Why don't you cycle?

[YouLostAStar]

I've been cycling to work for about 7 months, while i've enjoyed it and its definitely helped me get fitter I do get a feeling that i'm a little bit dicing with death at certain parts of my ride. Mainly due to going/coming back in the dark and I feel a lot that cars aren't really paying attention to cyclists.

 

[Tetragon213]

Not to mention that cycling that way gets you to work tired and stressed before the day even begins. I like to save my mental and physical energy for work, not expend it all just trying to get in. Also, when it rains, the windchill effect gets real bad.

I disliked travelling in Pacers and 150s in the winter with their inadequete heating at Uni; I would arrive to work mightily unhappy if I was blasted by the cold directly for a 20 minute bike ride, before opening my laptop!

Each to their own but it's the opposite for me, cycling destresses and refreshes me especially compared to cars or public transport. As many others have mentioned it's easily possible to deal with bad weather, it's just a case of being prepared for it which can take a bit of practice in getting the right clothing to offer the right level of protection against the elements without being too hot however it's very much possible.

Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I struggle to find the "destressing" and "refreshing" parts, on arriving to work after cycling uphill for a mile and a half.

I used to use a small 50cc scooter to get to the station for college each day, and even with lights and a noisy tutting engine, it was never comfortable being stuck at 26mph on the hill near the new-builds where there was a 40mph speed limit in place; it was often quite stressful trying to get up that hill with cars overtaking me on a relatively narrow-ish road. I dread to think how it would be on a pushbike going 5 or 6 mph at best. "Flipping terrifying" are the 2 words that come to mind.

 

[Via Bank]

Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I struggle to find the "destressing" and "refreshing" parts, on arriving to work after cycling uphill for a mile and a half.

I used to use a small 50cc scooter to get to the station for college each day, and even with lights and a noisy tutting engine, it was never comfortable being stuck at 26mph on the hill near the new-builds where there was a 40mph speed limit in place; it was often quite stressful trying to get up that hill with cars overtaking me on a relatively narrow-ish road. I dread to think how it would be on a pushbike going 5 or 6 mph at best. "Flipping terrifying" are the 2 words that come to mind.

This is arguably an issue with the infrastructure? There should be a separated track up the hill so cyclists could climb at a pace that works for them, without being chased by cars. You see this even in hilly parts of the Netherlands where the infrastructure allows people to cycle in a relaxed and comfortable way. Of course hills do make cycling harder than being on the flat, but it's not insurmountable.

 

[bspahh]

Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I struggle to find the "destressing" and "refreshing" parts, on arriving to work after cycling uphill for a mile and a half.

I used to use a small 50cc scooter to get to the station for college each day, and even with lights and a noisy tutting engine, it was never comfortable being stuck at 26mph on the hill near the new-builds where there was a 40mph speed limit in place; it was often quite stressful trying to get up that hill with cars overtaking me on a relatively narrow-ish road. I dread to think how it would be on a pushbike going 5 or 6 mph at best. "Flipping terrifying" are the 2 words that come to mind.

I used to cycle to the University of Bath. The direct route was up Widcombe Hill, where the average gradient is 8% and the steepest bit is 18%. You then got to the top and had didn't have time to cool off. I much prefered taking a longer loop up the Wells Road which has a shallower gradient, and then you have a few flat miles at the top to cool down. The Wells Road is busier but its a 30mph dual carriageway, so I would get more space when people overtake.

If you see a lot of other cyclists taking a turning, it might be that they are all going in that direction. It might be that they are using a better route.

I knew another cyclist, who had a fearless cyclist colleague, who would cycle on the A34 dual carriageway near Didcot. They got passed by a lorry where the turbulence pulled them into the path of a second lorry with fatal consequences.

 

[The exile]

I used to cycle to the University of Bath. The direct route was up Widcombe Hill, where the average gradient is 8% and the steepest bit is 18%. You then got to the top and had didn't have time to cool off. I much prefered taking a longer loop up the Wells Road which has a shallower gradient, and then you have a few flat miles at the top to cool down. The Wells Road is busier but its a 30mph dual carriageway, so I would get more space when people overtake.

Exactly those hills (but two of the other roads going up them) are the reason I stopped cycling as transport. Do nothing but wear out brake blocks in one direction (Kamikaze cycling is not for me) and nothing but push in the other direction - what’s the point?

