Commuting - Officially joined the commuting ranks

Today was day one. Found it very refreshing. It was a great way to prepare for the work day. 48 miles round trip. Going in was great. I live in the country, but have to cross a couple of state highways and pass a decent sized town on the way. No problems with either. After the first 8-10 miles, traffic was very light. (Actually, at 5:00 A.M. it was pretty light even in the normally busy areas.) I took a county road straight for almost 12 miles. Passed one car. All in all a very quiet, relaxing ride in. Showered at the community rec center behind work (Our company is currently updating the showers at work) and was in the plant at my normal time. My Dinotte headlight and Nashbar taillights worked great. I'm hooked! Tomorrow is day two. Hoping to do the ride 2-3 times per week for now. Going in is no problem, as I just have to get up early. The extra hour on the way home can be problematic if there are things scheduled. Thanks to the group for the motivation!

I wish I had a 48 mile daily commute.

How much time did you waste driving home before starting your evening bike ride?

38km each way, that's hardcore :) That's more than my return trip...

Are you planning on keeping any stats like best times, weight loss etc?

Steve

WOW! 48 miles? And I thought the guy at my work who does 32 round trip was heavy duty. Nice!

How much time did you waste driving home before starting your evening bike ride?

Huh?

How much time did you waste driving home before starting your evening bike ride?

If I understand your question....My drive was about 30 minutes. The ride, time to change, etc. adds an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.

Well, I am here on day two. Definitely as enjoyable as the first. I think 2-3 days per week is a reasonable goal. I probably won't officially track best time, etc., but do hope to drop 15 lbs by mid summer. Current weight 202 at 6' tall.

48 miles - that is big time - i am way impressed and feeling a little wimpy with my new 17 mile roundtrip commute!! ha ha - I would expect if you stay with it those extra lbs. will come off in short order! Great stuff and keep it up.

EB

Today was day one. Found it very refreshing. It was a great way to prepare for the work day. 48 miles round trip.

Sorry, where's that decimal point supposed to go? ;)

Wow, hefty commute. Mine is 5.5 miles one way so these days it feels really short to me especially on the fixie.

Way to go!
:)

Yes, indeed! That is very cool. Sounds as though it's a quality 48 miles, to boot. Good going!

Way to go. That is a hefty commute, but riding on country roads must help a lot. My commute is about 22 miles RT, but there are lots of traffic signals and stop signs along the way. We're moving our office in a few years, which will extend my commute to about 30 miles RT, and I'm actually looking forward to it.

My daily commute is like 2 miles tops, round trip, but I ride a lot just for entertainment (maybe like 25-50 miles in a day, depending on if i have stuff to do).

This makes me want to get a job downtown or in akron or something crazy like that.

Wow respect due.

but do hope to drop 15 lbs by mid summer. Current weight 202 at 6' tall.

If you metabolism/diet are anything like mine, that shouldn't be hard to do. Over about 3 months I went from about 185 to 170-175 (I'm about the same height as you, too. 6'1" or so) and I only ride about 10-15 miles a day with an occasional 20-30 mile day.

Good luck and congrats. :)

Congrats on taking the commuting plunge. My commute ranges from 3-8 miles (depending on if I take the long or short way) and I absolutely love it. I ride in Boston so it's quicker for me to ride my bike to work and back than it is to drive.

Also, you should check out Out For A Ride (http://outforaride.com). You can track stats, create routes, add bicycles, etc.

Thanks for all of the encouragement. It's been a great couple of days. The route is great. Right about the time it starts getting light in the morning, I'm going through a wooded area along the river for 3 miles or so. Met another bike commuter on the way home today, but they were going in the opposite direction. Chatted for a few, then headed our separate ways. Two day commuting total: 99.4 miles. Taking tomorrow off, then riding in again Thursday. If I had know that commuting to work was this much fun, I would have assembled a dedicated touring bike last year instead of the mountain bike. If I had a good place to leave clothes at work, I'd ride my road bike in, but this is working well so far. Here are a couple of pics taken when I got home today.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/tcmers/Bike2_RJ.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/tcmers/Bike_RJ.jpg

So... you're riding nearly 50 miles per day... in normal clothes... on a MTB while weighing 200+ being 6' tall!

You sir, are hardcore. As the kids say, "mad props!"

So... you're riding nearly 50 miles per day... in normal clothes... on a MTB while weighing 200+ being 6' tall!

You sir, are hardcore. As the kids say, "mad props!"

Close.....I am wearing bike clothes, including SPD compatible shoes. I'm also running fairly slick tires. ( Michelin Country Rock 1.75X26) Not exactly road tires, but not bad as I run them at 75 PSI. Before dishing out the "mad props!", let's see how long I keep it up. :D

Close.....I am wearing bike clothes, including SPD compatible shoes. I'm also running fairly slick tires. ( Michelin Country Rock 1.75X26) Not exactly road tires, but not bad as I run them at 75 PSI. Before dishing out the "mad props!", let's see how long I keep it up. :D

I'd last until Tuesday and call my wife from the bar halfway home.

Hopefully you won't have to do that one into a strong headwind the whole way. :)

Hopefully you won't have to do that one into a strong headwind the whole way. :)

Had to do that on the way home yesterday. 15-20 mph winds. I didn't look at my computer average, but I'm guessing it was about 12-13 mph. It was tough going. This morning, it was calm, and I had the same 15-20 mph winds at my back coming home. I'll take that any day!