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.
- and the preparation and anxiety before it?
There have been various threads on CCE recently that are feeding in to a new CCE spin-off web site to be soft launched tomorrow.
The idea is to give information and encouragement to people 'thinking about cycling to work'.
I cycled to school. Then I cycled to college. Then I cycled to uni. Then I cycled to work.
Can't really remember the first time.
My use of a bicycle has been mostly similarly continuous, but I do recall my return to full-time everyday cycle-commuting after moving house, further from work, after a short period of less-frequent bicycle-usage. Whilst I had many options for a route it would have possibly involved either a busy-road-uphill or an A-road-large-roundabout which I'd previously generally avoided, so I walked the shortest/obvious routes a few times first to a: get an idea of what they looked like for bikes and b: establish how long they took to walk, the better to work out the timesaving from cycling (and the time required to walk them in case of puncture/mechanical). As an habitual carrier-about of many more things than I generally need and being generally quite bad at getting out of the house at the time I originally intend I did plenty of ironing-a-week's-shirts-on-Sunday and packing-lunch-the-evening-before to make the first few mornings easier, until I got back into the swing. I was fortunately able (compelled, really, given the absence of sheds) to keep my bike in the hall for the first few weeks, the better to ensure it was ready to go when I needed to leave and was easier to get at to fix whilst it was brought back to full usage.
TL;DR: walk a route first, or cycle it at a less demanding time. Get some stuff ready the evening/weekend before, to avoid morning-flap. If possible, ship a few things into work beforehand, to reduce the amount required to be carried on the first few runs. Prepare some alternative routes (in case of tiredness/anxiety) or modes (e.g. should you need to lock up an unfixed puncture and get the bus the rest of the way). Do not attempt to emulate anyone else - leave other people to go faster, or perform riskier manoeuvres, or take what look like weird routes. Those things can be optionally added later.
I can't really remember a "first" time. I had used a bike to get around as a kid, then at uni, so a year after uni when I switched from bus+rail to bike+rail I suppose it didn't seem like an epic moment.
Is the soft launch at Peter's Yard?
First commute in Edinburgh was from Balerno to McDonald Road down the Water of Leith path. Took me a bit longer than I had thought and some bits of it I quickly dropped in favour of short stretches of road (e.g. through Stockbridge). Should have done a few dummy runs to work this out before the Monday morning. The actual route has also had improvements in it e.g. crossing point at Chesser. THere are also maps now so following the signange is not so crucial. The signage also better. My first day I was also straight into the shower at work. On the downhill I am clearly a lot fitter so not really that bad now and just a quick freshen up seems to be needed. Obviously, on way back up hill full ablutions still required.
After a few wet summers this route became too muddy but by then I was on the road. Though this summer I have been using the canal towpath. Spoiled for choice.
I went to Primary school by bike a few times but mostly when we were doing the proficiency test. You didn't want to be passed by the school bus near one of the farms because they were dairy farms and the road usually had cow deposits which the bus would stir up.
Almost continuously since January 1980 when I moved into Ayr. Learned lots of things about ice, steel rims in the rain, putting too much weight on the back of your bike etc.
Watched a couple doing their first commute this monday on the tow path. Some new kit, they were sharing EBC panniers - woman had hers on the left, chap his on the right. Woman fell off, I think as she had gone too far right towards the canal but then hit the brake (As I would have done too) and caused skid. She just got up and back on. The man I think maybe had done a bit more commuting but as the woman was starting, I think he may have felt it necessary to buy some new kit (as I would have too).
I was giving it a bit of Ohhhh, Jesus at the time but was struggling to get my foot out of the toe-clip managed in time as would not have wanted to crash into them.
Today though I actually said Jesus wept as a guy bombed it on to the towpath at Harrison Gdns. Too fast.
A few 'firsts'.
Very first
Going to school, though don't remember it particularly. I walked more than rode (the bike was for playing on afterwards) - roughly two miles, kids today don't know they're born etc.
First work commute
Paperboy, again no real memory of actually starting, just of the Sunday paper bag digging into your shoulder as you crammed the entire round in, rather than splitting it for comfort, but having to ride back to the shop for the rest of it. If you were lucky you'd get two bags and wear them over opposite shoulders bandito style.