 

[YouLostAStar]

Thats a problem with Bath as a whole though, just massively steep hills if you travel a bit out of the centre. I cycle up parts of Lansdown Lane which is 9.3% gradient

 

[bspahh]

Exactly those hills (but two of the other roads going up them) are the reason I stopped cycling as transport. Do nothing but wear out brake blocks in one direction (Kamikaze cycling is not for me) and nothing but push in the other direction - what’s the point?

For descending, I was fine with Bathwick Hill. Wind resistance slowed me down enough (~35mph) so I wouldn't get sore arms from braking. A house mate in the cycling club would hit 55mph.

I once rode up Mont Ventoux. I took two and a half hours for the climb, but I got into a rhythm. The descent was steep enough at the start to make me keep the brakes on for the first few minutes, so my forearms hurt more than my legs on the climb.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I struggle to find the "destressing" and "refreshing" parts, on arriving to work after cycling uphill for a mile and a half.

A good e-bike is the answer.

I've always been a cyclist but, when it came to taking Junior to school three (hilly) miles away, I tried a couple of non-electric cargo/tandem bikes. Both were painful. Then I got an e-bike (a Tern GSD) and the difference was night and day. I used it day in, day out, every week of the year in preference to the car, simply because the GSD was effortless to ride whereas the car involved the stress of finding a parking space at each end. You'll now sometimes see three similar bikes doing the exact same run, and this at a tiny rural primary school.

When our current car finally expires, we're probably not going to replace it. Between e-bike, train and bus, we can replace almost all the journeys we once made by car.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A good e-bike is the answer.

I've always been a cyclist but, when it came to taking Junior to school three (hilly) miles away, I tried a couple of non-electric cargo/tandem bikes. Both were painful. Then I got an e-bike (a Tern GSD) and the difference was night and day. I used it day in, day out, every week of the year in preference to the car, simply because the GSD was effortless to ride whereas the car involved the stress of finding a parking space at each end. You'll now sometimes see three similar bikes doing the exact same run, and this at a tiny rural primary school.

When our current car finally expires, we're probably not going to replace it. Between e-bike, train and bus, we can replace almost all the journeys we once made by car.

The Terns are superb, but the problem is that you can get a usable used small car for the price of one new (around £5-6K), while there aren't enough of them about for there to be a buoyant used market, so they are always going to be somewhat niche purchases. Certainly there are families that do very well with them, you seem to see a fair few in London these days for instance, but elsewhere you'll struggle to get a lot of switchers.

There are much cheaper examples of this sort of bike but they seem usually to be a bit poorly designed in comparison - I suspect Tern (as the first to do this style of bike) have some patents they're needing to find ways around perhaps?

 

[Tetragon213]

A good e-bike is the answer.

I've always been a cyclist but, when it came to taking Junior to school three (hilly) miles away, I tried a couple of non-electric cargo/tandem bikes. Both were painful. Then I got an e-bike (a Tern GSD) and the difference was night and day. I used it day in, day out, every week of the year in preference to the car, simply because the GSD was effortless to ride whereas the car involved the stress of finding a parking space at each end. You'll now sometimes see three similar bikes doing the exact same run, and this at a tiny rural primary school.

When our current car finally expires, we're probably not going to replace it. Between e-bike, train and bus, we can replace almost all the journeys we once made by car.

An e-bike sounds great until you wince at the £5k price tag. That Tern GSD literally costs more than I paid for my car.

Replacing my car with an e-bike and public transport would stress me into an early grave, and utterly wreck my retirement fund. Plus, I challenge you to fit a weekly shop for 3 on a bike plus prezzies, then cycle that heavy beast 4.5 miles back home in freezing sideways rain. I made a similar mistake to that on the scooter once, never again.

 

[Bletchleyite]

An e-bike sounds great until you wince at the £5k price tag. That Tern GSD literally costs more than I paid for my car.

That's indeed the problem with the Terns. The other problem is that because they're expensive they are prime targets for theft. While you can get some excellent locks these days e.g. the Litelok (which despite its name is not particularly "lite" and is in fact a heavy steel D-lock with added anti-angle-grinder features) there comes a point when escalating the quality of the lock starts becoming pointless because they'll just angle grinder the fence/stand you've locked to instead.

Replacing my car with an e-bike and public transport would stress me into an early grave, and utterly wreck my retirement fund. Plus, I challenge you to fit a weekly shop for 3 on a bike plus prezzies, then cycle that heavy beast 4.5 miles back home in freezing sideways rain. I made a similar mistake to that on the scooter once, never again.

