Commuting - Commuting speed

Howdy folks,
I'm hoping to get some feedback on how fast people are going when they commute.perhaps just an average of how long it takes you from your front door to your workplace and kilometers/miles travelled.

Thanks-Andre

My commute was 5.2 miles (8.3 km) one-way, and I usually rode my mountain bike rather than my road bike because it was easier to carry things, the roads were pretty rough in places, lots of glass from the liquor industry's success stories, etc.

I would average 10.5 miles per hour consistently, and 11.5 miles per hour on days when I got real sweaty.

The route had some short fairly steep hills, but was generally what you'd call flat.

So--I'm no speed demon. I find the concept of "perceived exertion," which I first read about in Runner's World magazine, very useful, and as a result I don't pay much mind to speed, just to how I feel during and after a ride. Speed, as far as I'm concerned, is for racers.

I would also regularly measure my pulse and blood pressure at home, (I have an inherited tendency to high blood pressure) and was generally mightily pleased!

5 miles each way. I generally average 15 mph, or 20 minutes for the ride. In terms of planning, I figure 1/2 an hour, which includes 10 minutes to tidy up and cool down before starting work.

My commute is 5 miles each way and I have been averaging 15 miles an hour. Although, the other day I had a good tailwind on the way home and made it there with a 17.3 average. Even though I could barely breathe when I fell into the yard, it was sort of fun. I ride a MTB, but it has slicks on it, so I don't know what that means.

My commute is 6 miles each way. It takes me about 24-25 minutes in the morning, (more down-hill)...and about 30 minutes in the afternoon, (when I pull more hills.) Some days are better, but that's the average. I ride a Giant Cypress setup as a commuter bike.

Speed isn't everything, but it does make the trip more interesting to watch your stats. I recently picked up a cyclecomputer Sigma BC600, and I realized my route was a mile further than I thought! I must have been peddling "country miles" as my Daddy used to say.

I put more emphasis on the speed getting in to work, and relax a little on the return home. :)

My shortest distance in to work is 16km and I generally average around 25km/hr. I rarely go the same route though as I usually extend either the trip there or home, depending on how much time I have. It can run anywhere from the above to 30-40kms.

Factors such as traffic, red lights, hilly terrain, wind, overall weight of the load and your personal riding style/training level will affect average speed, which can also vary from one ride to the next.

My commute is urban/suburban, "hilly" terrain, carrying several pounds extra load. My 14 to 15 mile trip takes about an hour.
I never expect to go any faster.

Although I often take "the road less travelled" to avoid congested traffic in the afternoons, one of my favorite joys is to
take a congested artery instead. I love passing long lines of crawling traffic. It's my way of saying "Nya-nya-nya-nya-nya!":p

It's 14.4 miles each way. In the morning, it's taken me as little as 40 minutes, so far. On the way home, it takes me about 1 hour and 15 minutes at my fastest. I gain about 700 feet elevation on the way home.

My wife and I are house shoping. She keep looking at houses on the top of hills. This use to be my desire too, but now, from a biking perspective, I'm starting to have second thoughts....:D

7 miles from the house to work, but I add an extra little detour to make it 10 miles. I average 16 MPH, and the commute takes anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. I leave for work an hour early, so I have a little extra time to get cleaned up and ready for the day.

My commute is 5 miles. It almost always takes me right at 24 minutes, so I average 12.5 mph. When I keep track of my time between known mile marks, my speed varies from 9 mph on the uphills to 26 mph on the flats and downhills. Contrary to popular belief, there are very few long flat areas in Kansas.

Jonathan

My 8.7 mile inbound commute usually takes about 50 minutes by the clock. My computer, which measures only actual moving time registers anywhere from 38-44 minutes, depending on wind and just how I feel. On flat land with no wind, I usually maintain 15-16 mph by the speedometer, but with decelerations and accelerations at stop signs and red lights the average drops to 13-13.5. For all of the reasons mentioned, you have to allow for slower speeds and elapsed times commuting than you can achieve on more open roads.
Regards,
Raymond

Originally posted by jramsey
Contrary to popular belief, there are very few long flat areas in Kansas.

