2011's final blog

Oh well how exciting. Its the 30th of December and I'm pening this blog in my lunch hour, yes I ran out of holiday and am sat at work.....

I have covered 3830 miles since the 28th of March, thats 165 days of cycling too and from work. Fairly freaking awesome acheivement that if I do say so myself. I haven't worked out how much I've saved in petrol costs or the cost of keeping an ageing car on the road but I happy in the assumption that its a substantial figure.

3830 miles! Wow I hear you say....That could get me half way across Kazakhstan!

That ride was never actually an option, I'm just saying...

Summer was fun (that lasted long, not), autumn was pretty and winter has so far been a mixed bag of ferocity and additions. I can deal with the cold, its fierce but I have the gear. I can deal with the rain once you're wet, you're wet (mudguards are a god send) but fuck me the wind can be a pain in the ass. Headwinds are the only thing that stops me posting decent times, the ability to drop my speed from 23mph to 16mph and thats me pushing myself. I hate wind.

Initially I had doubts that I could actually do this, riding 25 miles a day is a fair amount when your used to sitting in a car for an hour each way. I have a real affection for cycling now and a real appreciation for good gear and gadgets. My cycling wardrobe has grown 2 fold since commuting simply out of necessity. Clothes for cold, clothes for wet, clothes for warm. I have a cycling outfit for every weather type the south of England cares to throw at me.

Real highlights and additions for me are my Lezyne power drive which is a simply incredible front light for the money. Altura Night Vision Evo winter jacket which is perfect for the job its intended, ultra visible at night. Altura Night vision winter gloves, which have kept my hands toasty through many a cold morning.

And this.... my Garmin Edge 200 which is something I never knew I needed. Check the right of my blog for ride details uploaded via Strava, not sure why Garmin don't offer the same level of ride detail but they are really missing a trick. I can now race people on climbs which has added a new dimension to my commute, not to mention the added motivation.

2011 has been a good year in cycling terms. I'm fitter, faster, I now have strong legs and with a good winter commuting I'm Aiming for some serious Pb's come spring. Hell I may even enter an event.

Britain Hold the green jersey and the stripes at the same time and the public have finally aknowledged Mark Cavendish's ability.

Here's to 2012.....Cheers.

Pre Christmas blog

162 days in the saddle since March, 324 rides to and from work. 3754 miles ridden.

Its the 24th of December, the house is full of food, presents and alcohol. There are gifts under the tree (not for the kids as Santa brings those, obviously) and life is good.

An initially shit week came good in the end, an emptied bank account (no not the wife, on this occasion), terrible customer service from said bank and an asthma attack for my 4 year old girl and all before Wednesday. My faith in humanity was at breaking point before my bank manager and the wonderful nurses at Frimley park childrens ward fixed all that was broken around me and delivered me to a better place by Friday. My beautiful girl is back to full health.

My commute suffered with an impromptu day off and a drive to work with the need to collect presents. Still a PB on Egham Hill on the Wednesday ended a sour commuting week on a good point.

I love my commute and I love cycling, watching BBC SPOTY and CAV clinching victory was a real plus point for the sport and the man, thoroughly deserved, a true living legend in our midst that one and the only reason my wife sits and watches the last 5 mins of every stage race sprint stage screaming.

The bike is in the shed, not to be touched until the 28th when I stumble back to work full of christmas joy and cheer. I plan on eating too much and drinking plenty, I reckon I've earnt the right to a break off the bike. My legs are in a constant state of ache and a few days recovey sounds like heaven.

Time to enjoy the family and enjoy the spirit of Christmas.

Merry Christmas one and all.

Thanks for reading.

Another 1st

I started to panic a little last night when at 7pm the car was frosting up and the shed roof was white. I may have mentioned OCD in a previous post and my bike routine is no different. I check my bike nightly to ensure the chain is lubed sufficently, the tyres are pumped up and puncture free and to simply make sure the shed is secure, its my thing right, don't knock it. I'd rather double check than stroll out in the am and find a bike with a punctured tyre. I tried to unlock the shed and the padlock had frozen, that was a first. Brasic. Cupping the lock with my bare hands unfroze it, nice experience that.

Anyway, it was proper cold, there was even a frost on the grass. I strolled back to the house and slipped off the back step, it was literally that icy. I got it in my mind this was going to be a cold commute. I didn't want to contemplate a drive to work due to ice, mainly because of the amount of calories I've murdered this weekend, wine, beer, 2 meals out (three courses) and no Friday ride. Monday simply couldn't be missed.

