Please encourage me to stop driving to work and start cycling...



S

silangdon

Guest
Unfortunately its 25 miles, from the wrong side of Chepstow to the
wrong side of Bristol and involves three motorways (m48, m4, m32)
takes me about 45 mins to an hour (more like the latter) costs me £30
a week in fuel, £20 in crossing the severn bridge, wear and tear
excluded. And I f^%gging hate traffic james.


I've just priced up the train from Severn Tunnel junction to Temple
Meads - it's £6-20 on Wessex trains (that's turn up and buy prices), a
10Km ride on the Welsh side and something like 7 on the English.

(Is this seeming like a no-brainer?)

So the main issue is, what do I do with my bike? Ideally I'd take a
road bike on the train with me. Presumably Wessex have a 'No bikes at
rush hour' policy?

Alternatively, I could get a folder (not too keen, they're not cheap
and look, well, a bit daft) or leave a bike at either end.

I don't want any replies to the effect of 'Use your car. You get to
listen to Radio 4 for two hours a day'.

cheers!
 
> Alternatively, I could get a folder (not too keen, they're not cheap
> and look, well, a bit daft) or leave a bike at either end.

Might look a bit daft but I'd say - IMHO - that one would be ideal for your
commute.

Mark
 
silangdon wrote:

> I've just priced up the train from Severn Tunnel junction to Temple
> Meads - it's £6-20 on Wessex trains (that's turn up and buy prices), a
> 10Km ride on the Welsh side and something like 7 on the English.
>
> (Is this seeming like a no-brainer?)

Yup!

> So the main issue is, what do I do with my bike? Ideally I'd take a
> road bike on the train with me. Presumably Wessex have a 'No bikes at
> rush hour' policy?
>
> Alternatively, I could get a folder (not too keen, they're not cheap
> and look, well, a bit daft)

So an Airnimal Chameleon looks "a bit daft", does it? Looks like a
****-hot piece of sports equipment to me... http://www.airnimal.com/
You're right about the "not cheap", but OTOH think how much you spend
beyond just petrol as a result of your current commute and factor that
in. My next door neighbour bought a Brompton which he reckoned paid for
itself in purely financial terms inside a year, and he isn't even a keen
cyclist.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
 
silangdon wrote:
> I've just priced up the train from Severn Tunnel junction to Temple
> Meads - it's £6-20 on Wessex trains (that's turn up and buy prices), a
> 10Km ride on the Welsh side and something like 7 on the English.
>
> (Is this seeming like a no-brainer?)

Yup

>
> So the main issue is, what do I do with my bike? Ideally I'd take a
> road bike on the train with me. Presumably Wessex have a 'No bikes at
> rush hour' policy?

Wessex have just changed rules, meaning you can take the bike on peak
times - see http://makeashorterlink.com/?L326249BA
But, I don't think I'd want to do this every day - you'd want to reserve it
(free) to be sure, but it's a bit of a hassle.

> Alternatively, I could get a folder (not too keen, they're not cheap
> and look, well, a bit daft) or leave a bike at either end.

Since it's only a few miles in Bristol, you could get a knackered old thing
to leave locked up at Temple Meads. A folder does sound like the best
solution though - might be expensive intitially, but worth doing the maths -
a season ticket plus folder versus the car-related costs - I'd guess the
folder is going to win even if you just look a the short-ish term (couple of
years?) Head for Avon Valley Cyclery(?) - the bike shop under the train
station in Bath - they have loads of folders to try out.

And on gorgeous summer evenings you can ride home over the old bridge - a
great ride!
Good luck
Cheers
Ben

--
Spam trap: Replace spamisdoomed with ben
 
£30 fuel per week, plus £20 toll per week = £50 per week on car without
taking into account maintenance etc., etc..
So £50 x 46 (making allowance for holidays) = £2300 per year on fuel & toll
charges.

Put this cost of £2300 net to the cost of a decent folder and you are quids
in buying a folder and kitting yourself out with wet/cold weather gear,
lights etc., etc.. Now who looks daft, the cyclist or the driver? ;-)

Even if you just used the train/bike combo part-time, you'd be building up
your fitness and probably be lowering your stress levels.

Cheers, helen s
 
On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 09:58:39 -0000, "wafflycat"
<wafflesATv21netDOTcoDOTuk> wrote:

>
>£30 fuel per week, plus £20 toll per week = £50 per week on car without
>taking into account maintenance etc., etc..
>So £50 x 46 (making allowance for holidays) = £2300 per year on fuel & toll
>charges.
>
>Put this cost of £2300 net to the cost of a decent folder and you are quids
>in buying a folder and kitting yourself out with wet/cold weather gear,
>lights etc., etc.. Now who looks daft, the cyclist or the driver? ;-)

Perhaps start by driving twice a week and cycling three times? Drive
on Monday and Friday to take your clothing supplies.

When you feel fitter, drive just once a week.

Finally, ditch the car.

As another intermediate stage, could you drive to one train station
with your bike in the boot, and continue your train/bike journey from
there?

