Hi everyone,

I'm working on a Channel 5 documentary series about 'extreme commuting', we've been looking at people who fly, drive, get a train, and my thoughts have recently turned to the bike! Does anyone on here do a very long / interesting dare I say it ........... Extreme! Bike journey to work everyday? Do you cross the South Downs? Brave endless gales and downpours? Perhaps you cross a mountain to get somewhere regularly? Or do you just cycle a LONG way?

I'd love to hear from you, and the bike a place in our series.

roadsandcommutes@stv.tv

Many thanks,

Nathan Lomax-Cooke
Assistant Producer - STV London

[MENTION=200073]acidfast7[/MENTION]

Want to be "extreme"?

Is this only for London/UK'ers?

I have to cross Mass Ave to get to work. I've died like eight times.

And you know what? Joking aside, bicyclists here get run over with near impunity. Pick any bicyclist off the street for your thing.

Here are some recent links to get you started:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-of-the-season (note, temperatures are in farenheit not celcius)
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-commute-today
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-do-you-reside

Not really London based, but you get the idea...

Paging Joeybrooks!

I cross two state lines to get to work. How extreme is that?

I think Commutecomando's is pretty extreme. Mine takes me longer in the morning, but it's not as complicated.

I cross an international border twice per day. Does that count?

Uk / Europe only I'm afraid, just read a story about a guy in Canada who does a -30 something degree commute. That's nuts!

That's actually fairly common here. There are even several who claim to have commuted below -40. We're not supermen and superwomen, though. It's pretty easy to get used to wind, rain, snow, cold, darkness, long distances, etc... It only sounds "extreme" to those who've never done it.

On the other extreme, pun intended, there are people who commute in 115+.

If you're talking Celcius, yes, that would be extreme!!

My hassle is not cold but above knee snow on the roads and the fact that bridges and some roads are closed to cyclists and pedestrians during winter. Make it a nightmare to cross the river. The funny thing is when i asked the police for a way to cross any bridges nearby they told me that it was too cold.

I live in Surrey and go from my hometown Deepcut to Reading for my commute, its 22 miles each way so 44 miles a day. Come rain or shine I bike, if you call this extreme. It takes me and hour and a half each way.

Adam

Hiya AGoodleyUK, would be good to chat, that's quite a trek! Please contact me on the email address for the show roadsandcommutesATstvDOTtv ... Many thanks Nathan

Hi Nathan,

I have sent you and email, please let me know if you receive it.
Adam

Well said!

I commute ALL year around! This past winter, I commuted 40+ miles round-trip in -5° F temps - everyday of the work week. My secret weapons are:

• layering

• a pair of thermally insulated, waterproof winter cycling shoes (mine look like something Boris Karloff once wore)
  
  ۞ wrapped - for good measure - with a pair of waterproof shoe covers

• a pair of thermally-insulated lobster-claw mitts

• and - last but not least - the Krebs cycle!

As long as you dress right (meaning: in layers), and are constantly pedalling for the full duration of your commute (at even a moderate rate), then the metabolic process of the Krebs cycle will produce more than enough internal heat in your core to keep you warm (sometimes even TOO HOT!) regardless of the outside temps.

If you check out this thread there are guys who bike commute over 7000 miles per year: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-Thread/page58, however you may wish to post in the 2014 thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...highlight=2014

There's also tsl in Rochester (USA) who commuted some ridiculous number of consecutive days...um....here it is https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...nsecutive+days

Or, in layman's terms, you'll cool down the first 15 minutes, slowly warm up the next 15 minutes, then spend the rest of the ride being comfortable*.

*Provided you're dressed appropriately in wicking layers and you keep pedalling as mentioned by velonista.

Righteous, jeffpoulin!

Oh yeah! How could I forget my other secret weapon:

• ...

• a full-head balaclava
  
  ۞ two-layered - if temps're really, really low

I'd never go on a show like that myself.

I don't know if the U.K.'s take on the "Extreme ..." genre of TV programming is the same as those in the U.S. But I find that those type of shows are typically patronizing toward the "extremophiles" they feature.

To me, most of them come off as playing to the same appeal as the circus freak shows of old.

The overall message that they seem to be trying to sell (however subtle) to their audience is a condescending, "Can you believe such freaks exist? Who does such extreme stuff as that? Aren't you glad you're a normal person, and don't go to such freakishly abnormal extremes?"!

But please correct me if I'm wrong? What IS the underlying angle of your show? How will it be different from all the others?

I don't ***** myself out.

Sorry, but IRL I try to maintain a modicum of self-respectability.