I swapped car, train, tube and walking for cycling (11th October 2018)

In 2009 I got my first job in London. I was living in Fleet, Hampshire. I would drive to the station, park in a cramped space for £80 a month, walk round to the station then get the train to Waterloo for about £400 a month. From there I’d descend into the Underground network, taking the Northern Line to Tottenham Court Road. Then walk a few minutes to the office on Bloomsbury Square.

At least 1.5 hours door to door, often more like 2 hours. Each way. That’s 3 or 4 hours of travel time. Half a day travelling to do a busy day of work.

I’d often get home around 9pm. Enough time for a quick dinner then bed, for a 6:20am alarm the next day. Social life? No chance!

After one year, when my season ticket ran out, I moved to London and rent a tiny bedsit 10 minutes walk from the office. My commuting costs, including the car, were not much less than the rent. After selling my car for a good price, my commuting costs were literally £0.

But the biggest gain was having about 3 hours of extra life every workday. That’s about 60 hours a month! Comparable to taking a week off work every month.

This change to my work:life balance enabled me to meet my partner and we moved in together a while later. She had a bicycle in her living room but hadn’t ridden it for a while. I only cycled a tiny bit when visiting my family in Fleet.

I bought a beaten up 1970’s racing bicycle from a cycle shop which was closing down. It was only £50 as the tyres were perished. After some mis-steps with tyres and frequent punctures, I bought a pair of Continental Hardshells. Punctures became once a year. The racer needed adjustment to brakes and gears every weekend but I learnt about these things because of it. I did about £1,000 miles in that year.

Fiona had also returned to cycling and we would go to the park or meet friends together. It transformed how we used the city. Going out became a little adventure instead of a chore and a stress. Fiona started riding to work. I joined in with the fitness class she went to. We got stronger and healthier and happier together.

Bottom brackets tended to give way as the frame was probably flexing a lot as I got stronger. Eventually the ball bearings fell out while I was riding it! I decided I deserved something better.

Having officially ‘got the bug’ I bought my next bicycle. A 2nd hand Specialized Secteur from eBay for £480. The owner was clearing out their garage which had about 20 bicycles! Aluminium frame, carbon fork, triple chainset and ‘sportive’ style geometry made it an ideal entry-level bicycle. The owner was including a shoebox of accessories and tools: road pedals, pump, saddlebag and even a colour-matched helmet. Buying all of that new would have been around £800!

It didn’t need fettling every weekend. I transferred the old Continental tyres to it as the factory fitted ones punctured a lot. Gear shifting from the brake levers instead of the downtube of the old racer was revolutionary. Buying a modern 2nd-hand bicycle is what I recommend people do! Once they have got the bug, maybe from using hire cycles or borrowing from friends.

A couple of years later I completed the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 miles event on this bicycle. I joined Penge Cycle Club and did group rides. This year we went to Spain with 30 club members and had professional trainers for a week. I’ve already done 4,000 miles this year on my Strava profile.

Even now, cycling still makes going out feel like a little adventure.