--
Microsoft Sam speaks his mind:
www.artybee.net/sam_speaks_his_mind.mp3
 
silangdon composed the following;:
> Unfortunately its 25 miles, from the wrong side of Chepstow to the
> wrong side of Bristol and involves three motorways (m48, m4, m32)
> takes me about 45 mins to an hour (more like the latter) costs me £30
> a week in fuel, £20 in crossing the severn bridge, wear and tear
> excluded. And I f^%gging hate traffic james.

I quite like driving ... but I don't commute. ;)

> So the main issue is, what do I do with my bike? Ideally I'd take a
> road bike on the train with me. Presumably Wessex have a 'No bikes at
> rush hour' policy?

Couldn't you have asked when you got ticket prices?

> Alternatively, I could get a folder (not too keen, they're not cheap
> and look, well, a bit daft) or leave a bike at either end.

Bromptons are good. They only look daft to people (mostly non-cyclists)
who haven't ridden them or understand what they are.

> I don't want any replies to the effect of 'Use your car. You get to
> listen to Radio 4 for two hours a day'.

Use your car. You get to listen to Radio 2 for two hours a day. ;)

Just had a quick looksee on Wessex trains website and it looks like
there's a change of trains involved every journey at Severn Junction ..
I dunno about you, but reliability would be a factor for me.

I've done 'similar' journeys before, Newport to Bristol (kingswood) for
a short while, without a car, and it was a nightmare. I wouldn't know
if the situation has improved in the last five years or so ... It seems
to me that driving is the most viable option for this journey, or maybe
a small motorbike/scooter might be cheaper, bearing in mind the
availability of motorways.


--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules ..... Doh !!!
ebay stuff
7961994526 5762010351
 
Of course another option is 2 bikes one to get you to the station in the morning, lock it up, then anotehr at teh other end to get to work. Neither has to be expensive, and you dont have the hasstle of getting the bike on the train.

Personally I'd get a Bike Friday or a Birdy, but there are many oitehr folder to chose from (Brom's, Dahons, Mezzo etc)

Bryan
 
On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 09:58:39 -0000, "wafflycat"
<wafflesATv21netDOTcoDOTuk> wrote:

>£30 fuel per week, plus £20 toll per week = £50 per week on car without
>taking into account maintenance etc., etc..
>So £50 x 46 (making allowance for holidays) = £2300 per year on fuel & toll
>charges.
>
>Put this cost of £2300 net to the cost of a decent folder and you are quids
>in buying a folder and kitting yourself out with wet/cold weather gear,
>lights etc., etc.. Now who looks daft, the cyclist or the driver? ;-)

It's also worth considering the encouragement your employer might
offer in these circumstances. If they are the flexible and helpful
kind, as opposed to the nazi school of employee relations kind, then
with a bit of form filling they can arrange to have the Inland Revenue
contribute a hefty subsidy towards your new bike, making the sums look
even more persuasive.

See this article in the Guardian for an overview of the scheme:

http://money.guardian.co.uk/tax/story/0,1456,1307166,00.html

If you think this might be a go'er, then there are posters here in the
group with first hand experience of the scheme and you'll find more
details in a google groups search of past threads.


--

"Bob"



Email address is spam trapped.
To reply directly remove the beverage.
 
silangdon wrote:
> Unfortunately its 25 miles, from the wrong side of Chepstow to the
> wrong side of Bristol and involves three motorways (m48, m4, m32)
> takes me about 45 mins to an hour (more like the latter) costs me £30
> a week in fuel, £20 in crossing the severn bridge, wear and tear
> excluded. And I f^%gging hate traffic james.
>
>
> I've just priced up the train from Severn Tunnel junction to Temple
> Meads - it's £6-20 on Wessex trains (that's turn up and buy prices), a
> 10Km ride on the Welsh side and something like 7 on the English.
>
> (Is this seeming like a no-brainer?)

Yup, just ride the whole way;-) I know there is a cycle path on the old
Severn bridge, is there one on the new one?

>
> So the main issue is, what do I do with my bike? Ideally I'd take a
> road bike on the train with me. Presumably Wessex have a 'No bikes at
> rush hour' policy?

http://www.wessextrains.co.uk/helpingyou/index.php?subnavID=210

Implies not. unless you travel by tandem.


>
> Alternatively, I could get a folder (not too keen, they're not cheap
> and look, well, a bit daft) or leave a bike at either end.
>

As for folders I would love an airnimal http://www.airnimal.com/ or a
brompton, but then you can't have to many bikes.

> I don't want any replies to the effect of 'Use your car. You get to
> listen to Radio 4 for two hours a day'.


>
> cheers!
>
 
In article <[email protected]>, Peter Clinch wrote:
>silangdon wrote:
>
>> I've just priced up the train from Severn Tunnel junction to Temple
>> Meads - it's £6-20 on Wessex trains (that's turn up and buy prices), a
>> 10Km ride on the Welsh side and something like 7 on the English.

