There:
TTM: 7:15 ODO 70.3 DST 5.64 TM 0:29:14 AVG 11.5 MAX 20.2Back:
TTM: 7:40 ODO 75.8 DST 5.48 TM 0:24:26 AVG 13.4 MAX 21.5Totals:
DST 11.12 MAX 21.5It looked like it'd be a nice day, weather wise, and since it was a Friday (and consequently I could sleep in on Saturday morning if necessary!) I decided, with a bit of persuasion, to try this whole cycle-to-work thing. I'd cycled to the pub up the road from work before, so I knew I could do it, but could I do it with a day's work and face coming home again too?
The answer appeared to be... yes, but I wouldn't want to do it frequently! I left at 7:30am, thinking that I'd probably get to work at about 8:20, giving myself plenty of time to have a shower and settle down. As it happens, I got there at just before 8:05, to my astonishment - and, as you can see from the stats above, I rode there with a fairly respectable average speed of 11.5mph. I stopped a couple of times to get my breath back and grab a drink, but otherwise I cycled fairly constantly on the way, quite fast in places and generally didn't get run down by traffic.
I thought coming back would be slower, since I didn't have a time limit to work to, but, again to my amazement - I actually came back a lot quicker! It took me about 27 minutes, and my average speed was a startling 13.4. I found myself at one point going along at 18mph, and that wasn't particularly on any downhill bit either; it was all rather surprising really.
I feel weary though, having done that, but overall I'm really quite pleased with my 'performance'. I've decided that I still don't klike Manchester's roads though - they're still full of drains and potholes - and on the way back I had to contest with queues of traffic, which was a bit tricky at times, too. Still, noone drove too close to me, fortunately.
Summary: Because it was a nice day, I almost actually enjoyed the commute, and I'm really encouraged by how well I did. Hurrah!