Adult work commute
At uni, worked about 4 miles away at an MFI. Had a Falcon Scorpion MTB that I'd bought with my own cash, used to love the ride because coming back was almost entirely a slight downhill on a path alongside a dual carriageway - never anyone else there, and some big lumps to jump off - pretty sure I stuck to the pavement all the way there and back, save a quiet bit of road up to the residences from Brig o' Balgonie.
Proper 'cyclist' commute
When I qualified in 2002 I treated myself to a DAwes 0 road bike. Now this I can remember starting, because I lived on the south side of Dalkeith, and I can remember having to stop on hills to get my breath (and there were a few there and back). I used to drive in with the bike on the car and park in Comely Bank, and walk up to work, cycle home that night, ride back in the next morning, then drive home that night, so did four rides per week. Utterly knackered every time. Switched later to parking at Cameron Toll, so rode in and back to and from there (long before the Sheriffhall P&R). Always took in Sheriffhall, never had an issue riding over it.
Had a lay-off for knee surgery, then by the time I came back to it I was living in Comely Bank, so just walked, but moving out to Trinity started riding again, and again can remember having to stop on the uphills. Took quite a while for the commuting fitness to kick in properly.
I also eschewed mudguards until about 6 years ago cos I thought they were uncool and made the bike look rubbish. Now I realise a striped wet backside is a little more uncool.
I remember cycling my first adult bike back to Marchmont from Rodney Street after I bought it in 1986.
Couldn't believe how steep and car-ridden it had suddenly got. I suppose the thirty intervening years have been about learning to ignore the hills and the cars. Should get there eventually.
Similarly, my first proper work commute was so long ago it was in black and white. I do remember getting off and pushing round a nasty right turn. I carried on doing this every day for months, until I gained the confidence to claim my rightful place on the road.
I think this is important to remember - it isn't all or nothing. It's not "cheating" to get off and push if you don't like the look of something.
I still dismount most evenings at junction of St Mary's St and Cowgate and push over the green man. I tell myself this is quicker but also I do not really like that right turn.
I described my first cycle commute after a 20-odd year gap (during which I discovered mountain biking) in this thread.
I was somewhat fortunate having gained confidence in heavy traffic when I was young and living down south, and though I was 'rusty', that confidence soon returned. Commuting gear is so much better than it was 30 years ago too, when the only cycling-specific thing I wore for a 9 mile London commute was a Sam Browne belt (an early form of hi viz, for the uninitiated). I've still got it somewhere.
TL;DR: what wingpig said under TL;DR.
My first commute was to the airport. I had my bike on a bike to work scheme offer and I took it as a personal dare to change my lifestyle to a more healthy one.
It rained heavily that day. It felt very long. It was hard, especially the Leith street climb. But I felt great to achieve that. I set off from home an hour and a half earlier as I didn't know how much it would take me and I was amazed It took me only ten minutes more than the bus journey.
I thought I could do that once a week to feel better about myself. I didn't know I would be hooked :)
"Is the soft launch at Peter's Yard?"
Not as such.
Check before you leave for PY.
My first commute followed my birthday around 10 years ago, when my then girlfriend (now Mrs Mandopicker) gave me the larger of her two bikes. Politely I thanked her, wondering why was I being given a bike.
This was a Trek hybrid, a guys model, that went by the unofficial moniker of 'Eric'. Now Eric was a bit of a beast - heavy, chunky, but deeply characterful. Eric had been nicked during his previous life in and around York University, but Mrs Mandopicker tracked him down and confronted the new 'owner' and got him back. Having been brought to us in bits, Eric underwent reanimation after intensive (and expensive) surgery at the Bicycle Works.
At the time I was travelling from Morningside to Salisbury Place, not exactly far or arduous, but the first couple of rides were excruciating as a decidedly unfit me ground my way there and back. I walked like John Wayne.
My wife still remarks that I was deeply (deeply) unappreciative (at first) of the gift, but given the investment in new parts, I stuck with it. I resolved that I would not quit.
Gradually, over the weeks, it got easier. I figured out faster ways there and back, figured out that leaving a lock at work meant I didn't have to carry one with me and replaced heftier tyres for something slightly sprightlier. Inevitably I got fitter and grew to rather like the idea of getting to work faster than ever before. Visiting EBC by chance, I stumbled on their sale and left laden with bike stuff. I was officially hooked.
'Eric' would take me on a tour and then my first Pedal For Scotland (a freak accident meant the rear mech died 300m from the line, so I hefted it cyclocross style and staggered over the line). Eventually the costs of repairing Eric reached a point where it just wasn't economic. Eric 'retired' to the Bicycle Station and, I hope, is now someone's useful bike.