>> Alternatively, I could get a folder (not too keen, they're not cheap
>> and look, well, a bit daft)
>
>So an Airnimal Chameleon looks "a bit daft", does it? Looks like a
>****-hot piece of sports equipment to me... http://www.airnimal.com/
>You're right about the "not cheap"

At the opposite extreme, my Dawes Kingpin cost three quid, but doesn't
look at all like a ****-hot piece of sports equipment (or even something
suitable for 17km each way every day, I only use it for short journeys),
so you could go for something in between if you wanted.

(Check the train policy on folders, if they have to fit in a specific space
you might need something that folds into a smaller package than the
Chameleon, assuming you would want to be able to use the 30 second fold not
the 5-12 minutes one. http://www.airnimal.com/Chameloen_folding.php (sic).)
 
> Yup, just ride the whole way;-) I know there is a cycle path on the old
> Severn bridge, is there one on the new one?

No, there isn't unfortunately. Great design, eh?

Mark
 
"Mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > Yup, just ride the whole way;-) I know there is a cycle path on the old
> > Severn bridge, is there one on the new one?
>
> No, there isn't unfortunately. Great design, eh?
>
> Mark
>
>

saw this on wiggle and it doesn't look too bad along with the price. You can
even finance it at less than £15 a month.

cheers
Jon_H

http://tinyurl.com/3v6vx
 
Jon_H wrote:

> saw this on wiggle and it doesn't look too bad along with the price. You can
> even finance it at less than £15 a month.

Interesting deal. Two options: Pay 330 for the bike and take out the
finance deal meaning you pay about 390 over all. Or, pay 400 for the
bike to qualify for a 0% interest rate, and thus pay 400 quid over all.
That is what they are offering isn't it?

> http://tinyurl.com/3v6vx

Colin
 
Response to Colin Blackburn:
> Two options: Pay 330 for the bike and take out the
> finance deal meaning you pay about 390 over all. Or, pay 400 for the
> bike to qualify for a 0% interest rate, and thus pay 400 quid over all.
> That is what they are offering isn't it?

I think they mean that you'll qualify for 0% finance if you spend another
£70 on other stuff from Wiggle at the same time. Shouldn't be too
difficult, if the OP is starting out on commuting - I'd find it not
*that* difficult at the best of times... :-(

--
Mark, UK.

"If you believe the doctors, nothing is wholesome; if you believe the
theologians, nothing is innocent; if you believe the military, nothing
is safe."
 
Mark McNeill wrote:
> Response to Colin Blackburn:
>
>>Two options: Pay 330 for the bike and take out the
>>finance deal meaning you pay about 390 over all. Or, pay 400 for the
>>bike to qualify for a 0% interest rate, and thus pay 400 quid over all.
>>That is what they are offering isn't it?
>
>
> I think they mean that you'll qualify for 0% finance if you spend another
> £70 on other stuff from Wiggle at the same time.

Ah, thanks for being quicker on the uptake than me :-( In that case it's
a much better deal!

Colin
 
On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 09:13:41 +0000, silangdon wrote in
<[email protected]>, seen in uk.rec.cycling:

[...]
> I've just priced up the train from Severn Tunnel junction to Temple
> Meads - it's £6-20 on Wessex trains (that's turn up and buy prices),

If it's of any interest, <www.swt-seasontickets.com> [1] quotes
£108.00 for a monthly season ticket, which (assuming you're commuting
5 days a week) saves about 15 quid over buying tickets every day - but
you'll need to get a photocard from Temple Meads first as (if I'm
right) Severn Tunnel Junction is an unstaffed station.

You can't buy monthly seasons on the train, only weeklies, so you'd
have to get a monthly season ticket from Temple Meads - or I guess
online from the website above.


[1] A useful site for commuters as it can give you monthly (or longer)
season ticket prices for any pair of stations on the "BR" network, not
just SWT stations. It's actually trainline.com but you can't get
season ticket details from trainline.com's front end for some reason.
--
Ross, in Lincoln
Reply-to address will bounce; replace "junk-trap" with "me" for e-mail
 
silangdon wrote:

> Alternatively, I could get a folder (not too keen, they're not cheap
> and look, well, a bit daft) or leave a bike at either end.

FWIW, some years ago I commuted Bath-Swindon on the train, and did
keep a bike at either end (though the Bath end from home to the
station was only a mile or so and I more often walked or ran).
It worked fine. Preparation for the commute was simply to ride
one bike to Swindon on the Sunday before I started the job,
buy my season ticket there, and take the train back.

--
Nick Kew
 
On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 09:13:41 +0000, silangdon wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):

>
>
>
> Alternatively, I could get a folder (not too keen, they're not cheap
> and look, well, a bit daft)

Oh I dunno - riding my Brompton I overtook a medium sized boy cyclist the
other day and he said to the adult he was cycling with
"Wow! What a cool bike!"

It was rather gratifying to this otherwise quite uncool old fart.

Matt.
 
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