Should I cycle to work?

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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Cugel
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Joined: 13 Nov 2017, 11:14am

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by Cugel »

The trick to adopting cycling as a commute method is to, first, come to enjoy cycling per se. If you start by riding a bike several miles a day because you have to, the "have to" will be added to all the other initial discomforts of beginning at cycling, perhaps to the point where it overcomes your will to go on.

Cycling, like all forms of endurance exercise, needs to be practiced and made pleasurable. If you get into it more gradually than by throwing yourself into the deep end of daily commuting to work & back, you'll stand a far better chance of becoming a happy commuter, via first becoming just a happy cyclist.

Why not just obtain a bike of the hybrid kind (upright position, wide range of gears, mudguards and rack mounts) then practice on it for a month, gradually increasing your mileage as your nether regions adapt to the saddle and your body gets fitter in several ways? You can also spend this period tweaking your position, trying various clothings and learning traffic skills for cycling.

When you're adept and more physically resilient, start by doing a day or two a week commuting; then gradually make it five days a week or as many as you feel you can and will manage without it putting you off.

************
There was a time when I did a daily commute of 50 - 60 miles (I varied the route) and this gradually became the very best part of my working day. Even the windy & wet days became a pleasure albeit of the perverse kind that's "nice when it stops". :-)

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
rareposter
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Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 2:40pm

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by rareposter »

Elephant_Fan wrote: 24 Jun 2022, 8:41pm I tried this some years ago when my office moved closer to my home (5 miles), but the headaches were so bad that I had to give up and sell my bike. I also had to spend £240 on physio appointments to sort me out.

This past year I've put on 2.5 stone and am feeling very unfit. It would be nice to get exercise into my life by simply replacing my drive with riding a bike, rather than planning on going to the gym but never getting there.
First and foremost you need to work out the headaches issue - was that definitely caused by cycling and if so, what about it? Position on the bike, squinting into the sun, dehydration, carrying stuff in a rucksack? Also, was that on an e-bike or a regular bike?

Is there any way you can borrow or hire an e-bike to test it out somewhere quiet? - ie not buying one and then using it next day on a busy commute! You don't say whereabouts you are but check the shop that you went to or search online for e-bike hire and see if there's some parkland, easy forestry trails, National Trust place etc near you that's relatively traffic free and where you can get used to riding it and seeing if any physical symptoms, like headaches, come back.

Once that's sorted, then you can think about riding to work and that's probably a whole new thread about finding safe, practical routes, clothing, carrying stuff and so on. On a 5-mile commute on an e-bike though, you really shouldn't need any special clothing or fancy gear, it should literally be a case of getting on and going, it's only going to be 30 mins at most.
Elephant_Fan wrote: 24 Jun 2022, 8:41pm I don't think cycling will save me much money (I think it'll be more expensive, actually), so that's not a consideration.
How much is fuel costing you per week/month? You say you're going to keep the car which is fair enough so you'll still be paying tax and insurance.
How much is the upfront cost of the e-bike (and is there any way you can get it on interest free credit, cycle to work scheme or similar)?
How many times a week will you be riding to and from work?

But then again, the cost is not solely financial - losing weight, feeling / being healthier, not having to go to the gym and the fact that you're combining the fitness thing as part of your daily routine is a big "cost" benefit too.
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plancashire
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Location: Düsseldorf, Germany

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by plancashire »

There are lots of sensible suggestions here.

I once had a helmet that was slightly too small for me. It caused headaches. Check that yours is not too tight. It should have some adjustment.

I would reiterate the advice to let the bike carry the load in panniers or some other bag attached securely to the bike. A rucksack is a bad idea but commonly seen in UK because bikes are sold without racks or baskets.

Cycling in the wet and cold is quite doable with the right clothing, but it can take some experimenting to find what works for you, e.g. thickness of gloves. Waterproof zip-on overshoes are very useful. They keep your feet warm too.

If you cycle in the dark and the roads are wet, you might want to choose a route with little traffic. Oncoming headlights reflect off the wet road straight into your eyes and you can see almost nothing. Your lights bounce off the shiny wet road away from you, not back at you, so even powerful lights are of little use against the glare of car headlamps.

