Cyclist commuters! Help!

pyrowill

How do you do it?! Not literally, I'm aware it is sit on saddle, rotate feet, steer and occasionally swear at cars and commuters that don't look before stepping onto the road. I'm sure for some reading this it's possibly not even a choice as there may not be other means of transport. But I have other means, and those other means not only cost me £30 a week in petrol and wearing down my slowly less dependant Volkswagen, they also seem to charge me a steadily expanding waistline and rubbish mood. So why do I get in the metal coffin and endure the M25 (ring road around London for you non Brits) for a 30-50 minute commute when I've proven to myself that I can cycle the 12 miles each way to work in 45-50 minutes.

I'm sure it's pretty much 98% laziness on my part, a little about me. I work a 9-6 in the UK film industry, and for me to be at work at 9 I need to leave in my car by 815. Typically my morning goes: 730 alarm (so I can get up, get ready, get on bike for 8am)....hit snooze....745 alarm.....hit snooze.....8am alarm...crap overslept, too late to cycle really, better drive. This is every morning folks. The truth is I can cycle everyday if I wanted to, there have been times when I cycled to work every day for 3 months. So why not now? I find excuses like:
1) Too much stuff to take in work bag (lunch/spare non sweaty clothes).
2) Haven't time to cook lunch and ride.
3) It's ok, I'll run on my lunch to make up for it (and never do)
4) My bike is making an odd sound, better not trust it!

So my question to you people, (ideally you commuters, ideally you bike commuters, ideally you bike commuters that have a car but chose still to save money by riding, and ideally if the journey is a fair slog), how do you do it? How do you force yourself that 'yes I should get out of bed that bit earlier, I should spend sometimes twice as long on a bike even if it might rain'. Any tips would be great. Because I cycle maybe once every 2 months at the moment, when I'd like to cycle almost every day. I've done it before, why can't I do it again. I want to save money, save my waist, and enjoy the fact that I get to work using my own leg power. Apologies for any bad punctuation in this, I'm writing it on my mobile sitting in standstill traffic on my way to work, quietly swearing at the cyclists who whizz by.

Love Will

mandylooo

I used to fulfill most of your criteria - except my cycle was an easy 2.5 miles along a tow path in Hertfordshire. I've moved into London now, and travel by train, though I still have a car.

I think the key is thinking of the cycling as your mode of transport - this is what you do, rather than it just being an option. Once you get into the habit of it, it comes easily. If you can afford it, investing in decent kit (panniers, waterproofs etc ) might help.

mandylooo

Oh, and prepare you stuff the night before, including your food, so you're not rushing around in the morning.

ickybella

I'm unemployed right now but I used to cycle to work. I prepared lunches on Sunday and then just froze them, unless I was having a salad and I would prepare that the night before. I also put out my clothes the night before, or sometimes I would have a few outfits ready for the week along with my cycling clothes since it's a bit tricky sometimes, being female and picking something to wear to work. In the morning, I would set my alarm for the latest I could possibly get up and still make it to work on time. I considered other methods of transport/staying in bed nearly every day, but always just ended up getting ready and cycling in. Unfortunately, no one here is going to be able to give you motivation to do this. It's something you have to do for yourself. You can prepare everything on Sunday and still just decide you don't want to cycle in the morning. Maybe think of some type of reward for yourself if you cycle in every day for a month?

pyrowill

That's a good idea, I'd save about £120 in a month by riding in. Maybe I could buy myself something pretty with it? And hopefully by then I'll be so used to it I'll just keep going? Sounds like a plan. It's just the getting up early part that I have trouble with. Hmm

pyrowill

In fact it's not even getting up much earlier! I leave at 8 if I cycle, 815 if I drive. Barely any difference. And both makes me rock up to work at 8:55!

dany_m

I cycle to work except when it's really pouring down. It's 13 km / 8 miles one way and takes me approx. 30-35 minutes, depending on the wind direction. I don't have a car but could take the bus which would take just as long or slightly longer if you consider that I'd have to walk to the bus stop as well.
I prepare everything the previous night so that I don't have to fuss around a lot in the morning. I get up around 5:45 and am on the bike around 6am. I'm lucky in that my workplace has really good facilities for cyclists, e.g. full sized lockers and great showers. So I get ready there and then have breakfast around 7:30am.
I've been cycling all my life so it's just part of me and I don't really feel it's a burden. And it really helps with the weight loss - I burn around 260-310 calories each way, so that's almost 600 calories a day!
I like cycling because it gives me more flexibility (i.e. don't have to rush to catch the bus etc or put up with finding a car park) and it's cheap too!
I think it's really important that you have good gear though, e.g. a quick-clip pannier bag rather than a backpack (I used to carry a backpack but the weight almost killed my back), functional clothing, good lights and a hi-viz vest.
Just give it a shot and I'm sure you'll start enjoying it very soon!

ickybella

Wow, 15 minutes. That's nothing, you could definitely do this. Your idea is great though, I don't know what kinds of things you like but think of something within that price range that you have wanted for a while and buy it! And yes, at that point it should be habit. Good ideas.

ellycope

Really what the others have said. Prepare the night before and try not to think of the car as an option - remind yourself how much better you feel when you do cycle especially as otherwise you'll be on the M25 in your car.

