Commuting - How many miles each way

How many miles do you commute each way? I live 25 miles from work and I'm thinking about commutting to work. I live just outside of san antonio and I work virtually downtown. I have to be at work at 8:00, I should be able to make it if I leave by 6:30 or so, right?

If your ride is pretty flat, you shouldn't have much trouble getting there in time. I ride about 50 miles one way (I take public transport home) with about 3K of climbing, and it usually takes me just under 3 hours. Make sure that you leave time to shower and change.

I bike 17.5 each way. It takes me about 1 hour to go to work. If you can keep a 20mph pace then you should leave by 6:00am to get there on time and have 10 or 15 min. to cool down and get a drink and something to eat. If you are on a MTB then it will take a lot longer.

You did not give your age/fitness level. As a graying engineer I like having a safety margin. I have had 21 mile commutes (each way) and allowed 2 hours each way at the start. Took 1:41 in the summer heat. Later a 25 R/T commute took just over 2 hours total, half the way in the dark. The first two replys give very respectable times that I would love to work up to if I did not have so much urban traffic to deal with.

my commute used to be 26 but four miles was almost mountainous. Took me 1.5 -1.75 hours. Did it for years. At least twice a week.

I'm 41, out of shape, and my commute is 13 miles each way. It is slightly hilly and I do about 13 MPH (depending on the wind direction and speed) and I leave 2 hours early. So it takes me about an hour each way, and I leave an hour for a shower (female/long hair) and change, and time to get across campus to my class. It leaves me plenty of time to spare, and I like that.

The hills that seemed so huge at first now seem a lot smaller.

I am 54 and my commute to work is 5.5 miles if I take the shortest way. About a mile is uphill. It takes me about 25 minutes to get to work and about 19 to get home....

Half a block. Does that count???? I'm riding it....

About 14.5 miles each way.

You guys are freaks! 20 mph average speeds on your commute?!

I'm lucky to make 11 mph! My commute's 11 miles and it usually takes right around an hour. Even if it were perfectly flat I'd probably do not much better than 14-15mph. I would plan on at least 2 hours, maybe more considering you have to cool off, change and clean up.

I'm with Ladidah and Eggplant. Of course, I'm an old fart, but I do 16 miles one way and started out on my 63rd birthday allowing 2 hours, just so I'd have a margin. My best time yet is 63 minutes, but I still allow 90, so that I have time to change clothes and decompress (or fix a flat, or admire a wildflower, or get sidetracked some other way). I keep thinking I'm going to pour it on and decrease my time significantly, but a goodly portion of the reason I commute is to have time to reflect and cool it, and I'm damned if I'm going to make it some kind of performance exercise (except once in a while, just for the fun of it.)

Mine is just shy of 18 each way. However, I have a buddy that does 25 each way year round. I think you'll easily beat 1 1/2 hrs if you have a road bike except on days when you're fighting the wind. Don't forget, you'll really be in good shape if you're cycling 250 miles/week just on your commute

I used to do my 26 miles. It was an ok commute. The only problem, we did 12. 5 hour shifts. I particularily liked commuting for nite shift. I'd leave late afternoon and return early morn.
But, with nite shifts' and 12.5 hours- I felt a need to cool it in order to get enough sleep. With a regular 8 hour shift, I'd commute every day.
Particularily, if the ride was flat. Which, mine was not.

I do 12 miles each way, it takes an average of 40 minutes to go in and 35 to go home.

I do 8.5 each way and it is pretty much all flat. I average about 35-40 minutes in and 30 minutes or less home. Because I work at a university and have access to the locker rooms, getting all sweaty on the way in isn't a problem for me so I can go a bit faster.
Need to get myself a computer so I can figure out exactly how fast I'm going :)

16 miles each way. Takes about an hour.

14 miles each way, takes 1 hour 15 minutes through downtown with traffic. The last third is on an MUP.

Last week I did a 41 miler from a relative's home in South Elgin to Downtown Chicago.
Previous night we had a terrible & destructive storm. The first 20 miles into the Great Western Path had quite a few fallen trees accross it so I had to dismount & climb with my cross rig over my shoulder, for a second I felt like I was racing (hehe). This is a converted old railroad bed, secenery's simply gorgeous, lots of wild life.

The rest was over streets, fell one time under a bridge in Oak Park due to slippery tracks/old brick pavers. It took me 2.5 hrs, had to leave at 5:45 am.
Definitely something I don't want to do it everyday, as nice as it is..

My commute is 7 miles in and 10.5 back. I take the road less traveled to get in more miles.

I am 35 miles from home to office. I either take the bus or drive to withing 10 miles from the office and bike from there.