For reliability go for (already mentioned) puncture resistant tyres. Choose a bike with hub gears and some kind of cover over the whole chain. You can change a hub gear when stopped. Mudguards are a must. This kind of bike is not very common in Britain.

Cycle in a low gear and learn to spin the pedals quickly. This takes practice. It is much kinder to your knees and gives you more flexibility in speed. If you have hills, make sure your bike has very low gears. You will need them when you start.

Do you work with anyone who lives nearby and would also be interested in trying cycling? Riding together is much more fun.

I wish you all the best.
I am NOT a cyclist. I enjoy riding a bike for utility, commuting, fitness and touring on tout terrain Rohloff, Brompton M3 and Wester Ross 354 plus a Burley Travoy trailer.
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tykeboy2003
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Location: Swadlincote, South Derbyshire

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by tykeboy2003 »

Elephant_Fan wrote: 24 Jun 2022, 8:41pm Well, this is a cycling forum, so I expect everyone will say yes (and if it was a car forum, everyone would say no), but I'm going to ask anyway.

My other half took me into the local e-bike shop last week and, again, I thought about cycling to work. My motive is to get fit.

I tried this some years ago when my office moved closer to my home (5 miles), but the headaches were so bad that I had to give up and sell my bike. I also had to spend £240 on physio appointments to sort me out.

This past year I've put on 2.5 stone and am feeling very unfit. It would be nice to get exercise into my life by simply replacing my drive with riding a bike, rather than planning on going to the gym but never getting there.

Originally, no one on the internet admitted that cycling can cause headaches due to muscle tension, but now there is a lot more information out there. I thought I could have a "bike fit" appointment to check positioning, visit physio/osteopath regularly for the first few months, do the neck stretches shown online, do core strength exercises and maybe cycling could work for me. My parking pass is valid until September, so I could build up gradually over the summer. But I'm very worried as those headaches were debilitating. Plus now, of course, I'm older and less fit - 53, short, female and overweight.

Other concerns are cycling on rural roads with no street lights, winter weather, coming off my bike or breaking down.

What about keeping my car road ready when I'm not driving it for weeks on end? I live in the village and wouldn't get rid of the car. Driving in one day a week would be difficult because I wouldn't be getting my annual parking pass and, of course, that one day easily becomes two etc until I'm back to driving in every day.

I don't think cycling will save me much money (I think it'll be more expensive, actually), so that's not a consideration.

I probably should forget about the idea, but I would love to fit fitness seamlessly into my day.
Simple answer YES.

I'm recently retired after 30-odd years working in IT and mostly commuting by car. After voluntary redundancy followed by divorce, I needed to work again so in 2015 I got an IT job a couple of miles from home and cycle commuted, a couple of years and another redundancy later, I found myself working at British Car Auctions photographing commercial vehicles. Luckily this again was local, 6 miles away and amazingly luckily at the other end of a former railway line which is now part of Route 63. For two years I worked there and cycle commuted pretty well every day and I look back on that time as the happiest of my working life even though my pay was about 25% of what I generally got in IT. The telling difference was the commute.
Yossarian
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Joined: 21 Dec 2015, 4:24pm

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by Yossarian »

Doesn't sound like it's the thing for you.

Try some relaxed rides at the weekend first, if you enjoy that and are headache free then go from there.
Carlton green
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Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by Carlton green »

Elephant_Fan wrote: 24 Jun 2022, 8:41pm Well, this is a cycling forum, so I expect everyone will say yes (and if it was a car forum, everyone would say no), but I'm going to ask anyway.

My other half took me into the local e-bike shop last week and, again, I thought about cycling to work. My motive is to get fit.

I tried this some years ago when my office moved closer to my home (5 miles), but the headaches were so bad that I had to give up and sell my bike. I also had to spend £240 on physio appointments to sort me out.

This past year I've put on 2.5 stone and am feeling very unfit. It would be nice to get exercise into my life by simply replacing my drive with riding a bike, rather than planning on going to the gym but never getting there.

Originally, no one on the internet admitted that cycling can cause headaches due to muscle tension, but now there is a lot more information out there. I thought I could have a "bike fit" appointment to check positioning, visit physio/osteopath regularly for the first few months, do the neck stretches shown online, do core strength exercises and maybe cycling could work for me. My parking pass is valid until September, so I could build up gradually over the summer. But I'm very worried as those headaches were debilitating. Plus now, of course, I'm older and less fit - 53, short, female and overweight.

