Test Run

Last night I decided to do a bit of a test run of cycling into Glasgow Central, part of the grand scheme to get fit/get thin/save cash. Here are some observations:

• Firstly – big thanks to Scott who loaned me his bike. I moan about it a bit below, but ultimately I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity to test out whether I can cope with this without having to splash out money I don’t have
• Glasgow is a lot less hilly than Devon! But…..
• I am a lot less fit than I used to be, probably even less fit than when I was at Uni, despite playing football on a weekly basis
• I can average around 10 mph on the flat according to my speedo. However, the same speedo reckons it’s just over 4 miles to central, whereas the GMap Pedometer suggests differently Will need to drive the same route to get a definitive answer
• While cycling in the rain wasn’t as bad as I remember, it underlined how massively unprepared I am for cycle-commuting
• While I only saw 1 “RLJ” (red light jumper) on my travels, I saw an enormous number of people cycling without lights. I cannot believe how many stupid people there are out there….
• I’m going to need to do some work on Scotts bike, namely:
  • Fix the gears – the rear mech is badly aligned, meaning that it never hits the smallest cog, and hitting the biggest is a little risky…..
  • Add some mudguards – cycling in the wet without them is just asking for trouble
  • Ideally I need to replace the tyres with something a) less knobbly, and b) capable of higher pressure. Schwalbe Marathon Plus seem to be the tyre-de-jour
• In the long term, if I manage this, I need to get a lighter bike. I don’t plan on offroading, so a chunky frame with suspension forks is wasted weight
• I’m still short of some gear that I’m realising I’ll need:
  • Spare inner tubes and stuff like that, probably in a nice saddlebag
  • A mini pump – I bought a nice track pump which is great for the shed, but probably too big for my rucksack….
  • Cycling shorts – need something to stop my “luggage” from rearranging in transit

So – there we go. I feel like I’m on my way, metaphorically at least, but I still need to properly decide the logistics of (mainly) how to arrive at work presentable. Working around trains times is the main problem here – leaving 15 minutes earlier won’t get me to work any earlier, it just means I’ll have 15 minutes extra at Central. I’m also contemplating revising the plan to initially only cycle to Partick, which is (a lot) shorter, but saves as much money. (The difference in price of my ticket doesn’t change if I go from Central).

I will, however, be attempting to cycle a bit more for things that are close by, rather than taking the car.

mrBen