Distance Vs Risk - Daily Commute

[SS HSV]

I have a new job which I have started in Basingstoke and today was my first day and I took the car. It is 44 miles each way and roughly an hour from my house, mainly round the M25 for a couple of junctions then all M3 and a few roundabouts and I'm there.

The question is: Who does a long daily commute on their bike and what are the other factors thats either allow you to justify using the bike or not. I have a Frank Thomas one-piece rain-mac type thing which does not leak, but I also have to wear a suit for work and look sensible as I have a lot of responsibilities Fortunately there are a few bikers there so I am looking forward to breaking the ice.

I love taking the Holden but I cannot allow Mr Repman to large-out his Audi on my bumper so the enevitable bye-bye occurs as does the £20per day fuel bill which is what it will cost me if I use the car.

So working on the 'more time on the road = equals bigger risk theory' who does large biker mileage here and what stories/advice can you share?

[Hooli]

16k miles since passing my test in january. to be honest id say short journeys are more dangerous, i tend to race short distances but cruise longer ones.
can you leave your suit at work & just take a shirt in a tankbag or similar?
tesco £25 suits survive rather well under textile gear if your interested. i went to work everyday on the bike from late january to march when i quit like that - about 15miles each way.

[Biker's Nemesis]

I nearly died commuting to work on a bike. I use the car now, my bikes are for fun only now 7-8 thousand miles per year on the bikes.

[F.M]

If you start early..the commute can be a joy...flat on the tank into the rising sun....in rush hour it can be filtering & avoiding lane changers who forget they have mirrors..but you will save loads of time.

[SS HSV]

Hooli said:

16k miles since passing my test in january. to be honest id say short journeys are more dangerous, i tend to race short distances but cruise longer ones.
can you leave your suit at work & just take a shirt in a tankbag or similar?
tesco £25 suits survive rather well under textile gear if your interested. i went to work everyday on the bike from late january to march when i quit like that - about 15miles each way.

I don't think I could do the shirt in a bag thing as I would have to iron the damn thing when I got to work and thats a I hate ironing at the best of time but to have to do it at work

Biker's Nemesis said:

I nearly died commuting to work on a bike. I use the car now, my bikes are for fun only now 7-8 thousand miles per year on the bikes.

This is my concern - it's not about dying on the bike it's about dying on the way to work or on the way home for that matter. If you're gonna go out at least do it in your own time and not while trying to pay bloody bills

F.M said:

If you start early..the commute can be a joy...flat on the tank into the rising sun....in rush hour it can be filtering & avoiding lane changers who forget they have mirrors..but you will save loads of time.

Time is the other problem. I start at 8am which means rush-hour and guess what? I finish at 5pm so rush-hour again although I could just stay late

The old CBR has done 52000 miles and is still as strong as ever. It owes me just over 1000 bloody quid for it, and thats with mot, tax and insurance so its the ideal nail for the job. BUT, when the performance is used it will easily gobble up a tank on 100 miles (3 gallons) so thats about £10 per day on average if I don't live my life on the limiter. So for saving £10 a day to arrive dry and relatively composed I don't think its worth the extra risk, which is the answer I didn't want to arrive at.

Still if they give me a car allowance I could buy a new Busa and then it would be

[Chilli]

A round trip of about 66 miles for me. A piece of cake from Essex into the Wharf. Takes me around 30 mins in the morning (28 is the world record!) and around 40-45 in the evening. The 750 doesn't seem to drink fuel, so it's as cheap as chips. Also the fact that you can just fly through the traffic makes it all worth while.
The risks are always there mate....but you can minimise these with training and experience, it's the only way to learn.

[Ballon]

I only do 11 miles each way but on a number of occassions have commuted from my mum's in St Ives (Camb's before anyone gets excited) to the City and it was easy.

However I can comment on the clothing point, having commuted for the past 14 years. I keep two suits at work (which I swap every couple of months with others from home) and shoes and use a Baglux tank bag for the shirt. If you fold it neatly and dont pile stuff on top of it, it survives the journey well. I to have to meet people constantly during the day so a dishcloth for a shirt is not an option.

