Cycling, trains, walking. This is the place to talk about how good or bad cycle routes are, mention great train journeys, talk about car sharing schemes or husky travel. Anything in fact that is about transport that is a little alternative.
dave45 wrote:When I was a student I cycled 9 miles each way.. (Morecambe to Lancaster Uni) - it was about 8 minutes slower than by car
Years ago, I used to live in Bristol and commute to Bath by car. Every morning I would stop to pick up a colleague and a cyclist would shoot past me. We used to catch up with her 15 miles and 45 minutes later just as we got to work.
I cycle 7 miles each way to work - it's not bad at all, I've been doing this for about a year and a half now, my work mates think I am bonkers (especially when it is raining / or winter) - but once you get into it it's totally fine.
I would consider cycling further - I'd reckon up to 15 miles would be my limit (that would be about double what I do now - and be about an hours journey time) - the main limit is time it takes really, as I work longish hours and the more time taking to get to work means the less time I get to do the important things in my life (like foraging, allotment time, etc!).
I find when cycling that once you get into the routine it's not actually that much hard work - best to ease yourself into it generally.
cycling has got to be the best human transport invention (in my humble opinion!)
|You can't feel lonely with nature as your companion| millican dalton
dave45 wrote:.... live closer to work. How close is that? - as close as you can conveniently walk or cycle ! You know it makes sense.
Yes - that has been a major factor in my decisions on where to live (and trying to include as many of my other frequent routes in that same "easy distance"). It gets a little more complicated as you have to include other people but is definitely an improvement in quality of life when it all fits together (my wife now works about five minutes closer to home than I do... we can easily meet for lunch when we haven't got other meetings on).
Not setting yourself up for a long cycle is also good if you can do it - if your bike is temporarily out of action, you aren't faced with too long a walk. For exercise purposes, you can always take a longer route home or figure in a couple of steep climbs!