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You could also consider an electric bike which is more fun to use and faster.

I used to cycle some days to work but after I got my electric bike I cycled every day as it was more fun and as I could go much faster (30km/hour) it also took less time.

Too cheap would be a blunder. The cheap things aren't really made to be ridden - more to be taken out a few times and then sat in the garage.
Depending on where you are it can be a challenge to find a bike person who understands commuting needs - lots of times a bike nerd is into goin' fast ... or like my guy, almost *too* much into retro. (He *likes* brick roads.) So they'll tell you what you "need..." but if they've never ridden to work they may not get it ;)
My xtracycle's out on the bike rack now... I took an extra 2 laps around campus just 'cause it felt good and I had time.

John - I have never cycled to work (it was 45 miles!) but when I was in the Navy a guy on my last ship cycled from Sandown on the south of the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth every day the ship was in harbour. He was a fitness freak though!

I know Annpan is getting the noo bike, but I saw on the Edinburgh Bicycle website a Bike to Work scheme where your employer buys the bike and you rent it off them - the rent is taken from your tax so your bottom line is not affected. Might be worth looking at then you could have his 'n' hers bikes

You then convince your work to sell you the bike for peanuts at the end of the hire

Go for it! Summer is coming!

Thanks for the advice and encouragement everyone.

ina wrote:
f you cycle to the bus stop - is there anywhere you could leave the bike securely while you are at work..

The cycle and ride idea could be quite good, but there isn't anywhere i could safely leave it I'm afraid.

Sky wrote:
A nice light bike with lots of gears will encourage you more though, some cheaper bikes are really difficult to cycle on as they're so heavy with hardly any gears.
You don't want to get discouraged before you even get into it.

I agree.

TG the bike to work scheme does sound really great, quite a few bike retailers do it, I'm currently trying to see if there is a way my employer will try this

I got a folding bike that really expands my options.

Hi John,

I'm a bit late to this thread as I have only recently joined ish.

I think you've got lots of sensible suggestions that I won't repeat. My tip would be to get a decent bike (not new, but decent) and off-set the cost against the petrol, which surely must be significant at current prices.

I picked up on the 'bikes on buses' comment. I used to live in the USA, and all the buses in our town had bike racks on them. We're trying to get our local bus company in Swindon to introduce them - we picked something up from a company that was trying to find a way in to the UK market by offering racks on a trial basis. I'll try and find that info and post it. Local authorities, govt, employers, should be making every effort to encourage sustainable travel. So ask, ask, ask - then build a campaign to get what you need!

Cheers,

Andy

i have to agree with geonz,too cheap is not a good idea. i ride to work (only about 5 miles) on my mams old bike its a good 'un and as old as me and still has the original tires yet my bros bike was a cheapy job and only lasted a couple of years befor the frame went

That Xtracycle looks like a fab idea!

Im reading all the cycling threads at the moment, trying to psyche myself up to cycling to work...

Its not going to happen yet...

I do like that Xtracycle though. Its an excellent idea!

I can promise you will wonder *why* you waited. Lots and lots of people get stuck in "someday." Make a plan to make it happen :D

I cycle to work everyday pretty much and I love it

Cornwall is very hilly but you get used to it after a while I cycle a bike with only one gear and it is OK

You should start out doing it a couple of times a week and build up

Good luck, you will love it

mamos

ive just got a free new bike from freecycle and am going to ride to placement (im a student nurse) from selly oak to kings norton
ive done the journey on foot... just a warning the birmingham and worcestershire canal gets very wet near the shannon hill connection

I have been cycling to work and back since last November, a 16 mile round trip in total. I scrapped my car so had to use my bike, not regretted it one bit. I am interested in the cycle to work scheme too as are many i work with.Can anyone tell me exactly how this works including how much you can spend on a bike?

Cheers Craig

craig.r wrote: I am interested in the cycle to work scheme too as are many i work with.Can anyone tell me exactly how this works including how much you can spend on a bike?
Cheers Craig

http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/
lots of folks in our place have used this scheme to get their bikes (I already had one so haven't - tempting as it is). I sometimes cycles to work - drive part way then depending how i feel depends how far - sometimes i meet a colleague and we do 12 miles each way, most days tho i drive a bit further and do about 50 minutes worth instead of the hour and five mins - the hour thing means getting home late and up early and i find it really tiring. Less than that seems better. There are days too when I've woosed out of cycling back and blagged a lift back to my car from someone heading the same way - we dont really have public transport . If I'm not cycling I try to car share (which actually means less driving overall but also less fitness)

I would love to cycle to work every day, but the main road to town is an A road which has had more than it's fair share of idiots killing themselves and others over the years, not to mention a friend of the family who went round (the only) bend too fast and ended up in someone's grill coming the other way. Plus, being the Fens it's VERY open and VERY blowy when it wants to be.

I adore cycling tho. I once did a 26 mile trek with my Dad (who has lost a LOT of weight doing so, he's now 11 1/2 stone at 53 and a grandparent) after a lack of cyclage for 2 years. I think the beauty of it is that I only broke into a real sweat after I could see our house from down the road. You don't feel as though you're doing real exercise coz the bike takes your weight.

Really should ride more. All my near-3 years of cheese eating has resulted in fat, child-bearing thighs, which ain't a good look on a bloke!

When I was a student I cycled 9 miles each way.. (Morecambe to Lancaster Uni) - it was about 8 minutes slower than by car AIRI and much more pleasant. The real problem is described in this film http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446320/ - highly recommended. Briefly - we have designed our villages, towns and cities over the past decades on the assumption that cheap oil will last forever, and developed the (temporary) concepts of suburbs and commuting. Bad idea. live closer to work. How close is that? - as close as you can conveniently walk or cycle ! You know it makes sense.