CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Been cycling from Ferrytoll to Charlotte Sq for the past 2 years. Mainly started to keep up my fitness levels for mountain biking and saving on the commute.
I only cycle 3 days a week as play football the other 2 so still use the bus.
Cycle all year round unless its pissing it down in which case I get an extra 30 minutes kip on the bus.
There's a tendency to look at all this newly added 'commuting time' as a major block of dead time that wasn't there before
I used to read on the bus when I wasn't snoozing but I've substituted that with podcasts and audio books I listen to on the cycle home. I ordinarily wouldn't get a chance to listen to all of them.
Most of the advice has already been given. :)
I would underline 'It's not a race', especially if you plan to cycle every day. It's fine hammering in on a Monday (sometimes I still do), but I guarantee by Thursday you'll be paying for it.
Don't underestimate the importance of rest. My 'full' week is in the order of 150 miles, and you can keep that up for a couple, maybe even 3 months, but you need rest time built in. Even if it is doing a month of 100 mile weeks as I have been doing for the last month (I appreciate even 100 miles seems unachievable to some, it did to me once too...).
You won't be able to cycle 150 miles a week straight off, be patient (my shortcoming). It's taken me 3 years since moving to Fife to be able to cope with that level of exertion. I've tried to 'up' miles in the past and paid for it as my body just wasn't ready.
To start it will seem hilly but get easier, I cycled from West Lothian before, no hills. When I started cycling from Fife I counted 12 hills to get over, everything seemed like a hill, now really only 3. :)
Buy robust kit, as mentioned already. Choose a relaxed geometry frame, I've certainly suffered neck strain in the past commuting on my road bike. Mudguards a must, pannier optional, but useful.
Be prepared to learn to fix stuff, If you are doing lots of miles something will need fixed (tyres, cassette, chain, BB) most months. Don't buy overly expensive kit, you're going to trash it. Spoke to someone last night who wanted to spend £1500 on a frame just for commuting! Tried to put him right, don't think I succeeded.
There is lots of help out there, here of course, in Fife there's:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Burntisland.Cyclists/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/417980401681071/ (Dalgety Bay)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/119093321465572/ (another Dalgety Bay)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fifecycling/ (All Fife, but more rodie)
https://www.facebook.com/CTCFifeKinross
https://www.facebook.com/dunfermlinecycle (Dunfermline)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/185593354853427/ (Dunfermline cycle start)
https://www.facebook.com/MakeYourMoveKirkcaldy
That's just on Facebook, and many many more sources of info on googol.... Twitter useful too.
@bax I'd echo that sentiment about regarding the commute as extra leisure time and certainly not 'dead' time. Beats going to the gym or pool, and a lot cheaper (not just train fares saved).
It just goes to show we're all different - some Fife commuters I know enjoy riding in on fast road bikes, trying to beat their best times when conditions are right. I'm somewhere in between - I find a 'fast touring' or 'cross bike is a perfect compromise between speed and comfort, and the 'cross bike lets me take the rough route through Dalmeny estate which I always enjoy (and is sheltered from SW winds).
Regarding hills, it took me a while but eventually you'll settle on a route that may not be the shortest yet avoids the most exhausting climbs. I do enjoy the challenge of a few good hills, but not every day.
I used to go through Rosyth all the way to the bridge, via the tank road, but found nipping through Inverkeithing from Rosyth less exerting even if it added a mile.
I'm finding it hard not to try to go as fast as I can. Started on a heavy hybrid taking almost two hours for the journey in and brought it down to 1.5 hours, then switched to a cyclocross bike and managed to bring that time down by another 20 minutes give or take 5. I keep thinking if I leave the pannier at home and have a day of relatively little traffic I should manage to do the 17 - 18 miles in under an hour. Not an insane average speed by any stretch, but there are still some hills that slow me down ...
@panyagua - the SW winds can be annoying on the way in, but if instead of the route through Dalmeny you head out of SQ via the B800, then go past the Royal Elisabeth Yards and down Standingstane Road, then follow the B9080 past the Army HQ, you'll have those winds in your back most of the time. That's the route I usually take in the mornings, and going back via Dalmeny. Unless there's easterly winds, in which case I switch that around. I find headwinds a lot more annoying than even heavy rain.
@userfriendly - thanks, interesting thought, but I find once I'm over the bridge, subsequent winds never seem quite so bad. I may try your route for a change though - always good to try something different.
