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I am in London. Is it a good idea to travel 11 miles (one way) from home to office.Google says it takes 56 minutes.

I wear office formal with out a suit and tie. What advice can you suggest on clothing?

My office hours are 9-5

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    Beside clothing, have you consider investing in pedelec? The distance (11 miles/17km ) is a short distance but from google calculation, it means some climbing. – mootmoot Jun 9 '16 at 14:56
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    If you look under the commuter tag you will find much discussion. I would say it is not a good idea to ride that far in your suit, so you will need to change clothes. I hear it rains in London. While one can commute by bicycle in the rain, it takes a lot more commitment than doing it when the weather is fine. Are you going to do this every day, or just on (hopefully) nice ones? – Ross Millikan Jun 9 '16 at 15:14
  • No plan for pedelec.I thought ,I can aviod the daily train commute and it would be a good exercise as wl.Wonder what is the average bike commute time in London – user1254579 Jun 9 '16 at 16:05
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    I did 9.5 miles no problem in Bristol (better drivers, worse hills). I got it down to 40 minutes daily. Google rides slowly. But you'll almost certainly need a shower and change of clothes - carry a shirt and leave the rest in work. And backpacks aren't very nice for commuting - sweaty and they spoil the balance. – Chris H Jun 9 '16 at 16:28
  • If you have the space at office to store extra clothes, you could take the train/drive one day in a week and store work clothes/shoes for that week so you have to carry less on the bicycle. For riding itself, I would recommend purchasing a jacket and shoe covers for rainy days. Also try doing the bike ride to office on a weekend to see if you can ride safely and find out amount of time it takes. – Akshay Jun 9 '16 at 16:50
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This is really only a question you can answer for yourself.

How fit are you? How much do you ride currently, is 11 miles a long way for you? Are you comfortable in London traffic? Is it raining?

These questions, and others, you will need to answer before you get close to an answer. Personally, I'd do it, I chose 2 points on the map in London at random and it shows about an hour by bike, an hour by car and 30 mins by train.

As for clothes, you may find that your office has a shower or changing room and you can change from something in lycra to something more office friendly when you arrive. Failing that, a lot of people recommend baby wipes. There's other questions about commuting with a lot of information on this.

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It's subjective whether it's advisable for you. I do it, but you have to think about the following things:

  • How often? Don't jump in to trying it every day to begin with
  • Route. To begin with, allow plenty of time for getting lost and exploring different routes. It took me at least six months to settle on a route.
  • Luggage. I have a small seatpost rack that holds just enough for a normal day, but you might need panniers instead. You can also take your stuff when you don't cycle instead.
  • Shower. You will need one at work for most (if not all) of the year. You shouldn't do 11 miles in your suit.
  • Food. Two extra hours of exercise a day makes you hungry. I need elevenses (and tenses and so on)
  • Timing. Riding in London at 9am is not fun; can you shift your day earlier or later by an hour or so?
  • Mudguards. You'll be grateful for them if it rains, which it does sometimes (not as much as you think)
  • Storage. Is there somewhere safe (and dry) to leave your bike?
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    The shower is optional, I used to do a 12 mile commute in the SF Bay area where the climate is similar to London, and just changed from biking clothes to work clothes in the office restroom. There was a shower in one of the buildings at the office, but I never needed it. On a particularly warm day I'd just ride at an easy pace for the last mile or so before the office to let my body cool down, but most mornings the temperatures were in the 50's (10C-15C) and excessive sweating was not a problem. – Johnny Jun 9 '16 at 18:45
  • Thanks for this .There is no shower at office! Planing to do it 2 times a week.Thanks for suggestion on food.I can start at 7:30 am from home and can leave office at 4;45pm – user1254579 Jun 10 '16 at 15:13
  • Go for it! It's such a great way to travel. If you have a secure place to leave your bike overnight you also have the option of cycling in one day, using the tube (etc) that night and the following morning and cycling home that evening. – srank Jun 10 '16 at 17:15

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