I started reading magazine articles on winter riding, not sure why as it never helps. I know all I need to know and have the kit to do it. I read about deep winter riding and thought 'man up, you'll be fine' until I stubbled upon the 'riding in snow and ice' article. Thankfully its not snowing in my neck of the woods, it snowed on Sunday but was too wet to settle (I live in the south so we don't get too much). Ice is potentially a killer, I'd ride if only safe enough to do so, it is the week before Christmas after all. 

Thankfully the frost seemed to ease overnight, the shed roof was still white and the car was completly frosted but it was rideable. A lot of ice on pavements and patches on the road in Bracknell/Ascot made the commute slow and a little hairy, I rode as much as I could in the wheel tracks of cars, I'm a shared road user so have the right to claim the lane!

0 degree's, my garmin only works down to -4 (according to the instructions) so I think thats how I'll gauge my rides going forward. Was actually very thankful for my new front tyre as I always felt the Gatorskin to be a little sketchy in rain let alone ice. Took it easy but made it to work without any scares. A good way to tell if its cold is if you're work shower room floors are too cold too walk on bare foot (without noticable discomfort). That day was today.

Remember kids ,if he's not in action, he's in traction......

Ain't life a bitch

Well damn, 7 punctures in 3 days, a new tyre a new tube a Garmin and a pair of glasses.  Not exactly what I envisaged for December but you never know whats round the corner.

Up until the weekend I'd been running Gatorskins with slime tubes as I freaking HATE punctures, what with Gators being the 'best selling winter tyre' in the UK (their claim not mine) and slime to double up my protection I assumed miles and miles of undisturbed riding. Invincible I felt, untouchable. Don't get me wrong, I have been running the Gators for at least 1000 miles without any issues but this past week has put their invincibility or my opinion of, in to check. 2 punctures on the front on Thursdays ride to work and I just kept rolling, obviously I lost tyre pressure as I continued to ride to seal the hole but all in all I made it to work on a soft tyre having not once needed to get off my bike, win. I added air to the tyre for the ride home and I had no problems. Pumped the tyre up again that night to around 115psi all set for the following day feeling quite proud having dodged the puncture 'bullet'.

Riding to work on Friday morning and on no less than 4 occasions I had air pissing from the front tyre, again. 4 freaking times! this was getting silly.

'Right, fuck it, that tube is coming out' I just assumed having amassed 6 seperate holes in 2 days the slime was probably mostly over my jacket and mudguard and beyond the point of helpful. So Friday lunch time I took out the offending tube and checked the tyre thoroughly and felt as though nothing was imbedded in the tyre. Externally the tyre looked like Beruit BUT I felt nothing pierced the carcus.

New tube in, ride home done, sweet. I'm good, on the road again. Forgot about it over the weekend and got drunk. Riding to work on the Monday and again all was sweet.

Now I have ocd so, like I do everyday I checked my tyres at lunch. Fuck it. Another puncture. Now this was taking the piss. Oddly this was the first day I commuted with no multi tool, no tyre levers and a tube too big for the tyre (twat). Off to my LBS in the wonderful Staines. Nice shop, nice gear, nice service,  'proper road bikers we are mate, none of that Evans sell you down the river shit, we care cause we do'. Fair enough. Tube out, tyre off the guy finds the hole and its on the outside of the tube, no fault with the rim then (my get out clause). He proceeds to check the tread of the tyre, there, there, there, there, there... this goes on for about 5 mins 'jesus mate this tyre is toast'. It soon became clear that picking road debris out was getting us no where.

New tyre, new tube. Not had one of these before, felt dialled on the ride home mind and I only paid the online price. pphheww. The Bonti has more tread than the Gator and the reviews are good for puncture resistance, lets see how long this one lasts......Ironically my rear Gator remains strong and true.

Jesus I go on. Online diary right, you don't have to read it! The Garmin is amazing, although I do feel it will be my downfall. Check out the Strava dashboard, yeah I posted slow times but no point peaking too soon. Nice new glasses too, no more freezing eyes.

Off to make hot chocolate. Enjoy

It felt like cheating.....

OMG....My first day driving to work since I moved to Bracknell on the 23rd of March or in other words my first working day out of the saddle (since that date)....

