Commuting - newbie questions

Ok im looking at a 4 mile commute one way. im going to try it this sat, but about how long should it take me?
next do any of you have weight goals? i thinking if i can get myself down to 250 i can look into another bike. Hehe i talked my wife into trying my bent. well she crashed she wasnt impressd with the pedals being up like they are. and as ive been trying to find ways to get the family out and about i took her to the LBS to test ride a EZ 1 she loved it so there is hope left. and i got to try a real bent a Rans V something and i think i like the longer wheel base better so if i can loose the weight i want either a EZ or maybe a Tailwind ( dont think either would hold me for long as i am anyway).
and how much weight do you hual with you ? my bent has alot more weight then either of the bents we test rode and with hauling a lunch as well as my work boots xand what ever i need for work im going to have alot to move.

Thanks

I think 15 mins at an easy pace.

4 miles will not take very long even if you walk.
Definitely great idea to ride!

As far as weight, I don't know, but myself would like to find out, what weights are regular bikes designed for.
Never seen such information before.
If anyone knows, please share.
Good luck with your cycling, Mike in Kansas.

Originally posted by Mike in KS
Ok im looking at a 4 mile commute one way. im going to try it this sat, but about how long should it take me?
and how much weight do you hual with you ? my bent has alot more weight then either of the bents we test rode and with hauling a lunch as well as my work boots xand what ever i need for work im going to have alot to move.

Thanks

Try and limit what you're carrying with you if you can. Work boots are a pain to carry on a bike, I've worn mine on the bike instead of carrying them (and carried shoes for the way home). I leave my work boots at work, saves a whole lot of problems.

16 minutes

If you have 4 miles with 4 traffic lights, count on 20 min...
And for the weight loss goal, you can estimate 1 lb lost for every 100 miles (that is if you current weight is stable and you can manage not to start eating more once you begin commuting)
I leave a pair of shoes at the office and carry shirt/pants/socks/undies... But my ride is 12.25 miles so I wear bike shorts and perspire enough to need a change of cloths.

Rule of thumb: if you can average 15 mph (pretty easy), then you cover 1 mile every 4 minutes.

I average, according to my computer, anywhere from 16-18 mph on my commutes, but I find the 4 min/mile rule a very accurate one since it accomodates the time spent at stop signs and lights.
Using this rule, I can predict my arrival time anywhere in the city (as long as I know the distance) to within a minute or two--much more accurately than I can in a car.

Dave

Mike: Welcome to the commuting world. I'm a new commuter and so far I have loved the experience. As others have pointed out try to limit how much stuff you have to carry back and forth with you. When I first started I carried shoes, pants, shirt, socks, etc, etc on my back. The extra weight made for a tougher than expected ride. What I do now is take a weeks worth of clothes to the office on Sunday. Each day I put my socks, t-shirt and underwear in my backpack along with lunch. Carrying this lighter load is much better :)

Once a week I drive to work and on that day I'll take home all of the dirty clothes so I can wash them over the weekend.

Good luck with your commute and let us know how things go for you.

Zack

ive been thinking about this a little and im thinking about trying to build a trailer. ive seen a couple nice home made ones on the web. that way i canb haul bulky items with out trying to balance it out on the bike just need to figure out what i want to make it out of.