If one wanted to live without a car, doing a weekly shop is no longer a thing. You have staples delivered, then you shop more frequently for things you want to look at before you buy such as fruit and veg. It is a lifestyle change. However I expect most Tern users have replaced their second car with it rather than having no car. Or if you absolutely must do a weekly shop the old way, you walk or use a hire ebike/scooter or take the bus to the supermarket and take a taxi home with your shopping.

E-bikes are available for far less than that, though, mine cost £1300ish from Decathlon. It's a conventional hybrid without massive carrying capacity, though, so wouldn't do for taking kids to school, though as I don't have kids that doesn't overly matter.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

An e-bike sounds great until you wince at the £5k price tag. That Tern GSD literally costs more than I paid for my car.

Other e-bikes are available. You were talking about your commute, which presumably doesn't involve carting two children around and therefore doesn't require a GSD.

Replacing my car with an e-bike and public transport would stress me into an early grave, and utterly wreck my retirement fund. Plus, I challenge you to fit a weekly shop for 3 on a bike plus prezzies, then cycle that heavy beast 4.5 miles back home in freezing sideways rain. I made a similar mistake to that on the scooter once, never again.

Do they not have supermarket home delivery where you are? My condolences.

 

[bspahh]

My solution for bike theft is to have a Brompton which you can fold and wheel into a shop, park by my desk, and where I can get a lift/bus/taxi/ instead of having to cycle up big steep hills.

They aren't a replacement for all bikes, but pretty good as a compromise for lots of uses. I don't have one pair of shoes. Multiple bikes are also fine.

 

[Tetragon213]

That's indeed the problem with the Terns. The other problem is that because they're expensive they are prime targets for theft. While you can get some excellent locks these days e.g. the Litelok (which despite its name is not particularly "lite" and is in fact a heavy steel D-lock with added anti-angle-grinder features) there comes a point when escalating the quality of the lock starts becoming pointless because they'll just angle grinder the fence/stand you've locked to instead.

When I was at uni, from a small group of friends, I knew 2 who had their bikes nicked, and they weren't even good bikes, either. Heck, one of them had a bike which looked like she'd dredged from the river! (not that far off from where she actually got her bike from, incidentally. Still, even though she didn't lose out financially, it was a faff for her to walk all the way home)

If one wanted to live without a car, doing a weekly shop is no longer a thing. You have staples delivered, then you shop more frequently for things you want to look at before you buy such as fruit and veg. It is a lifestyle change. However I expect most Tern users have replaced their second car with it rather than having no car. Or if you absolutely must do a weekly shop the old way, you walk or use a hire ebike/scooter or take the bus to the supermarket and take a taxi home with your shopping.

E-bikes are available for far less than that, though, mine cost £1300ish from Decathlon. It's a conventional hybrid without massive carrying capacity, though, so wouldn't do for taking kids to school, though as I don't have kids that doesn't overly matter.

£1,300 sounds a bit more reasonable, but still quite steep; especially without any decent carrying capacity. Does it at least have a mounting point for a rear storage box?

Other e-bikes are available. You were talking about your commute, which presumably doesn't involve carting two children around and therefore doesn't require a GSD.

Perhaps, but I'm still not keen on paying through the nose for an e-bike. The aforementioned £1,300 is still pretty steep given my current finances, being just a hair over a quarter of the value of my car.

Do they not have supermarket home delivery where you are? My condolences.

I've used home delivery once from Tesco, and that one time will forever remain the absolute last time I use any supermarket delivery service; grey/brown meat, bruised fruit, mushy veg, it was as if the picker had gone out of their way to pick out the worst option available. We ended up tossing almost everything that wasn't ambient. I think I'll be picking my own fruit and vegetables from now on, thank you very much. Not to say anything of the added delivery charges as well.

As an aside, I'm in a particular quandary where I live nowhere near my ethnic group's "quarter" or "town", hence it's quite a long way to go for certain specialist ingredients. Independent stockers tend to not offer delivery, certainly not on an "official" basis.

Replacing my car with a bike is flat-out not an option.

 

[Bletchleyite]

£1,300 sounds a bit more reasonable, but still quite steep; especially without any decent carrying capacity. Does it at least have a mounting point for a rear storage box?

It has a rear rack like most European style fully equipped hybrids do (most bikes Decathlon sell are the same as for the French market so they tend to be fully equipped as people expect that there). I tend to use panniers rather than a box, as a box of heavy stuff affects stability.

I've used home delivery once from Tesco, and that one time will forever remain the absolute last time I use any supermarket delivery service; grey/brown meat, bruised fruit, mushy veg, it was as if the picker had gone out of their way to pick out the worst option available. We ended up tossing almost everything that wasn't ambient. I think I'll be picking my own fruit and vegetables from now on, thank you very much. Not to say anything of the added delivery charges as well.

