First post in here....

[wombat172a]

Morning all,

Due to the stuffed up trains into central london on the staines line, I'm considering giving cycling a bash. My route would be from egham to blackfriars, does anybody know of any good resources for route planning?

The bike I'll be using is my house mates MTB, and if this is all successful I'll be sorting out a more practical bike with road tyres. I reckon the route will be about 25miles door to door, what kind of average speed could I expect?

I've not really given this huge amount of thought aside from, eat breakfast, take water (and gear to change into at work), leave early. I've done a bit of MTBing in the past, but never really any road biking. I'm not hugely fit, but I reckon if I take it at my own pace I should be okay.

Any thoughts or suggestions will be muchly appreciated!

Thanks,
Chris

[wombat172a]

Also, is it wisest to use the dual carriageway routes such as the A30 & A4 which will no doubt be quicker, or to stay out of traffics way?

[hondafanatic]

My advice would be to try it at on the Saturday (assuming you work Mon to Fri) and if you're not dead on Sunday morning then give it a bash.

25 miles is do-able (spelling?) but you might be better off starting with cycling on alternate days. Or, cycle in, train back, train in, cycle back to get into it.

Give us a better idea of your fitness and whether you genuinely feel you can do 50 miles a day (I did read it as 25 miles one way).

Also, you're possibly making it harder for yourself on an MTB. I'm an MTB rider, but commute on a cyclo-cross as I appreciate the merits of a road bike for consistent and efficient cycling (I need a shower after admitting that last sentence)

Edited by hondafanatic on Wednesday 18th November 12:47

[dirty doug]

wombat172a said:

Morning all,

Due to the stuffed up trains into central london on the staines line, I'm considering giving cycling a bash. My route would be from egham to blackfriars, does anybody know of any good resources for route planning?

The bike I'll be using is my house mates MTB, and if this is all successful I'll be sorting out a more practical bike with road tyres. I reckon the route will be about 25miles door to door, what kind of average speed could I expect?

I've not really given this huge amount of thought aside from, eat breakfast, take water (and gear to change into at work), leave early. I've done a bit of MTBing in the past, but never really any road biking. I'm not hugely fit, but I reckon if I take it at my own pace I should be okay.

Any thoughts or suggestions will be muchly appreciated!

Thanks,
Chris

You like a challenge then! 50 miles a day when you're not 'bike fit' and doing a full days work will be fairly tough.
I would expect 25 miles to be done at about 10-14 mph on a MTB depending on traffic lights, availability of cycle lanes, gradients etc so 2 hours to be allowed on commute in. Commute home - WGAF!
BIG BREAKFAST as much as you can eat really ideally 1/2 hour at least before you set off + plenty of fluids
HELMET!! + make yourself as visible as possible. Decent lights + some kind of reflective gear. You don't need to look like a xmas tree but if you're not seen, you WILL be a statistic.
If you're inexperienced on the road, you will feel nervous in heavy traffic. Be decisive & let cars know what you're going to do & you're normally ok.
I reckon you're probably better off twice a week to start - take all your change clothes & food with you on the train on Monday, weight is your enemy.
Get the tyres changed to onroad spec asap - knobbly tyres = more rolling resistance.
Apart from that, enjoy & good luck

[anonymous-user]

thats a mean commute!, have a look at your route (including elevation) on www.bikehike.co.uk

[mk1fan]

25-mile commute is a big ride.

1. Your flatmates mtb is not the most suitable bike to do it on, although it will fast track your fitness. A hybrid bike with 700 x 32c tyres will be faster and more comfortable. Suspension forks are not needed at all. A suspension seatpost would be more benificial.

2. For that length of ride it would be better to have your clothes etc... in panniers so the bike takes the weight / load and not your back.

3. Full and proper mudguards including a 'mud flap' on the front guard will make a huge difference in comfort. When riding in the rain the vast majority of the water is spray from the tyres.

4. Proper clothing is well worth the money. In cold weather, protect your knees.

5. Does your employer run a cycle to work scheme?

6. Route planning can be done using an A-Z map. TFL have a route planner on their cycling website.

[Roman]

Very busy roads down there - especially at peak hours & sharing them with stressed half awake commuters. I wouldn't expect it to be very enjoyable (or safe) riding. I don't think you will be able to use off road cyclepaths for much of the journey either.

Commuting 50 miles a day by bike is challenging enough even if you are in the countryside and love training.

I would expect the ride to take 2hrs in heavy traffic assuming you are not going to be cruising at the same pace as a roadie or triathlete on a decent roadbike.

Give it a try over the weekend.

If you still want to go ahead I'd have thought either riding alternate days or using the train on Mondays & Fridays to transport your work clothes and riding Tue, Wed & Thurs.