Road Cycling

[#Chri5#]

@#Chri5# - ha, very weird that as my work commute is 28KM as well with a nice climb at the start so very similar. 285m of climbing on the shortest route I take in and I often go a hilly way home which gets me 360m and 35KM to home.

You'll definitely need a shower every day you do it especially with UK changeable weather. I am very lucky at my work there is many showers to choose from in different parts of the plant but I am also a member of the council gym right across the road which also does have showers.

I am doing it all week just now and like you my drive commute would be 30 miles round trip and my car does about 25MPG.... so I have saved HEAPS of money recently.

Get the showering sorted and it'll 100% be worth it and you won't regret. It'll be 2 hours of riding for you per day and you will save lots of pennies. You'll be doing 4-5 days in no time although might be a bit more drama with the winter fast approaching!

Cheers. Couldn't do every day as I do go to visit customers when required and also have a laptop to consider, hence I'm initially thinking a couple of times mid-week and leaving the laptop in the office on a Monday.

Winter would need a bit of investment in lights (I expect the battery packs would be dead for my old MTB lights) as the vast majority of the route would be unlit. I used to love night MTBing though. I have some 3/4 and full length bibs, winter SPD MTB boots and some thermal jackets. A new waterproof would go on the list.

The "free" fitness from extra riding appeals greatly. Tuesday is normally my mid-week ride, so that night I could go a longer way home and do 50k rather than the usual post-work 30k.

Hopefully have time to investigate the bike parking at the council gym and nip into the hotel leisure club tomorrow lunchtime.

 

[touch]

Lights are cheap these days. You can get a decent set for <£30.

Decent winter riding kit is expensive though. Especially if you need 2 or 3 sets to let it dry out between rides.

 

[Roady]

I'm investigating cycling into work - the sticky point is we don't have any showers at the office. Do any of the bike commuters here have the same problem? If so, what do you do?

Deodorant! To be fair I do sweat a bit in the summer, but eating cleanly my sweat doesn't overly smell. My really short commute <2.5 miles <10 minutes is manageable without most of the year, the times I sweat I carry a roll on.

I theory I could shower, but the 'showers' are not designed for cleanliness - they're designed for washing chemicals from PPE (I work on a plant nursery)! I know 1 guy who rides in ~15-20 miles once a week and uses them. There's no warm water though so I've never considered them... Plenty of others ride in but they don't shower as are generally working outside regardless of the weather, only a couple of them even put an effort into cycling (lycra/helmets/road bikes etc).

For me and my other half, cycling to work enabled us to go down to 1 car which now only does 5-6k a year.

Personally I gained such fitness and so much enjoyment then from riding that cycling became my main hobby. Estimating I save at least £50 a week in fuel/tax/running costs/depreciation, so even my £1750 Diverge has more than paid for itself in less than a year.

 

[garnett]

I'm investigating cycling into work - the sticky point is we don't have any showers at the office. Do any of the bike commuters here have the same problem? If so, what do you do?

Ride in would be 28km, using a couple of B-roads and country lanes, so around 1:15 at a steady pace with a small hill early on - profile:



There's a small independent gym on the same business park as the office but they don't have showers yet (waiting for their landlord to agree on the pipes) - they should have them by September / October. Costs £18/month from memory. A nearby hotel has a small gym and pool (not got prices yet), plus the council leisure centre in town (possible issue with bike security there). The council gym is £36 / month for a standard membership or £4.70 per visit.

Driving is a 35 mile round trip, car probably averages 45mpg, so say around £6 to £7 a day on car costs. Being able to cycle in twice a week would save money, though I could imagine I'd end up buying a commuter bike

I wouldn't want to face 28km of riding at the end of the day many days to be honest.

(Can I just say - I love the way how, just like I would too, everyone's naturally talking about kms of bike riding and miles of car journeys - so British!)

I did an 11km commute for a year, and I actually loved it. Best part of my day sadly. Work has no showers and so I'd keep a packet of baby-wipes in my office and use those instead - good enough. I also kept a towel for those days when it was heaving it down. Putting on wet kit at the end of the day was a bit miserable - but good kit was transformational in terms of making what could have been grim riding conditions into absolutely fine. Waterproof shoe-toe covers, lobster gloves for mid-winter, decent mudguards, a Fenix bike light for some unlit-and-pitch-black-otherwise sections of the ride, cheap Bolle safety specs - I remember thinking all of those were worth their weight in gold.

I'd have a train journey through London at the end, and the worst days (only a couple) were when it had been chucking it down on the ride, I was drenched, and then I'd get on the train into London and the weather would improve so that people would board a train on a lovely sunny day, and be faced with a drowned rat in lycra gear.

