Cycling to work

In news:[email hidden],

Nick Finnigan said:

David Martin said:

Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent
to a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average
person?

Why does it have to be at a certain speed, what's wrong with whatever the
cyclist feels comfortable?

Nick Finnigan said:

David Martin said:

Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent to
a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average person?

Eh? David said 15-20 minutes, not 15-20 mph.

R.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent to
a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average person?

Eh? David said 15-20 minutes, not 15-20 mph.

Yeah but 5 miles in 15 mins is 20 Mph, 5 miles in 20 mins is 15 Mph

"Richard" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nick Finnigan said:

David Martin said:

Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent to
a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average person?

Eh? David said 15-20 minutes, not 15-20 mph.

5 miles in 15 - 20 minutes
Do the maths 🙂

Kinetic said:

I work up more sweat running around the office all day than cycling!

In the summer I get sweaty just sitting at my desk, as the office is inadequately
cooled. The bike ride into work is 7 miles, predominantly downhill with the prevailing
wind behind me and before 08:30 - no sweat!

Alan

Brimstone said:

In news:[email hidden],

Nick Finnigan said:

David Martin said:

Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent
to a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average
person?

Why does it have to be at a certain speed, what's wrong with whatever the
cyclist feels comfortable?

David deduced a distance from the time, which requires a speed.

On Tue, 04 Apr 2006 16:38:49 +0100, Ed Chilada <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi guys, I promise this isn't dissertation research, but a stem from a
discussion in uk.rec.driving...

Do people who cycle a lot tend to cycle to work? How many people here
do?

Not regularly, as I work mainly from home, but I do cycle to meetings
locally (w/in say 5 miles) and to the train station when going further
(sometimes take my bike on the train and cycle at the other end, too)

Quoted message said:

Do you have a shower at work when you get there and do you get
changed?

I don't usually need to change unless I've decided to wear a skirt for
work that day, in which case I cycle in trews and change into a skirt
on arrival (I know some people manage to cycle in a skirt but I can't
get used to it all). Deodarant wipes are part of my standard 'kit'
that I take along when I go out, so I have them to hand if it's a
particularly hot day

Quoted message said:

What about footwear? Do you cycle in the same footwear that
you subsequently wear at work?

Yes, I don't have special shoes/pedals and only ever wear flat shoes
anyway.

Quoted message said:

Last question: How far do you think the
average person (or perhaps yourself), would be able to regularly cycle
to work without really working up a sweat such that they don't feel
the need a shower when they get there?

For me it would probably be 5 - 7 miles

Nick Finnigan said:

David Martin said:

Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent to
a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average person?

Inna flat area, and onna half-decent bike (and why should someone
commuting by bike not have an adequate machine for the job?)
of course it is.

When I lived in London (and commuted in to W1), the limiting
factor was always congestion. Sure, I could get past the cars,
but it meant going slowly and cautiously for much of the way.
Add waiting at junctions and lights, and it was indeed a little
slower than that. The bike was still faster than the motorbike
(let alone the tube) and I'd arrive much fresher at work.

On a more open flat commute like the A4 from Bath to Bristol,
that speed was no effort at all. The bike was no longer faster
than the motorbike or even car, being 35 minutes to the
motorbike's low 20s or around 30 by car. But still by far
the most pleasant. That was onna basic £150 (1980s prices)
touring bike.

Even in the hilly urban environment of Sheffield, my experience
was that cycling was faster and more pleasant than other means
of commuting - though I no longer had a motorbike to compare.

Of course, hills and off-road riding are much slower, and
here (Dartmoor), cycling is definitely slower than driving.
The six miles I used to commute before switching to working
from home became so much fun I would often take longer, more
scenic routes when time permitted (which was usually the
homeward journey:-).

--
Nick Kew

Nick Kew said:

Nick Finnigan said:

David Martin said:

Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent to
a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average person?

Inna flat area, and onna half-decent bike (and why should someone
commuting by bike not have an adequate machine for the job?)

What defines an adequate bike for commuting by an average person?

Quoted message said:

of course it is.

When I lived in London (and commuted in to W1), the limiting
factor was always congestion.

So did you ever manage to cover 5 miles in 15 minutes?

I cycle to work (and back) - I guess it's about 12 miles (the wrong
side of Stroud to the wrong side of Gloucester). It takes me about 50
minutes.

I have a shower if I have time, if I need one, or if I'm rushed I just
have a quick top wash (I always need at least that, I get quite
sweaty!)

I cycle in cool cycling gear, then change at work. I'm lucky enough to
have a locker at work to keep spare clothes in. However, I wear the
same shoes (karrimor trainery-things) for cycling and work, but then my
work environment is quite informal (university).

If my commute wasn't so hilly or was perhaps 3 or 4 miles shorter i
would expect not to need to shower or wash. Alternatively I could allow
more time and take it easier. But that's no fun ;-)

Cheers,
Francis

Nick Finnigan ([email hidden]) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying :

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

When I lived in London (and commuted in to W1), the limiting
factor was always congestion.

Quoted message said:

So did you ever manage to cover 5 miles in 15 minutes?

Probably not far off. But it was an hour by car or bus.

Nick Finnigan said:

Quoted message said:

Inna flat area, and onna half-decent bike (and why should someone
commuting by bike not have an adequate machine for the job?)

What defines an adequate bike for commuting by an average person?

It depends on the person, the commute, the workplace. What might be
adequate for my commute might be entirely unsuitable for someone else's.
Give me an example and I'll suggest an adequate bike; but there are
so many combinations of person/commute/workplace such that pretty much
every sort of unicycle/bike/trike would be a perfectly suitable machine
for at least one of them.

R.

Nick Finnigan said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent
> to a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average
person?