With the getting up early - you could try setting your alarm a bit earlier so you get the same bit of lie in but end up getting up on time. Sounds weird but it worked for me!

Get some nice kit and if you haven't already done so invest in a decent saddle that you've been measured for - I couldn't believe how much of a difference that made! A smart pannier bag (loads out there) that you can carry around all day for your work stuff and possibly a second pannier for change of clothes (or keep some at work?) and if there're not showers available some wet wipes - that's what I used to freshen up when I arrived before I moved to a workplace with shower!

Good luck and enjoy - maybe you could update us on your progress!

kilojoule

cant say i really understand your question of how...for me it would be how would i drive LoL. Full time commuter unless the weather is really ugly I commute 60 miles round trip. LOVE IT. I look forward to the ride in the morning and even coming home at night. I pack a backpack with clothes and leave shoes at work. We have showers so that is nice...im going on my 4th year as a full time bike commuter and this year my company asked me to present a class (in a week) eeeek kinda freaked out but if there is one thing i can talk about is riding bikes. Driving in takes 1hour sitting in bumper to bumper traffic paying 4.15 a gallon with a toll bridge. So expensive to drive - riding in takes 1 hour 30 minutes at a 20mph avg or 1 hour 45 taking it easy. So its only an extra 30-45min doing something i love. ..im a bit of a nut. Weekends roll around and I salivate at the thought of riding a century for example, or maybe a tandem ride with my wife. Taking the family to a week long bike rally here in a few weeks. Its a way of life. Perks are a small carbon footprint. Car with very few miles, 10% body fat and going to pool parties with my buddies that play xbox and drink beer every night that dont want to take there shirt off LoL

funny thing is i recently bought a nice motorcycle and was worried it may be the begginning of the end for my bike commuting...didnt even phase me in fact i bought a bicycle rack for the back of my moto haha good luck man if you have any specific questions hit me up

Mezzle13

Like many of the others I have good facilities at work and getting on my bike actually means I get a snooze in the mornings because I can sneak through all the London rush hour traffic jams. Breakfast I keep in the fridge at work and I make my packed lunch the night before.

I cycle because I simply cannot afford to use public transport or a car to get to work, the only times I am tempted is when it is horrific weather but I have discovered the best way to not give in... I give my debit card to my OH at the start of every week and just take some spare cash in case of emergencies. Therefore I HAVE to cycle even when it is stormy and windy etc etc :-).

I do second the good gear comment, I keep a kit under my saddle for punctures etc though I did once take it off and forget it, typically that was the day I rode over a nail! I am also adamant all cyclists should have decent lights, helmet and some sort of refective gear.... It just isnt worth taking the risk buy not having these things.

BrianSharpe

I must confess to being a fair weather bike commuter but for me the bike ride doesn't take that much longer than driving (in fact, some days when traffic is bad it takes less time to ride). It's about 19km each way and is mostly just getting organized - pack my change of clothes the night before & lay out my gear.

I don't really need to force myself to ride as I enjoy biking (saving about $10 a day in gas helps too!)

pyrowill

Well I'm certainly out of place with some of you guys! I really have absolutely no excuse at all! I think I might look into some panniers. Although I'm sure I just overpack my backpack!

Getting ready the night before is probably going to change a lot. I know it's helped me before, but after a while I ended up forgetting and fell into old habits. I am a one track excuse machine. i know once I got into it and regularly did it, it became second nature. It was how I got to work. I need that back again.

Jennaissance

First:

I invested in a nice steel frame commuter that can fit fat tires for the rainy season with both hard and easy gears that can carry a load (Surly Cross X). Then I bought fenders for when it is raining, a bell for the trail, a nice rack, saddle bags for boths sides, an 800 lumen light for the front, two back lights (one is a knog which I can charge in my computer and one is a planet bike with sucky batteries - the former goes on the stem, the ladder on a saddle bag.) Then I got a nice helmet to protect my head. Then I got rain pants and a rain jacket - the kind where the sleeves come off and it turns into a vest.

I pack my bags every night before I leave.

I have a drawer in my cubicle at work that is a closet - outfits for a week! I fill it on the weekends when I do my errands - at this same time I go grocery shopping and stock the fridge at work.

I have towels, a hairdryer and a showerkit that always stays at work (I'm lucky that my work has showers).

All this cost a couple thousand dollars.. in exchange I stopped paying for a gym membership! AND I have a 2010 VW Jetta sportwagen TDI that gets 31-42 MPG... with less than 10,000 miles on it! My bicycle commute is 20 miles (100 minutes a day full of hill climbing).

Lesson learned: it's easier to get on the bike when you have the gear and you have a plan. I hope that helps.