115 mile commute

I just had my first day of a new job in Oxford, and had to do a 115 mile round trip to get there and back. It was really windy heading back up the M40 and I have to say at about 85 mph it was really too buffetty for me on my unfaired SV
Does anyone else commute long distances? What bike do you use? I think I need to get some fairings cos it was tough going to be honest, what with the prospect of doing it every day!

[embee]

sounds to me like you need a Deauville

That's what they're built for.

bloke who passed me my test has a deauville.. not too nice on the eye but well comfy !!!!


anywya - I have an s fully faired and at about 80 the other day I had to come off the dual carrigeway and use some smaller roads.. it was way too breezy-- so you cant legislate for the weather.. !!.....

Originally Posted by Warthog

I just had my first day of a new job in Oxford, and had to do a 115 mile round trip to get there and back. It was really windy heading back up the M40 and I have to say at about 85 mph it was really too buffetty for me on my unfaired SV
Does anyone else commute long distances? What bike do you use? I think I need to get some fairings cos it was tough going to be honest, what with the prospect of doing it every day!

as of the 24th of this month when i move house my commute will be 104 miles each way !!!!!!!! I wont be using the bike all the time but i can tell you the half fairing certainly makes a difference on the long slogs of motoreway sections

You'll soon develop neck muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger

Next month I start a 106 mile round trip - M25 & M40 - doubt I'll be going that fast on the M25 though

it makes me laugh all these public transport loonies who go on about how we should be using buses and trains.. well here it is for my journey to work and back.

car / bike

total distance: 45 miles round trip
total travelling time: 80 minutes per day (40 minutes each way)
cost: ~£2.80 in diesel or £3 in petrol (car / bike)
delays: the only delay i've ever had was a 10 minute queue on the M62 for a broken down car in the outside lane
comfort: 100%
overall cost per 22 day working month - ~£70

train / bus

total distance: 45 miiles round trip
total travelling time: 180 minutes (90 minutes each way)
cost: £2.20 for the bus return to the station, £6.90 return train ticket
delays: **** loads, buses never turn up, trains are late or cancelled regularly, and packed in like sardines
comfort: nil, filthy old double decker buses and 1970's trains
overall cost per 22 day working month - ~£200

laughable really!

Don't try that in London

Bike
45 mins door to door on the bike
also 45 mins on a scooter - too many traffic lights
On a push bike - about 50 mins (no traffic lights ). But my current office doesn't have a shower, so that's my excuse

15 miles each way, petrol about £16 per week
Parking is free as long as you get to a bike bay before 8:00 in the summer otherwise they're all full. Can park nearby is extremely posh (well it is Knightsbridge ) and has carpet in the lift. Costs £3 per day for the bike - they wouldn't let me have a season ticket in case I decided to sneak in with the car, so I used to sneak in with the bike instead, just tip-toe around the barriers

Car
In the car, at least 2 hours grinding along, sometimes more, just to cover 15 miles, then you have to park it - £26 per day for the car , but you do get carpet in the lift . . .

Public transport
Weakly season ticket is £37.80, 2 buses and a train, about 1 hour 10 mins in the morning, 1hour 30 going home - buses always seem to come at the wrong time.
On more than a number of occasions I've spent more time waiting for a bus to get to Victoria than it would take me to do my entire journey on the bike
Horribly overcrowded, quite often dirty


But next month, a gentle stroll around the M25

Ergh, I have developed a strange problem! I have found that the bike vibrates quite a lot at about 86+ mph. When I got off the last two trips, my hands were buzzing, and when I touched my fingertips they tingled and buzzed. I think this is the same problem afflicting workmen who use pneumatic drills a long time. I think its only just happened cos I am riding slightly faster now at about 85-90 rather than 70-85 on the first day. Anyone else get this? What is the remedy?

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Warthog

Ergh, I have developed a strange problem! I have found that the bike vibrates quite a lot at about 86+ mph. When I got off the last two trips, my hands were buzzing, and when I touched my fingertips they tingled and buzzed. I think this is the same problem afflicting workmen who use pneumatic drills a long time. I think its only just happened cos I am riding slightly faster now at about 85-90 rather than 70-85 on the first day. Anyone else get this? What is the remedy?

I found relaxing and not gripping the bars as tight helped with the vibes.

I think that some people have fitted heavy bar end weights, but I might be talking rubbish.

Heavier bar end weights can help, but they might not.
Relaxing your grip is the best advice.

My commute is a 90 mile round trip through some nice twisty Wiltshire roads. I've only seen one unmarked car so far and no speed cameras.
I even go past the Red Lion in Avebury.