Cyclists - how far do you commute to work?

Associate
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13 Oct 2018
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Question for any cyclists here.. how far do you commute on your bike? I am thinking of cycling to work to get fitter but it is 11 miles each way and not sure if this is abit far for someone who rarely cycles :D
 
Caporegime
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1 Dec 2010
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Welling, London
I had a colleague back in 2003 who started to cycle to work to get fitter.

2 weeks in he got knocked off and broke his arm and ankle I kid you not. Don’t think he ended up feeling much fitter.
 
Man of Honour
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29 Mar 2003
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Stoke on Trent
I had a colleague back in 2003 who started to cycle to work to get fitter.

2 weeks in he got knocked off and broke his arm and ankle I kid you not. Don’t think he ended up feeling much fitter.


I began 6 years ago and I've had 5x A&E attendances featuring 4 dislocated shoulders (2 each), 5 broken ribs and a fractured right elbow.
Four of them were black ice but I've got Ice Spikers on now :)
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Mar 2011
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6,479
Location
Kent
2 miles currently, going up to 13 miles in a few weeks time - however with the backup of a car for the wet days, and no cycling on the early starts. Still, 4 days every 2 weeks I'd think.

Oh and much on quiet roads/offroad as possible.

Pulls pin

Do you guys pay road tax yet?

Runs

I do :p On both my car (£500+ :() and £90 on the motorbike. :D

OP - 11 miles can very different, if it's 11 miles of hills vs 11 miles of flat country roads.

If you don't cycle much, try and ease into it by either doing 1/2 days per week, or even driving/getting the train part of the way and cycling the rest. Doing 20 miles a day will soon hurt you if you're unfit.

As a rough guide, I can do the 13 miles in around 50-55 minutes on a decently fast bike, so that's about 16mph average. That's not taking it easy at any point. Heart rate in the high 180's peak and probably averaging high 160's.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
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14 Nov 2007
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In the Land of Grey and Pink
2 miles currently, going up to 13 miles in a few weeks time - however with the backup of a car for the wet days, and no cycling on the early starts. Still, 4 days every 2 weeks I'd think.

Oh and much on quiet roads/offroad as possible.



I do :p On both my car (£500+ :() and £90 on the motorbike. :D

Ha, you fell for it!

Road Tax hasn't existed since the thirties :D
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
91,026
I had a colleague back in 2003 who started to cycle to work to get fitter.

2 weeks in he got knocked off and broke his arm and ankle I kid you not. Don’t think he ended up feeling much fitter.

My sister had a colleague back around 2003-2004 who started cycling to work to get fitter - went under a lorry :|

These days especially there is no way I'd cycle to work unless there was cycle paths the whole way - used to do it when I was a student.
 
Soldato
Joined
23 May 2016
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3,727
Location
North Essex
I had a colleague back in 2003 who started to cycle to work to get fitter.

2 weeks in he got knocked off and broke his arm and ankle I kid you not. Don’t think he ended up feeling much fitter.
I fell off my first day. (my own fault, not used to road bike), then on my 4th day got hit by a car.

Bike has sat at the end of my garden ever since.

And I am still unfit.

And to the OP.. 11miles is quite a bit. I wouldnt want to do that every day. Certainly not in poor weather.
 
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