I would suggest you give it a trial run and see how you get on.

[hardboiledPhil]

44 miles in an hour sounds like a reasonable average to me. Given how comfy you'd be in the car in whatever weather conditions it might be worth just doing the bike in good weather.

I've been commuting a 12 mile round journey into Leeds for about 6 years now when I'm not working away. Reason I do it is because it takes 30-40 mins to do the same journey in a car if I'm lucky and 15 mins on the bike. Plus I can get free bike parking versus paying £5 a day for car parking.

I don't see commuting being any more dangerous than weekend riding - just don't rush and keep your eyes very wide open!

[Fire99]

i've been stuck using the car for work for the past couple of weeks due to not being able to wear the skid-lid..
its 16 miles each way and lets just say now the kids are back at school, traffic this morning was a right pain in the backside.

You do need to be careful and even though i can ride like a loon at times i am very careful when filtering through stationary / v.slow moving traffic.

The risks are there but for me the stress of sitting traffic for double the time makes up for it.

[phillvr6]

I've just started riding in to central London from Woking, a 80 mile round trip and takes about an hour ten to an hour twenty each way.

I leave a pair of shoes at work and carry trousers shirt and tie in a bag, as lond as they're well folded they're fine.

I'd suggest giving the bike a try for a couple of days and see how you get on.

How about alternating between the car and the bike?

[Andy OH]

I've been commuting into the City of London for the past 5 years, it is a 70 mile round trip. I leave a suit in the office and I take a shirt in with me every day, as long as you fold it properly and put it in a plastic carrier bag i.e. a Next carrier bag it will be fine. I've never had a problem with a creased shirt by using this method.

[archie456]

I have a 35 mile commute each way to the office, and up to 200 miles each way for visiting customers, and it's fine. The risk is almost entirely dependant on how you ride - for me my mood that day and the bike I ride has a large influence on this (BMW or Gixxer). Also if you do it regularly, spotting idiots will become second nature and you'll be less likely to join in somebody else's accident.

I wear Rukka gear over a shirt and trousers all year round, leaving shoes at work. No matter whether I wear the shirt or carry it, I arrive looking like I've slept under a hedge. I find that with John Lewis 'easy-care' or non-iron shirts the creases will fall out in about 15 minutes once I've take my jacket off.

[dern]

I should take a day off one day and try the commute in to london. I'd have to get from newbury east along the m4 to canary wharf and I've no idea how long it would take but the rewards would be more or less double my current salary.

For me commuting by bike is the best way to do it... I start to feel brain dead if I do it by car.

I take a fresh shirt in every day and leave my suit and shoes at work.

Edited by dern on Tuesday 4th September 16:18

[rsv gone!]

I have two-piece textiles and wear them over a shirt. Trousers and shoes go in the rucksack. I swear by these non-iron shirts.

If I hadn't had a site meeting today I'd have been on the bike again. Instead, I had to sit in the M1 traffic - made worse by the tube strikers!

[Chilli]

I keep a shirt and Trousers in my ruck sack. However, I left it open again this morning...Only lost me smokes and a lighter, but at least I've got me strides. Oh, and I had to spend another £60 on shoes yesterday, as I left them at home!

[sjtscott]

I've recently changed from a 26mile round trip to 13mile round trip since moving offices from Putney to the Southbank. Overall commuting in London some 7.5 years now.
Luckily I don't work in a directly customer facing job so I don't have to bother with the shirt/tie/suit normally still use textiles year round as they are by far the most practical.

The tube strike this week has reminded again why I choose to have an alternative and in my view far more pleasurable journey at my own pace in my own time without someones armpit in my face everyday. Its the personal space thing that puts me off being able to use the tube everyday!

[rsv gone!]

Chilli said:

I keep a shirt and Trousers in my ruck sack. However, I left it open again this morning...Only lost me smokes and a lighter, but at least I've got me strides. Oh, and I had to spend another £60 on shoes yesterday, as I left them at home!

I did similar and lost a pair of trousers! Had to ride all the way home for replacements!!!! Doh!