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- The number of people commuting to work by bike
is increasingly on the rise.
The benefits behind riding rather than driving
are endless, the most obvious being the cost saving,
the health and the environmental factors.
However, cycling to work does raise some questions
and some potential issues like, what do you wear?
How do you carry everything?
What happens if it rains?
And what about the traffic?
And these are exactly the same questions that I had
when I first started commuting to work by bike too.
So today, I've teamed up with our friends
and channel partners Assos
and I'm going to be bringing you my top commuting tips,
to work by bike, to hopefully improve the start
and end to your working day.
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One of the most commonly asked questions with regards
to commuting to work by bike,
is how you carry everything to and from work.
Now, it does take a little bit of planning,
but what I'd suggest you do is actually try and leave
as much at work as you possibly can.
Not like I quite often end up doing,
and that is actually taking in a big, heavy backpack
which, trust me, really isn't that pleasant.
So what you want to try and do is actually take a few changes
of clothes in at the beginning of the week
and leave them there.
Now our colleague Si Richardson at GCN
actually has a great idea here.
He gets public transport in on a Monday.
Takes all his clothes with him, leaves them there
and then he can commute to work,
by bike for the rest of the week.
So, our advice is, try to pack light
and really just take the bare minimum with you.
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But now what do we actually wear for our commute?
Well, I always suggest trying to layer in a way
that we can easily change it, depending on the temperature.
For instance, my morning commute is often far cooler
than my evening commute.
So we want to be prepared for those changes in temperature.
Now depending on the time of the year,
I often suggest that arm warmers and knee warmers
are a great option because they do keep the chill off,
but then can be easily removed if things do get warmer.
Now I always quite like to wear a base layer
and then, depending on the time of the year,
especially now when we're going into the autumn and winter,
I like to layer up a little bit more,
so a few extra layers.
Things like a long-sleeve, a gilet, a raincoat like this,
if it is particularly cold or it is raining.
And then not forgetting obviously, things like your gloves,
your over shoes and a hat under the helmet,
All of which can be removed quite nice and easily.
We layer down if things do get warm,
particularly as we're coming back in the evening.
(upbeat music)
Now something you might want to consider with your commutes
is whether you use it to get some training in.
Now I quite like to just ride into work nice and easy,
because I need a bit of time to wake up.
And then I use my evening commute
to get a bit of a session in
and it's just a really good use of time.
But you can obviously do it which ever way around you like.
But this does bring us back to that layering
that we were just discussing,
because you're going to be warmer one way,
than you are the other.
And also consider the fact that you may get a bit sweaty
and no one likes putting sweaty, wet gear back on again.
So, we want to to wear some quick-drying fabrics,
that are going to dry out nice and quickly throughout the day
so if you are putting them back on again in the evening.
But also maybe consider wearing a base layer
like I was discussing before,
cause' the purpose and idea behind a base layer
is that it's the first layer.
It absorbs the sweat and wicks it away from the skin.
So hopefully keeping the rest of your kit fairly dry
and sweat-free, and conveniently,
base layers tend to dry nice and quickly.
So, you can hang it up throughout the day
and put it back on again in the evening,
and it'll be nice and dry.
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Now no guesses what I'm about to tell you about now,
but my next tip is to make sure that you can be seen
and given that you're probably going to be commuting
during rush hour, the busiest time of day on the roads.
You want to give other road users the best chance
of seeing you so, wearing bright colors
as I'm doing right now,
is obviously one very good option there.
But also, having some reflective patches
on your clothing does a very good job
of increasing that visibility.
Another thing to do is have some lights on your bike,
in fact, in some parts of the world,
that is a legal requirement.
You should have a white on the front
and a red on the rear, after dusk and before dawn.
But I go as far as saying, just keep them on, at all times,
particularly the red rear
just to really increase your visibility.
(instrumental music)
Now this is all well and good,
but the main reason behind this commute to and from work,
is to arrive at work.
Now you want to be arriving at work in a fit state,
ready to do your job well,
rather than spending the first hour sat on a radiator,
trying to warm yourself up.
Now obviously you can't avoid extreme weathers
or massive down pours, but you can dress suitably
for them and something like this,
a rain cape can save you if there is that big down pour.
It has certainly saved myself.
It's going to keep your chest dry and your core nice and warm.
Now another thing to consider
is actually getting a bag cover, like I've got on right now.
I've been using this loads for my own commutes.
That's going to make sure it keeps the inners of your bag nice
and dry, particularly if you are traveling in
with some of your clothes as well.
And also keep the bag in good condition.
You may also want to start equipping your bike
with some mud guards.
I haven't got any, on any right now,
but we are starting to enter the rainy time of season
here in the UK, so I will be popping some on.
That's going to not only protect your bike,
but also yourself.
And make the whole ride a little bit more pleasant.
Now with regards to footwear.
This isn't actually something I've had to consider before.
But some of my sissy friends have told me
they actually commute in mountain bike shoes,
cleats and pedals.
Simply because part of their commute actually requires them
to walk or grab a train.
And we all know what walking in road shoes
and pedals feels like.
It's rather awkward.
So it's a really good option,
should your commute have some walking
or grabbing a train in there.
Final tip though, is for your work colleagues sake.
To grab a shower once you're in to work
or at the very least have some baby wipes to hand
and dry shampoo and a lot of deodorant.
Now we'd love to hear from you guys
about your commute in to work.
Perhaps even send some photos in using our photo uploader.
See whose got the best commute to work, maybe.
Um, if you've enjoyed today's video make sure you hit
that thumbs up button.
If you'd like to see more from GTN, click on the globe
and subscribe to the channel.
If you'd like to see our commuter training tips video,
some sessions that you can do on your commute into work,
you see that by clicking down here.
If you'd like to see how to train
when you're limited for time, you can see that video,
by clicking just down here.