So commuting by bike

I ride from Colchester to Ipswich daily in all weathers, around 44 mile round trip from house to work, it is both quicker & cheaper for me as we get charged to park a car in the staff carpark but not a bike (yet), the traffic can be quite heavy in the mornings especially at the Copdock roundabout, but the real time saver is the homeward journey for sure.

This is one of those...

"You fancy taking the bike take the bike if you don't, don't" threads...


Quite fancy taking the car at the moment out of shere laziness but 4 separate sets of one way roadworks hell rule that one out.

Least I've worked out why I keep having to put petrol in the bike. I keep putting £5 quid in and am doing minimum 25miles a day. Well duh.

[timwilky]

Right then feed back.

So I walk out the office having put on textiles. God it is lashing it down. So put on helmet to walk the 20 yards to my bike. Poor thing has never seen rain like it.

set off and stop before I have left the car park the visor has steamed. Quick wipe and set off again, and stop. Bloody ignorant cage driver has pulled over to be about 3" from a traffic island. If he is going nowhere, neither am I.

eventually get past and then discover my visor leaks, rain is running down the inside. I can see sod all, filtering is great but not when oncoming traffic is blinding you. All I can see is glare.

I then get away from it, but tyres are old, road is just one huge puddle, and I cannot see the white lines until I feel my tyres slipping on them.

Eventually get home safely, My mouth has dried out as I have just travelled 25 minutes on adrenaline and petrified it is about to be my last.

More heavy rain forecast, so car in this morning. At least I know my textiles are waterproof. New lid needed though

Ok so a few things. If your helmet has pinlock get the insert. If your visor leaks I would suggest a new helmet. Get some raincoat to help water sheeting on your visor as well.

Car drivers will try and get in your way, just ignore or give them the 'coffee beans' as you filter past.

Take things slow and plan further ahead and dont do anything you dont feel confident about. If you are not sure about filtering past some cars, dont, slip in behind them and wait for a nice gap.

Take your time and build up confidence, you will soon get used to it (we get anough rain in the UK for you to have plenty of experience.

That said, if I had the option I would have taken the car this morning!

[timwilky]

Thats the thing, I am a fair weather biker, yesterday was the first time the bike has come out the garage in over 2 months. I ride country roads in the sun, not city roads in the dark/rain.

I knew I could do with a new helmet, but didn't know it let the rain in. I was about to get the bike out of the garage this morning for round two when it started raining again. So car.

Perhaps that will be the way I do it in future, good weather bike, bad the car.

Originally Posted by timwilky

I now have a commute. Thank you very much boss.

It is 6 miles from home to the office and takes about 20 mins in the car

6 miles/20 minutes isn't a commute !!!

Let me guess ....... you must worth somewhere where theres a trade union !!

RIGHT ....... WE'RE ALL STRIKING ........ THERES NO MILK IN THE FRIDGE !!!!

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by Son of a beesting

Ok so a few things. If your helmet has pinlock get the insert. If your visor leaks I would suggest a new helmet. Get some raincoat to help water sheeting on your visor as well.

Car drivers will try and get in your way, just ignore or give them the 'coffee beans' as you filter past.

Take things slow and plan further ahead and dont do anything you dont feel confident about. If you are not sure about filtering past some cars, dont, slip in behind them and wait for a nice gap.

Take your time and build up confidence, you will soon get used to it (we get anough rain in the UK for you to have plenty of experience.

That said, if I had the option I would have taken the car this morning!

You can also get universal pinlock kits, no more fog

[timwilky]

Originally Posted by LK-SV

6 miles/20 minutes isn't a commute !!!

Let me guess ....... you must worth somewhere where theres a trade union !!

RIGHT ....... WE'RE ALL STRIKING ........ THERES NO MILK IN THE FRIDGE !!!!

lost something here, tea/coffee is provided by the management( benefit of working for an international company, they get free brews in Paris head office so we will damm well get them here too. Even the vending machines of on free vend. The argument is whose turn is it to brew up.

We have bogo = standard tetley type tea bags, decaffeinated green tea, strange decaffeinated tea with vanilla, or nescafe.

One guy does bring in his own special fruit flavoured teas though

Originally Posted by LK-SV

6 miles/20 minutes isn't a commute !!!

Let me guess ....... you must worth somewhere where theres a trade union !!

RIGHT ....... WE'RE ALL STRIKING ........ THERES NO MILK IN THE FRIDGE !!!!

No but 14miles in 20minutes is

[dizzyblonde]

I've ridden to work every weekend for the last four years, through wind and rain, hail and frosty cold mornings/nights. The only time I've never got the bike out is when its been so frozen in front of the shed its been impossible, or its forcast snow, or its got there already.

I haven't ridden in last week, I was so fed up of the rain every week since Hovis' funeral (well so would you after 200 odd miles of 45 degree angle riding in torrential rain) I just couldn't face it. Peg has told me not to take it this weekend either. I think it gets a chore when you've done it so long, and you really start hating it rather than finding it wonderful week in week out.

I think my joints are getting old and knackered, and so am I. So Peg is going to have to be a chauffeur until xmas