Hi guys

please be gentle-im brand new!!

Basically, I had a seizure at the call centre in which i work.Cant drive for a year.Urgenly need advice from you guys. im a relatively fit 27yr male.around 11mile round trip.

Budget around 500gbp - needs to cover all inc any specialist clothing.

Advice badly needed and appreciated,

With thanks,

Mark

First thing to do is check out your local bike shops (lbs's) and see what is available. You'll probably want a purpose-built commuter bike, with racks, fenders (a good thing if you ever have to ride in the rain), but what's available varies from place to place. I assume that you are in the UK, since you listed your budget in GBP, so I really have no idea what is available.

Whatever you do get, make sure that it fits you correctly. A good lbs should help you with this and ensure that the bike is properly sized and set up for you.

In my experience, specialist clothing is not necessary at all. I have bike clothes, but the vast majority of the time, I just wear whatever I have on. Its only for rides over 40 miles or offroad rides that I really think of putting on the padded shorts and skintight shirt. Rain gear is nice though.

11 mile round trip is not bad at all- you should be making it with no problem once you get your bike, and might not even want to go back to driving once the year is up.

Best of luck!!

First thing you ought to do is consult with your doctor about any issues. A seizure while riding on a heavily traveled road would not be good. Is a recurrence likely?

If the doctor is OK with it, I agree with the advice to go to your LBS and get a proper fitting bike. Make sure the bike can fit mudguards and a rack.

I have very little specialist clothing - just a wicking layer of poly shirts and tights, a high visibility vest for night riding, a helmet, and balaclava.


I also do a 11mi r/t commute, just started in Sept. after years on the couch, no problems. I'm 39. If I can do it, you certainly can.. good luck!

After Dr says, "Good to go"

I would:
Buy a used bike in your general size for about $120 US, adjust it to fit fairly well, and ride it. Add full fenders with a long front flap, some highly visible lights - front and back would cost you about $35 US, reflective vest, and rain gear.

An 11 mile round trip is very minimal for an average person. I wouldn't even bother with a "fitting" at a bike shop. Most of the time you will only "re-fit" it yourself anyway. You'll soon be changing whatever bike you buy with respect to the saddle, tires and such. We all do it.

As to the type of bike: I recommend an old rigid frame MTB. Bombproof, and can be had for very little money. Plus they are extremely comfortable street bikes when adjusted and outfitted properly. One of those will get you in the door cheap, and you'll soon know if this is for you.

First question: How flat is it?

If it's fairly flat, then with an 11-mile round trip, 5.5 miles each way, practically any bike will work. I'm riding an industrial cruiser bike, and that would be no problem on it.

If it's hilly, then you need the gearing, and that complicates it. If you're riding 55 miles instead of 5.5, it might be a bit more critical what you rode and what you wear while doing it.

At 5.5 miles, you don't need specialist clothing just to ride- jeans and t-shirt will likely work fine. It would help to have some way to shower or change clothes when you get to work, though.

As others have said, no specialist clothing is really needed.

As for the bike, the general rule for those on a budget, is that an older inexpensive used bike will be much higher quality than a new bike of comparable price.

Assuming you are in England, I'm tempted to point you to the old Raleigh 3-speed "English Racer" types. They ought to be plentiful in Britain, and are great commuters. But then again, there are lots of older bikes that would be fantastic, so no need to limit yourself to one type.

I hope you are ok.

Hi Mark,

There are a few folks with epilepsy here on the Commuting forum. Perhaps one of them will give some practical advice on working around the condition. Meanwhile, you're getting a lot of good advice from other posters on gear. Let me echo their advice on getting a good used bike to stretch your pounds.

Having a seizure while riding is no fun; I can speak from experience. Was this your first seizure or a breakthrough seizure? Are you epileptic? If your doc has given you a year before driving, that sounds like it's expected that seizures could recur, so I'm going to assume you're talking about an epileptic tonic-clonic/ grand mal seizure. Much of this advice probably applies to absence/ petit mal events as well.

First thing you need to do is figure out if your seizures are predictable. Do they happen at the same time of day? For example, mine can happen in the morning if I've gotten very little sleep. If I feel uncoordinated or tired enough to impair judgment after my shower and shave and breakfast, that's a signal to me to be careful.

If you have an aura before a seizure, then you're very lucky indeed.

People are tired and uncoordinated after a convulsive seizure. To be frank, it looks like I'm drunk after a seizure, at least for a few minutes. Some kindly police and an EMT asked me two questions when they found me after a seizure earlier this year: Have you had anything to drink, and did you have a seizure? (After seeing the mess I made biting my tongue, the EMT said, "yeah, you had a seizure.") So have something that identifies you as epileptic; I went out and bought a MedAlert dog tag after this incident.

I've been epileptic for the majority of my life, so feel free to email me.

