Those that cycle to work...

When I lived in England I used to ride to work (8 miles in, 20 miles back). During the summer I rode a road bike, but in the winter I modified a mountain bike, with semi-slick tyres, bar ends and fixed wheel (as my route was fairly flat). The fixed wheel makes it a lot safer on wet and icy roads as you dont need to use the brakes, plus there is fewer mechanical parts to seize up.

when i'm not on the the lawnmower(sv) i do 5 miles on a pushbike to work usually go the long way if on the motorbike though short trip's aint good for it.

[northwind]

I do 3.2 miles each way, it's all downhill to work though so no worries about getting sweated up, even doing it at speed. Coming back's a different story It does help if you take it easy, but I'm only commuting to build my fitness up for offroad riding so I treat it like a race.

The cycle to work schemes can be good, but my road bike's just a rather scabby Revolution Courier Race, cost £100 used, and it does the job perfectly. I just stuck wider bars on it for comfort. If you want to do longer distance, then a better bike's a good idea but you really don't need to spend a lot to get something functional. And theft proof! If I didn't have this one, I'd go on gumtree and buy a random ancient steelie mountain bike or racer, fix it, and use that. Though I'd secretly love a really nice road bike, a cheapie can get you on the road.

It seems to be an unwritten law that nobody actually uses their "cycle to work" bikes to cycle to work, our bike garage was suspiciously full of £1000 mountain bikes when it snowed, and is suspiciously empty the rest of the time

[Quiff Wichard]

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Depends on the weather. In winter or if I can be a*sed its 2.1 miles each.

In summer or if I am training for a big sportive then it will be 10 miles or so on the way in and then max of 25 miles on the way home.

I've got two bikes a flat barred hybrid with road wheels on it that I dont care about salt and mud wrecking and in the summer its this



IMHO if you're riding on the road you want a road bike like I have above. Once you get used to them drop bars are comfortable and you'll be faster on the road bike over a given distance IMHO.

But its about what you can afford and what you feel comfortable on if a hybrid floats your boat, get one. I think the your timings are reasonable if you are just starting out.

Go for it

whats occurin ??

take 2 bottles out on the road-

you get thirsty sir?

I wont lie to you - at my age 2 bottles wud have me weein within 5 mins..

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Quiff Wichard

take 2 bottles out on the road

I just wash and go

Thanks Guys..

I will get sweaty.. thats just me, as long as I leave enough time at this end to cool off and a quick wash ( I shower in the morning) I will be ok. Ill have to run my shirts in one day in the car.

Ill ask my boss about the cycle to work scheme and see what happens.. (probably nothing)
Cheers

Alex

[Viney]

Originally Posted by 454697819

How far do you ride?,

What sort fo bike do you use, and how do you deal with arriving all sweaty if your work place doesnt have a shower? Im sure I can was once I'm here but its quite a posh place and I dont want to put anyones nose out of joint!

I ask because I am mooving 6 miles away from work and need to loose weight... put the two together and hey presto... If I Cycle I Could loose weight.

Iv noticed a lot of Hybrid bikes are about now... cross between mountain and road are they any good?

I reckon it could take about about 40 minutes to start with and eventually down to about 30, does that soound realistic?

Any advice appreciated, been a long time since I was in the sadle on the road,

Cheers

Alex

Im slowly working up to the idea to ride back to work. Late alst year, i got to the point of riding once a week. Depending on route, its either 10 or 12 miles each way, some days it can take just as long on the motorbike than on the pushbike!! We do have showers at work, but didnt at the last building. We also have secure underground parking for, i think, 400 bikes!! As for bike, i have a hybrid (Cannondale badboy650) and its great. The smooth tyres are so much easier than the knoblies of a MTB. Yesterday i bought myself a full mud guard set and a proper highvis waterproof jacket for those 'Showery days'. At the moment, it has to be sunny on about 100 weather websites before i start thinking about riding!! So will probably start back next week.