Commuting - How do you ride your commute?

By this question, I'm asking whether you ride your commute absolutely flat out or just cruise and simply ensure you get to work on time. I'm probably somewhere in between. I tend to ride slightly within myself during a commute because I like having that little bit of extra acceleration when I need it (seems to be happening more and more often lately). So what does everyone else do?

I usually ride as quickly as comfortable, but tend to leave later than I should, requiring some urgency on the trip. Lately I've found that I weigh more than I'd like to, so I've been making a conscious effort to do more hammering on the way to and from to try and lose a little weight. I'd like to just cruise into work, but just can't seem to not ride fast (unless there's a huge headwind)

I usually ride my commute like the hounds of hell are snapping at my heels.

Usually, when I'm late for home, they are. When I'm going to work, I just try to shoot for a personal best.

That having been said, I *do* stop for lights and the like, but I was crusing yesterday, and when I got back to where I keep my times...found that I'd been two minutes and change off of my PB. Go figure. Just how did I manage *THAT* ride?!?

sigh.

It's great riding in the sun instead of the cold, freezing dark.

cheers,
Tom

I find that I become strangely competitive when I'm riding and get involved in several "races" with other commuters that they probably have absolutely no idea about! I try to take it easy, keep my eyes open etc etc, but as soon as somebody goes past me the red mist descends and I find myself desperately trying to pass them.

odd, cos I don't do that with anything else.....

My brother and I ride together to work (in the summer - to cold and dark in winter). It's about 50km's, we try and do it at least 3 times a week, in the afternoons the traffic's to bad. We also "hunt" down any other cyclist we see in front of us, we normally avv. about 28km/h on our MTB, hard riding, :) it's the only way to go.

It depends on the day, I always ride just under the sweat level on the way to work and generally ride hard and take the long route on the way home. Although, some days I just kick back and smell the roses of life in both directions. I do some exploring and take new, different routes on occasion.

It's never the same. I usually go pretty hard on my way to work but it's more by necessity (being late). I often go hard on my way back, but then it's for fun. I work at night every two weeks and usually go easy both ways, especially getting back in the morning, riding on the riverside path, when the light is nice. It's my favorite moment and I want to savour it fully.

Cruise in to work (I don't wanna be there) and sometimes push it going home (where I wanna be.)

I really like riding in the morning so I tend to ride harder on the way to work. I don't go all out but I usually try to ride at least as fast if not faster than the last time. Plus there is less traffic in the morning so I can go faster. On the way home I am more tired and there is more traffic so that is when I tend to cruise.

It varies from day to day. If I've ridden hard the day before then I'll cruise into work. It takes me an average of 25 minutes to do my commute and I find that the earlier I leave the better so that I have less cars, etc to deal with.

If it were just easier to get out of bed in the mornings I'd be good to go :)

BTW, Chris L, what kind of bike did you get to replace the one that was stolen?

Zack

I to tend to be competitive when I ride. My commute is about 8 miles and usually ride it as fast as I can. I use to ride the bike path , and when I saw another rider ahead of me I would have to pass him.For some reason I can't just cruise along, is there something wrong with me?

Pat

I use to ride the bike path , and when I saw another rider ahead of me I would have to pass him.For some reason I can't just cruise along, is there something wrong with me?

Hi Serpico!

There is of course something wrong here. If you're no longer on the bike path, you should be trying to pass cars and not bikes.:fun:

Gotta admit, I can't always pass the cars, but I never pass up a chance to drop a bus...

How's the weather back home?

Ride carefully,
Tom

Hi Tom ,
The weather is typical Washington sunny one day raining the next:(
I tend to pass some cars with all the traffic and backup's.

Pat

shoot. Hope that you guys get some nice weather. On the good side, it's HOT. Real HOT D*MN HOT. HOT

On the down side, a 15-year old cyclist got hit by lightning and was killed.

I just hope that if I'm riding in a thunderstorm that my carbon frame will save me!

wish I was riding in the rain...

Tom

i treat the commute kind of like a recovery ride, very short commute though, only like 2 miles :(. so i just take my time and smell the flowers.

Originally posted by tommers
I find that I become strangely competitive when I'm riding and get involved in several "races" with other commuters that they probably have absolutely no idea about! I try to take it easy, keep my eyes open etc etc, but as soon as somebody goes past me the red mist descends and I find myself desperately trying to pass them.

odd, cos I don't do that with anything else.....

I was just thinking that I ride pretty hard but not flat out ..... until I read your post. It was a great reality check. I'm exactly the same. I see other cyclists half a kilometre ahead and I go like crazy until I can get on their tale and then go past. I try to be friendly and say hi. I particularly like the ones that jump on my wheel as I go past because it forces me to keep the pace up.:D

I usually like to commute at a fast enough pace that I get a decent workout, although now that my girlfriend is commuting with me my pace has slowed down dramatically. I don't care, though- now it's just nice to spend that time with her on our bikes.

