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Re: Time to try this commuting lark

PostPosted: 23 May 2016 14:41
by willy_1977
One thing I found is I got fed up with traffic, so I'd find different routes to my destination where possible - it's no fun on the main island that leads to the M6 :)

Now, I'd thought about lighting myself up to be seen but I do remember being caught out when I first went on the more rural route and not having enough lighting to see so depending on your likely routes it may be worth considering - although from your earlier posts sounds like you may have that covered.

Other than that - if you've not already got one - save up for a good high vis waterproof mine became invaluable in the end. I also resigned myself to the fact that no matter what I did my feet would be soaked through when it came to wet / inclement weather - but overshoes kept them warm without the overshoe the mix of water and draft made me very uncomfy - same with hands - yes yes MTFU etc. but this is day in day out riding it's a different beast.

The only other thing I can say is build it up, I started aiming to do 3 in 5 (i.e. day on, day off, day on, day off, day on, weekend to get doms/niggles out the way), it soon came round that I'd miss the commute when I was unable to do it - so enjoy it :)

*bit late to the party - but ya know... :)

Re: Time to try this commuting lark

PostPosted: 26 May 2016 21:30
by Lead Balloon
willy_1977 wrote:One thing I found is I got fed up with traffic, so I'd find different routes to my destination where possible - it's no fun on the main island that leads to the M6 :)


No arguments there. Getting buzzed by a shedload of cars every day isn't exactly on my bucket list either.

Lighting's always something I struggle with, whenever I've needed lights it's been for a long ride that drains most batteries. I'm sure I'll the right combo at some point.

willy_1977 wrote:Other than that - if you've not already got one - save up for a good high vis waterproof mine became invaluable in the end. I also resigned myself to the fact that no matter what I did my feet would be soaked through when it came to wet / inclement weather - but overshoes kept them warm without the overshoe the mix of water and draft made me very uncomfy - same with hands - yes yes MTFU etc. but this is day in day out riding it's a different beast.

The only other thing I can say is build it up, I started aiming to do 3 in 5 (i.e. day on, day off, day on, day off, day on, weekend to get doms/niggles out the way), it soon came round that I'd miss the commute when I was unable to do it - so enjoy it :)

*bit late to the party - but ya know... :)


I've got an Altura high vis waterproof which should do the job. It's one of those baggy ones that I'm not too fond of. You're right though, commutes are about comfort not speed. Overshoes and goretex socks are a great combo for ensuring your feet stay dry I've found. Still working on the gloves front though.

Good advice on building up, although I've never been too smart when it comes to that :lol:

Re: Time to try this commuting lark

PostPosted: 27 May 2016 10:53
by ris
Lead Balloon wrote:I've got an Altura high vis waterproof which should do the job. It's one of those baggy ones that I'm not too fond of. You're right though, commutes are about comfort not speed. Overshoes and goretex socks are a great combo for ensuring your feet stay dry I've found. Still working on the gloves front though.


i have an ascending scale of gloves of various kinds:
summer mitts (about 15 pairs!)
long fingered mitts - autumn / spring - mine are biologic cypher and i like them a lot
standard winter gloves (i have 2-3 pairs - aldi). they are great and good down to about 5c. buy a couple when they come on sale so you can carry a dry pair when the weather is shit.
heavy duty winter gloves - mine are showerspass (from the states). insanely warm, quite windproof, too hot above 5c and good well below freezing.
aldi 'lobster' gloves - about as good as the showerspass but a bit less windproof. it has to be sub-zero for these.

Re: Time to try this commuting lark

PostPosted: 27 May 2016 11:27
by Jack Hughes
It's really all the minor logistics.... what clothes to have at work - if there is space for them - how to dry things when you get there... nothing worse than having to put damp kit on to get back.


I tend to be a fair weather commuter... if it looks pretty guaranteed to by nice both in and out, I'll try it... not so much that I don't like getting wet, but because of the hassle of dealing with all the layers of damp clothing in the office. Fine if you have somewhere to put it all.