As a postscript, the bike I replaced Eric with lasted three years. A heavy crash left it in several bits of expensive scrap. Lightweight alu frames might be nifty to ride, but I bet Eric would've survived...
Well...
I used to cycle to school when I was a teenager and had sports before/after school so the bus wasn't any use.
Then cycled a little bit to uni.
My first work commute was a year ago, pretty much to the day! I had made sure to set out all I needed the day before, and had checked out the bike store at work to see that there was somewhere to put my bike.
I'd done endless research on how best to get there, and got advice from here. Obviously just ended up following the "quiet" route from Cyclestreets.
I didn't have much trouble with traffic, being generally unflappable and having spent oodles of time googling "primary position" etc.
On arriving at work 15 mins ahead of my expectations I soon realised that I had in fact left my pass in my coat pocket at home, and security wouldn't let me into the office from the garage so I had to walk up the car ramp and sign in at the main entrance - oops! I then found at lunch time that I had also forgotten my wallet!
So - advice from this. Pack the night before and make sure you have everything. Leave some clothes at work the day before to minimise the load. Plan your route, but don't be inflexible - you're on a bike, you can go just about anywhere! Remember it doesn't have to be every day - I am still fair weather only...
Most of all enjoy yourself and do what suits you. No need to race if you don't want. Wear what you want - lycra isn't a must. And spread the word to your colleagues so they all know the fun you're having whilst also getting fit and getting to work!
My first work commute was in July 1991. The day after being banned from driving, silly ar@e bought a car at 17 before getting a license, and of course the temptation was too much. I left the courthouse in Linlithgow, and got the train through to Edinburgh and bought a Raleigh Pioneer out one of the pawn shops on Leith walk, cycled home on it to Livingston, and then cycled to work on it the next day, and many other days on it.
My 'second' first commute was after a 7 or 8 year hiatus after having to deal with mum and dad. I'd topped 15 1/2 stone by then, was a heavy smoker, and couldn't walk too the train station without breaking into a sweat.
I thought I would break myself in gently by driving to the P&R at Ingliston, 7.5 miles I thought would be a breeze. I literally had to stop at the bus stop at the roundabout in Chorstorphine, it nearly killed me! I was sore for a week after that 7.5 mile journey.
I need to have my 'third' first commute about now. After having the wee man my heart hasn't been in it, only done about 2000 miles so far this year. Not cycled in a fortnight, can't really be ars@d with it. Somehow seems hard every time I sit on a bike now, oh, the weights going up again....
Thanks all for those.
Some great 'stories'.
Some quotes added here -
@Baldcyclist sorry you have 'lost interest'.
It's obviously temporary otherwise you'd have given up bothering with CCE.
At least you know it doesn't have to be every day - or the whole way.
I cycled every day to school quite a long way, but gave it up pretty much entirely in my twenties. My early commutes were too reckless to recount probably as I was a teenager treating the road as a playground - something I regret now.
The first commute I had as a proper adult when I got back on the bike was between Easter Road and Heriot-Watt. I took the Calder Road Greenways, and the overwhelming memory I had was a sense of well-being on returning home - exhausted and embarrassingly sweaty mainly, but it made me feel that I could really enjoy my evening having done something which felt worthwhile… the unpleasant feeling you have from a day spent being sedentary had gone - I am now irritatingly evangelical about the benefits of active travel - in particular commuting to work.
I remember mine because I bought a bike from a work colleague and rode it home. New bike! City riding was new to me. It felt then and still feels thrilling and very frustrating.
My first bike commute to work was when I moved house, from a walking commute to one where it was either bike or bus.
When I first moved to Edinburgh I drove to work - a combination of top-floor-flat living, easy and free work parking and not knowing the city in the slightest - especially the paths, cut-throughs and snicketways that make cycling such a pleasure.
I then got a new job within walking distance of my home and all was well with the world. I began to realise what I had been missing by driving to work for three years. I felt much better and was generally happier; leaving work-stress at work was much easier with a 20 minute stroll at the end of the day.
This knowledge meant that when we moved further out into the 'burbs, I was determined to keep an active commute, and not become a bus passenger. Thus I took to the bike.
