Hiya

Gosh, you make me jealous !

I come form a country, where we do a lot of cycling ( Germany), it's just another way of transport over there, so I grew up, doing about 10-15 km a day. Then I moved to the UK, and that was the end of it ! The roads here are so narrow, that even the cars don't fit on them properly, and I live in London, so lots of traffic. But 6 weeks ago, I took the plunge and bought myself a bike.

Things have changed a lot. The last bike I bought was 16 years ago ! I used to have a racing bike. Now all there is in the shops is mountain bikes and I hate them. They are sooo uncomfortable !
Also, last time I bought a bike, the bike had everything it needed. This time, I had to buy mudgards, stand, chain, lights, luggage holder....I am glad the handle bars were included

Anyway, as I haven't been on a bike for such a long time (6years) and the roads here scare the living daylight out of me (try to ride between a bus and a lorry on a very narrow road !), I usually just ride to the train station, take the bike on the train up to town, and then ride from there to work. It is about 15mins each way in total. Not a lot, I know, but I struggle with some of the hills already . One day I will go all the way by bike (I hope), but it is about 20 miles each way, of which 1 mile is a steep hill

Good luck
Sabine

PS.: London is pretty much all-year-round-cycling as well, if you don't mind getting soaked for 11.5 months a year