Originally posted by serpico317

The weather is typical Washington sunny one day raining the next:(
Ain't that the truth! I never know what to expect when I open the curtains for the morning weather check.

Serpico, whereabouts are you commuting to ? Maybe we can have a race on our commutes ;) I go down to Eastgate/Factoria, normally up and over the hill away from the lake and then straight down 140th. Today I mixed it up and took Old Redmond Rd over to the 520 bikepath to add a few more miles. More cyclists on that route, of course I had to beat them all :D

Media - it's weird isn't it? Like I say I don't do it with anything else, played a game of football last night and not a competitive bone in my body but get me on a bike and that's it!

I wouldn't mind but I'm knackered by the time I get home!

I'm your basic suit-and-tie, Dutch-style commuter. However, I get this powerful desire to overtake any time someone appears in front of me. It might have something to do with running cross country in prep school. Brings to mind the bit about old warhorses reacting to a whiff of gunsmoke...


Paul

I ride as hard as I can without distress, but since my route has 54 controlled intersections I've learned to adjust my pace so as to hit as few red lights as possible.

I do pay attention to the total time it takes to do my route, but I find that hitting green lights consistently helps more than going as fast as possible.

Wind is also a significant variable, especially when I'm using panniers.

I don't use my HRM every day, but frequently enough to make sure I'm spending most of the ride in my training zone. Ultimately, this is my most important goal.

RichC

Last year I commuted with fellow employees, which made for morning and afternoon race sessions. Round trip was only 16kms, but good fun.
The drivetrain on my commuter is so worn, it's skipping in the 48 tooth chainring. :rolleyes: It's forcing me to slow down...

In the mornings I take it easy (to not get too heated up) on the ride home is a different story (try to get a workout).

Originally posted by ZackJones

BTW, Chris L, what kind of bike did you get to replace the one that was stolen?


I got myself a Marin MTB - I'm not sure of the exact specifications, but the test ride was sweeeeeet, and it's the same sort of thing to what was taken. I've kitted it out in slick tyres and so on, but I'm not sure I'd want to commute on a road bike around here. GCCC just loves digging holes in perfectly good roads.

Same as you Chris L. but in a slightly cooler climate

I use two bikes to commute and both are slow cycles. (Folding bike and Pacific Mountain bike) I don't want to go all out since perspiration does not sit well when you have to take the trolley and train. Furthermore, I ride in New York City where cars, trucks and buses are EVERYWHERE. Racing uptown is dangerous business with people crossing the street at all points.

The bike messengers have more guts than me and ride right in the middle of the road. That's not for me. To be totally honest, I think I'm the slowest bike rider in New York City. Seriously. This old woman on an old Lady Schwinn dropped me the other day. I was laughing.

I try to ride within a specific HR zone on Tue/Wed 65-80% and just cruise in. I have now started racing and after years of riding for a PB every time I got on a bike, I realised why I wasn't getting any faster. You have to ride a lot of kilometres at a slower pace to get faster. A professional athlete never does a PB every session, only on specific occasions. I now cruise most days, do a 80-90% effort on Thursday and am ready to race Saturday.

CHEERS.

Mark

I treat all my commutes as training rides. I ride as hard and as fast as possible some days, recover others, work on a particular area of technique still others.

I aim to reduce my time spend commuting each week. At some point, I imagine that this will become impossible, then I'll have to find another goal.

Edit: I guess I should add that I have that some, horrible tendency to become ultra-competitive when I'm commuting. I try to catch/pass everyone. Even on my recovery days, I'm tempted to catch someone that blazes by me. . . and often I do give chase. There has only been one guy that I was not able to catch. . . Mr. Track-Standing, Ibanesto kit wearing guy. I'm quick, he was flipping fast! Just goes to show, some of the guys with "show" really do have the "go".

Varies on the day, really, since I road race and incorporate commuting into my training schedule as best I can.

Since my commute is relatively short (5 mi.) I usually just spin easily otw to work, trying not to sweat too much. On the way home, I'll do some extra loops to tack on mileage to match my training goals. Those days I have to bring the laptop home, I'll swing by the house first to drop it off and then be on my way. God I love commuting in the warm weather months, where I can just put on my jersey and shorts and head out the door (bye bye layers!). Ahhhh.

I don't know why it is.. I too don't like being passed. I've had many a recovery ride ruined by someone passing me. I mean I have nothing to prove, since I race most weekends. It's silly, but I can't help it.. must be the competitor in me, lol.

Edit: I mainly use my fixed-gear, set up with full fenders for the cold rainy or snowy days. Works awesome and is very good training, not to mention fixed's require very little mainenance. That is the one instance I'll use those nasty armadillo tires (ugh), since I really *hate* flatting on the fixed's rear wheel.

Fixed-gears are totally awesome for commuting.