500 GBP = 733USD, I think it will be within his budget for a commuter bike and some decent gear.

Something we need to know - are you riding in the city or the countryside? You're new to BF - and welcome, by the way - but can we assume you're new to riding, or have you been riding a century every weekend for years? Is public transit involved in the commute?

Go to your local bike shop.

Welcome! As others have stated, you first need to determine if it's safe to ride a bike. There are plenty of people who have seizures once or twice in their lifetime and that's it (I think they refer to them as idiopathic seizures, meaning that there is no real cause). If you're talking about epilepsy, however, you definitely want to make sure that your doc can give you the ok to ride a bike. While it's not like driving a car, you can still cause an accident or hurt yourself just the same.

As for getting started with bike commuting, I always tell people to start with the basics - a bike, a helmet, and a decent bag to carry your stuff (a backpack can work just fine for the distance you're traveling). From that point, start experimenting a little bit at a time. There's no reason that you have to rush out and spend thousands of dollars on high-end equipment. If you have a decent local bike store (LBS) in your area, they should be able to direct you to these basics.

Get a bike that fits. The fit matters far more than the brand. Make sure you have the basics for commuting in the weather where you are. If it gets rainy there, a good water-proof jacket is a good investment.

Other than that, use this bike listserv as questions come up. Remember that the first few commutes will probably not be that fun. Experiment with different routes on the weekend and don't let yourself get discouraged. I promise you that bike commuting gets more fun the more you do it. Heck, you may decide after the year's up to stick with it! Good luck!!

buy used. wear street clothes. you'll be fine.

Excellent advice. The only thing that I would add is to take it easy. It is possible, especially for your distance, to ride a leisurely pace to avoid sweating. This tactic simplifies things for the workplace. If you wish to get some exercise but are worried about potential offensive odors at the office save the workout for your ride home.

A fellow cycling commuter at my place of work also suffers seizures and is thus not allowed to drive. He has been riding through the winter with the rest of us and seems to be doing fine.

Welcome and best wishes.

Welcome to the forums. I hope you find from your doctor that you can commute without risk.

I don't live in the UK, but if you just HAVE to have a brand new bike, pick up a copy of Cycling Plus magazine. I'm a subscriber and they always have lots of adds in the back for Wiggle, Pearson, Evans, etc., and some of those bikes are under 500GBP. There's a classified section too.

While I agree with the others that you can start with your street clothes, do take into account that once you've been doing it a while, you'll start to want cycling specific gear.

Another thing to consider as you budget...do you need lights? Do you have some kind of sporty rain gear? A backpack? etc. I know these seem like simple questions, but not everyone thinks of these things when they first start and are determined to stick to a budget.

Good luck and happy commuting!

My advice for 'special' clothing is to just have a decent windbreaker jacket and some light polypro/fleece like cloths that can be layered if the weather gets cold or coldish and damp. Buy them cheap at an outlet store, sporting goods store or whatever.

If the weather is not very hot or cold normal street cloths are fine. I find when things are more extreme having some cheap 'sport' material cloths makes the ride more fun and the day less sweaty.

I don't know how it is overseas but medical advice here is liability contrived:

My 3 month pregnant wife wanted to go skiing last weekend; almost all "science" and "advice" indicate that this is of little concern, low risk, go and do it, just be mindful. Her doctor said to not do it. We did it, will do it later in the season, and are mostly mindful that life goes on and you have to have fun and take chances regardless of medical liability and selfish posturing advice.

What is this?

Hello and hope you are well. Find out if it is okay to bike with your condition. Your commute is pretty short so no worries. I get vertigo from time to time from ear infections but have not had any trouble on the bike even though my doctor said not to drive a car when I have the dizzies. I saw an interesting episode of The Nature of Things last night-about how the brain can retrain itself. A woman's brain had been damaged which affected her balance. She took part in a scientific study on brain research that retrained and healed her brain and now can ride her bike everywhere after she was reduced to living in a wheel chair!

You don't need to spend much. My favourite bike is an old raleigh 5 speed that I got for the price of a movie date in the UK. I'd invest in a quality second hand bike while you are starting out. You will probably become addicted and eventually end up with several bikes. Like everyone says fenders, bike rack, panniers, LIGHTS, helmet. I wear my regular clothes, but I do have a gortex jacket and pants for rain/winter. This may be too girlish but silk is amazing! Much like wool it wicks away moisture and keeps you warm. Silk undershirts, yes indeed! Cotton gets wet and stays wet which is bad if you are riding in the cold. Take a shirt to change into for work etc..

Think about storage and security at work. If it is poor, get a cheap bike and good lock.

In England, you will want fenders. Here in the states, they are fairly rare on bikes and many bikes don't have provision or tire clearance to mount them.

Assuming that it is pretty flat, almost anything with wheels should work.

Mark,
As has been said before, bike stuff probably isn't that critical-- a lot of people ride junker bikes with no special clothing. However, I'd avoid a used bike if you don't know much about bikes and aren't inclined/don't have the time to learn all about them quickly.

