Considering buying a rural home, looking for commute advice.

ULMarc

I know there's a commute advice thread open here. But I've been commuting by bike for years and I'm now looking into unknown territory.

My wife and I are planning to buy a house in the Limerick area. We've seen a few potential candidates in some of the surrounding towns. But the only problem is I can't drive due to a disability and I'm trying to decide if I can handle cycling a rural commute every day. Bearing in mind that driving will never be an option for me so I can't hop in the car on the soft days.

I'd love to hear anyone's experience with anything similar. I think I'm mad to consider it. Am I?

Effects

How far is your commute?

Wishbone Ash

ULMarc wrote: »

... I think I'm mad to consider it. Am I?

Do you have a fall back option (e.g. public transport) currently? Presumably you won't in a rural area.

What distance are you talking about?

(Also bear in mind that you won't be able to cycle when there is snow/frost/ice.)

Thargor

Get an ebike?

John Hutton

How far is your commute?

With the right gear you can cycle 99% of the time. If it's not a massive difference get a taxi the other days.

magicbastarder

i suspect it can depend on the roads too. if they're twisty country lanes, a bike light on a dark wet night might not be great.

Del2005

magicbastarder wrote: »

i suspect it can depend on the roads too. if they're twisty country lanes, a bike light on a dark wet night might not be great.

In the old days. You can get AA battery lights that have better output than the lights on a 03 Punto we own,. Li-Ion bike lights are getting too bright for urban use these days, back roads won't be dark.

smacl

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Do you have a fall back option (e.g. public transport) currently? Presumably you won't in a rural area.

What distance are you talking about?

(Also bear in mind that you won't be able to cycle when there is snow/frost/ice.)

Looking at the weather out there over the last couple of days, storms are an issue to consider too. You'd need to be strong and confident on a bike to commute in very heavy weather.

Maybe talk to your employer about the option to work from home when conditions are foul?

outfox

If you're unable to drive, are you sure living in a rural area is a good idea? While you may be able to commute to work, there are likely to be other trips/events where you cannot cycle. You'll be forever relying on your partner or friends or taxis or buses to get you there and back. There's a risk you might get socially isolated, which will not be good for your head space. At the very least, maybe you should consider living in or close to a village.

TheBlaaMan

If it were me in your situation and I could not selective work from home, I wouldn't situate myself any distance from a very good (wide hard shoulder, preferably protected) route unless you have a reliable plan B. Any rural road I know suffers from time to time from significant issues - mud, crap of all sorts - from agricultural operations and if you face that on a dark, crappy winters day its going to be fairly stressful, to say the least.
Good luck with your choice..

saccades

Commuted into the Wicklow mountains for years, 23km each way.

I only wouldn't when it was icy as the ice spikes were like velcro, snow was only in 2010 really.

It's much better with a locker and showers at work. Used to hump a backpack but got it down to the regular minimum (tube & pump). Gilets and arm warmers are ace as early morning to evening can have massive temp swings.

Nowadays I'd get an E-bike, nearly 200 km from a specialised battery. Means you can take it handy into work or the days when you are not feeling it.

I use exposure lights, but a dynamo hub and some of them German lights that have a 5 min battery would be ace.

I can only think of two times I needed a dig out.

I did have flexi-time so the odd puncture/snapped spokes were not an issue with work.

Used to set me right for the working day and clear my head at the end. Really miss it.

Edit to say: go for it, budget the E-bike into the cost, cheaper than running a car for 2 years and probably pay for itself in 3.

ULMarc

saccades wrote: »

Commuted into the Wicklow mountains for years,
Used to set me right for the working day and clear my head at the end. Really miss it..

Thanks very much for your feedback. How come you don't cycle commute anymore?

outfox wrote: »

If you're unable to drive, are you sure living in a rural area is a good idea?

I hear ya. I'm trying to do my due diligence by researching. I don't want to be selfish. And I don't want to be shying away from something that I can make work. At the moment, I can't see it working.

Effects wrote: »

How far is your commute?

I knew it would be the first question asked. I held off saying it in the OP because I was hoping the distance alone wouldn't be the focus of the discussion. One example might be 11k. Newport, Tipperary to Limerick. But then again, I'm searching many areas so it varies.

Sure 11k sounds like a doddle now. But I'm concerned about having it being my primary method every day:
- I may not always be travelling to the same work location.
- I could get a lift from a partner or work colleagues, but that adds dependants.
- I could use public transport, but that adds last mile (or even last MILES) challenges.
- What happens when my partner begins doing school runs. It would increase my need to be self sufficient.
- I could end up just being utterly sick of it. And I wouldn't want it to be a source of unhappiness.
- I don't want to be a nuisance to drivers if it's not a practical road to cycle (admittedly, I should test this practically some morning).

Thargor wrote: »

Get an ebike?

Oh, I think it would be a must.

Mc Love

That Newport Road is dangerous enough travelling by car never mind by bike.

Lefty Bicek

If you find somewhere towards Castleconnell side - beware of the rails at the level crossing. They're not perpendicular to the road. IIRC Gerard Hartmann had a big off there. So did I.

I was audaxing, not commuting it has to be said so wouldn't have hit the Mick Mackey Roundabout at peak times. Still, found it to be a bit hairy sometimes.

ULMarc

Mc Love wrote: »

That Newport Road is dangerous enough travelling by car never mind by bike.

Glad to hear my thoughts reaffirmed. Thanks! It's all potential candidates at the moment so I'll need to asses the same for other locations too.

I didn't really want to be too route focused when I originally asked the question. I've a good grasp of the challenges there. I wanted to gather more general advice that I can apply to multiple locations. I'm really appreciating the feedback from everyone!

Lefty Bicek wrote: »

beware of the rails at the level crossing. They're not perpendicular to the road..

Cheers. I'm familiar with road. Thankfully I was forewarned when I first rode out that way..

Ferris

A couple of points on ebikes -

- You can power lights from the main battery. Its a great solution as long as you have power in the battery. I supplemented these with USB lights front and back and alway felt confident that I was being seen by drivers.

- Good ebikes can power through most weathers, weather didn't stop me once in 18months and 12k miles.

- My commute was 26k each way. I had a 2nd charger in work which was handy.

- Ebikes can be hard on drivetrains. I keep spare drivetrain and learned how to change them myself.

- The 25kph assistance limit can frustrate, on my ebike its effectively a total limit due to the motor type. There are newer motors that permit easier pedalling over 25kph however but ebikes are heavy beasts. If you are fit you might be better off with a normal bike or a choice of both depending on wind / weather etc.

- 11km without sweating is do-able also if you don't have changing facilities.