I drove a couple of possible routes before my first commute. I am in my third year and have many options ranging from 10 to the full 35 miles. (which I do once or twice a week. The home leg only).

11.5 each way with some hills. not much traffic as i go early. about 40 minutes.:)

I bike 5 miles to work and 10 back.

14 and change each way if I want the flat route that uses the bike path.
13 and change if I take the hilly route with about 1500 feet of climbing.
13 and a half in the winter when I take the flats but can't use the path because the towns don't pay to clear the snow from it.

normally it's an hour there and about 50 minutes back, as it's mostly uphill towards work and downhill home. Traffic lights can add about 5 minutes of time on either end.

Roughly 7 miles each way. 6 of it is on a dead flat bike trail. (OK, so there's a couple of dips in the trail where it goes underneath the bridges, but those don't really count as "hills.") The last mile is on a road with good bike lanes for most of it, and the last 0.7 miles is uphill.
I enjoy my commute because on a clear day I have a few miles on the trail with a really great view of Mt. Rainier. I'll enjoy it even more when I get my Bianchi San Jose, instead of the heavy old clunker I'm riding now.

Right now, mine is just a puddle-jumping, 10 mile round trip.
Takes about 15 minutes going to work, and 20-30 going home due to hill stack-age.
I don't even go fast, usually averaging between 10 and 30 mph both ways.
Luckily, the commute route is East and West, so the only thing I have to worry about are crosswinds.
And the MTB I'm riding isn't much of a speed demon itself either.
With that and a 20 lb backpack, the speeds I make are killer.
Now my mind is just getting out of this area I'm living in.
With these constant low-pressure systems hovering over SoCal, the Mojave Desert is like the freaking "Great Plains" of California.

Oh, and before you commute, watch or punch up the Weather Channel.

10.5 miles in. most of it on a state hwy, medium/light traffic. then a frontage road that has a nice, big decline where i hit my top speed of 38mph. 35-45 mins
8.5 miles home on another state hwy, high traffic. 30-40mins

unfortunately atlanta doesn't have the best road system for cycling...so I have to ride about 4 miles to the subway, then take the subway to a station right across from my office.

I'm trying my best to find a way to get to a farther away station to up it to about 10 miles each way

28 in the morning. 17 in the afternoon. I take a bus to shorten the trip.
I may start throwing in 1 or 2 days a week of 28 in and 28 back. Still working on that idea.

My ride is 7.5 miles each way. I ride from the East end (upper beaches for those that know) down to south Chinatown in Toronto. Takes me about 30 mins in, 45mins-1hr back home - the ride home going back up the hills that I come down in the morning.

I only ride in a max. of 3 times a week so far, the uphill and against-the-wind factors (particularly riding across the lakeshore) really seem to bog me down in terms of my muscle recovery / tiredness levels, etc.

I maintain (according to my tripcomputer) an average of anything from 12-15mph, I don't go all out but those big hills that I used to be discouraged by don't seem nearly as bad now after a few weeks of riding in. My actual 'cruise' speeds are more like 16-20mph, typically hovering around 18 though.

I'm 25 and working to get/stay in at least some 'reasonable' shape. I sweat like a person who sweats a lot, so I found a local-to-work gym with reasonable membership rates that I was able to use for my showering, as it's absolutely necessary for me and my overactive glands.. ;)

What I find myself doing on the trip home is taking an extra 20-30 mins to stop off here and there and admire some of the lesser-known/seen parks or little alcoves near the lake just to relax by, I love this part of my day and look forward to it each time I ride in.

My ride to classes and work is four miles each way. It takes about 20 minutes at my normal pace, as little as 16 if I push hard, and up to 25 if I take it real easy. Starting the day after tomorrow, my commute will become drastically shorter - maybe two thirds or three quarters of a mile. Moving is a pain, but it does have its perks!

Starting the day after tomorrow, my commute will become drastically shorter - maybe two thirds or three quarters of a mile. Moving is a pain, but it does have its perks!

Riding less is a perk? :rolleyes:

16 miles takes me about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

2.85 each way. Takes about 10-12mins. I singlespeed though and need to get a much bigger gear.

11 miles each way ... previously I was riding a 9 mile route with many long hills and lots o' traffic, until a friendly (rare around these parts - most MD cyclists won't respond to a nod) fellow cyclist showed and rode with me a new route (thanX Josh!) The new route takes me about 40 +/- minutes. The 2 extra miles doesn't make much of a difference, except my AVG MPH is better!
Also, check that those boasting 20 MPH AVG probably don't have many hills - LOL.

6.7 Miles there and ?? back. I will find out tonight how long the return trip is seeing as today was my maiden commute. ! hr left and I cant wait to get out there and ride. I will take a different route homw due to the sadistic San Francisco geography.

