Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Hey all,

Well finally I got over the procrastination and got of my ass and rode to work.

McMahon's Point to North Ryde. Almost exactly 12 klms distance (baby steps for some I know). It was hillier then I expected! and as mentioned by various members before, the bike path down epping road through lane cove is a real nightmare for turning cars and dodging pedestrians.

It was slow and steady with an average speed of 17.4klms/h and took me 41 minutes of ride time. I gotta figure I can only improve on that Surprisingly I only saw one or two other riders going the same direction. I thought it would be much more busy. This was 7:45am.

It was a psychological accomplishment - even though its a pretty basic ride, I had been putting it off for months. I'm off on vacation next week, but now I have done it I know I can easily get back into it when I return...

The ride home will be dark... so another adventure to come...

Congrats! I do a similar distance and like you put it off for months, then once I did it it soon became an every day thing. I'm not looking to set any records and I average about the same speed as you.

Once you get into the routine it just becomes part of life and you'll wonder why you didn't do it earlier.

One tip - if you can, shift your working day to be a bit earlier, I generally do 8 til 4.30 which gives me extra daylight to get home in. It makes a difference at this time of year.

There is a bit of a conundrum with bathroom times with my flatmate! I was planning on getting away at 7:15, but didn't get away till 7:45. I think I will have to aim to leave earlier then this... Earlier is better for the traffic around north sydney anyway.

Yeah this time of year the sun is setting pretty much around 5:30pm, so I'm planning to be on the bike by 5pm today.

I need to figure out some cooler weather gear also... even though my heart rate was quite high... my arms and upper body felt quite cold with the early morning breeze... just wearing a short sleeve bike shirt today.

Chanboy wrote:...average speed of 17.4klms/h and took me 41 minutes of ride time. I gotta figure I can only improve on that

That's pretty good for your first day for a hilly ride...

Thanks for the encouragement!

Now wouldn't you believe it, but the first day I make a habit change and ride my bike to work... I get retrenched! LOL

So looking like I'm going to have some bike riding time on my hands. (but certainly am not planning on taking that work commute route again)

Got a great severance, so just have to find some other excuse to ride my bike... should not be difficult.

G'day

Well done Chanboy. Bigger and bigger things to come

Andrew

Good stuff. I started commuting last year 22kms round trip (AT) 16km average with a huge heart rate. I'm still commuting but am currently doing 50 - 60km's (AT) 29km average. The next couple of months will be tough but your body will adapt. Once that occurs you'll notice great gains in fitness.

Keep it up and be safe!

Hey Chanboy

Congratulations! I recently started commuting too (10km each way) and it only takes slightly longer than if I drove. Fuel bill goes down, fitness goes up...can't complain.

In terms of the wind...while there is probably something better?, cheaper?, more of a "cycling" brand? out there but I got this light weight cycling vest from Kathmandu which I felt blocks out the wind pretty effectively keeping my torso and neck warm but also has good ventilation. It is also light shower proof and the only downside is that it is black which means not bright and noticeable.

Also what kind of bike are you riding? I have a mtb but since switching to good quality slicks (continetal gator skin ultra 26x1.25) it has shaved minutes off my ride (I wish it were my fitness!!)...if you are running knobby mtb tyres...this could be an upgrade to think about

Anyway good luck with continuing to commute and stay safe.

The Dang

Good work Chanboy. I'm sure your times will improve. I thought I might have been a rider heading in the opposite direction to you yesterday morning but I joined the cycleway at 7.14 at Delhi Rd and turned off to Herbert St at 7:29. If you get out the door on time we'll probably pass each other .

Since I'm not working in North Ryde any more I'm not actually doing that route. Right now I'm riding from North Sydney over the harbour bridge, through the city, over the anzac bridge, then loop around the inner harbour past the fish markets and then back over the harbour bridge back home. Not doing it at the commute hours though - able to miss some of the crazy city traffic this way.

On other days I ride to the gym and cycle on one of the cross trainer machines

I have two bikes, a Shogun Metro hybrid and a Norco Mirage flat bar road bike. I prefer the shogun for commuting / relaxed rides. Its heavier and bigger, but rides over the bumps so much smoother.

Sorry, I'm such a 'tard . I need to read the post date don't I??

Your current route sounds nice anyway.

Nothing to see here.......

Well finally decided the life of luxury of an unemployed bum doesn't work for me long term and have landed a nice new job.

Works in the Sydney CBD this time, so a measly 5klm bike ride from home... not to taxing, but looking forward to it still... will have to find a way to lengthen it though...

Now the only question is, do I reward myself with a nice new commuter bike? or ride one of my three others???

Well the last time I rode to work, I got retrenched, so maybe I'll ride one of my existing bikes for the first few weeks. (I did however drop past Clarence Street Cycles yesterday and they did have a few nice rides in there... )

Nice to hear 'bout the new job Chan, 'grats on that.

For the 5km run, go the hybrid. Not worth getting the roadie dusty for such a short trip.
Of course, without knowing your route, this might be an ideal time to examine an SS/FG scoot....

Cheers
Shaun

Mulger bill wrote:Nice to hear 'bout the new job Chan, 'grats on that.

+1. With the CBD commute, you'll doubtless have lots of stops and starts at the traffic lights and intersections. Why not challenge yourself to see how fast you can do it without running a single red light. Be kind of like doing hard intervals between traffic light recovery stops. Could be fun.

Cheers

I reckon I can do the trip in 10-15 mins pretty easily... there is actually not that many traffic lights... I think 5 or 6 if I count correctly. The only frustrating part is the building is on Kent St... down towards King St... and Kent St is 1-way in the wrong direction...

Because of this, and because of the shortness of the trip, I'm thinking of riding the MTB for it's maneuverability between cars and pedestrians...

I'm still to see what the bike security is like at the office... that may also be a deciding factor. They've told me there is secure bike parking in the car park... exactly how secure, is yet to be seen...

I regularly ride North Sydney --> Lilyfield to see the gf, so pretty used to mixing it up in the CBD traffic...

Oh, and yeah, have considered the SS idea, if anything I may also consider an internal hub commuter - just for the easy of lack of maintenance... one of those belt driven jobbies would be cool. Prob a bit extravagant for such a short ride though...

If I bought a new bike, I would sell off both the road bike and the hybrid and do with the MTB and commuter. Most of my riding these days is of the slow type trundling around the city... or off on the MTB trails...

Did my first cycle in to uni today

Got my first flat today

My goal was to get to Parramatta (specifically the Church St off ramp on the m4) in an hour, which I would have done/beaten except for the flat.

Overall I did around 60ish km, at a guess. At one point coming back through Parramatta from Olympic Park, both my quads decided to cramp in unison.

Pretty fun day though (:

Well did my first commute ride today to the new job - all 5 klms of it. Pretty easy... need to work on the efficiency of getting changed once I get to work, and packing my bag before the last minute when I'm trying to run out the door.

Pretty exciting ride home in the dark, just after the thunderstorm in CBD traffic.

Tomorrow I'll be quicker...