And on a lighter note, you get to dish out some leg envy every now and then if you commute from Fife every day. :)
I had a bit of a weird conversation with a chap who I had stopped to give directions (and ended up cycling with) through the Dalmeny estate last night.
As we were cycling along he said:
"Don't take this the wrong way mate, but, what cycling do you do?"
"Oh, I just do this every day, cycling to work."
"It's just that when I was cycling behind you there, from behind your thigh muscles look amazing, you should see the shape of them. (wavey hand thing to demonstrate curve of the muscle)."
"........(me thinking of something to say), erm just commuting really"
Shame for him I had my longs on, he didn't get to see the definition of my calf muscles. ;)
Also has positive posterior effect too.
@panyagua - aye, give it a try - just not against easterly winds :D
The B9080 has one short climb in it (right after the railway underpass), otherwise it's mostly flat. Quite enjoyable: very little traffic, good surface, and is fairly wide for most of that stretch.
Also, when you get to Standingstane Road from the Royal Elizabeth Yards, you have a really nice view down to the airport. I tend to stop there for a few minutes and have a wee rehydration & smoke break.
Here it is on giggle maps: http://goo.gl/Yvhpsj
@userfriendly - cheers, yes I have ridden that way before (and up the hill to Craigie's) - just not as part of my commute. Will try it though as an alternative to the Dalmeny Diversion...
Hi, I guess most of you know me? if not:
I moved back to Scotland in Sept 2010 (after 5 years of a static lifestyle driving to work and eating too much food with no exercise) and moved near an ex scuba diving mate. He cycles and got me into cycling, first off lending me his Dawes Galaxy and then selling me it. At the time he worked at the Scottish Parliament and cycled in a few times a week, so I started meeting him for a ride in and out. I did a 100km Audax after a couple of months which killed me (not literally!) and started cycling more regularly to train for the Audaxes. But was taking the train which was not cost effective with riding as time spent on the bike was not recovered from the train tickets. A year later I was still cycling on and off but not so much, - the train tickets were time limited so, if I didn't use it I'd loose money. Then, I was stopped from using the train as the snow closed the line often, over Christmas, so took the bus and found I could use a 12 journey ticket for over a month. I then began cycling in 2-3 days a week. Last April I moved to 4 - 5 times a week as I discovered another mate (first one had left that job) was cycling every day and I started riding in with him. Since then I've been 3 - 4 days a week with some weeks 5 days. I take it easy and don't race, and use Strava to log my miles (km in actual fact). I now ride Audax full on and last years upping of days help with training for the rides. I no longer have to train for anything upto a 600km ride, instead just commuting as normal. I've also bought a cyclocross bike, a carbon road bike for Audaxing and a recumbent also for Audaxing/something a bit different. I figure I'll stick with what I'm doing and have a few longer rides coming up, longest being 1300km in July over 4.5 days. My current cycling quota appears to satisfy my training requirements.
As for food, I too began to up my weekday lunch intake, now mostly a whole can of thick soup and 4 slices of bread, crisps and a choc bar, but to be honest, I'm not eating lots, and think my body has become used to longer rides and can handle the exercise without huge amounts of food.
Take Sunday 4th May 2014 for instance. Porrage (1/2 mug oats plus 1/4 pint double cream + 1/4 pint water) to start, Bun at start of 200km, 1 (of 2) scotch pie and half a 1 pint milkshake at 60km, other half of milkshake and other pie at 90km, fish and chips at 135km, and a choc bar or two before the end. I never felt hungery and now believe my body does not reqire the food I needed a year ago. I think its conditioned for longer rides without huge amounts of food to provide energy. I do run out very occassionally, for instance on a recent 300km hilly route through the borders, I started to bonk (technical term for running out of energy) at around 230km and struggled for 30km to the pub for a large evening meal.
Commuting, I eat normal (well large evening) meals but nothing excessive. Audaxing I eat four meals a day average instead of 3.
I find myself agreeing with bax about not seeing the commute time as dead time, instead I really enjoy my commute and some times extend to the Kincardine bridge instead of the Forth Road Bridge.
I'm not eating lots, and think my body has become used to longer rides and can handle the exercise without huge amounts of food
Agree. I do the morning commute after coffee without eating anything til lunchtime. I used to finish the day with a big pasta meal but have cut down to a regular portion.
