I did it! My first cycle commute

It may surprise you to know that I don't cycle to work. Although it is the most obvious way to make regular use of my bike I only ever use it for adventures on days away and overnight trips. But today I tried cycle commuting for the first time.

The Meadows, Edinburgh. Most of my cycle route is through The Meadows

Like many people the reason that I have not cycled to work until now is that I did not fancy being amongst Edinburgh's horrendous rush hour traffic. According to Autocar Edinburgh is the fifth most congested city in Europe. My love of cycling is about it being an enjoyable way to travel- grappling with high levels of traffic is not my idea of fun.

For the last few weeks I began to notice a potential low-traffic route to work. I cycled parts of it, walked it and rehearsed it in my mind. It is not the most direct route, but it avoids some of the busy roads and the majority of it is actually completely traffic-free. This is the cycle pathways in the Meadows, the green heart of Edinburgh. These pathways are wonderful- wide enough for bikes to travel in both directions and a separate section for pedestrians. I think this is easily the best cycling infrastructure in the city and the closest we have to the wonderful cycle networks they have in Copenhagen.

The Meadows

The other great thing about the Meadows is that you are cycling among trees, grass and birdsong. You could not ask for more in a morning commute.

This morning I gave it a go and it went very well. I really enjoyed it. I was travelling quite early in the morning, before the rush hour kicks off, so it was probably a lot easier than if I was cycling after 8am. The last section is on potentially busy roads, but earlier in the morning they are a lot simpler to tackle.

The Meadows path ends at Forrest Road where there is a cycle lane, but I then have to move out of this cycle lane in order to turn right onto Chambers Street. As a pedestrian I observed this section of my route in rush hour traffic and it made me nervous. I decided that if it was very busy there was no shame in getting off my bike and wheeling it along the pavement and crossing the road on foot, but I did not have to do that today- it was nice and quiet.

Would I do it again? If the weather is good tomorrow I probably will. I enjoyed it and would like to make it a regular thing. I am not too sure about tackling it at peak commuting time and may just stick to cycling on the days that I start work earlier. We shall see what tomorrow brings...