The 1st of December bought me my 150th consecutive ride to work thats 3453 miles in the saddle since March. This morning it was 2 degrees, the shed roof was white and the car had ice on the windscreen. Ironically I have grown to love these crisp mornings if just because its not blowing a gale or pissing with rain.

I can always post a good time when its cold and still. Not today, the need to see a doctor and my company's Christmas party (black tie affair, couldn't carry a suit in my rucksack) means I needed to give up the bike and take the wife's car. Ok so I did get an extra hour in bed which was very nice but driving where I usually ride felt bad.

It almost felt like I was cheating on my bike, taking the same route, looking at the same views but not working for it, simply sitting there in the warm, driving. I felt like I hadn't earnt it. When I ride, I earn every part of the route, every overtake, every scalp, the freedom, the challenge of the hills and the reward of the descent....None of that today, I just bloody sat there in my warm car driving at twice the speed getting impatient with other drivers that can't seem to deal with roundabouts. Why would you stop if you can see the approach and nothing is coming AAARRRRGGGGHHHH.

I missed the space of the bike, the freedom to be the only reason I may be late. Ascot high street in a car is a mare, waiting for people turning left, waiting for people turning right, waiting for IDIOTS to park....On my bike I just go round them, think nothing of it and keep moving.

Give me the bike anyday of the week, any weather, always my preference and always my choice. Maybe its just me getting old and impatient. With only me to blame for my speed I can't be upset if I'm late, I just have to get faster..simple. When someone else holds me up I turn into the worlds greatest critic.

Sod it, back to the bike monday and where I want to be.

What a revelation....

Be seen, Be seen....Thats all that matters.

Hmmn not anymore. When I started commuting all I literally cared about was that cars could see me. It was late March and summer would be upon us shortly so why worry about the dying light. Ow how things have changed. It starts getting dark now at 4pm, 4PM!! I start my journey home at around 17:45 daily so by this ungodly hour its pitch black.

I've never been concerned with powerful lights and being able to actually see on the road but then I've never rode this distance before in my life, I've simply been using these lights so that I can be seen when on the road. Don't get me wrong, they've done a job and the rear light still remains on my bike but part of my route is unlit and the front light is worse than useless in that scenario, more so now that it seems to flicker when I go over a bump. Time to invest......

So I bought me one of these and Damn what a difference it makes. On the right of this blog you'll see a link titled 'light comparison' check it out to see the incredible beam of this light for this bargain price. All of the lights with comparible beam are £100 plus. 300 lumens, not sure what they are, hell I'm not even sure I spelt that right but damn they are bright when put together. I used this light for the first time last night and when I came to the part of my route that is unlit I was amazed. I could now see all the pothole's I usually have to dodge with partial vision and you know when you have crap lights on your bike and the last car passes you and you're dropped into complete darkness? Well not anymore! I'd even argue my little light delivers as much power as a cars headlights in a concentrated spot. And I got 10% discount so the light was even more of a bargain at £71!!

A big plus of me buying this light was that it charges via a USB connection, no more poxy AA batteries.....joy.

For serious road commuters, this light is Essential and there is NOTHING out there better for the price.

The star for going so far....

This Idea came to me one day when reminiscing on Mark Cavendish's 2009 Tour De France Scott Addict, you know the one all painted to look like a WWII bomber. Well to signify each stage win Cav would place a single sticker, a set of wings with '1st' on it to mark his victories in battle, along his top tube. That year he won six stages.

Now this is a very cool bike with a brilliant paint scheme and the stickers are genius, as far as I'm aware WWII bombers wore a similar decal for raids run as a badge of honour. Hero's indeed. Now lets not get silly here, I'm no WWII hero (far from it) and neither am I the fastest man in the world in his choosen sport but this is a cool idea and although earning money to feed the family should be motivation enough I thought it would be nice to have some sort of mark to keep me motivated and show my achievement.

I realised the likelyhood of me actually getting a set of Cav's stickers to put on my bike were fairly slim (missing a trick there Cav, cause obviously you're reading), especially when you take into account how much I was actually willing to pay for stickers.

Needless to say I ended up on that famous auction site. I found all sorts of random stickers some fairly cool some pretty shit but aware that I needed something waterproof I searched for airfix model decals. I couldn't find anything nearly as cool as miniture sets of wings but I did find some quality useable decals from these guys

I went for the red stars as I wanted something that would stand out, I think it looks pretty cool.