Jonathan
You can say that again, neighbor! :)

Hi folks,
Thanks for all the replys,now i'll convert all those miles into kilometers to get an idea of speed.
Thank god for Aerobat ,no math required to read his posts!;)

Andre

1.44 miles, and at an easy pace, it takes me 7 1/2 minutes to get to work. I love being so close to work.

The winner of the Boston Marathon this year came in right at 2 hours - I figure if a person can run an average of 13 mph (about 22 kph), I ought to be able to ride a bicycle that fast.

My commute is about 4 miles going in, 4.5 coming home. It's pretty easy to keep a 13+mph average. It's those longer rides on the weekends that are harder to maintain the speed.

c~

I probably AVERAGE about 13.5 miles per hour. This is because my commute is in the city and I have to stop for traffic lights and traffic.

Also, I wear my work close when I bike, so I don't get gonzo enough on the ride to get too sweaty. I have to walk in looking fresh, smiling, and ready to hop right on the work.

Probably on the longer stretches, I hit 17 to 20 miles per hour or so depending on traffic and wind.

I always feel very left out when I read posts, here or elsewhere (yes, there are other bike forums, but they really seem crummy after you've been on this one any time! :) )--about average speeds.

Because I've never been able to maintain an average speed much over 10.5 miles per hour, on either my mountain bike or road bike, commuting or otherwise. All my riding is done in the city with lots of traffic lights and perils and such, but they don't really count because the MTB computer has auto start/stop, and the new one on my road bike does too--it's 10.5 or so, regardless.

If there were no hills, the average would probably be about 12. Still way below what everybody else seems to ride.

Oh, well. I hope there's some other poor soul out there that may read this and realize he or she is not alone. Maybe people with poor averages like mine just don't post about it.

Originally posted by JonR
I always feel very left out when I read posts about average speeds.

Because I've never been able to maintain an average speed much over 10.5 miles per hour, on either my mountain bike or road bike, commuting or otherwise.

Actually, Jon, based on my rides with other people 10.5 miles per hour is respectable. I believe that MOST people average about 9.5 to 10.5 miles per hour. My commute is getting faster because I am so familiar with the route, traffic signs, short cuts, and I am getting stronger.

Two things account for the fast speeds being reported:

1) The zippie riders are most likely to post their speeds.

2) Most people don't really know their AVERAGE speed. They see the cyclometer reading, say 14 mph for a stretch and they say, "Ooh look, I am averaging 14 miles per hour!". I calculate average speed by dividing the distance by the time it takes to do it.

Gosh, Jon, don't feel bad about that speed...this is the commuting forum, not the racing one! When I ride to work, it is on 7 miles of relativly flat highway with very light traffic and no traffic lights! Actually, there's not a traffic light in the whole county! What a great place to bike!:D I bet riding in your environment would slow anyone down, I know it would me!

Hello all! Just found out about this place, thought I'd chime in...

Since my commute is just about the only time I get to do any serious riding, I try to make it count by treating it as much like a "training ride" as I can. Fortunately, the office is equipped with lockers and showers so I can get presentable after a good ride :)

Even though I live in the US, I like to have my bike's computer set to Km; my commute is 20Km each way, on essentially flat terrain (the Central Valley of CA)--the only "hills" around here are freeway overpasses!. There are only a few traffic lights outside of the city where I work; even within the city there aren't many between the office and the city limits.

In the mornings, when the air is still, I manage to ride to work in around 45-50 min; the computer says my ride-time average is usually around 30Km/h. In the afternoons, during spring, summer and fall, there's usually a decent tailwind all the way home; direct-route ride-time can then drop below 40 min and average speed can climb up to around 32Km/h.

I don't really know how long it takes me--I'm probably super slow. When I do ride into work, I try to ride in before the regularly scheduled trains rolls in, and the railroad crossing lights start.

