Get To Work Cheaper

Just to add a more positive experience with cycling than that of geedoubleu: I started cycling to work about a couple of months ago and I'm absolutely loving it!

I arrive at work woken up and refreshed (there are showers in my office) and it's a great way to unwind on the way home. I was quite tired when I first started, but now it's a breeze. I do only have about 6 or 7 miles to go each way though. And as an added bonus, I've shed a fair bit of weight without even trying, and I'm saving about £60 pounds per month.

My main advice would be to get a good quality bike and keep it in good nick, like making sure the tires are fully inflated. This really can make all the difference.

The key to cycling to work is preparation. Having the right clothes in the right place, planning a decent, safe route and allowing time for showers. Depending on distance a shower is essential and many modern offices have them. In my experience the number of rainy mornings in a year is actually very low. Rainy evenings are more common but you're on the way home anyway. The savings can be immense and don't forget the health benefits. We don't have a cycling culture in the UK but with decent preparation and realistic expectations it's easily doable.

I'm another fan of cycling to work.
As another poster has said - It is all about preparation and what facilities are available at work. I'm lucky in that work provides a bike shelter, a shower and locker.
From my experience;
1) Decide what type of bike you need. Despite popular belief, Mountain bikes (MTB) aren't the best for commuting. A hybrid is a poplular choice - a cross between a MTB and road bike. They are faster than MTB's, robust, can cope well with bad road surfaces and off road cycle paths, have straight handlebars and many have fixings available for mudguards and a rack (if they don't already have them). If you already have a MTB you can change the tyres to "slicks" and you can usually fit some kind of mudguard or rack to a MTB too.
2) Buy the best bike you can afford. I initially went for a £99 Apollo from Halfords. It was total cr*p for my needs - I live in a very hilly area and the components were cheap rubbish. Aim to spend around £300-£400 for something fairly decent. Most retailers tend to have a sale around October time in anticipation for next years stock. I got my hybrid for £160 when it should have been £299.99.
3) Leave a weeks worth of clothes at work. I used to take my clothes to work with me everyday in a rucksack. No need for this. I've since evolved to panniers and leave one pannier in my locker at work with a weeks worth of clothes (take it in Monday morning, and home Friday afternoon).
4) Use showers at work. Added bonus if you are on a water meter at home too:o). Many of you may not be lucky enough to have a shower at work - one thing you can do is take baby wipes / wet wipes into work. I leave baby wipes, deoderant, perfume, hairbrush and other girly things in my locker at work (along with shampoo and a towel for the shower). If I'm short on time or can't be bothered to have a shower I will freshen up with baby wipes. Not as refreshing as a shower, but is good enough. I keep an eye on the BOGOF or half price offers supermarkets usually have on baby wipes. I've found Tesco value wipes aren't all that good.
5) Maintenance - It's not as hard as you think. If you look after your bike then you'll have very few problems. The only things I do once a week is check tyre pressures, check the brakes for wear and check to see if the chain needs cleaning/lubing. The chain doesn't need cleaning/ lubing that often unless it rains or you have a very dirty route. I re-lube my chain after every ride if it is raining. I am all on the road though so often don't lube my chain for a couple of weeks. If you ride through dirt tracks you'll need to clean your chain more often. There are many free maintenance sites to give you handy tips on maintaining and setting up your bike. My favourites are; http://bicycletutor.com/ and http://sheldonbrown.com/home.html
If you don't feel up to basic maintenance just take it to your local bike shop. Carry a basic took kit in a saddle bag in case you get a puncture or need to tighten something enroute etc.

Another thing I do is make my lunch the night before. This saves me time in the morning - I just get up, have a wash, eat my breakfast, chuck my lunch in the pannier and off I go.

When you first start, don't try and do too much at once. Once or twice a week to begin with until you get used to it. If you start round about this time of year when it's fairly warm and stays light for longer, then it should be easier to keep it up. You never know come winter you'll be cycling come rain or shine. I'm a cycling addict now!

You would be a fool indeed to buy a scooter from Direct Bikes.
Their terms and conditions would mean that you have no rights and would have to dismantle the machine to send a suspected defective part back to them, at your cost for them to determine if they were going to replace it.
Please read the small print.
Spare parts would be difficult to get, your resale value nil and these would be difficult to insure, being from an unknown brand.
Please do some proper research first before posting links to such businesses.
I would strongly recomment talking to a local dealer if you are looking for a scooter, there are many second hand ones available.
BTW, helmets come in at a lot less that £400.

I cycle occasionaly to work, mainly in the summer months, but with more and more people cycling to work now, how much longer before Gordon and his chums see an opportunity to tax cyclists for using the road etc?

It's great to read so many positive, practical and helpful comments about cycling.

A mountain bike - especially one with knobbly tyres but no mudguards and no rear rack on which to carry anything - may be good for wild mountain biking and may be very fashionable, but it is not the ideal bike for urban commuting.

As others have said, keep your tyres blown up hard, make sure your riding position is efficient (particularly saddle height) - seek advice from an experinced cyclist - pedal in a sensible gear ratio and, if you are deterred by traffic, get professional training (often provided through the local authority) from someone like the CTC.

Why waste time and money in a gym if you can keep fit while commuting on a bike?

I cycle to work almost every day - I average around 80% of the year. It's only just over 6 miles and takes me about 35 minutes, plus changing time. We have lockers and showers at work, which are handy. I bought my bike using the tax free Bike to Work scheme. the only downside was that I only had the choice of one place to get the bike - Halfords, who were not brilliant.
I have kept a spreadsheet recording all my costs, and after 2 years it has worked out at 8.5p per mile. I do 2000 miles per year. The biggest unexpected expense has been when some tosspot half-inched my saddle - which meant new saddle/seat post and rear light (they didn't steal the light, but I couldn't get a new clip for it - even though the new light had an identical clip!).
I reckon long term the cost will drop to around 7.5p. From experience in the past I don't expect it to drop much further, because major expenses like new chain and sprockets will start to appear after I reach the 6000 mile mark. I find rear tyres last around 3500 miles and front ones 6000.
In my previous job I had occasions when I could use my bike for travelling between offices so I could claim expenses at 20p per mile, which was fun when the weather was good.
Overall, compared to my alternative method of getting to work (one bus journey each way, on a pay-as-you-go Oyster card) I reckon I have saved £264 over the 2 years.

I changed from public transport to motorbike a few years back. I don't think the pricing for it is correct in the article and it will vary alot person to person. The CBT would probably be double the £55, the bike is going to cost a lot more for somthing most people would find acceptable too. But I can only assume the author is young or has other reasons to be quoted so much for insurance, my 125 cost just over £100 for the first year. £400 bought me all of my safety cloths, new from a reputable dealer not just my helmet.

Just as my bike has cost me a bit more for when I go out for a drink it has also saved me a bit when I have used it for non-commuting trips.

One of the best things I ever did.

Gnome

I too commuted on a motorbike. 25 miles into central London. Half the time each way compared to public transport - and once over the initial outlay - a third of the cost day-to-day!! You can also recoup some of the cost with the sale of your motorbike if you need too!