Why does it have to be at a certain speed, what's wrong with whatever
the cyclist feels comfortable?

David deduced a distance from the time, which requires a speed.

D'oh.

Still, it does bemuse me why I'm considered 'odd' for cycling
(occasionally hard enough to sweat) to and from work by people who drive
to and from work and to the gym at lunchtimes for /their/ workout...

R.

In article <[email hidden]>, Ed Chilada
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

OK guys, I've got the information I was after, thanks for your
efforts!!

No probs. Thanks for the acknowledgement. But then...

Quoted message said:

(I've known of people to cycle to work and to stink all day
- no showers).

Strange people. I've known lots who cycled to work and not one stank.
However, among those colleagues who took the tube to work, some did
stink all day.

A designer in my office started to commute by bike, and always used the
shower at work (amazed that I didn't).

However, he hung his moisture-wicking microfibre gear on the coat stand
next to the door of the open plan office we worked in. The awful pong
attracted a lot of negative comment from everyone who passed by (and for
a while had me wondering what the source was).

When it became apparent that people thought it was my suit and jackets
(stored in suit covers and also hanging on the coat stand) creating the
stench, I pointed out to him that, never mind showering, he might want
to wash his bike clothes much more often, store them in a plastic bag
and keep them away from everyone else, or change to cotton gear.
Thankfully he took the hint.

Quoted message said:

OK if you can wear the same CATs all day, as
Kinetic said.

I like to change my footwear several times a day - keeps them and my
feet fresher and spreads wear. And shoes can last me years (I've got a
30+ year old pair of Grensons - they've been resoled but the uppers are
perfect).

--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

Richard said:

Quoted message said:

(I've known of people to cycle to work and to stink all day
- no showers).

I know of people who drive to work and stink all day...

I am most likely to change before a meeting if I've just spend several
hours on one of Mr Branson's Horseless Carriages

in message <[email hidden]>, Nick Finnigan

(') said:

David Martin said:

Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent to
a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average
person?

15 miles per hour, yes. 20 miles per hour is hard - I can just about
sustain 20 miles per hour for five miles but I can't keep it up for ten
without either a long hill or else wind assist.

Aerodynamic drag scales more or less with the square of the speed. 20mph
is a /lot/ more work than 15mph. For me, 16mph is a reasonable rolling
average for journeys of up to 50 miles. Any more than that is hard work.
Above 50 miles the rolling average tends to drop a bit.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
; gif ye hes forget our auld plane Scottis quhilk your mother lerit you,
; in tymes cuming I sall wryte to you my mind in Latin, for I am nocht
; acquyntit with your Southeron
;; Letter frae Ninian Winyet tae John Knox datit 27t October 1563

in message <[email hidden]>, Nick Finnigan

(') said:

Quoted message said:

Inna flat area, and onna half-decent bike (and why should someone
commuting by bike not have an adequate machine for the job?)

What defines an adequate bike for commuting by an average person?

My most recent serious commuter (it's now my winter bike) is a
steel-framed Raleigh twelve speed road bike weighing about 25 lbs. It
cost about £250 new in 1992. I used it for a 42 mile round trip commute
on quiet, mainly fairly flat roads, and averaged 16mph.

For urban commuting a flat barred bike might be better than a drop barred
one; for any regular commuting an epicyclic gearbox would be better than
derailleurs because of lower maintenance. Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op
currently sell such a machine for £349.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

The trouble with Simon is that he only opens his mouth to change feet.
;; of me, by a 'friend'

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Nick Finnigan

(') said:

David Martin said:

Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion -
equivalent to a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie
London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average
person?

15 miles per hour, yes. 20 miles per hour is hard - I can just about
sustain 20 miles per hour for five miles but I can't keep it up for
ten without either a long hill or else wind assist.

Phew! That makes me feel a bit more normal. I made the big mistake
of agreeing to cycle home from work the long way with a mate last
summer. He's a serious roadie, time-triallist etc. I managed 5 miles
at 22-23mph but I was *completely* worn out after that. He just
tootled off into the distance.

Chris
--
Chris Eilbeck

Nick Finnigan said:

Nick Kew said:

Nick Finnigan said:

David Martin wrote:

>
> Depends on the terrain. 15-20 minutes of mild exertion - equivalent to
> a brisk walk so 5 miles in a fairly flat area (ie London).

15 to 20 mph on a typical bike is mild exertion, for an average person?

Inna flat area, and onna half-decent bike (and why should someone
commuting by bike not have an adequate machine for the job?)

What defines an adequate bike for commuting by an average person?

You snipped:

" That was onna basic £150 (1980s prices)

touring bike. "

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of course it is.

When I lived in London (and commuted in to W1), the limiting
factor was always congestion.

So did you ever manage to cover 5 miles in 15 minutes?

Probably not in London - too many stops for traffic/etc.
ISTR 20 minutes for the shortest London commute, which was
from NW2 to just off Oxford Street - 4.8 miles.

Easily on the Bath-Bristol commute.

--
Nick Kew

Richard said:

Nick Finnigan said:

Quoted message said:

Inna flat area, and onna half-decent bike (and why should someone
commuting by bike not have an adequate machine for the job?)

What defines an adequate bike for commuting by an average person?

It depends on the person, the commute, the workplace. What might be
adequate for my commute might be entirely unsuitable for someone else's.
Give me an example and I'll suggest an adequate bike; but there are so
many combinations of person/commute/workplace such that pretty much
every sort of unicycle/bike/trike would be a perfectly suitable machine
for at least one of them.

"Inna flat area", the workplace in mind I think was either a hospital
or a supermarket and so suburban, the person was "average", so about 35,
bit of a coach potato, not cycled for over a decade...