A relationship with a good shop (not all of them are good) is paramount. You probably won't figure out your preference for bike stuff right away. If you end up getting into bikes, it is almost given that you'll buy at least one more before you find the kind that you want. The same is true for other equipment. Don't spend too much money at once.

It may sound silly, but try not to stress out about this stuff. Trying hard to get bike commuting "right" can make it an unpleasant experience, when it has the potential to be much more enjoyable and healthy than driving. If you ride every day for a few weeks, it will become comfortable.

One thing to think about is carrying some level of a change of clothes. I typically bring a change of underwear, socks, and a dress shirt. If I cycle in shorts, I bring long pants as well. At work, I keep the following supplies: baby powder (talcum), food powder, underarm deodorant, a washcloth, a hand towel, and a comb.

My workplace has an unused office used for storage and they let me park my bike in there. Try to find a janitor's closet, unused office, or even a stairwell to store your bike. If you have an office with a lock you can change in there, or in my case the room where I store my bike has a lock. Failing that, you can change in the men's room.

I take a shower before I leave home. When I get into work, I lay out my work clothes, lock the door to the storage room, and undress. I then dowse myself in baby powder and put on the deodorant and get dressed and do the same with the foot powder and my socks and shoes. Believe it or not I feel more clean and fresh this way then when I take a shower and drive to work.

I think it's been mentioned, but especially with your condition it's important to get a good helmet.

Good luck. Once you start riding, you may not return to driving.

Mark,

Unless you have extremely steep hills, most any bike will get you 5 1/2 miles. If your budget is really cramped, look around at used bicycles. My current commuter is a 20 year old rigid-frame mountain bike that was free, but I have added fenders, street slicks, a package rack and lights. It's been a very sturdy bike. It allowed me to pay off $20K of credit card debt in 2 years, and apparently just in time considering the state of the economy.

Special clothes will depend on your weather. Check out the winter riding forum for info for that. But generally you will be able to ride in the clothes you have, though I'd recommend some better gloves and a good knit watch cap and some lip balm. Also get a rain suit if you don't have one. Winter rain can be the biggest challenge to a newbie commuter.

I know that you will succeed. You have the greatest motivator... no choice. But you will find that you gain some wonderful things in bike commuting. You will be more aware than your motorized roadmates. Sunrise, sunsets, animals and flowers by the side of the road, flocks of geese overhead. The motorists miss it all.

It may seem like a strain now, but give it a little time. For me, continuing to ride has been perhaps the single best decision I have made in my life.

all this is really good advice, especially the doc approval stuff...
if you think that you might enjoy riding for more than commute, try an used hybrid and look for rack braze ons on frame and fork, then you could go on holiday by bike too...
wanna keep it simple try finding an old freewheel hub for the rear and make a single speed, i ride a mile to and 1.5 from work on my home built hybrid fixie, and have gone just under 20 for fun (still working out kinks of bike and technique)

at any rate imo fit, comfort and fun are the most important things to riding. make sure whatever bike you find it fits you properly, and no you don't have to go to a bike shop for this, try your friends, library or bookstore and look for books on bike racing, touring and training, somewhere inside will be any number of different formulas on how to measure yourself and fit a bike (don't be intimidated, people still can go to a tailor to be measured for clothing and get a better fit than off the rack clothing and its the same with a bike), the frame's dimensions should be discussed around these measurements. if the bike's fit is off you won't be comfortable and thusly not confident and less likely to ride...

and i think that we will all agree that is not fun

good luck

I ride that kind of distance in the Uk; you don't need any sport cycling equipment if you ride at a moderate pace. I could do it ordinary street clothing but I prefer a wicking T shirt. My favourite is material is merino wool , it is more comfortable and less stinky. You need a good windproof and a waterproof for when it rains. Rainproof pants are good in a downpour. I use regular runners training shoes but in the cold/wet I add sealksinz waterproof socks. A neck tube/buff is useful for fine tuning insulation. Thin woolen sweaters make perfect midlayers. Dont forget gloves, they keep you warm and protect your hands from any sldie across the road.
If you feel the need to ride more athletically note that you will have to cool down and wash down at the other end which will eat up all the time you saved by riding faster over such a short distance.

Most bikes will do the job but make sure you have a suitable set of gears, eyelets for mudguards/fenders and luggage rack and the bike is roughly the correct size. Modern tyres are a lot more puncture resistant than they used to be. Schwalbe Marathon Plus are the toughest of all but there are others. Puncture resistance will give you peace of mind and help your punctuality at work so it is worth getting good rubber.
Most LED lights are good enough for the task but carry a spare rear blinkie.

I have no advice regarding your medical condition but note that if someone is found lying next to a bike, the assumption is that either they fell over or were hit by a car. Make sure you have some medical info in a prominant place, not just a bracelet underneath all your winter clothing. Maybe write it inside your helmet.



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