Considering cycling to work... 8 miles each way

Very excited now! I gather these things take a while to get through payroll and allsorts, but wheeee!

I decided to swap to a 'rack pack' as I already have one watertight pannier bag for when it really throws it down - but the pack should leave me a little more balanced on the bike :)

The shop:
Specialized Concept Store (Zero G, Bristol)

Your bike details:
Specialized VITA SPORT
Bike size: 51cm
Bike price: £391.48
Helmet price: £0.00
Other equipment cost: £221.42
Equipment description: Zefal 35mm mudguards, Blackburn Ex-1 rear rack, Agu Yamaska 475 rack pack, Endura Gridlock jacket, Endura Deluge gloves, Kryptonite 4ft cable, Cateye front and rear brackets, Specialized Air Tool Mini pump, Specialized inner tube (x2)

Total value: £612.90
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Good stuff. I found the ice on the roads added another challenge to the normal level of avoiding the buses and cabs this morning :D
 
Hows it going, I have got back on my bike, did 10 miles last week and did 12 yesterday and 10 today, you forget how easy and good it is, the weather has been perfect a little cold but not uncomfortable.
 
Oh aye, nothing better than getting the blood flowing at 8am, it really does kick start your day, sitting in a car is garbage working the clutch and listening to the crap on the radio.

I just slip down the bus land with the nano going, cant beat it, easy and freeeeeeeeeeeeee :D
 
cheets64 said:
Hows it going, I have got back on my bike, did 10 miles last week and did 12 yesterday and 10 today, you forget how easy and good it is, the weather has been perfect a little cold but not uncomfortable.
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Not going anywhere yet, am just playing the waiting game now - first awaiting the hire agreement to come through for me to sign, then I shall have to wait again for the voucher to turn up in the post.

Would be quicker if our company wasn't so massive - all this stuff seems to come to Bristol via the Edinburgh office!
 
you guys never get punctures? when i was a teenager no matter how hard i tried to stay away from thorn bushs and broken glass i would always end up with punctures :mad:
 
sara said:
Not going anywhere yet, am just playing the waiting game now - first awaiting the hire agreement to come through for me to sign, then I shall have to wait again for the voucher to turn up in the post.

Would be quicker if our company wasn't so massive - all this stuff seems to come to Bristol via the Edinburgh office!
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Yeah small companies have their upsides, I decided to do the cycle to work scheme last week, got a verbal ok from the boss on monday, did the forms tuesday morning and it was ordered tuesday evening. Only problem being chain reaction cycles still hadn't actually got around to despatching it :(

I must be mad though, my commute will be ~20 miles each way ¬_¬
 
I'm a kit whore, and have more money so I think I'm going to treat myself to a new bike for this race. Time to start a looking :D.
 
arknor said:
you guys never get punctures? when i was a teenager no matter how hard i tried to stay away from thorn bushs and broken glass i would always end up with punctures :mad:
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Yup, got one the other day. 10 mins quick change and i was on my way, although my hands were rather messy (might get some latex gloves for next time).
 
My advice is to bike there and back one Saturday and see how long it takes, etc I would say 45mins-1hr on an MTB.

I can relate, I do 8mi (16mi round trip) 3x a week. There is a nice mix of uphill and downhill. When I started out I did 5mi (10mi round trip) 5x a week, back in the school days. When I started 8mi it was hard (I remember my first time, planning the route, etc - newb virgin), it's really easy now.

Ride on the road, don't be a big newb on the pavement and you should no have puntures (I got loads as a kid 'cuz of this) I've not had one for years on the road, don't ride in the gutter either, stay out a bit. Stop at red lights too, some nut nearly got hit the other day.

If it's dark, be visable! LIGHTS + REFLECTIVE JACKET.

Pick either an MTB or road bike (or hybrid). I have a big SUV-like MTB and it's really nice (GT Avalance 3.0 w/ discs) if I needed a new I'd consider a road bike.

Go for GT, Trek, Specialized and there are others too. Don't get the <100gbp ones with crappy disc brakes not very good, I'd spend 250gbp+. A cheap bike will have breaks that'll **** up, bad gears and you'll spend time tryin' to fix it when you could be riding. I had a great sub 100gbp sometime back, I got another years later thinking it would be of the same qual. and it was quite poor.

6thElement said:
An 8 mile ride on the road is hardly burning anything ;)
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Yes it will. It's down to how intense you make it.
 
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oddjob62 said:
Yup, got one the other day. 10 mins quick change and i was on my way, although my hands were rather messy (might get some latex gloves for next time).
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so you just carry a spare innertube? makes sense i guess.
what ever happened to those innertubes that never het punctures they were on blue peter like 20 years ago lol :rolleyes:
 
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