Can or should a relatively unfit person cycle 10 miles?

[Frequency]

Mostly up hill. Said person is overweight and has never been on a cycle in over 20 years.

It's me.I am said person. I'm having one of my moments of madness. Is it possible for me, a mid thirties, size 22 woman, to cycle 10 miles to work? The bus takes over two hours. Google tells me I can cycle it in an hour but should I attempt it or will I die?

I walk a lot without getting out of breath. I can run up and down stairs without getting out of breath but me and exercise in the traditional sense don't see eye to eye. I don't like it and it tends to make me pee in my pants.

Have you tried to walk it first? If not try that first if possible. It is slower but probably more doable for a first timer

Go for it OP. Borrow a bike if you can and see if your employer does the Cycle to Work scheme. Plan to use the full two hours of bus time at first so you can walk if you need. I cycle 10 miles to work and you will soon get used to it. If it’s up hill there it will be a great ride home. You will be bruised at first - like obvious bruises not just sore to touch but it’s amazing how quickly your body gets used to a bike saddle. Get some lights and some gloves and make sure there is a shower at work. Good luck.

What about a decent second hand folding bike. This way you can take it on the bus for part of your journey and cycle the rest while you build up strength and stamina.

Invest in extra driving lessons, put in for your test and get a car.
You won't feel safe tbh as there are some proper arseholes on the roads and the roads themselves are in a v poor condition.

Fit people would be fine with this. I’m not fit and struggled with 3 miles each way, and gave up very soon!

You could cycle in Monday, bus home
Bus in Tuesday, cycle home

Or is there a train you could cycle to and from stations but the train does the middle bit?

I’d recommend trying an e-bike. It can really help you going uphill. And you can get a good one for around £500 (and check if your work has a cycle to work scheme)

Agree with the safety issue too. If there are busy roads in rush hour traffic, it’s good to feel you have strength in hour legs to get out of trouble. There are times of day when traffic is manic, and some drivers really don’t give a shit about you

I wouldn’t fancy cycling home in the dark if you are new to cycling. I’d be investing in gaining my driving licence .

Most of the way is a dedicated cycle route through farmlands and parks so not near enough to the bus route to do part cycle.The bus winds it's way through all the villages.

There is a tiny section where I'd be on roads.

I think borrowing a bike and cycling around the very hilly local park for an hour is where I should start before I invest in a bike.

Extra driving lessons are also on my list of things to do but again time is an issue.

Plus, my diet is shity due to time mostly, so part of my reasoning is if I learn to cycle I can cycle to work ever so many days and drive the other days and that will make up for not walking 5-6 miles to and from bus stops every day, which, given my diet is probably the only thing keeping me alive at this point.

Sounds like a good plan op, and a nice route as well.

When you do get your own bike, I’d advise getting some good pannier bags for a rack on the back. This will stop your back getting sweaty under a rucksack, which is never a nice feeling. I think that you can buy bike equipment like panniers, lights, locks and so on as part of a bike to work scheme purchase?

I’d be exhausted doing it both ways all week. When I lived 8mi or so from work I’d cycle in on Monday and leave my bike and train home then train in tuesday cycle home. Same wed-Thursday and Friday depended how I felt.

There is a shower at work. I'm not sure about a cycle to work scheme but it probably exists. We have a flex-fund thingy. I'll look into it.

If you can afford one an ebike will be a great help and well worth it. Ask your work if there is a cycle to work scheme. Also is it possible to alter your start/finish times and/or shorten lunch to fit in with the bus?

Get a womens' saddle! Makes the world of difference, honestly.

I think you’ll surprise yourself at how quickly you could work up to it, but maybe get an eBike first. Get one second hand, use it for 6 months and sell it on.

The buses allegedly do real time but more often than not are wildly inaccurate. I almost booked a £24 taxi tonight because both Google and Arriva told me the bus had bypassed my stop when I'd already been stood waiting an hour. It turned up while I was waiting for the taxi firm to answer, plus there's more than one bus involved. If and it's massive, massive if the shuttle bus from where I work is on time to get me to the nearest town I can get home without having to wait. The shuttle bus arrives at the bus station at 22 minutes past if it is on time. My bus home leaves the bus station at 24 minutes past the hour.

I live in the arse end of nowhere. Our buses aren't like normal buses. The drivers quite regularly just get off and have a fag if they're running relatively on time. If they're running late they do simply bypass the smaller stops and take quicker routes. Hence the walking, I try to hit the 'main' stops that the buses won't bypass if they're late.

Get a good saddle.

I cycle 7 miles to work. Takes me 34-40 mins, that’s with a rucksack on my back and stuff in a pannier. Half of it on a tow path, so not quick tarmac. However it is flat. I think I’d find ten miles uphill a struggle. How steep?

Is there a Breeze group near you? They' run free, confidence-building rides for women who may not have cycled for a while... They'd help you build up and you can do them on an ebike if you want:
www.letsride.co.uk/breeze

I don't know how steep the hill is, Google maps is telling me it's uphill. I remember the park Google maps is telling me to cycle through to be flat so probably all up hill but a slight hill, if that makes sense? I'm going from the coast inwards, so pretty much everywhere is up hill.

I've found a bike I can loan for a test run around the park with a very, very steep hill. The park cycle route is four miles. I figure if I can get around that three times I can get to work.

Does your “arse end of nowhere” location have a Facebook page or other community site where you could post a request for a lift or car share arrangement for commuting?
Presumably other people have to get to work from there too?
Or could you move nearer to your work? It will be a gruelling and dangerous bike ride in the winter on icy hills in a blizzard.

Is there a way you could get a bike on public transport? If the way there is not bad on the bus but uphill then the way home on your bike would be downhill and easier

Could you invest in an electric bike?

I love the gym.
But after having a hysterectomy 4 months ago I haven't been on a bike. Been going on walks etc, and built back up to a spin class the day before yesterday.

And I feel like I've been kicked in the vagina by a double decker bus!

So, if you do attempt it, you WILL be sore for a while. I'd do a couple of miles a day and build up to it to break yourself in