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

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 =A36-20 on Wessex trains (that's turn up and buy prices), =
a
10Km ride on the Welsh side and something like 7 on the English.=20
=20
(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?=20
=20
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=20
****-hot piece of sports equipment to me... http://www.airnimal.com/=20
You're right about the "not cheap", but OTOH think how much you spend=20
beyond just petrol as a result of your current commute and factor that=20
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.
--=20
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 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

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 09:39:00 +0000, Peter Clinch
wrote:

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"

mmmm 700 quid for a decent looking bike... my problem is that I
justify to myself new bikes too often :-)

still seems like a no brainer...

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


--
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/stor...307166,00.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"



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