Commuting - My first (and possibly last) day as a commuter

Sitting at home this morning kinda regretting not getting up early enough to go for a decent ride before work, a light bulb went on in my head. I threw all my clothes and cosmetics in my backpack, put on my bike clothes and threw a leg over my bike. Nine miles, 30 minutes, and a nice shower later, I'm here at work being unproductive, as usual:D Why didn't I do this sooner??

On a mixed note, this is my last day here, and since I don't have a new job yet, I don't know if I'll be within riding distance of a new gig. I hope so, because bike commuting gives you a real sense of freedom as you cruise by gridlocked traffic. My co-workers were a little impressed at my effort, too (there's not much of a bike culture around here). Oh well, I hope I get a chance to do this again. Keep it up, guys. Every little thing makes a difference.

Better late than never! Here's hopin' you get the chance to do it again soon!

If you are close enough to drive, you are close enough to ride.

Yeah, if you don't mind your commute taking as long as your work day.

I know people who commute an hour by car, traveling at 65-70 mph most of the way. Even if there were a safe road that covered the same distance, let's say they average 15 mph. Heck, let's be generous and say they manage a 20mph average. That means it takes them roughly three to three-and-a-half hours one way. Two hours per day in a car is bad enough without spending 6-7 hours on a bike. In my case, you're talking about me leaving the house at 4:00 in the morning and getting home at around 7:00 (on the nights when I don't have to drive across town to my second job.)

I like the idea of bike commuting, and if I get the job I'm applying for in a town a few miles away, I'll probably give it a shot. But to claim that driving and riding should be the same thing over the same distances is to deny reality.

What am I missing?

Yeah, if you don't mind your commute taking as long as your work day.

I know people who commute an hour by car, traveling at 65-70 mph most of the way. Even if there were a safe road that covered the same distance, let's say they average 15 mph. Heck, let's be generous and say they manage a 20mph average. That means it takes them roughly three to three-and-a-half hours one way. Two hours per day in a car is bad enough without spending 6-7 hours on a bike. In my case, you're talking about me leaving the house at 4:00 in the morning and getting home at around 7:00 (on the nights when I don't have to drive across town to my second job.)

I like the idea of bike commuting, and if I get the job I'm applying for in a town a few miles away, I'll probably give it a shot. But to claim that driving and riding should be the same thing over the same distances is to deny reality.

What am I missing?You're probably not missing anything, but in my opinion anybody who spends that much time commuting, whether by car or bike, is wasting their life. We are fortunate to live in a country where most of us have almost infinite choices about where we live and work. Why do so many people choose so badly?

Honestly, I don't see an hour commute as all that bad. But then, it has always taken me about an hour to get to work. I live in a small town about 35 miles from Springfield, IL and Springfield is where the jobs are. Certainly more than half this town leaves every morning!

Now, if I get the job in Auburn, a much closer small town, I'll be riding a total of about 15 miles one way. That will still take me around an hour, maybe a little less, whereas I could do the same trip in maybe 15-20 minutes in the car. And I'll probably need to shower and change when I get there (I teach school, so my workplaces generally have locker rooms) But I suppose I've been conditioned to think of <1 hour as the cutoff for a reasonable commute.

I'm just saying that "close enough to drive" is NOT the same thing as "close enough to bike" in the real world for most people. If you had no wife or kids and your hobby was cycling, then hey, more power to you, but that's not my situation nor is it probably typical.

And to suggest that I shouldn't commute at all amounts to suggesting that I move my family every time I change jobs. I'd simply rather commute than do that, and that goes double for living in anything more urban than my small town.

Up untill 2 weeks ago I was commuting 5 hours a day which meant leaving home at 4.30AM, now my commute is only 1 hour each way. I really miss my longer commute so I stretch my evening commute to 2 - 3 hours.

Leaving early is actually quite enjoyable as you beat the peak traffic. I still leave early because my current position is flexible enough to cater for it, so I get out a bit earlier and go longer in the evening...... Don't be worried about long commuting, once you get into the rhythm of it, it doesn't seem so long any more.