Cycling to Work

Cycling to work is one of the best ways to painlessly incorporate exercise into your daily life and has a number of benefits:

Save time

Riding your bike can help reduce the time you spend commuting as short journeys in most towns are quicker by bike.

Save money

By riding to work you can save money on train & bus passes, fuel and car running costs. Once you’ve made the initial purchase, the cost of running a bike is virtually nil.

Exercise

Riding to work is a great way to incorporate regular exercise into your daily routine. It boosts your amount of exercise without eating into valuable leisure time whilst saving you gym fees. Best of all, cycling is a great way to help lose weight and stay fit.

Have fun!

Cycling to work can change your daily commute from something you dread to something you look forward to. Fresh air, exercise, and the time to look around your environment means that you arrive at your desk invigorated

Choosing a bike

What kind of bike you ride to work on really depends on the length of journey and what kind of bike you feel comfortable with.

An ordinary drop bar race bike is a common choice with committed cyclists and certainly the quickest style of bike for road riding. The most popular style for commuters is the hybrid – it has the skinny tyres and fast rolling wheel of a race bike but flat bars and a more upright position for a clear view of the road and easy handling. A wide spread of gears allows you to cope with any changes in gradient or speed easily – whatever your fitness level.

A mountain bike can be adapted to road commuting with the addition of narrow slick tyres to cut down on rolling resistance, making your on-road riding easier and faster. If your commute involves public transport and you only need to pedal a short distance, a folding bike is a wise move. These can be folded down to carry onto a train, avoiding peak time travel restrictions, they’re also easy to store if you’re tight for space.

What to wear

What you wear depends to a certain extent on how far your journey is and what facilities your employer provides. If you have the luxury of showers and cycle storage at your destination what you wear and what you need to carry is less limited. If you are riding short distances and at a leisurely pace you may feel comfortable wearing your work clothes, particularly if you are going to spend some time on public transport. In wet weather, a set of waterproof trousers and jacket will protect your clothes. Reflective trouser clips are a great idea for keeping clothes out of moving parts and helping drivers see you.

If your journey is twenty minutes or more and you want to pedal a bit harder, then the most practical solution is to wear cycling clothes and change at work. To avoid carrying lots of spare clothes each day, a good idea is to schedule two ‘rest’ days a week when you use some other form of transport.

Bring in clean clothes on a Monday and take home your washing on a Friday. To cycle comfortably and safely, you need properly fitting cycle clothing and, especially in the winter, a good, brightly coloured jacket with reflective patches. Helmets are entirely a personal choice but are recommended.

Rucksacks

If you are commuting you will need to carry more than if you were just out riding. A rucksack is the obvious solution and there are many cycling specific options available. However carrying weight on your back can be uncomfortable for longer trips and affects your sense of balance. The other option is to carry the load on your bike.

Health and Safety

One concern that is often raised by commuter cyclists is pollution. Cyclists are actually exposed to less pollution when cycling than a car driver in traffic, so there is no need to be put off by this worry. However, the best way to protect yourself from fumes is by wearing a face mask which filters out particles from the air. Masks are increasingly common in cities so there is no need to feel self conscious and they are available in a wide range of colours and designs. It is generally agreed that the benefit you receive from additional exercise out weighs the exposure to pollution which is just the same – if not greater – if you are a pedestrian or car driver. Good lights are essential to

make yourself as noticeable as possible. Use several lights on the rear of your bike and think about the angles from which a car approaches you. If you are passing a side road will a car pulling out see you? Make sure your clothing is reflective and put a light on your jacket or rucksack. If all your lights are on your bike, it will be harder to see you if you are separated from it in the unfortunate event of a crash.

Planning your route

Don’t think like a car driver. The best route for a cyclist is unlikely to be the same as if you were in a vehicle. Look for quiet side roads and ways of cutting through parks or residential areas. When you are cycling in traffic, be positive and predictable in your actions so that car drivers can see what you are doing. Indicate clearly, stay off pavements and obey traffic signals. If cyclists want to be respected by other road users, they need to play by the same rules of the road. Stay calm and try and get eye contact with drivers so you know they are aware of you. Be confident and enjoy riding. Your commute may well become the highlight of your working day