Road Cycling: How far would you commute?

last year i was riding 15 miles each way to school, averaging 3 times a week before winter hit. 

 now i am riding 3 miles each way. i have transfered and moved

i might do up to 20 miles one way if the route was enjoyable.

 i am a fair weather rider however, if it is hinting at rain i drive.

I currently commute a total of 10 miles round trip, but would be willing to commute up to 20 or 30 miles round trip if I had a scenic route without crazy traffic (so that the ride would be enjoyable).  I currently live in Tucson, so I ride to work year round - but the sweat factor is pretty bad in the summer.  I work at the university so I do have access to showers at the rec center, but it costs $$ to join so I end up using paper towels (& more deodorant!).

More than 15 miles 1-way would probably be too far for me b/c I would consider that time as part of my work day.  Conversely I would ride much further than that for fun, but the key is that a fun ride is more scenic and you don't do the same route every day.    

I used to do 20 miles roundtrip in Phoenix which was fun most of the time. But as someone alreay said... very sweaty in the summertime!

I do about 4 miles roundtrip now, since moving and I love it most days. I am very ready for the summer to be over so that these short trips can be a tad less sweaty.

The scary part about biking here in Phoenix is that people are not on the lookout for cyclists and I have been hit by a car once. Luckily, I walked away unharmed, but my bike wasn't so lucky!

-Flannery 

My daily commute is 15 miles each way, but don't enjoy any shower facilities when I get there. I usually just end up splashing in the sink, and putting on some clean clothes from my locker. This isn't too bad for most of the year, but in the summer heat, it's kind of a drag.

I guess I'm living proof that you don't NEED a car, even here in Southern California. My rides to and from work are actually the best part of my day. 

I have a 30 mile commute each way that has some decent climbs (a few miles at 7% grade).  If I am lazy on the way home I put my bike on the bus and cut off about 20 miles.  I have a shower at my office and for the time being I am the only one that uses it.  During the winter months it gets tough because of the limited daylight.  I can't wait for spring.

I do an 18.5mile round trip about 3 or 4 times a week - takes about 45 minutes there & about 55 minutes back, due to the hill back up to home.

I do 10.5 each way, 4 of 5 days per week, on average, year round.

I also add additional miles, sometimes before, sometimes after work, up to 60-70 miles on some days, and ride a total of 10,000 plus per year.

If I were commuting only, I would probably see 20-25 as a max. But given the additional riding I do, 10 is perfect.

I am fortunate enough to have a flexible schedule and work mostly just afternoons in an office and additional hours at home on weekends and evenings. 

I don't have access to showers at my office, but keep toiletries and basically wash up using the bathroom sink. Body spray is a wonderful thing.

I have done 12 miles.  In the summer it is easier because it is light earlier in the morning and stays light laters.  I won't commute in the dark anymore since I have been hit and ended up being unable to ride for months afterward.

 The other issue on distance is the availability of a safe route to me.  I am still a little car shy after getting hit so won't ride main arteries at all.

My commute isn't long enough. It's 13km (which, apparently, is about eight miles). However, I think you should take a look at this.

http://www.tredzblog.co.uk/2007/09/cycle-commuting.html

This guy commutes from Swansea to Cardiff and back...every day. If you don't know Wales very well, that's an amazing 43 miles each way. I believe a tip of the hat is in order.

My commute is ~10mi each way.  Would be happy to do ~15 or so each way.  Am trying to average 2 days/week right now and sticking to fair weather for the time being.

 It's about 80min round trip - faster downhill than up.  Compared to about 40-60min round trip in the car I see it as being able to squeeze 80min of exercise into 30min of time. :)

There's a shower at work, which i'm sure I'll need once it's over 70F in the morning, but so far it's been 40-60F and no problem.

I'm interested to see if I keep it up once summer hits and it's 80F+ in the morning and 90F+ for the ride home.

I ride all year round.  I commute to school 11 miles one way.  Then I usually do a ride after or before whether it be mountain bike or road.

I shower before I leave.  Then once I arrive a freshen up.  I average 15 miles per hour to school to keep the sweet down.  I have a locker at school where I keep soap and body spray.  I go into class looking and smelling as though I drove. 

20 to 25 one way if it is a nice shot; few traffic lights.

