Commuting long distances

[pompousporcup...]

Anybody else feel like commuting 100+ miles a day on the bike, just to save time and money* gets a bit tiring and annoying?

I have a car: an mx-5 which will get 25-30mpg on a steady motorway cruise which makes my 110 mile a day journey about £6.50 a day more expensive than using the bike*. I can't really justify this extra expense over taking the bike.

The rain and cold have been pissing me off recently as has the wind which on the motorway at 70+ can get really shite and they have just started salting the roads. There is also the traffic to contend with which i can get around most of the time by leaving a bit earlier and later in the evenings. Not to mention the occasional close call and the feeling i get that being on a bike in the pissing rain when i can't see 25 feet in front of me that the motorway at speed is not the right place to be

I had no intention of 'putting the bikes away for the winter' but my mother has just offered me, for free , a 1.2 corsa B with 40k on the clock, MOT'd until April next year. It should get 45 to the gallon on this run so i am considering using it as a winter beater... Insurance is cheapish as is the tax..Seems like the obvious thing to do no? Cheap beater car until the weather improves?


*not taking into account C&S, tyres etc etc

[MarJay]

[linuxyeti]

To some degree, it depends on what your journey is like .. For me, I have to negotiate, the M6/M5 junction, M6 past Birmingham, and the M6/M42 junctions in particular, and being able to filter makes a hell of a difference. Although, I have started to consider, when heavy rain is forecast, I may use the car. As for snow, ice, wind, sun and below freezing temps, well none of that bothers me
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[Rogerborg]

Take the car. I would, if parking were cheaper.
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[AldridgePrior]

100 miles plus is the difference here.

My commute at stupid am or pm (nearly always in shit weather) is only 12 miles so is neither here nor there. If I had to do 100 miles plus a day in similar weather at similar times then the car would be tempting. But if it means your journey time being significantly increased then that adds another factor. How's the traffic?

[Itchy]

[Hawkeye1250FA]

+1 for use the bitchmobile

But only if the cost saving isn’t countered by the aggro of having to sit in traffic and or parking issues at the end...

I personally take the bike because I’ll be damned if I’m sitting in another 5 hour motorway accident again.
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1993 RF400R - 2002 Bandit 1200 - 2012 1250 FA

[linuxyeti]

[stinkwheel]

Move.

You are spending 2 or more hours a day just going to and from work.

Fuck. That. Shit.
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[linuxyeti]

[pompousporcup...]

Only moved house 12 months ago but worked where i do before the move and the job pays the bills so has to stay this way for 6 months to a year.. got a wedding in March and some student loan/credit debt to pay off which after April/May next year will be a thing of the past. I will move job before i move house

Traffic.. is hit n miss. Its Swindon to Reading, so M4 all the way basically. The last few months have been fine.. i filter when i really don't need to as the traffic is built up but moving. What time i leave in the morning/evening makes the most difference to the traffic unless there has been a crash and the road is closed.. Filtering is something i will miss if i drive.

No parking issues. I have my own designated space too which is nice...


Its the weather/elements that gets me mainly. IF its sunny (and it changes by the feking minute it seems) then i will ride..
The bike is going to need new tyres in the next 1000 miles which works out to £210 fitted as well which is cash i don't have to hand coming up to Christmas. I started commuting because it was cheaper than the car and less hassle than the bicycle but that original journey was 15 miles a day.. Now it is 110 a day and whilst the fuel consumption is better and its a lot more 'fun' most of the time, the tyres/C&S, brakes, bearings etc etc are costing a lot

What i need now is some FREE money... like a lotto win so i can retire somewhere how and not have to worry about the daily grind

[AldridgePrior]

[linuxyeti]

[Northern Monkey]

Life is too short to commute that far. I’d rather be on the dole
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[Northern Monkey]

However, if you do insist on doing it, you need something that uses the fiat/Vauxhall 1.3 litre td engine. I get 70mpg from my panda. It might be shit. But it has a heater, roof and rain pal for the rain
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Fisty: after polishing the tank with the glistenng beads of sweat from my full hot scrotum, I filled the headrace bearings with 10cc of my manmilk

[bacon]

When I was commuting a similar distance, Portishead/Clevedon to Swindon, 112 miles a day, I bought an Audi A6 avant 1.9tdi for the job. I get 44mpg (actual), it's massive when I need it for a run to the tip or a British holiday (dog in the boot), it's warm and comfy. It cost me £2k with 120k on the clock. It's now on 161k and has been fault free minus a battery.

I have a Deauville now for a shorter commute, 50miles a day, but i still drive when I can't be assed to get booted up.

[andyscooter]

Move or change job

Anything over a half hour commute is shit
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[thx1138]

I commuted 20 miles each way all year round, wasn't too bad, wouldn't want to do 50 or more though.

[NutsyUk]

Im looking at the possibility of a 50 mile each way commute soon... hour 20 minutes it seems... D:
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Lexmoto XTR S 125 Sold!

[Shaft]

I'm not convinced 25 kpa is ever going to be economically viable on a bike, unless you're very well paid, or your car is ridiculously expensive to run.

I'm doing slightly more than half that and, although the bike gives me better mpg, I would be doing 3-4 oil and filter changes, a couple of sets of tyres, plus whatever else goes, like bearings, fork seals, brakes etc; and I don't have to worry about C&S sets.

On the other hand, my Merc will need one full service a year (less than 100 quid in parts) a set of tyres maybe every other year (for less than one pair of decent bike rubber) and everything else is going to have a life of 3 years plus.

Adding in the sheer discomfort of riding through the Winter (I'm an old fart now) and I would take the free Corsa, leaving the bike for when the weather gets better.
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[Ste]

[ZX-7R]

When my company relocated my commute went 4 miles round trip to 50 odd.Did it 6 weeks then moved here and now have a 4 mile round trip again.Fucking hated that 6 weeks as it was Oct/Nov and it rained a lot.

I only lived in a shared house so moving here was no issue,although a guy sold his house and moved here.
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[thx1138]

[Ste]

inb4 Rainpal®

[Ste]

You fucking piece of shit.