you'll see that notching up towards 13-14mph (depending on the amount of traffic lights you encounter).

to help boost your confidence on the road take a look at our giude

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12757785/guide.pdf

its full of stuff that'll help for sure.

As others have said, stick with the seat, the first few rides are painful the rest are more comfortable with a slimmer saddle. No jeans (but then you know that) unless they are the super trendy cycle lycra jeans...even then I'm a little doubtful as I don't ride that sort of bike (specifically a Fixie).