When I'm out riding by myself (just to ride around town) I figure, as long as I'm going faster than the neighbor kid's scooter, I'm good to go. :D

My hubby just started riding with me this week, and he has a tendency to race me down the block, right before we get to our house. He never tells me we're racing...just starts pedalling faster towards the end of our ride. Of course, I let him ride past, me...or at least that's my excuse. hehe ;)

Originally posted by technogirl
My hubby just started riding with me this week, and he has a tendency to race me down the block, right before we get to our house. He never tells me we're racing...just starts pedalling faster towards the end of our ride. Of course, I let him ride past, me...or at least that's my excuse. hehe ;)

Good strategy! ;) Get him hooked on cycling AND help him feel the he-man! What a woman, of course he will eventually figure out that women are pretty much ONLY the weaker sex in physical strength! (Of course, that is why you should re-gear your bike as he gets his cycling legs!) :p

My current commute starts off with a 25 minute/ 5.25 mile ride to the train station, waiting around for the train, 20 minutes on the train, and then a 25 minute /4.5 mile ride to work.

The only bad part of this is that the Chicago Metra train only runs about once an hour, so I always deliberately have to leave early so that I don't risk missing the train.

(The Chicago El train is much more bicycle friendly. If you miss a train, the next one should be by in just a few minutes. The Chicago mayor, Richard Daley, has talked about extending the El out to the western suburb of Schaumburg, where there are a lot of businesses. Although his motivation for doing so is to increase access to O'Hare Airport from the western 'burbs, it would be a very good thing for those of us who prefer not to use cars.)

In the last year I've had several part time jobs. 9.9 miles/48 minutes. 12.5 miles/1:20 21 miles/2:20 10.5miles/58 minutes. In all the rides the first five miles was heavy suburban traffic and stop lights. Say an average of 11 to 12 MPH. Rider, bike and all the gear ran 260 pounds for night riding. When I can drop the lights and work in bike gear make it 13 to 14 MPH. Cold weather (32 to 40 degrees) and rain slows things down. Consider fenders.

This time of year I'm averaging about 13-14 mph going to work and about 12-13 coming home. My commute is 8 miles. In warmer weather (60F+) I average 14-16 going to work and 13-15 coming home. I ride a mountain bike.

My commute is a bit over 9 miles. My average speed is around 11.

Once in a while I catch myself doing 15 or faster. That is when I stop pedaling, coast a bit and get myself back on the 11 mph track. After all, if I was in a hurry, I wouldn't be on a bike.

Oh, well. I hope there's some other poor soul out there that may read this and realize he or she is not alone. Maybe people with poor averages like mine just don't post about it.


I might be faster, but I envy anyone that can actually commute to work on a bicycle. Its impossible for me. I'm a programming contractor and my shortest distance in the past 6 years has been 1 hour and 15 minutes each way in a car.

Besides, the real reason most of us ride a bike is because you can enjoy the outdoors while getting some exercise, right?

In warm weather my best time was 1 hr. 4 mins on 16M commute, usually ran me about 110. Had been dabbling in cold weather, laid up for a bit w/ unexpected surgery :(

2 mile commute averaging 11+ mph and taking about 11 min to get there.

On my old Hardrock, I'm no speed demon, especially with the studded fat tires on now. My 3.5 mile commute takes 14 minutes on a good night, so I guess about 14 mph average. The other night in 6-8 inches of fresh falling snow, it took 40 minutes.

16 mph's a pretty good average, bullethead :)


My commute's 6 miles (~10 km) in one direction. I climb uphill in the morning and so it takes me awhile - 35 - 40 min. I have more energy later in the day in general :P In the afternon it takes me about 25 min.

I ride a little over 6 miles to work. It generally takes me 30 minutes and I try to maintain a cruising speed of 15 when I can. Cyclometers can be deceiving about average speeds. My best average according to the cyclometer was 13.9 mph. On that particular day I rode up to red lights and stop signs and stopped abruptly. On another day I coasted slowly into intersections timing lights so I didn't have to stop. My average speed was about 12 mph. On both days it took me the same amount of elapsed time to get to work.

