Going to work by bike questions.
Discussion
I can't believe how lucky some of you guys are having such facilities at work!!
I have just started biking to work (local office) twice a week. It is only 6 miles there so I put a 20 mile loop in on the way home.
Unlike a lot of you guys, we have no showers. I also need to take my laptop with me and dress smartly in shirt / tie so I have fitted a set of panniers to my Ribble Road bike and wrap my laptop in a plastic bag. It's not ideal but I can have a quick wash / wipe in the disabled toilet when I get there and try not too go to hard on the way so as to stay relatively cool.
It's still quicker than taking the car and I tend to get home at the same time as usual - having done a 26 mile ride - leaving me more time to see the missus and the kids
Well you can't have everything I suppose!
I have just started biking to work (local office) twice a week. It is only 6 miles there so I put a 20 mile loop in on the way home.
Unlike a lot of you guys, we have no showers. I also need to take my laptop with me and dress smartly in shirt / tie so I have fitted a set of panniers to my Ribble Road bike and wrap my laptop in a plastic bag. It's not ideal but I can have a quick wash / wipe in the disabled toilet when I get there and try not too go to hard on the way so as to stay relatively cool.
It's still quicker than taking the car and I tend to get home at the same time as usual - having done a 26 mile ride - leaving me more time to see the missus and the kids
Well you can't have everything I suppose!
When I was doing ~4 miles each way I would just take it easy so that I didn't work up a sweat and cycle in my office gear (casual) + waterproofs if needed.
I've just moved so will now be doing ~12 miles each way, but it was my first ride in this morning so can really comment on what works best over this distance yet.
I've just moved so will now be doing ~12 miles each way, but it was my first ride in this morning so can really comment on what works best over this distance yet.
I have a 7 mile commute each way into the centre of Birmingham, I am very lucky as we have male and female showers at work with a secret cupboard to keep shower gel and spray in. I keep my bike in our workshop so it is nice and safe, as do a few others who cycle in. Every few weekends I use the car for work so take in new work uniforms and new fresh towels and take the old ones home for washing, so I am able to cycle in in full lycra gear, if it rains I can usually get my stuff dried out by hometime by laying it out on a hot steam pipe in the basement. The management where I work seem to encourage us to cycle in and have an healthy lifestyle, like I said before I am very lucky in this way.
The bike I use is a 2010 Giant Defy4 which replaced a Specialized Hardrock with road tyres, Armadillos I think, as I got fed up with being passed by other roadies and not being able to keep up with them so i sold the Specialized and got the Giant.
I replaced the tyres with some much better ones as I was plagued with punctures and changed the rear cassette to one with more closely spaced sprockets as its a pretty flat run for me so I did not need such variation, almost seemed like a mountain bike cassette but is so much better now with close ratio cassette. I fitted one of those clamp on crud rear mudguards I took of my mountain bike for rain protection, hate it when it sprays up your back, especially if its stopped raining but the roads are wet still. Not fussed about the rest of the spray of the front wheel as I'll get dried off at work, two rear lights one flashy and one not and two LED front lights again one flashy and one not, also use my small rucksack with my sandwiches in and a waterproof dayglo cover over it and a dayglo vest when its dark.
The bike I use is a 2010 Giant Defy4 which replaced a Specialized Hardrock with road tyres, Armadillos I think, as I got fed up with being passed by other roadies and not being able to keep up with them so i sold the Specialized and got the Giant.
I replaced the tyres with some much better ones as I was plagued with punctures and changed the rear cassette to one with more closely spaced sprockets as its a pretty flat run for me so I did not need such variation, almost seemed like a mountain bike cassette but is so much better now with close ratio cassette. I fitted one of those clamp on crud rear mudguards I took of my mountain bike for rain protection, hate it when it sprays up your back, especially if its stopped raining but the roads are wet still. Not fussed about the rest of the spray of the front wheel as I'll get dried off at work, two rear lights one flashy and one not and two LED front lights again one flashy and one not, also use my small rucksack with my sandwiches in and a waterproof dayglo cover over it and a dayglo vest when its dark.
5 mile journey each way, so I tend to run in a few times a week and cycle once or twice, otherwise a sub 20 minute journey isn't really a proper work out.
Monday is a drive in day to bring in shirts / fresh towel / socks and pants for the week.
Friday will cycle back with a daysack on filled with laundry.
Claud Butler Road bike with recently fitted full length road racer mudguards to keep the spray down. (work really well)
Legs - Cycling shorts in summer, with thin tracky bottoms over the top in winter with waterproof trousers
Top - Long running t shirts (breathable) under fully waterproof sailing overjacket in the wet. Microfleece on when it's really cold.
Feet - Goretex socks in the wet with normal trainers. I don't have spds on the bike, not worth it for 10 mile daily journey.
Gloves - old waterproof skiing gloves, although just about to buy some new ones with liners as they're not coping with the torrential rain anymore.