I commute 6 in the AM in the streets of Chicago - stopping at all red lights (unlike my fellow riders) - this makes for great interval training with speeds up to 30 mph in short distances and great starts off the light.  Nice bird bath as my wife calls it clean up in the office restrooms and change of clothes.  With this type of riding I generally do 10 to 15 on the way home followed by a nice shower.

Commute via bike is best for all.

I live 40 km (25mi) from work and have commuted 4 days/week from there with a Wednesday break, but my legs got a bit tired.  From home it is between 85 and 110 minutes, with the slow times on rainy days.  It's quicker to drive two of my sons to their high school and ride from there - only 26.5km (16.5mi).  Then I get to talk to the boys for 15 minutes, and the ride is a few minutes under an hour.  Both options compare well with the 110 minute tram and bus ride home on public transport - and that is getting more crowded as fuel prices go up.

I started graphing my BMI against my speed in km/h to work back in Sept last year when i started commuting.  They were 29 and 20 respectively.  Now they have crossed so my BMI is 26 point something, my average speed is around 28 or 29, and some weight has disappeared!  Life is good.

I commute 22 miles each way, 4 days per week on average. I have been fortunate to find a route with only a few miles of heavy traffic exposure.  We have a shower at the office that no one else uses.  I work in a conservative firm, so it was a bit of a shock to some the first day I carried my bike in covered in spandex and road grime.  

I generally drive in on Monday and leave suits, shirts, ties, toiletries, etc. in my office and leave my car in the parking garage until Friday.  That way I have a car at the office in case I need to head to an offsite meeting or run an errand.  On the continum between completely hostile and completely supportive, I would say my firm is on the supportive side of neutral.  The key for me (and many others) is making sure that there is no negative effect on my availability, performance or appearance based on my choice to commute by bike in a car-centric metro area.

The best part is, as I commute in, I smile at every Prius and think, "What a wasteful fossil fuel burning anacrhonism that is..."  I actually get to out-self righteous the Prius drivers. That's way up the self righteous scale...

Hello All,

I'm living in the Phoenix AZ area and doing 40 miles round trip. It's not too hilly but both out and back I have a 9 mile slow steady upgrade. I've been doing this for the last few months. I'm hoping to be able to keep it up when the temps hit 100+.

Chuck

Crazymuter:

 

 

Aloha everyone...

I'm curious to know, that given adequate shower/locker facilities at the end of your ride, how far would you consider commuting by bike? 

How far is too far for you?

What is the farthest you have actually commuted? 

 

Thanks!

 

CM 

 I commute 9 miles to work each day.  My wife comes by on Monday afternoon to drop off clothes and Friday afternoon to pick them up.  Mon, Wed, Fri when I go to the gym, it is a 4.5 mile ride that I modify routes to get in between the 4.5 miles up to 35 miles.  Tuesday and Thursday, I take the long way home about 15 miles or the longer way home which is 25 miles. 

I commute 28 miles round trip every other week. Work is 40 miles away and I carpool with a buddie. When it's my buddies turn to drive I ride to his house, 14 miles. Also, I ride the full 40 miles to work when I go on-call about every 10 weeks.

Because of the traffic here in SoCal I get home about 15 minutes later than I would if I had driven. The 28 mile ride takes me 1:20 and the 40 mile ride takes 2:10. Since my start time at work is 06:30 AM I have to leave at 04:30 or 03:15 respectively. Have to make sure you have good head lights as it's really dark at these hours. Never had any trouble with traffic.

Work is great about it. We have full locker/shower plus I get incentives for carpooling (bike riding is concidered carpooling). Generally I get to take off a little early when I go off-call and ride the full 40 miles home.

I live in Leicester, UK. I ONLY cycle to work. Whilst my wife owns a car, I do not, so really I have no choice but to cycle to work, doing so for the last 22 years. Distance to work is 5.85miles, and takes 35minutes from home to office desk, including changing into office clothes in the changing room at work.

In general a good cycling commuting distance is considered to be about 5miles. Any less and you benefit less from heart training effect, much more and the commute becomes a chore (so unlikely to become a regular lifetime activity), as well as using a disproportionate amount of your valuable time, as compared to the average UK commute time of 45minutes and 8.5miles (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3085647.stm)

I'm one of the lucky ones, my commute is a mere 2.66 miles. There fore I do find myself seeking longer and longer routes, so as to your question. I fear I wood commute a ridiculous amount of miles, which I wood also seek lodging closer.

Weather is a large factor in commuting. 4 seasons or 4 different training sessions. be safe.

Ride Defensively.

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