You might be lucky and live very near a supermarket (in which case walking with a rucksack or a traditional shopping trolley would be an option), but if you don't, don't forget it's quite likely your fuel will be about the price of a delivery (typically around £5) to go there and back. People just don't notice it because they buy it in bulk rather than for specific journeys.

However, looking at deliveries, it's not a terrible idea to use them for staples (tins and packets, basically) and you can then shop on foot/by bike for the smaller quantity of fresh stuff you want to choose yourself. It also opens up the option of going to a butcher or greengrocer instead of a supermarket if you only need those items.

 

[renegademaster]

don't forget it's quite likely your fuel will be about the price of a delivery (typically around £5)

You'd have to drive an awful long way to Tesco to get it to cost £5 even in a Land Rover

 

[Will Mitchell]

I live in Bristol which, like many places in the UK, is woefully under-provisioned with safe walking and cycling infrastructure, and takes what might politely be called a minimalist approach to public transport. The predictable result : Cars, and absolutely loads of them, everywhere; seemingly omnipresent, occupying every square millimetre of public space made available to them, and still thirsty for more. In many areas of the city, you cannot even walk around the neighbourhood without being impeded by motor vehicles, moving or ‘parked’, strewn all over the place, poking out of every orifice into which they are stuffed. Cars are consuming all our space, polluting our air, food and water, making us all poorer and sicker. A menace to society. Someday I hope this madness will end, hopefully in my lifetime (I’m 42), but I’m not counting on it.

 

[SeanG]

You'd have to drive an awful long way to Tesco to get it to cost £5 even in a Land Rover

When petrol is roughly £5.80 per gallon even for the cheap stuff, then driving a car with not a massive amount of power/bad fuel consumption will mean that a trip to the shops is costing about a fiver if you drive (say) 10 miles each way and do about 25mpg which wouldn't be unheard of in pottering about or town traffic

 

[Tetragon213]

When petrol is roughly £5.80 per gallon even for the cheap stuff, then driving a car with not a massive amount of power/bad fuel consumption will mean that a trip to the shops is costing about a fiver if you drive (say) 10 miles each way and do about 25mpg which wouldn't be unheard of in pottering about or town traffic

10 miles each way sounds rather extreme for a shopping trip. I'd bet good money that most people drive between 2-5 miles round trip at most for a weekly shop.

For me, £5 of petrol would get me to the outskirts of Newport and back from Cardiff, even with my leadfoot on the accelerator! I don't exactly drive a hypermiling ecobox, either.

 

[YouLostAStar]

£5 as an estimate for Delivery costs seems a bit high (but I suppose every supermarket is different). I do my deliveries either Asda or Iceland and I can get delivery for £1.50 with the former and free with the latter option which probably isn't too far away from Petrol costs

 

[telstarbox]

I've been cycling to work for about 7 months, while i've enjoyed it and its definitely helped me get fitter I do get a feeling that i'm a little bit dicing with death at certain parts of my ride. Mainly due to going/coming back in the dark and I feel a lot that cars aren't really paying attention to cyclists.

Similar here, although I've concluded that I am adequately visible at night because nobody has run me over in 100+ commutes after dark.

Although I enjoy it I only see a handful of other cyclists going the same way and this doesn't surprise me when driving is the 'easy' option round here. Some drivers love overtaking when there's an oncoming vehicle, which doesn't seem wise if they value their paintwork!

 

[johncrossley]

There's a lot of chat on here about the high cost of electric bikes, but there is also discussion about the delivery people who typically use electric bikes, who aren't the wealthiest members of society! They often use regular bikes converted to electric, so this must be an economical way of doing it compared to a new build electric bike. How much do they typically pay for this conversion?

 

[harz99]

Why is there no "I don't want to" option?

Cycling is totally impraticable for many people and for many reasons, and I for one am sick of firstly being told I should cycle, and secondly seeing all the money wasted by Councils on unused/underused cycling infrastructure to the detriment of everyone else.

 

[lachlan]

Why is there no "I don't want to" option?

Cycling is totally impraticable for many people and for many reasons, and I for one am sick of firstly being told I should cycle, and secondly seeing all the money wasted by Councils on unused/underused cycling infrastructure to the detriment of everyone else.

And many people don't drive yet we pour money into roads. Many don't use the bus or train and those are subsidised. Cycle infrastructure costs barely anything to maintain once it's installed so it's a good long term investment to encourage people to cycle.