So as you may have guessed I haven't actually won any Tour De France stages, in fact I've never even ridden a bike in France. This was for me to signify the number of days I've spent in the saddle, well the number or days I've commuted to work. I haven't driven to work since the 28th of March 2011, to do so would feel like defeat. This red star marks a 'century' of days riding. Quite an achievement I thought.

Century achieved 09/09/2011. 133 days completed YTD. Mileage 3025.4 YTD.

Just a little bit of motivation on those shit mornings when the rain is harder than the tarmac. Ow and as a friend keeps reminding me very similar to rewarding a small child for doing something good. Young at heart, I'll take that......

Thats good to know.....

As a commuter having ridden the very same route for 127 consecutive (working) days, thats 254 rides too and forth on the same route, I like to think I am the master of my route. I like to believe there is no one faster over my distance on my terrain (male pride), now I'm fitter and my legs stronger than they've ever been I recon thats not too bad a claim right? Wrong.

That age old saying that there is always someone bigger and stronger just round the corner always seems to ring true. In my case there is this one rider who always beasts me and I do mean always. He rides a bike similar to mine, its a road bike made of aluminum with full mudguards so he appears to have no mechanical advantage (Yes I've googled it, its a Quest The blue one at the bottom if you must know) but the guy is super fit and always in the tucked position no mater what part of the route he's on when I see him.

Initially when I started commuting I was ok with him passing me as he was clearly fitter than I but as I have started to pick up pace and fittness my regular beastings were starting to bother me more and more. I can confidently say I am able to pass all riders on my route regardless of bike, it's especially pleasing beating other road bike riders, I like to wait for a climb as I do like a climb which most regular riders don't.

Anyway the only way I was happy (well sort of) for this to continue was for me to let myself believe this guy was a racer, amateur whatever, just a racer of sorts. Couldn't have it any other way, I just couldn't get close to this guy, I had tried in vain to keep up on a number of occasions notably on a flat part of my commute, he passed me, I accelerated and dropped of hitting 24mph. 24mph!!! I couldn't hold that speed, jeezzz.

I've spoken to the guy before at a set of traffic lights, he works shifts at City airport in central london and lives in Bracknell, so not only a further commute but after a 12 hour shift too. Tosser. The shifts explain why I don't see him in the AM, getting beasted before work may just have killed my will to actually do this. His route from Staines to Bracknell is identical to mine so I have nowhere to hide, just take the beating.

So, I haven't seen the guy in a while (thankfully) and just kept plodding away on my commute pretending to race all those before me in preperation for the enevitable. Friday was the day.

On the route home from work on a slight ascent past Virginia Water he passed me, 'shit there he is', for the first time ever I accelerated and stayed with him (to my astonishment. I wasn't in his wheel incase you were wondering) until the set of lights by Piccolino. I sparked up a convo 'jesus mate I'm mullered just trying to stay with you, tell me you race'. 'Ah this is just a run out for me, I'm tappering down as its the end of the season', my initial thoughts to that comment were 'HELL YEAH HE'S AN AMATEUR RACER', the rest of the conversation pails into insignificance. Now it was ON.

I simply had to stay with him for as long as I could to test myself against his speed. I managed to stay with him about 10ft in front for about 4 miles (Whoop Whoop) before he gradually started to pull away, the only places I felt I gained on him were the climbs (this is my opinion mind).

I kept chasing him all the way until our routes changed. He was always in sight but not as close as I'd have liked.  BUT HE WAS ALWAYS IN SIGHT!!! Now this changes everything. I posted a PB chasing that guy home, I wasn't as mullered as I'd have imagined having put so much effort into the chase.

Now my commute is a training ride with only one goal. No one is unbeatable right?

Must dab brakes, must dab brakes

And suddenly I remember why I titled this blog as I did, because rain drops and rim brakes just don't work together.

Unless of course you know how to use both. The rain this morning reminded me of the near miss I had that prompted the thought and eventually the name. Prior to my starting commuting I hadn't really ridden a bike for a while and certainly not in the rain, fair weather MTBer that was me.

On a day not too disimilar to this one on my commute to work in the pissing rain......I was riding my standard route in my standard way 'all killer no filler', please bare in mind I do no pre ride checks (well 'did', thats since changed) never felt the need 'if it ain't broke don't fix it', hmmn. Anyway so there I am climbing the short rise over the railway which has a roundabout on the base of the descent, minding my own business trying to give the impression the rise didn't hurt.

