This morning's commute and other commuting stories

and i think a Fairey Swordfish.

used to be friends with the Fairey family, had a whole basement of pictures and designs of their planes.
Wesaywow - I still have trouble getting my feet in the straps while moving too, only had them a day though.

Stuka dive bombers all the way! They made a noise like star wars x fighters too... doesn't get much cooler!

BF109e FTW...

heinkel he 111 cockpit awesome

isnt that the millenium falcon......

no its an heinkel but thats what makes the MF so cool.

http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/mus/europe/norway/pics/heinkel%20he-111.jpg

Yeah nice view....

If we are onto cool WWII planes. This rocked the hardest.

Neither of them all.

The ME-262, the first jet fighter ever, but the war was over when it came out of the production line, it wasn't even reliable enough for service;

Lastly, the plane that never was (never put in production after the war was over), the Horten 2-29;

The all-wing Ho 2-29 looked more like today's U.S. B-2 bomber (B-2 bomber picture)—or something from a Star Wars prequel—than like any other World War II aircraft. Made primarily of wood and powered by jet engines, the plane was designed for speeds of up to 600 miles an hour (970 kilometers an hour).
Armed with four 30mm cannons and two 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) bombs, the planned production model was also meant to pack a punch.
A Ho 2-29 prototype made a successful test flight just before Christmas 1944. But by then time was running out for the Nazis, and they were never able to perfect the design or produce more than a handful of prototype planes.

the last and only surviving Horten;

ss bike....

ss ss

no its an heinkel but thats what makes the MF so cool.

http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/mus/europe/norway/pics/heinkel%20he-111.jpg

some of us have just got it......

Trouble getting feet in straps? Youtube trackstanding and practice in the lounge.

Oh, and nothing beats the Mosquito http://z.about.com/d/militaryhistory/1/0/7/0/-/-/Mosquito.jpg

ss bike....

Hahaha

Yeah nice view....

If we are onto cool WWII planes. This rocked the hardest.

is that a lockheed p38?

Lightning aye

My old commute was 0 miles a day as I was working from home, so my only cycling was for pleasure/shop runs etc, and my legs really weren't prepared for this new job. It's 10 miles each way roughly and after 3 weeks I'm really beginning to feel it, though still surprised at how quick it is to get right into central London.
It's a bit hard to get motivated in the mornings, but after the first few hundred meters and zooming past all the traffic I start to enjoy it (not enjoying E&C roundabout much though).
I was surprised at the number of cycle commuters I'm seeing everyday going up the old kent road, nice to see so many, the whole not-trying-to-look-like-i'm-racing-you-but-secretly-I-really-am thing is quite amusing. My aching legs will just have to HTFU.....Still, very glad I'm not on the train/bus.

From where to where? I rode up through elephant and castle the other day looking for the notorious 2 minute traffic light. Didn't find it

fair play bednarz. It's a good feeling innit ? This is the way for people in the know ;)

should be easy avoiding e&c, harper road off new kent road?

i will avoid scoblin' ya.

It's a bit hard to get motivated in the mornings, but after the first few hundred meters and zooming past all the traffic I start to enjoy it

That's what I always find - even in wind and rain in winter!

just make sure you don't take the lazy option when you encounter your first downpour during the commute - otherwise you will find cycling through winter rather tough

When I first started commuting regularly, it really hurt. I'd bought the bike to help build back up after an illness and was banned by docs from any high-impact exercise, so it was either that or swimming lengths 3 nights a week (oh what joy). I'd ridden here and there when I could but not done a 5 day-a-week commute. First week was ok. Second week hurt. Third week, I felt like someone had stolen my legs and replaced them with lumps of lead which ached to move. Fourth week, that didn't get any better, I just got more used to the discomfort. Which wasn't too difficult, because I'd been living with joint pain for a year and a half. Then at the end of the 4th week, I got my girlfriend to give me a massage. Her hands weren't very strong, so she used a kid's baseball bat that she kept under the bed in case of intruders like a rolling pin and just rolled all of my muscles until I stopped yelling. It hurt like hell but I woke up the next morning like I had a new pair of legs and they didn't ache at all from that day.

So, my recommendation would be to book a sports massage for the end of week 4. (Or buy a T-Ball bat).

I'd recommend doing long distances at the weekend, when the ache from doing 100+ miles subsides you'll think nothing of your 20 commute...

I'd recommend doing 500 miles every weekend. When the ache from that subsides you'll think nothing of your 100 mile training runs.

definatly get out in the rain! just bought myself a dry sack to stick a change of clothes in and i'm looking forward to it!! the sun being ou tis nice, but you can't beat thrashing through heavy rain

and just a little fyi, itchy feet on wardour street is sadly closing down at the end of this week, so everything is reduced

agreed, i think its as much mental as anything else. after youve done long, or very hard rides, not only is your body better for riding, but also your mentally prepared for much harder riding than you would probably encounter on a commute, making it feel easier.