Other concerns are cycling on rural roads with no street lights, winter weather, coming off my bike or breaking down.

What about keeping my car road ready when I'm not driving it for weeks on end? I live in the village and wouldn't get rid of the car. Driving in one day a week would be difficult because I wouldn't be getting my annual parking pass and, of course, that one day easily becomes two etc until I'm back to driving in every day.

I don't think cycling will save me much money (I think it'll be more expensive, actually), so that's not a consideration.

I probably should forget about the idea, but I would love to fit fitness seamlessly into my day.
Yes this is a cycling forum so people here are perhaps a little biased but the posts that I’ve read have been reasonably objective.

I would refer you to Cugel’s post above again and I would advise you against rushing into an all or nothing situation. Similarly JDSK knows a lot about health issues so maybe approach your situation from a slightly different angle and over a long time frame. Plan the change as a journey; you know the start point and you know your intended destination now all you have to do is plan the route and sustainably progress yourself along it.

I suggest: seeing your GP to discuss your general health including weight; buying a traditional bike and (progressively) getting it set-up to suit you; learning or relearning road and cycle craft on short trips from your home; learning something about cycle maintenance; and eventually doing the occasional commute into work before making a progressive switch to cycle commuting. Taking on too much load or change at any one time is almost certain to lead to distress and even failure, we don’t want either of those.

Good luck.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
drossall
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Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by drossall »

Carlton green wrote: 19 Jul 2022, 2:01pmI would refer you to Cugel’s post above again and I would advise you against rushing into an all or nothing situation. Similarly JDSK knows a lot about health issues so maybe approach your situation from a slightly different angle and over a long time frame. Plan the change as a journey; you know the start point and you know your intended destination now all you have to do is plan the route and sustainably progress yourself along it.
This. And also try to get started while the summer is with us. The UK is said to be quite a wet country but, in reality, in many years you can count the number of days on which it rains during your personal commuting hours on one hand. And some days, I've ridden into the car park at work, and watched colleagues who had driven in, with spray all over their windscreens from the cars in front, desperately running into the building to avoid the rain that wasn't falling.

But it does no harm to be building up the experience when you aren't wondering about the colder or damper weather. Then, maybe, you can take the odd really horrible day off, without breaking the habit entirely. Because, even after decades, there are just a few days when I waver. Although these days, I'm working from home most days and trying to find a reason to commute somewhere I probably don't really need to go :lol:
LancsGirl
Posts: 255
Joined: 5 Jun 2021, 9:57pm

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by LancsGirl »

Yes, you probably should cycle to work.

I wouldn't bother with a "bike fit". I've never had one, but it appears that the majority of them are aimed at sports cyclists (or people who imagine they are sports cyclists).

The guidance in Colin531's signature is very good. Use that as a starting point.

Without knowing a lot more about your route, it's hard to say, but 5 miles is a fairly easy commute, if it's flat. Or it will become easy once you've done it a few times. We don't know what the actual route is like in terms of being "cycle friendly", but as it's a commute, I'm going to guess you may have a number of different choices. If you are a little apprehensive, it's always worth taking a slightly longer route to avoid bad traffic and, especially, difficult junctions. You will come to know which route suits you best. If possible take a bikeability course and/or read CycleCraft. https://www.abebooks.co.uk/Cyclecraft-c ... gKl0fD_BwE*
jon.k
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Joined: 19 Feb 2012, 11:01pm

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by jon.k »

It takes time to build up routines such as timings, changing clothes, packing panniers etc as well as building up fitness. It's all more stuff to think about at first and takes energy. So if I were you I'd consider starting with cycling 1 or 2 times a week so that it's an enjoyable experience. Over time the car will feel like a luxury when you do take it, then a bit further down the line it might feel like an unnecessary decadence when, as someone posted above, the cycle ride becomes a highlight of the working day.
drossall
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Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: Should I cycle to work?

Post by drossall »

These days I work in London and take a Brompton with me for the last few miles to work. The real highlight is when I've got a nice summer evening and no special commitments, and can ride the 35-40 miles home.
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