As I make my way down the descent to the roundabout, I stick my arm out to signal my intention to go right (see car drivers, I let you know where I plan on going in advance....), this obviously leaves me with only one hand covering the brakes as the roundabout looms 'not a problem', well not when its dry. It suddenly dawned on me that I wasn't slowing, at all. I applied both brakes and still nothing, by this point I was quite aware I was carrying too much speed heading for the roundabout but it's cool because no one goes straight on when coming from the right at this time in the morning.

WRONG, shit that car is going to hit me and there is nothing I can do about it because like a chump I didn't plan for this or the affect the weather would have on my braking, or lack there of. Thankfully, as panic set in the car driver going straight on at the roundabout was watching my dumb ass as I tried to stop myself and envisaging a collision, he stopped to let me pass. At least one of us was awake that morning.

So now I dab my brakes fairly frequently when the weather is pants, just to make sure they are working, after all raindropsandrimbrakes don't mix, right!

Fairly aware that my last 2 posts are about me narrowly missing cars, thankfully these events didn't happen over the course of 2 days. Hopefully going forward as I learn to actually ride a bike these posts will become less frequent.

Here's to hope.

Near miss....

I nearly ate bonnet last week.....

The oncoming driver simply couldn’t see me, it was a difficult situation as a car had pulled out from the (B383) on the right, right in front of me as I travelled east on the A329 London Road and then turned left onto Buckhurst road. There was an oncoming car facing west waiting to go right onto Buckhurst Road (so following the car that went left).

In Hindsight I could have backed off leaving enough space to be visable, I obviously didn't do this (the car should have waited before pulling out in my opinion)....I kept my speed and was too close to the car hence why the oncoming car turning couldn’t see me.

It was very close BUT not the turning drivers fault as he simply couldn’t see me. I needed to take some of the blame in this instance and thats my point, its all about what you can influence, if i’d have hung back and reduced my speed the whole situation could have been avoided. It’s about being clever enough to position yourself correctly in every situation.

Amazing what a difference our split second decisions can make...

Lesson learnt, no blood spilt.

As a cyclist there are elements of potential accidents that you can influence as in this case. I could easily have blamed the driver that pulled out in front of me but if there had been a collision that driver would have been long gone and ignorant to it. It seems to be commonplace that cyclist aren't taken into consideration when a car driver considers pulling out onto a main road, your simply not part of the equation until its too late.

I’m just lucky the westward facing driver saw me when he did, if he wasn’t looking directly in front of his own car i would have been over the bonnet and off the bike.

I am now uber aware of everything around me and every potential situation when I approach junctions especially ones like this....I've also purchased some LED's for my lid to make me more visible when stuck behind a car. Every cloud eh?!

WHAT a freaking Jacket...

WHAT a freaking Jacket......

Need a decent jacket for your winter commute? Look no further than this awesome bit of kit, the Altura Night Vision EVO jacket RRP £100 but you can find a bargain if you look.

I bought mine from DiscountCylesDirect for £69. I read soooo many reviews on this jacket from real world users and pretty much 98% would recommend it. A few nobs mentioned they felt the jacket was 'boil in the bag hot', I found this amusing as the jacket is waterproof and windproof, what do you expect??!! This is a winter jacket not an autumn jacket....

I wore mine this morning at 1 degree with only a base layer underneath, the perfect jacket for cold tempratures. The wooly neck lining helps keep your (erm) neck toasty warm and stops the cold breeze heading southward.  The jacket is completely waterproof including the zips, with adjustable cuffs (bonus).

I really can't praise this jacket enough, though I would say you may need to tighten the waist drawstrings slightly as I found without doing so the jacket can ride up at the front but this is probably because I'm just so freaking fast on the bike, so don't worry too much.

The reflective strips and lettering stand out a treat you even get a free flashing red LED which attaches to a velcro patch on the rear of the jacket. Nice Touch that.

Simply the best winter jacket availible at £70.

Sinner

Damn, the cardinal sin commited.....I just kept riding.

Riding to work this morning I clocked an upturned bike just beyond a small wall I was passing, clearly another cyclist with a mechanical. In that split second I made the decision to keep on riding pretending I'd not seen the cyclist (cause i'm nice like that), unfortunately the rider walked from behind the wall and we made eye contact.

Not so much of a problem if I could just keep riding but ow no, the poxy traffic lights went red just 10 meters from the striken cyclist. By this point I couldn't turn back, damage done, anyway it's cold and I'm in a rush right, just keep looking forward...