Re: Time to try this commuting lark

PostPosted: 27 May 2016 12:01
by willy_1977
Jack Hughes wrote:[snip]... but because of the hassle of dealing with all the layers of damp clothing in the office. Fine if you have somewhere to put it all.


Oh this in buckets - it wasn't till I left a place that the decent chaps there told me they just used to put up with the damp dog smell as I only had a rad in the office at first - and putting damp kit back on is not nice, done it more times than I care to mention.

You could car one day to get all the required dry kit into the office if you have storage - that means on a daily basis you're only carrying your emergency toolkit, lighting, mobile, etc.

Re: Time to try this commuting lark

PostPosted: 06 Jun 2016 20:07
by Lead Balloon
UPDATE:

First day's commute done today with a nice, full daysack. it was pretty nippy at 0700 when I set off so I threw my long sleeve windproof on front LS jersey over the top to take the edge off. I'm glad I did as the first half of the ride was windy as f&@! but after that the wind dropped so I ditched it. I felt good on the way in although I made an effort to remain upright as the daysack was a bit weighty. Kryptonite locks are hoofing bits of kit but lightweight they are not!

The shower in work is actually better than my one at home so that was a bonus. There's secure storage for the bike at the station so I'll be ditching the lock on future commutes and heeding the advice to stash as much in the office as possible. If I can find a locker or a spare corner I'll definitely be leaving a week's worth of rig by the shower good to go.

Absolutely sweltering on the ride back and making the mistake of not refilling my water bottle was a novice error. Got a bit navigationally challenged initially getting out of Milton Keynes which added on a bit of time. Might have to refine the final bit of the route in Milton Keynes as there's a coupke of potentially dodgy areas I rode through (did someone say impromptu sprint practice ;) ) and then as I headed back through Woburn Sands I felt like I was riding through treacle.

Turns out I'd managed to get a pinhole puncture, no idea I'd been riding on that! 10 minutes later after a bit of fiddling it was all changed and back on the road. On the plus side I finally tested out my CO2 canister etc although no idea if the remaining air will stay in the canister.

Pluses/minuses:
Finally tested the CO2 and I can see why people rave about it, I'd have been there all day pumping that tyre up!
Getting a puncture on only my third ride out, granted its about 80odd miles done on it now but they're 42s so should be more puncture resistant
Getting thinned out early, yayy!
Getting a shout of 'nice bum' as I pulled into my road (made the whole ride worthwhile :lol:

Thoughts:
Definitely ditching as much kit as possible as I'll feel it on the return home.
Grabbing extra spare inner tubes to stash at work as well. I'm not far from an Evans so it's just getting caught out on the commute home I worry about.
There's crit racing at MK Bowl on Thursdays which I could check out at some point, and get dropped spectacularly no doubt

Re: Time to try this commuting lark

PostPosted: 07 Jun 2016 10:30
by Kevy427
Lead Balloon wrote:Getting a shout of 'nice bum' as I pulled into my road (made the whole ride worthwhile :lol:

Was IanM loitering in the area?

Re: Time to try this commuting lark

PostPosted: 27 Jun 2016 22:06
by Lead Balloon
Kevy427 wrote:
Lead Balloon wrote:Getting a shout of 'nice bum' as I pulled into my road (made the whole ride worthwhile :lol:

Was IanM loitering in the area?


Probably, but I'll take the compliments wherever I can get them

Now that the bike's been broken in and most of the niggles have been ironed out I'm really enjoying riding in. I'm doing it around 3-4 times a week at the moment and apart from the odd dickhead driver who'd probably fail their driving test if they took it tomorrow I'm loving it. I'm getting quicker as well which is always a bonus.

I might have to do the unthinkable and release the Minx from the shed and get an ego realignment doing the crit racing this week. I'll have to mull that one over