We had moved house in November, so I wimped out through the winter and resolved to begin in March - which was a really smart move as by the time the winter came I was hooked. I rolled out the bike I had last really used at uni some 12 years previously and added my old rack and panniers. I now knew the area I was cycling through, and so with the help of google map (I didn't know about cyclestreets then) picked a quiet route and did a test run on a Sunday afternoon. It took me 27 minutes. The following day I did it for real, leaving myself a good amount of time for riding and showering.
By the end of the summer, I had my commute time down to 17 minutes and I realised that this was something I was going to keep up, so I treated myself to a new (reasonably priced) bike in the EBC sale.
I also discovered CCE, but as a reader rather than a poster for a number of years. CCE has kept me informed about routes, roadworks, crazy stunts that drivers pull, and things going on the city. I would recommend reading a few threads to anyone wanting to start commuting.
I, like Algo, am now "irritatingly evangelical" about the benefits of active commuting. I wouldn't go back to driving if you paid me.
@Chdot -not lost interest, just time. And I have been cycling 5 or so miles every day to / from train station / work. Just not done that in last 2 weeks as pashleys chain is broke. When that is fixed I will be cycling every day again.
But 5 miles a day does not make for enough training to cope with the 44 mile day, those days are now hard, and I still seem to have 44 miles of hunger in me every day.
My first commute to work was back in 2006. I'd quit smoking in Jan 2004, and had slowly but surely put on weight over the next two years. I was looking for a way to get fit again when work began offering the 'Bike to Work' scheme as part of our flexible benefits package. A check of a pal's Spokes map revealed that I could ride to work almost entirely on off-road paths, so a bike was duly ordered.
It arrived during a week's holiday over Easter that year, which gave me time to get used to it and to try out *most* of the route. (I can't remember now why I didn't ride all the way in, other than possible laziness).
On the day of the fist commute, I set off at 6am as I'd no idea how long the full ride would take me (especially given that I'd not ridden the full route and thought I might get lost!) An hour later I was at my desk, having arrived, showered and changed.
My original plan was to cycle-commute two days a week, but as my fitness improved I upped it to 4 days a week, with the Monday being used to bring in a week's clothes and towels by bus.
The following April, I cancelled my annual bus-pass as it was almost never used. In 2008 I got a road bike on the work scheme, and I've never looked back!
@baldcyclist
tough times with little ones - trying to get a day's work, there and back commute and still having time to see them while they are awake (and you are not sweating and tired after your day). It isn't easy to fit that and jobs at home and time for the other half as well into 24 hrs, especially if sleep is disturbed. Something has to give and for me, at the time, cycling was a luxury, so I let it slip when the kids were very young, especially over the winter. The 30 mins a day saved by bike/training was too precious...
Hope you rediscover the love of the bike soon. Even a wee pootle on the Pashley with no end target is better than nowt.
"only 2000 miles" - sounds like a good effort by anyone else's standards-I've done about 2300 and am chuffed with myself- a major step up from last year when I did just over 2500 all year.
I don't remember much about my first full commute, but I really remember my 2nd. It was a howling gale, I was unfit and it took me 13 mins to cross the bridge. I didn't see anyone else on a bike that day. After reaching work, I felt euphoric- it had taken an hour and 10 mins, but I knew if I could do it on such a bad day, the good days would be easier. They were and that day felt like a real watershed.
As my commute was ~14 miles, I often took the bike back on the train. As chdot said it is important not to feel you have to cycle every day, but also not even both ways on the same day until your fitness builds up. Ways to do this include taking the bike one way on train/tram or if there is secure cycle parking, leaving the bike at work overnight.
You could achieve a lot by cycling in on Monday, home on Tuesday, in on Thursday and home on Friday. You get time to rest/adjust and Wednesday can be the day you bring in a weeks worth of clothes.
First regular commute was replacing the bus between Ealing Broadway and Kew. When we bought our house, it came with a locked shed full of stuff which the son of the original owner didn't want to have to deal with after his dad had died. Alongside the manual lawnmower and a box of ancient tools was an old three speed bike (this was in the 90s when such things were considered junk) which we called 'Arthur's bike' (Arthur being the name of the previous owner). After much persuasion the man in the market who repaired bikes gave it the once over (he told me it was a death trap and such bikes were obsolete and couldn't be repaired any more). I then lugged it on the train to Ealing - we lived in Maidenhead - and locked it up at the station on the grounds that nobody would want to steal such an ancient bike.