19 miles AM, about 90 minutes
9 miles PM, about 45 minutes, depends on Gail (high winds)

Jeff, still a bit of a fat biker

3.2 miles eachway.
- job's moving +/- 8/15/6 so commute will change to 13.0 miles each way (45 mins x2?).
- right now 15 mins gets me to/from, on average!

Before starting my new job I was riding 8k's/5 miles each way. Now it is all of 3k's/2 miles. Because it is so short I have added a rear fender to the MTB and bought some rain gear so I don't have to drive at all unless there is something else that needs to get done that day. I haven't driven to work in over 3 weeks.

My ride is 21 miles each way. Speed averages about 14 mph riding an old diamondbak apex w/slicks.

41 miles round trip. It takes me aprox. an hour and a half one way.

How many miles do you commute each way? I live 25 miles from work and I'm thinking about commutting to work. I live just outside of san antonio and I work virtually downtown. I have to be at work at 8:00, I should be able to make it if I leave by 6:30 or so, right? There are far too many variables. The main one is probably the traffic situation: how much traffic is there on the roads, how frequent are intersections with red lights, how bad are the traffic jams? The second most important variable is the terrain: is it flat or hilly, or all downhill, or all uphill? Then your physical condition is important, but I think anyone who doesn't just consider 25 miles an impossible distance to ride is in good enough physical shape to ride it in a decent amount of time. :) The type of bike you have might make some difference.

If you have luck on your side (i.e., if you can find a good route with few stops and relatively flat terrain), you'll probably be able to make it in 1.5 hrs under normal conditions. A couple of problems are these however:

1) You'll probably need some time to park your bike, clean up and change unless your job is like mine (I teach cycling right now - yay! - so I work in the clothes I wear on my commute and parking a bike means just rolling it into the room we're based in anyway).
2) If you ever get any sort of problem such as a flat tire - you'll be late.

I don't even go fast, usually averaging between 10 and 30 mph both ways. 30 mph average is not fast, eh?.. Um, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but we're in a cycling forum, not motorcycling! ;) :p

My commute is 11 miles in, 11 miles out. I make the trip (door to door) in 40-45 minutes, and that includes several stop lights. My average speed is 15.9 mph for this trip, which includes good and bad days on a cyclocross bike.

If you have a road bike, relatively flat terrain, and few stops, I think 1.5 hrs would be reasonable.

16 Miles each way. 1hr 5min in, if traffic agrees, 1hr 15 home. Home is where the hills are. Speed is about 14-15 depending. Sometime head winds are large as I ride along a river and there is often times a substantial head wind

22 to and from. 1:10-15 to, :55-1:05 home.

Add in a couple more for lunch trips and on occassion when I feel abusive another 25 for a jaunt up to Boulder for a long lunch.

9 each way. about 40 minutes to work, 35 back. My commute's a "bowl" shape, with a steeper grade TO work.

All side streets, light medium traffic but slow, and cross a few busy streets en route. Been doing it for 6 years, and one thing I like is the predictability. My commute has never taken me MORE than 45 minutes even with wind, or less than 35. I always know exactly what time I'll get home, traffic is not a factor at all.

I wear shorts/t shirt (warm under armour gear in winter), and keep some shirts and pants at work.

all the best! definetely try it. once you get used to it you'll find it's a wonderful way to break up your day, whether you're racing fast, or just putting along enjoying the scenery. (I do both depending on my mood)

22 to and from. 1:10-15 to, :55-1:05 home.

Add in a couple more for lunch trips and on occassion when I feel abusive another 25 for a jaunt up to Boulder for a long lunch.

Cripes! Those are some spiffy times :p
I so want my racing bike. 28 miles takes me 1:45 on a touring bike.

+1 what Chephy said. I have had 5 mile routes I could do in 20 minutes easily, and now have a 13.5 mile route that takes me 1 hour despite being a much stronger cyclist than I was when I had the 5 mile commute. Hills, traffic lights, stop signs, etc all will change how long it takes you. The only way to know is to go out and ride it. A test ride on the weekend is a good barometer for how long you should budget. Traffic changes during the week, but the impacts of those changes on cyclists tend to be relatively minimal.

inja- You riding the capital crescent now? I too live in silver spring, but find the 4 mile cutover to bethesda more than worthwhile for the improved ride down the cct.

fryth - One of those MD cyclists who waves.

My commute is 14.2 miles to work, 15.7 miles home (I use a different route because of traffic flows). I average between 15 and 17mph, depending on how hard I push. I shower, dress and have breakfast after arriving at work, and shower again when I get home.

0.6 miles in, 1 minute
0.8 miles home, 6 minutes