I needed to lose a stone due to my carbs and pilsner intake, and so utilised the 5:2 diet for a couple of months -- surprisingly I found that the commute was no problem at all on fast days.
Just when you thought you were doing OK someone comes along and casually says
" ...some times extend to the Kincardine bridge instead of the Forth Road Bridge."
Didn't need to know that.
The trouble is however far you cycle there's always someone with better fitness, more time or who is riding your N+1.
Having said that if you have 3 or 4 hours to spare one evening the ride round via Kincardine has some lovely stretches. It's just a shame it's not as enjoyable when the FRB is closed.
@acsimpson. There is always someone riding my N+1 as I've not bought it yet! :D
Insto, you are welcome to ride home with me through Linlithgow, Clackmannan and Dunfermline if you wish, as I said above its not a race, I just tell Josie I'm working late and in meetings so can't be contacted ;O)
"...always someone with better fitness, more time..."
I feel guilty enough about having to be out of the house for the minimum eight hours required just to attend work when there are squeaking youngsters to be attended to/interacted with at home. I settle for taking routes which involve fewer junctions and therefore provide a better proportion of moving-time within a total door-to-door time comparable to that of the shortest-distance but traffic-clogged routes.
"
"...always someone with better fitness, more time..."
I feel guilty enough about having to be out of the house for the minimum eight hours required just to attend work when there are squeaking youngsters to be attended to/interacted with at home
"
That worries me, I'm out the house for 12 or 13 hours a day, and we have one on the way.
Things might have to change as at current level, I'll only see it at weekends!
It's a bummer when they're small but once they're old enough to ignore you it becomes less of an issue.
"we have one on the way."
Congratulations!! Happy times ahead! In just a few years you'll be taking longer rides home, just to get a few more hours to yourself ;O)
can handle the exercise without huge amounts of foodI used to finish the day with a big pasta meal but have cut down to a regular portion.
Fine. Maybe I have a tapeworm. >.>
@Instography - You may be overestimating the effort. Getting to the bridge didn't take that much longer than simply getting home, home in my case being Dunfermline and the bridge being the Clackmannanshire bridge (the newer/nicer one of the two there).
From there it's just a few minutes to the quiet, utterly flat and straight cyclepath that starts near Alloa and goes all the way back to Dunfermline. Nice leisurely pedalling as a "warm-down", so to speak.
I've only done it once so far, last Tuesday. It was really good weather and I left work a bit earlier precisely for that reason. Very likely going to do it more often now that it's getting warmer and nicer again.
A friend of mine whose husband also cycles longish distances home (about 15 miles I think) did say that she resented the fact that he came home an hour or so later than he might have done, leaving her child wrangling for that extra stretch - but she did notice that on the days he drove he came back in a much worse mood so it wasn't much of an improvement...
"I feel guilty enough..."
That's the thing that stops me cycling home more often. I do it once a week in the lighter evenings, sometimes twice, but it feels like an indulgence because it takes about 45 minutes longer than using the train. I'm already home late enough without putting any more burden on the misses.
Maybe I have a tapeworm
I'm only going as far as Castlandhill - nice hilltop finish
Reckon the extra mileage to Dunf and back would require a fair bit more feeding..
Cycling home means you do not need to go out again and can devote time to the wrangling of weans. This is a good thing but I suppose when kids very wee there was a time maybe from six o'clock that my better half used to call the hemlock hour. She had been with the Childers all day and they were now driving her nuts so best to get home to help out, prevent them being poisoned etc
@Instography - You may be overestimating the effort.
Nah. Come five o'clock all I can be bothered doing is getting to the station and then from Inverkeithing home.
"getting to the station and then from Inverkeithing home"
Do you (or others) ever get refused because of 'too many bikes on already'?
The few times I've had to take the bike on the train (i.e. when the bridge was closed due to high winds) I have found the train personnel to be quite accommodating in that regard. Though not sure if that was mostly because I was travelling for only one station.
@bax - not a tapeworm then. :D That's a relief.
"Do you (or others) ever get refused because of 'too many bikes on already'?"
Nope. Never happened once. I've seen those racks crammed - five bikes squished into a space intended for two. There's been some sideways glances and unspoken "I didn't see that" looks but I've never been, err, chucked off by a train guard.
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