I do carry tools with me, always have, 2 spare tubes, tyre leavers, a multi tool and a pump, silly to leave home without that right. I thought 'ah well, that dude should have his spares like me'. cocky twat. I don't even know if I had the tools to help but thats missing the point.

In hindsight I wish i'd stopped to offer assistance even if I couldn't as thats all we want in our moment of need, a little assistance. Being a fellow cyclist i'm ashamed to have kept riding and just hope he doesn't cycle past me when my chain's snapped, now thats a tool I don't carry....

Next rider down and I'm stopping to help, regardless then the happy/sad balance will be restored.

So if you look like a fat Mika and had a mechanical on the A30 at around 7:50am and by some miracle happen to be reading this 'sorry mate'.

 There's more to this cycling lark than just pushin pedals......

The Profile

Yesterday I posted the route, today the profile of my route. 

On the left is my starting point in Bracknell, Berkshire, on the right my finishing point in Staines, Middlesex.

As you can see the profile explains my speed on the way to work and the lack of on the way home (i'm working on it), 545ft of climbing. Not a huge amount but just enough. I would argue that this is the perfect commute, the perfect distance and the perfect profile. Enough climbing to challenge your legs and enough descents to keep you interested, you wouldn't want the right to left profile on the route to work now would you?

The Route

This is my current commute, all 12.5 miles of it (The perfect distance?). I ride from Bracknell Forest to my Office @ 1 London Road in Staines.

When I started doing this commute on the 28th March 2011 I posted a time of 49 mins (give or take).
My fastest time to date is 36:19 with an average speed of 20.4 mph,  which gives you an idea on my level of fitness now and my level of fitness then.

My journey time is slower going home due to the nature of the profile. 40:59 at an average of 18.4mph is my best yet.

The commute is all on A roads, I go through Ascot town centre and follow the route on to the A30 at Wentworth golf course. The road turns into a dual carriageway at Egham just past the Maranello gararge.

My next post will be of the route profile....peace

The Bike

This is my commuter, the only bike I own, a size medium 2010 Specialized Tricross sport. Ironically I didn't buy this bike to commute, I bought it simply because it does everything i'd ever need it to do. I wanted a bike that I could ride on the road, off road and a bike I could carry one of my children on using a rear fitting bike seat. I've ridden this bike off road with knobbly tyres and a 2 stone child attached and i've used it to cover over 2500 road miles, it really is that versatile.

I bought the bike from Evans using the cycle to work scheme, simply fittting Shimano M424 SPD pedals and adding a pair of Specialized sport mountain shoes into the deal and I was away.

The bike had really good reviews on the Evans site from real people that use the bike, I'm always a little skeptical reading magazine reviews on bikes as the testers are responding to niggles real world riders would simply never notice. I've since read this bike is 'sluggish', as far as i'm concerned if its slow, I need to be fitter to go faster so win win!

The only things I have changed on the bike are the tyres. I have some Conti Gatorskin 25's which replaced the standard semi slick Specialized tyres on the bike. The original tyres were ok but a little sluggish on tarmac. As a commuter I need a strong tyre, I don't want to be wasting time repairing punctures on the road side. A colleague of mine used these tyres on his Allez to ride the LEJOG route in 2011 without a single puncture, good enough for me.

I've added mudguards which is a no brainer for anyone hoping to commute through the British winter or summer come to think of it.

Ok so other than that the bike is standard, ow I did flip the stem as it was far to high right way up. Touch wood, the only thing I've actually had to change so far are the front brake pads, not a bad return for over £350 saved in fuel costs.

More bleating to follow...at some point....

The Reason

Clearly I am new to blogging, never done anything like this before so thought i'd give it a go...I intend this blog to be about my commuting by bike through the impending English winter, as i sit here typing this in my front room, the sky is blue and cloudless and the sun shining bright. Not bad for mid October. Sadly I commute at 7:20 in the Am not 3pm in the afternoon.

I hope to blog on my route, the bike i use, the clothes I wear and the sites i see. This will be my first winter commuting having moved to Bracknell from Aldershot in March to lessen the cost of travelling to work.

So far this year I have covered just over 2600 miles on the bike getting to and from work. I ride 25 miles a day every working day as long as i haven't called in sick......Having started from no bike and no kit, I bought a Specialized Tricross Sport using the cycle to work scheme, I have added numerous bits of riding gear as the seasons have changed. Being a family of 4 I'm rocking a tight budget and purchase only what i need when i really need it. I'm not made of money and I do this to save money....simple.