I worked out that all I needed to do was ride the bike to work and back twice a week to make it worth while not buying a weekly bus pass, and I thought I could manage that. The first day, I beat the bus by about 20 minutes, despite using a route that went three sides of a rectangle to avoid a busy road. After that one day I never used the bus again unless I had something on in the evening and needed to make a one way trip - and I deeply resented every minute spent standing at the bus stop, when I could have been on my way on Arthur's bike. It was a revelation to me that I could set off from work and know to the minute what time I would arrive at the train station.
One day, the chain broke as I arrived at work, and because it was a hub gear, nobody could work out how to repair it. Arthur's bike sat in the bike shed at work until we managed to get it home in the car (an enormous palaver) and when we were leaving to go abroad, I wheeled it down to the dump as part of the general clearout.
Even so, I had never gone back to the bus, but got another bike. I hope somebody rescued Arthur's bike rather than allowing it to go to landfill - I wish I'd known a bit more about bikes and hadn't believed the man in the market and had found someone who could fix it. It was enormously comfortable to ride and I'm sure it could have been a really splendid machine in the hands of someone less ignorant than I was then.
That's a great story sallyhinch. I too had use of a couple of Arthur's bike type bikes. They were so different to the bikes I have now and I wish I had managed to keep one of them.
I cycled to work for the first time in August 2012 so I am approaching my 3rd anniversary!
I vaguely remember having a hand-me-down strika and then a grifter but cycling was something I did round about our street and park with friends rather than as a means of getting anywhere. So, that was primary school.
Next time I got on a bike I was 19 and it was a mountain bike (muddy fox) that I borrowed from a friend for the weekend to do some cycling with then-boyfriend.
Cut to three years ago and after many conversations with a colleague who cycles to work I finally decided I'd give it a go. I had a bike to hand (50 miles a way, at my parents house) which I bought while teaching my daughter to ride - I thought we could go on cycles together. However I went out on it ONCE, on the road near my parents house, as I used to in my childhood and was completely unprepared for the traffic. There were no cycle lanes and I was practically driven off the road by a double decker (Drymen Road in Bearsden - it's no better now). So that bike gathered dust for many years.
My colleague described all sorts of off-road options and quiet streets etc. and finally - three years after we first discussed it - I plucked up the courage. I had brought the bike through to Edinburgh, bought a helmet, waterproof jacket, lights and pump (no puncture repair kit though!) and my route (along the canal) was planned to a T (spokes maps). I absolutely loved it.
I enjoyed the scenery, the sounds of wildlife, the fresh air and a thoroughly relaxed journey. I arrived at work feeling invigorated. I had planned to test the water and think about doing it once or twice a week, but haven't look back really. It is possible to get around pretty well on the cycle routes, and I try to use my bike for as many journeys as I can. Part of the fun is finding new ways to get to places and I'm now becoming more competent in looking after my bike too.
@baldcyclist - feel your pain. My second little one is approaching 6 months and 'beginning-ish' to start sleeping through the night. As I start getting more sleep at night I find the motivation is coming back. I can see your problem though, a work day + 44 mile round-trip + a bedtime routine starting at 6:30ish just doesn't work; not enough hours.
I'm not counting my paperboy days but I guess I got confidence then which I didn't lose. Started my first commute just over a year ago; June 2014. I'd done research, read almost every word of the 'A90' thread on CCE too. Borrowed a bike from my brother and asked a mate who I know cycles from fife to edin to chum me. I do remember posting about a first ride on here (CCE) and so many people said they'd chum me so I was grateful for all the offers (just felt nervous so opted for the early-leaving mate). Next I picked a cracker of a day (could have been a Friday too lol) and met him at Ferrytoll P&R. Haven't looked back. Still not managing 5 days a week but I don't care. It's nice to have a break and it tends to be that I now 'choose' my rest day around the rubbish weather.
I'm going to share the new website link on my Facebook and try to get one of my friends to start cycling; even just the once.
I also remember my first 'geared-up' commute. Bought all my C2W gear (inc. bike with clipless pedals) but brought it all home in the car; too nervous to start from edinburgh. After falling LOADS around my estate (onto grass) trying to get the hang of the pedals I woke one morning and thought 'this is the day'. Started off, headed out the estate, bumped down a kerb and the pannier fell off...great start...thought 'I'll just stop and pop that back on'...forgot I was clipped in and hit the deck. I just laughed it off and got back on the bike. There were a few low-speed falls in those days but thankfully I haven't had one in a while. :-)
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