I started in 2006 when I was commuting from Edinburgh to Dundee, and I had moved from Dalkeith Rd to Marchmont, away from any bus routes. I spent £300 on a Co-op Courier Race and it immediately was saving me an hour a day all-told - result!
Quite soon after this, my company moved from the centre of Dundee to the technology park, a cool 4 miles from the station (but crucially, along the waterfront segregated cycle route). It took me over half an hour to make the first trip, but by the time I quit I had got my record down to just over 10 minutes.
I then started working in Dunfermline and by and large, cycled to the station and got the train. However I did experiment with riding from South Queensferry (doing 20 miles on the train and 14 by bike). Rapidly I discovered that I only had to leave the office 10 minutes before my colleagues to meet them on the train half way, and this rocked.
Sometimes I rode the whole 17 miles but it was a bit punishing. It was during this period that I ditched the Courier Race and got myself a nice Pearson Touche (for about twice the price!)
The following year, my better half got a job in South Queensferry, and wanted to cycle it. As it seemed mad for me to get the train while she rode, I started cycling the whole way.
Last year, I got the lowracer to help with the long journeys. However, quite soon afterwards I quit and now work in Leith, which has reduced my commute to a tiny 4 miles - the lowest it's been since 2006. I now try to run in for fitness, but because I can't do it very often the bike is still my mainstay, and gets me in to the waterfront from Kings Buildings in around 15 minutes.
I've lost (and kept off) about 3 stone and am rediculously fit considering that I almost never do any exercise that is not transport related. I've also got a lot more money to waste (or nowadays, to save up for a wedding with!). Bus pass & train to Dunfermline would have been about £140pcm, but I was doing it almost for free.
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