Wow,
thanks everyone. Brilliant advice. The one thing I've been doing over the past few days is paying particular attention to the cyclists I see every day, namely what they are wearing, what bikes they've got and for me at least how visible they are when the daylight fades. I think as I'll be leaving early and getting back late, now that winter darkness has kicked in I'll invest in the best lights I possibly can and as much hiVis stuff as I can wear or stick to the bike.

At the minute I'm heading down the road bike route, principally for speed as there are three killer hills both ways. When things get icy I think I'll have to resort to the car.

I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again.