I spent a while looking for the best way to carry all my crap but in the end I decided not to carry anything. I kept 5 shirts at the office and took them to the cleaners near work each week; kept one lock at work, and one at the train station.

As an aside, joining a gym next to work, and then going for 30 minutes workout each day at lunch has transformed my life.

 

[UTmaniac]

We have a shower a work, but I've yet to even use it, but then my commute is under 5 miles and only ~130 feet of climbing on the way in. Not to mention the job is quite physical and typically only the first ~2.5 hours are spent indoors before 3-5 hours outdoors.

Must confess though, that during the heatwave I got the closest I've come to seriously considering taking a towel and some soap into work to put in my locker, cycling in at 0600-0700 in ~20C heat was a bit sweaty if I was late leaving home!

 

[FishFluff]

I used to manage a 20km commute with no shower buy wiping all sweat off with a towel, washing with baby wipes and then liberal use of deodorant. It’s dried sweat that causes odour and I never had any complaints. I worked with a right rude bunch so they definitely would have told me if i ponged!

 

[Shamrock]

Parts are arriving...

 

[Saytan]

excellent choice.

 

[Shamrock]

excellent choice.

As long as I don't require several £200, Campag-only tools to assemble it!

 

[SoliD]

Stop doing what I want to do! Keep looking for something to replace my Pinnacle Frame bit more road orientated. But everything is either mega bucks or would need lots of parts to make it mega bucks!

 

[Saytan]

As long as I don't require several £200, Campag-only tools to assemble it!

They're not that bad *quietly hides £50 of tools just for changing ultratorque bearings*

 

[UTmaniac]

PIGGYBANK gets you 15% off Ebay today on one basket until 2000, min spend £20 max discount £50, might be some cycling bargains or other stuff.

 

[#Chri5#]

PIGGYBANK gets you 15% off Ebay today on one basket until 2000, min spend £20 max discount £50, might be some cycling bargains or other stuff.

Cheers for that - saved me £15

 

[#Chri5#]

Thanks for all the commute details. I work in a office, so unfortunately turning up looking like a sweaty, smelly git would soon get noticed. Upside is office attire is casual - jeans (or shorts a lot this summer!) and shirt/T-shirt, so at least I don't have to worry about creasing suits/shirts.

I popped into the hotel round the corner from the office earlier and they do a 7am to 1pm gym membership for £25/month, with an initial term of 3 months. No specific bike storage, but the guy on the front desk did say I could park inside by the reception and use a D-lock to stop it being rideable. Two cycle commutes a week would make cycle + gym cheaper than driving. Three months gym membership would give me chance to see how I get on with it for a minimal cost and also a short window after the clocks go back to see if I want to take the bike or the lure of car and heated seats is too much to resist.

 

[Shadowness]

Pah....just get some decent winter clothing and ride all year

 

[Roady]

Thanks for all the commute details. I work in a office, so unfortunately turning up looking like a sweaty, smelly git would soon get noticed. Upside is office attire is casual - jeans (or shorts a lot this summer!) and shirt/T-shirt, so at least I don't have to worry about creasing suits/shirts.

A casual environment really does help, I'm generally shirt & trousers but am one of the best dressed here (old habits...). I have no problems crinkling shirts as mine are generally in my bag for only around 30 mins.

<snip>Two cycle commutes a week would make cycle + gym cheaper than driving.<snip>

This is the best way to think of it to start with - it easily justifies what you're doing alongside the enjoyment you'll get from getting a bunch of 'training'/base miles in. Keeping that mindset going through some of the worse/challenging weather can be quite a challenge though! Having good winter kit helps a huge amount with that, you'll mosty find that through trial and error what works for you. As well as asking around places like here. Two words - overshoes & mudguards!

Have a good weekend all! Finally get out for a club ride tomorrow, it's going to hurt!

 

[lordrobs]

Has anyone ordered tyres from Merlin and had them come not in retail packaging? My new Schwalbe One just arrived wrapped in bubble wrap

It isn't a big deal but surely they should at least mention that in the description

 

[zophiel]

yes and it didnt bother me in the slightest. more companies should do away with pointless packaging. i dont need some elastic bands and extra cardboard waste to recycle.

 

[Saytan]

They get their prices lower that way too.

Way I see it, if you're not paying RRP then retail packaging is a bonus

 

[lordrobs]

Fair enough, was just surprising as I've ordered various things from them in the past and this was the first time something came unpackaged. £5 saving for some card not cluttering up my recycling bin seems like a decent enough deal

I agree with zopheil too, this should become the norm for online purchases. I guess they buy a bulk load from the OEM and sell the same batch as stock as they use on their bike builds.