Beat the rail fare increases by riding to work

'I was up to riding home a couple of times a week but I wouldn't ride in because the single shower was awful.'

All down to your mindset I'm afraid.
No shower here. commute 4-5 days per week. Baby wipes are your friend - if they can cope with meconium, they can handle a bit of sweat and road grime. Granted, it's nowhere near as pleasant as a nice hot shower after a cold ride, but if it's 'ride or no ride', you need to ask yourself how important the ride is to you...

Would love to, but ain't happening from Hampshire

I do save ~£500 by cycling across central London though!

Why so much focus on monetary savings? Time saving can be as big a part of it dependant on the route you travel.

The only issue is most places don't have showers or secure bike storage. I was up to riding home a couple of times a week but I wouldn't ride in because the single shower was awful.

just want to add a comment; (note, i'm French). I'm very surprised by the transport costs in UK, here it's somewhat softer... I'm 60 and commuting 45 km each day since 6 years. My only regret is to not have begun much much earlier. I was shy about taking a bike to work!

Like many, cost is not the main reason. I spend much in equipment, for winter, rain, heat, night etc etc... I have a backup for every piece of kit. And i don't wear the same jersey all the week ... It's not Rapha but Assos, the result in the pocket is the same. It would be much cheaper by public transportation. But i don't care.

Generally, i have one day off a week, to swap clothes, do things i can't do with my bike and get some rest. I have showers at work so it's the best case.

The main benefit is i'm fit and i have a real sense of Freedom.

By bike - 24km each way. 45 mins in, 1hr 15 back.
Bit of extra scran, plus kit costs.

By train - £8 a day for a 3hr round trip. Standing.

I might not save much cash, but I save an hour per day plus I get 2hrs riding in each day during what would otherwise be 'dead time'
Gym at lunchtimes. Home by 17:30 to spend the evening with my family, having done the best part of 3hrs per day exercise. Really is a no-brainer.

I cycle ten miles into work and ten miles back again, every day.

If I was to drive in I'd take a slightly shorter route (six miles each way) but have to cross a £1 each way toll bridge. I have a free parking space at the office, and driving would be quicker at the time I go in.

A bus would also be quicker at that time, and cost about £4 per day if I bought the ticket on day of travel.

So cycling, I'm barely saving any money at all. Losing out, if I factor in the extra food I eat

But I cycle anyway.

There is another good reason for NOT dropping the gym. Gyms have showers whereas a lot of offices don't.

Laundering office clothes? Two options (Both will require you to have access to a locker).

Option one. Get to know the little independent dry cleaners near your place of work. A lot of them will deliver/collect to/from your place of work. They will also deal with your shirts/blouses or know someone who will.

Option two. Once a week do a non bike commute to restock your supply of office gear and take your dirty stuff home.

Of course if you are close to your place of work and you can cycle in in your work clothes so much the better.

Having moved closer to work earlier this year, my commute is now about 8 miles each way but because I can cycle rather than drive I now only fill the car up about once every 2 months, and I save £80 a month by not using the bus.

More importantly I feel so much healthier from doing an hour of exercise a day, and carrying a bag full of clothes and a laptop means the hills are good training!

I cant squat and deadlift whilst commuting to work, so I'll keep my gym membership thanks. The 300 quid I save on my small commute is soaked up in the general spend on bike bits, child trailers, etc. but I don it because its quicker, easier and more enjoyable (plus driving 2 miles 4 times a day really seems such a huge waste)

I truly don't get why more people don't commute by bike.

I think they are generally a bit thick.

British Cycling is focussing on the wrong targets.

Need to get the people driving and using public transport a handful of miles out onto bikes, rather than the much smaller percentage that are commuting much longer distances by train.

That will make the biggest difference to people's lives and pocket.

I switched last year to 16ml each way by bike instead of car. It's saved me at least £100-150 per month in fuel etc, and I feel much fitter and healthier (well before Christmas anyway). It is only for the commited cyclist though.

One of the guys I regularly speak to works at same place and commutes 5 mile to save about £10 a day in bus fares. He's got a scabby mountain bike & combat shorts. No carbon, no Rapha, just money in his pocket.

There's also the issue that the saving can be very regional. It makes huge sense to commute by bike in London balanced against very very high rail costs. Even higher car costs.

My own commute, 40 miles each way, 5 days a week equates to a petrol cost of roughly £1300 per annum. Car parking is free at my workplace. So no cost there.

Sure, there's wear and tear but that's a pretty intangible thing to truly pin down.

Do I spend more than £1300 a year in cycling goodies? Good god yes. Indeed, I probably spend a large proportion EATING more.

But, I get fit, I LOVE commuting by bike and get to spend more time with the family.

Knight these people!

Can someone have a word with Hannah about her helmet please. If there is any safety benefit to be gained from wearing these things, it's probably negated by the 'protect the back of your neck and leave half your head uncovered' look.

A well-meaning attempt to get more people on their bikes but they’re hardly going to encourage ordinary people to ride to work with a set of pictures like that.

The whole story says:
- You need to be an enthusiast
- You need specialist equipment
- You’re going to put yourself in danger (which is why you need all that safety gear)

I commute from Sheffield to Nottingham by train everyday, no way in hell I could ride that everyday....

People always talk about how much can be saved by commuting every day. And of course - that's where the biggest savings are.

But it's also worth saying that if you "take up commuting by bike" there's no compulsion to do it every day, and there's no rule that says you have to try and beat your PB every time. Last summer my commute was almost exactly 10 miles each way and easy too, and I still only did it a maximum of four times a week. Taking the train/tube/bus sometimes because you fancy a rest day or a pint after work isn't a cop-out (as long as you're not just making excuses).

My commute would typically cost £1400 a year for me to travel in via train zones 2-4 4 days a week - but I cycle instead.

There is however the cost of 1) Bike 2) Clothing 3) Maintenance. My two bikes cost well in excess of £4,500, and clothing probably adds up to about £600.

I change my chain, cables, tyres, brake pads and bottom bracket every year at a cost of about £250 per bike as I rack up over 4000 miles alone just commuting (i did 7100 miles over my two bikes in 2014).

I do try and keep my costs down as much as I can by servicing my bike myself and I have invested in some decent Park Tools.

I think it's less about how much money you save as there are still plenty of associated costs as above - it's more about fitness; my FTP has increased, I have six pack abs, I'm light and very very healthy. Money can't buy you that - that's all down to hard work on the bike..

Don't forget #outsideisfree

I'll be starting my 4th year of cycling in april after converting from Vespa commuting and my net spend will be around minus £1500. If I sold the Vespa it'd be zero.

Yep I discovered Rapha...and nice shiny new bikes...but if I gave it all up today and ebayed the lot I'd be in profit but ultimately I dont care, in return I've lost (and kept off) a lot of weight...am fitter, healthier and have a new hobby to bore the wife with.

And there's not many people that would put down their commute as an enjoyable hobby

Walton on Thames to London with a Travelcard is about £3,000 for this year. With a 30 minute walk to the station I may as well include annual car parking at £800.

I save a family holiday, and more, each year.

Julia from Edinburgh seems to have a lot of nice kit for a 4 mile ride. I bet when she was in Germany the locals didn't make such an effort.

People don't care about fitness and well-being though, otherwise there wouldn't be the discussion.

Saving money on transport costs, saving time and eliminating gym memberships (saving time AND money) tick more boxes.

Cycling to work (London Zone 3 to the West End) saves me nearly £200 a month once gym membership is included in the saving. I don't even own any Rapha...