My ride is 31.5 mi each way. My avg time in the morning (when traffic is light- 3:30-4a) is 1hr 35 min. The evening gets way longer time wise because of traffic (6:30 p or so) and runs from 1hr 40-55 min due to the slowing for lights....

My commute is 13 miles each way. Most of it is flat, straight, road or expressway. I use a road bike. If there's no wind, my average speed is 17-18 mph.

15 miles each way in the fall/winter/early spring, half parkway, half urban & residential, one decent climb each way, takes about an hour with an average speed of 16mph on a dry, not yucky day. All bets are off when the weather turns bad and I give myself an extra 1/2 - 1 hour, or just drive.

In the summer I'll do the full 45 each way 2-3 times a week. I have a stretch of decent climbs on the full route, so I am doing good if I make it in less than 3 hours.

I'm currently looking for a new job that will cut down the commute distance and enable me to ride every day in any weather.

I do not have a cycling computer. Using google pedometer and my watch results in these times.

Short distance (only on lazy days. Mostly bus and a little bike): 3 mile each way. 20-15 min
Average distace (most days. half bus half bike): 18 miles each way. 1 hr
Long form: 35 miles each way (when I feel up to it. all bike). 2.5 hrs

I don't pay attention to my commute speed, but as it's only three miles, all the time in parking lots and at stoplights and what not must kill my average speed.

I only pay attention to average speeds for the rides I do during a triathlon. Other times, I'm either riding for fun or doing something specific where average speed is not important. I do keep track of it though (distance travelled / elapsed time including stopped time), so here you go:

My average speed to work varies signifiantly by weather/bike/tires etc. I have 3 ways to work...two of them are 5 miles, the other 8 one way. 5-mile 1 average is typically 12mph or so in good weather conditions on my cyclocross bike with slicks (lots of stopping and have to cross a major hwy with no stop in cross traffic). 5-mile 2 I average about 11, but its newly opened so I've only done it in snow/cold conditions on my hybrid. That 11 mph is into the prevailing wind. Coming home the other day my overall avg ended up as 17 mph. Gotta love a 20 mph tailwind the whole way home. The 8 mile route I've done in both poor and fabulous conditions. Typically in good weather on my cross bike with 700-28s I avg about 16 mph or so with an all time high of 19.8 mph when I hit all the lights without having to slow down, no wind 67 deg F. That was my sprint workout for the day. In cold/snowy weather on my hybrid I average about 11-12 mph.

Now the measure that really matters: how long does it take you from when you hop on your bike to when you start working? For me this is almost always 1 hr. If I go slower I tend to be faster with locking up the bike and showering...If I go faster I lose the time gained recovering from the workout and walking slower, pausing longer etc after locking up the bike. In the end, all that matters is that if I need to be at work by 7:30, I need to straddle the bike at 6:30.

17.4 miles to work, about 800' of climbing, 1:10 to 1:20,
15.9 miles home, about 500' of climbing, between 0:55 and 1:10.

I might be faster, but I envy anyone that can actually commute to work on a bicycle. Its impossible for me. I'm a programming contractor and my shortest distance in the past 6 years has been 1 hour and 15 minutes each way in a car.

Besides, the real reason most of us ride a bike is because you can enjoy the outdoors while getting some exercise, right?

For me bike commuting and riding for exercise are different experiences. When I work-out I usually push myself much harder and am faster but also more tired in the end. I go to a more desolate country road or a bike path somewhere so that I dont have to deal with traffic, stopping, slowing down, etc. Commuting is more about riding when conditions aren't optimal, when I don't necessarily feel like it, when the weather is bad, when there's lots of traffic, in short it's more about testing myself :D There's no parking at work too, so unless I want to ride the stinky bus... :rolleyes:

Now that winter is upon us it has devastated my "average" speed. I'm just happy to get to ride, do it safely and go whatever speed is necessary to do that. When snow and ice are not an issue my 10.7 mile commute into town via some streets and about 8 miles of bike path with mulitiple intersections takes any where from 33 minutes to 40 minutes depending on how much sleep I've had, what the wind is like and if I get motivated to kick it up a bit. On most days I'm carrying a briefcase and a backpack in my milkcrate on a hybrid type bike, which with fenders, lights, lock and cable, weighs in at about 35 lbs.

