Cyclescheme 7 quite windy!) takes you back to the very basics. My commute has some long stretches where it is possible to do a lot of thinking/emptying of the mind – depending on the day!
Fact file
And the worst? The worst thing about it is probably the extra laundry, but that’s really up to the washing machine to deal with. How would you describe your general lifestyle? I am not sporty, but enjoy being outdoors. I am interested in good food and love to cook. Exercise is definitely required to allow the ‘foodie’ in me to express herself without becoming an unmanageable size. My area of interest at work is in ageing and there is plenty of evidence to support the use of exercise as a way to keep your brain and body healthy as we get older. It’s hard to ignore these things when this is what you work on! How fit were you before starting your impressive 24-mile roundtrip commute? I’ve always tried to cycle commute since I was a student. I commuted by bike in the US with the kids in a trailer when they were small, dropping them at nursery on the way to work. With small children it was good to know I wouldn’t be stuck in traffic on the way to picking them up. About 15 years ago I got into running. I’ve run a bunch of marathons (not very quickly) and lots of half marathons, and other distances too. Now I am happy with Parkrun on Saturday mornings and a few other runs as and when I can rather than doing races. What’s the alternative car commute like? It’s actually pretty easy. About 20-25 minutes in the reverse direction to the
Name: Lisa Chakrabarti Lives: Nottingham Occupation: Lecturer at the University of Notttingham Commute: 12 miles each way from Nottingham suburbs through rolling countryside to the Biosciences/Vet School campus. The roads are busy to begin with but there are lots of opportunities to use cycle paths. A relatively small proportion of the journey involves riding with traffic. Frequency: Every day. Cyclescheme bike: Orange Condor ‘Fratello’, custom built. Why I started cycling: I’ve always commuted by bike when feasible, since I was a student. When I worked in the US I even towed the kids in a bike trailer on the way to nursery.
general commute. But it means I arrive at work feeling sluggish. Surely there have been days, especially over winter, when you’ve really not fancied the ride? How do you overcome that? In all honestly, I dread mooching along in the car much more. I’m also lazy and hate parking in the car park and then having to walk to my building. I’d rather ride right up to the door. The only days I haven’t cycled have been due to very high winds (like Storm Doris). Anything over about
15mph and it doesn’t feel like I’m in control any more. However, mostly I manage to dodge the times of the day when it is windiest. What are the things you’d consider ‘essential’ for your cycle commute? Really good lights that are rechargeable. A bit of ‘uncool’ high-vis certainly gets you noticed. Once I’d been commuting for a while and knew I was going to stick with the longer distance, I got one or two pieces of cycling clothing that I feel amazing in. My favourite top is a superfine merino jersey from Vulpine. Padded undies are good for anything over about six miles each way. Any tips you could pass on to a new cycle commuter? My attitude is to make sure that I am enjoying myself and not always pushing hard. To stay safe I make sure to remind myself that I must not ride in a hurry. I either leave easily enough time for the commute or decide that a few minutes late isn’t the end of the world. Otherwise, it’s easy to take a risk and nip in here and there while forgetting how vulnerable a cyclist can be. What next? A local sportive perhaps or joining a club? Nope, I’m not interested in racing and I don’t really have the time for regular scheduled activities with a club. However, I do have a real wish to do some light touring, hence the touring bicycle. My husband also enjoys cycling so we would do this together. As the family grows up and gradually they spend more time away, we find we have more time to set off on short adventures, day rides and sometimes longer. Eventually we’ll hop across the Channel by train and ferry taking our bikes along… www.cyclescheme.co.uk
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