 

[Ianigsy]

A few reasons here:

- I never learned to ride a bike as a child; I don’t ever remember wanting to, and although my dad used to cycle to work, he stopped after he had one stolen from outside his work and another from our back yard.

-I’d be very wary of cycling my commute into Leeds anyway - how anybody has the courage to cross Lawnswood roundabout in anything smaller than a tank amazes me.

-I live in a small first floor flat with nowhere suitable to store or maintain a muddy, oily bike without inconveniencing my neighbour or losing a chunk of my living space.

 

[Via Bank]

There's a lot of chat on here about the high cost of electric bikes, but there is also discussion about the delivery people who typically use electric bikes, who aren't the wealthiest members of society! They often use regular bikes converted to electric, so this must be an economical way of doing it compared to a new build electric bike. How much do they typically pay for this conversion?

I think you’ll find a lot of them are using somewhat questionable kit off AliExpress or similar, much of the time also converting the bike to an illegal electric motorbike. Electrical safety doesn’t seem to be especially good from many of these DIY conversions either.

More reputable manufacturers are working on more affordable kits (eg Swytch who are doing one specifically in response to the cost of living crisis).

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Most of the cyclists I see on the roads round me are young lads with a death-wish (as illustrated by their complete lack of lights and insistence on dressing in dark clothing, as well as their reckless roadcraft). I suspect they're also delivering contraband, hence the preference for stealth over safety.

 

[brad465]

Sadly, at my place of employment, the "drowned rat in the rain" and/or the "sweaty like a certain Prince after a night at Pizza Express" looks aren't professionally acceptable yet.

Not to mention that I tend to get a bit of kip on the bus in, even if its timekeeping it quite poor; if I was to cycle in, I would be knackered on arrival and performing nowhere near my best; seeing as I work vaguely in rail on the design side of TRU and MML, I would rather make sure I'm firing on all cylinders at work, rather than turning up cold, sweaty, miserable, and knackered before even firing up my laptop.

While individual circumstances vary, a morning commute by bike has I've found been good for general energy levels: sure don't go too hard and/or far (I'd say 45-60 mins maximum), but like any morning exercise it's a metabolism boost, and while you may need to catch your breath on arrival, it shouldn't be long before you're alert on the job. The afternoon/evening commute also helps deal with an afternoon slump one might have, although I've also found a morning cycle limits the magnitude of a such a slump.

 

[johncrossley]

I think a lot of people are put off cycling by traffic on main roads but you don't always have to use them, even if there is little or no dedicated cycle infrastructure in the area. There are often alternative routes following minor roads or residential streets which may take longer, but are at least reasonably safe. A lot of these streets have speed bumps on them or are blocked off to through traffic. You just need to look at the map. Sometimes you will have to use main roads for part of the journey but to maximise safety you could just walk your bike on the pavement on these bits. If a 30 minute walk can be converted into a 15 minute bike ride incorporating 5 minutes of walking, that is still worthwhile.

-I’d be very wary of cycling my commute into Leeds anyway - how anybody has the courage to cross Lawnswood roundabout in anything smaller than a tank amazes me.

It looks like there are plans to make this more cycle friendly.

Lawnswood roundabout improvements under construction

Transforming Lawnswood roundabout to improve safety for all road users. Please find details on the plans, timescales, and what to expect during these works. Completion planned for September 2026.

lawnswoodroundabout.commonplace.is

The current design includes introducing the following elements:

• A signalised roundabout at the Lawnswood junction.
• Signalised pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities at the Lawnswood junction.
• Segregated cycle facilities on the approaches to the Lawnswood junction.
• A 24-hour southbound bus and cycle lane on Otley Road, on the approach to the Lawnswood junction, and prioritisation of buses at the new traffic signals.
• No intervention at the Otley Old Road junction, or on Otley Old Road itself.

But in the meantime, you could just follow the pedestrian routes. Or design a route that avoids this roundabout altogether.

 

[ChrisC]

Most of the cyclists I see on the roads round me are young lads with a death-wish (as illustrated by their complete lack of lights and insistence on dressing in dark clothing, as well as their reckless roadcraft). I suspect they're also delivering contraband, hence the preference for stealth over safety.

Dark clothing, usually puffer jackets with hoods up, even during very hot summer weather, and almost always with most of their face covered with some sort of face mask. Usually illegal bikes which have been adapted with huge batteries and can be ridden at speed without any need to peddle just like an electric motorbike.