Hi all, wow thanks for all the information!
Let me answer some of your questions:
1) Why do I want to do it - well at the moment the commute takes about 60-75 mins by car, so not too bad. But as mentioned I do ultra endurance swims 5 hours - 17 hours sort of length. My main season is July - Sept so am thinking if I could get some general endurance training done in this time, which would only really add an hour to me (working off the basis that drive would take 75 mins, and cycle take 2-2.5 hours), twice a week, why not? I get quite sick of swimming in the summers, can be 7-8 times a week, so something else, which still keeps the heart going (all be it different muscle groups) and helps with endurance is a good thing
2) Where I'll be going to / from (for the Irish guys on here) - I'll be going from crumlin to drogheda. by car is a bit more direct with the motorway, but by bike are a few options of getting there all about the same length. Pretty much busy roads for first 4-5 miles (until I get in / around the airport direction) then secondary roads like the old Swords road, or N2 etc.
3) My job / working hours - I am on flexi time and only work about 35-40 hours a week. So I can start between 8am and 10am, and leave between 4pm and 6pm. The plan would be to leave about 6.30am, meaning I should get there in / around 9am.
4) Building up to it - my plan is to keep cycling a bit in the gym just, then when weather picks up a wee bit Feb / March start cycling at weekends. Start with even 20 miles and build up. As mentioned, my plan isn't to cycle in and out of work every day, I don't think this will ever happen, probably two trips a week. I could cycle in, and get the train home with bike, or use car etc. I can get into work by car, train, bus etc in in or around the same time, so cycling 1 way is no problem at all.
I will probably just start cycling a bit on my existing mountain bike to get back into it. It is a complete no-name brand which I got for about €150 a few years back. It is heavy and has big tyres so I know it wont be right for what I'm talking about, but will do to get the legs / heart going until I sort something better.
5) What I'll be carrying - I won't need anything with me bar a set of keys and whatever I need for myself snacks, fluids wise. I'm quite used to exercising for this length of time and would expect I'd need 2 water bottles and maybe a banana or something. Then the usual puncture kit and whatever else, but nothing for work - I can leave clothes, laptop etc in the day before in preperation.
A few points I picked up one:
- YES I will definitely get the right gear - lights (although in Spring I should be in daylight most of the time), safety etc. I have a list of this stuff.
- The bike - from what you're all saying it seems my options (in order of which people think would suit best to get there quick enough and in some comfort are)
- some sort of non-race road bike (cyclocross, touring bike, straight handle bar road bike)
- a mountain bike with slick tyres
My new questions are:
1) What are the main differences between cyclocross, touring bike and straight bar road bike? So knowing what you know, which do you think I should go for. As mentioned I am looking at spending €300 / <$400 on something new / 2nd hand
2) If I were to start on a MTB with slicks, or semi slicks roughly (and I know it depends completely), how much time would I add to myself over a distance of c. 65km. Would this be the main drawback, or are there others in terms of comfort etc?