Showers at work, although my locker is right next to the urinals, so it's not like a proper changing room.
I carry a running sort of bumbag with me which carries a spare tube, phone goes in a freezer bag inside, carries keys / wallet and room for lightweight waterproofs in summer. On such a short journey I could feasibly carry a daysack daily with other stuff if I needed to.
If there were no showers at work, I could use wet wipes and a small towel to dry off, but I'm not one for bimbling along on the bike and tend to get a sweat on.
Monday is a drive in day to bring in shirts / fresh towel / socks and pants for the week.
Friday will cycle back with a daysack on filled with laundry.
Claud Butler Road bike with recently fitted full length road racer mudguards to keep the spray down. (work really well)
Legs - Cycling shorts in summer, with thin tracky bottoms over the top in winter with waterproof trousers
Top - Long running t shirts (breathable) under fully waterproof sailing overjacket in the wet. Microfleece on when it's really cold.
Feet - Goretex socks in the wet with normal trainers. I don't have spds on the bike, not worth it for 10 mile daily journey.
Gloves - old waterproof skiing gloves, although just about to buy some new ones with liners as they're not coping with the torrential rain anymore.
Showers at work, although my locker is right next to the urinals, so it's not like a proper changing room.
I carry a running sort of bumbag with me which carries a spare tube, phone goes in a freezer bag inside, carries keys / wallet and room for lightweight waterproofs in summer. On such a short journey I could feasibly carry a daysack daily with other stuff if I needed to.
If there were no showers at work, I could use wet wipes and a small towel to dry off, but I'm not one for bimbling along on the bike and tend to get a sweat on.
Cycle everyday, only around 3 miles so I don't bother with getting changed or showering. I drop over 200ft on the way in, so I can do it at a reasonable pace without breaking a sweat.
Carry a laptop on my back, use a Specialized hybrid. I prefer flat bars when negotiating traffic.
Mudguards are essential, along with overtrousers and shoes when it's wet. Switched to Gator Skin tyres about 400 miles ago and haven't *touch wood* had a puncture yet.
I've recently started using a cycle path which runs through a local park, its a nicer route but pitch black at night. I've ordered a 200 lumen torch with a wide scatter beam from Amazon for £35 and a £4 bike mount off eBay, I reckon this will provide a lot more light than a lot of £100+ bike lights.
Takes me around 11 minutes to get to and from work, that's with waiting at every red light, driving takes nearly an hour.
Carry a laptop on my back, use a Specialized hybrid. I prefer flat bars when negotiating traffic.
Mudguards are essential, along with overtrousers and shoes when it's wet. Switched to Gator Skin tyres about 400 miles ago and haven't *touch wood* had a puncture yet.
I've recently started using a cycle path which runs through a local park, its a nicer route but pitch black at night. I've ordered a 200 lumen torch with a wide scatter beam from Amazon for £35 and a £4 bike mount off eBay, I reckon this will provide a lot more light than a lot of £100+ bike lights.
Takes me around 11 minutes to get to and from work, that's with waiting at every red light, driving takes nearly an hour.
I cycle everyday as well, and its 12 miles each way.
We have showers & changing rooms at work so I tend to leave towel, wash stuff, & suit at work. Just bring in clean shirts, pants etc everyday.
Now the weather is turning I've swapped from a road bike + rucksack to my mountain bike. It kitted out with slicks & a pannier rack for commuting. I tend to leave my laptop at work unless I need to visit another site then it gets carried home, the panniers definitely make this a little easier.
Clothes wise I'm still in fingerless gloves, shorts, a decent wicking t-shirt & dependant on the weather either my hi-viz waterproof or a lightweight hi-viz. Though I'll swap to winter gloves, leggings & a long sleeve t-shirt when it starts to get cold.
As 2/3rds of my route is down an unlit cycle path I have 2 front lights (both ~250 lumens) & 2 rear lights for the road sections, one flashing the other steady. I've also stuck reflective stickers on the back of the pannier rack, saddle & my shoes just as an extra precaution.
We have showers & changing rooms at work so I tend to leave towel, wash stuff, & suit at work. Just bring in clean shirts, pants etc everyday.
Now the weather is turning I've swapped from a road bike + rucksack to my mountain bike. It kitted out with slicks & a pannier rack for commuting. I tend to leave my laptop at work unless I need to visit another site then it gets carried home, the panniers definitely make this a little easier.
Clothes wise I'm still in fingerless gloves, shorts, a decent wicking t-shirt & dependant on the weather either my hi-viz waterproof or a lightweight hi-viz. Though I'll swap to winter gloves, leggings & a long sleeve t-shirt when it starts to get cold.
As 2/3rds of my route is down an unlit cycle path I have 2 front lights (both ~250 lumens) & 2 rear lights for the road sections, one flashing the other steady. I've also stuck reflective stickers on the back of the pannier rack, saddle & my shoes just as an extra precaution.
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