Did my first commute to work this morning on my new bike (Honda XR 125) from Putney to Farringdon.
God it was great! I drove pretty slow so it took me almost an hour (incl walking to my garage and suiting up), but I hadn’t done the route before and am fairly new to riding.
I guess the weather made it much better, and when the heavens open up I’ll be leaving it in the garage and doing the old train/bus combo journey.
Highlight: eating the dust of some woman on her scooter… wearing bright red high heels… lulz.
Tonight I will do my first night ride, on the way home, so anyone heading south through battersea/wandsworth please dont rage at the slow poke on the L plated Honda
Anyway, wanted to thank everyone who gave me advice on here and helped me out in various ways in my search for a bike. I very much appreciate it.
Glad you have had your first successful commute. Be warned however that the traffic this morning was unusually light - Mondays, the first day after the clocks change, and half-term are all relevant factors.
Keep taking it easy. It isn’t a race, it is an endurance event.
Congratulations. I remember my first commute back in '97 and recall a terrifying moment when I filtered to the front at red lights in Camberwell and was joined by another dozen bikes of all different types, including a very loud supermoto which stopped next to me. When the light changed I nearly jumped a mile from the sudden noise, and stalled the bike :laugh:Use your commonsense, do your lifesaves, be sure to expect the unexpected, keep to a sensible speed, and you should be fine. And a set of loud horns help :crazy:Also I totally recommend that you do this…http://www.bikesafe.co.uk/
You certainly picked a lovely day for it.