I wish I could say I am detached from the whole speed issue but the distance I rack up and the speed at which I do it does serve as a motivator at times. I definitely notice if my speed (really my time in minutes) falls below or rises above my "average".

If I push the pace on the way in it's usually because I'm late- the ride home is either lazy- I'll sometimes stop and have a beer in the summer or just sit by the river or I'll hammer home just for the fun and the exercise.

I get about 30 minutes of good exercize most days, 20 on other days when I go the short way. I don't think your actual speed matters to anyone but you. I like to track it, just to make sure I keep pushing myself.

I average 31 minutes for my 6.4 mile commute, with an average speed of a little over 12 mph. I ride a hybrid with upright handlebars. I have two hills to climb, only one is big. They really get my heartrate up!

On my flat, shortcut route (which I took today, since the longer route requires use of the bikepath, which is not plowed or maintained), of 4.5 miles, I average 20 minutes and go a little faster.

8.6 miles each way on my mtn bike, relatively flat, driveway to driveway....22~26 minutes depending on the day and lights. If I see the "Honeywell" commuter, my times are on the lower side, I kind of like to torment him :D

25k each way. 60 min almost exactly riding time according to cycloputer, about hour and 10-15 min total elapsed time with stops. And i do about 1200 ft climb each way.

I'm not sure what my speed is, but I do know I get going faster than 50 km/h on the way in on the big downhill. On the flats, I probably hit 40 for a few blocks at a time. With the inevitable lights, I probably average 20 km/h, but when I'm moving it's closer to 30 km/h on the way in, 25 km/h on the way out...

18 miles each way. Usually around 15 MPH in the winter on the dedicated commuter bike. Between 17-18 in the summer when I don't have to carry so much extra stuff.

Okay.. I'll answer in Kilometers =D

I'm commuting straight north/south in East Vancouver.
I go from Hastings to Marine.
My route is 13.1 km long, and it takes me anywhere from 35 to 40 minutes.
I guess thats an average speed of 22km/h

Depending on my route, it's 18 miles (29 km) or 12 miles (19.3 km) each way.
The cyclometer usually shows my avg between 12.5 mph (20.1 kph) and 13.5 mph (21.7 kph). However, coming into work is a bit more uphill than going home, so it regularly drops to as low as 10 mph (16 kph) in the mornings.
I think my record average in getting home was 15 mph (24.1 kph) and I've only pushed that hard once :o.


(edit) - My commute regularly takes somewhere around 1 hour and 45 minutes up to 2 hours.

My commute is 7 miles with a fair bit of climbing and takes me exactly 30 minutes most days.

My commute is 15 miles in and 17.5 home (I take a different route to avoid one nasty stretch of road at rush hour). I maintain a detailed log of each ride so I've got good historical numbers to compare to/with. I also know the distance of my commute so I can figure the average speed using distance/time and then compare to what my cyclecomputer says.

My ride to work takes somewhere between 42min53sec (feeling really good, riding my LeMond & getting lucky with the lights as I run the last 5 miles through town) & 59min21sec (10 degrees out and riding my fixed gear commuter & hitting almost all the reds). As such, my average speed runs the gamute between 15mph & 21 mph for the commute to work.

My ride home (provided I don't extend it which, during the spring/summer/fall I generally do when I'm feeling good) takes somewhere between 56min54secs & 1hr 8min 44sec. As I generally don't end up riding straight home when I'm feeling in the zone, my average speed doesn't get up there like it does in the morning: commute home average speed hovers somewhere between 15 & 18.5mph.

I commute 5 days a week provided that there's no snow/ice on the roads (that's where my wife draws the line right now). During the winter my commute is more for base building. During the spring/summer/fall my commute ends up being more varied intensity wise depending on what my goals are, how I feel and what bike I'm riding.