Ron in Boise:beer:

Here in Tokyo I have a 16km commute to the office plus I also use the bike for other little trips during the day. I tend to take it easy as I love to cruise in the mornings. I find the bike computer keeps me on time just by checking the average speed. It is a little dangerous to go flat out even though I am always alerted by the computer that i am doing a good time that night or whatever...

An easy way to have an accident though is to keep going for those PB's... take it easy guys, this is commuting, not a time trial for the Tour de France. We are, as commuting cyclists, the very heart of cycling.

I've got the same problem: I just can't cruise slow and easy without someone to pace me. Lucky for me, I don't have to be pretty and sweet-smelling at work, so I can sweat on the morning ride. If the heat index is below 100 DEGF, I will hammer the evening ride, running along just below max. Several times, the HI has been above 110, and it turns into just trying to keep from cooking.

Originally posted by Chris L
...I'm asking whether you ride your commute absolutely flat out or just cruise and simply ensure you get to work on time.
If I want to ride as many 30 mile days as possible on hilly terrain with a load, I leave early and ride relaxed. By Friday, I get in more pleasurable miles on the bike that way. I didn't used to ride that way.

But I still like to get in a hard workout sometimes, though not always at the expense of riding again tomorrow.

On the average, I save about 5 minutes by pushing it.

Originally posted by Chris L
By this question, I'm asking whether you ride your commute absolutely flat out or just cruise and simply ensure you get to work on time. I'm probably somewhere in between. I tend to ride slightly within myself during a commute because I like having that little bit of extra acceleration when I need it (seems to be happening more and more often lately). So what does everyone else do? My commute is a pretty direct 3-mile route on arterial streets. In fact, I only have to turn three times the whole way. AND it's either level or downhill :D

I generally go pretty briskly on the level parts, and really put the hammer down once I reach the downtown area, where I try to live up to my avatar with some unexpectedly-fast accelerations if I should happen to get stopped at a light. Remember what I said about not being meek...? ;)

Going home, I still end up doing lots of hard accelerations if I'm taking an all-pavement route home. Sometimes I hit some trails instead, if I've got my mountain bike.

I did a trial run last night and thought I was doing it fast.

Today I cut two minutes off my time last night and I went into
work as if I was late for a meeting or I had a stalker following
me with a knife.

First four miles I was going flat out - I knew I'd made enough
time to make my destination and still have time to shower/get
ready so I reduced speed a bit but was still going above 15 mph.

Prior to that it was 18-20 mph.

SO yeah, I probably was riding like my butt was on fire.

My commutes on the return journey will be slower and more
relaxed probably.

I have a 13 mile commute (26 there and back).

I wear lycra shorts & shirt & in winter bibtights & armwarmers & perhaps & thermal top.

Now that its lovely summer, in the mornings its still nice & cool, so I can hammer it to work and not get HORRIBLY sweaty. I normally cruise the last mile, sometimes sitting up, hands off, to cool down before arrival.

Riding home, because I now I can shower, I tend to give it heaps and ride hard. Peversly, homeward is slightly more uphill, but a nearly always do it faster.

I run 2 or 3 times a week too, so, come Friday I'm normally pretty knackered and have an easy ride both ways.

I think if you're using your commute as a training ride you should alternate hard and easy days, otherwise you'll overtrain and burn out

Stew

My commute is seven miles one way. Have to be at work at 0700 hrs (to early for me!) so I go as fast as possible for at least the first two or three miles. North Main St. going into downtown is very dangerous so I have to ride fast unless I want to ride on the sidewalks, which would be too slow. It's much too narrow to "share the road" with cars. Luckily drivers here are very patient. I may get beeped at only once a year. After I get through downtown it's a piece of cake!

Originally posted by stewartp
I have a 13 mile commute (26 there and back).

I wear lycra shorts & shirt & in winter bibtights & armwarmers & perhaps & thermal top.

Now that its lovely summer, in the mornings its still nice & cool, so I can hammer it to work and not get HORRIBLY sweaty. I normally cruise the last mile, sometimes sitting up, hands off, to cool down before arrival.

Riding home, because I now I can shower, I tend to give it heaps and ride hard. Peversly, homeward is slightly more uphill, but a nearly always do it faster.

I run 2 or 3 times a week too, so, come Friday I'm normally pretty knackered and have an easy ride both ways.

I think if you're using your commute as a training ride you should alternate hard and easy days, otherwise you'll overtrain and burn out

Stew

Last night I did a recovery ride on my road bike with my wife and a friend of ours and I have to say that I'm SORE today.

That's about 98 miles divided between my last 5 rides - a bit more than I usually do.

I feel good, just a little sore.

I'm hoping to get out tonight and ride but my wife and I have been doing sorely needed cleaning.

Which I should get back to. Sigh.

i will be starting next week :) wahooooooo... the ride from my sisters house is like an obstacle course... and i will ride as i usually do ALL OUT. i figure that is the best way to avoid streetcars, tracks, pedestrians, cars, buses and of course other wacky cyclists... believe me ,Toronto is full of them :)