Commuting - Avg. Distance for a Commute

I have mapped out two routes for commuting to work, one is 25 miles and the other is 17. If I use both routes I would be commuting 42 miles three days a week. When I would ride in the mornings before work I would get in about 23-25 miles and I felt like I could have done more. Is 42 miles too much for a person who is still going to do long rides on the weekends? I tried to find a thread on the average distance for the bike commuters here on BF. So I don't mean to ask something that has probably already been asked, but I am so excited about this new aspect to my cycling life (I even have someone to ride with for half of it) and can't wait to start. Thanks for the replies.

The question is how far do you feel comfortable riding through the week. My old commute was around 30 miles/day, 5 days/week, and to be honest I wish I still had it. In fact, now that I've changed jobs, I go looking for "extra curricular" rides during the week after work.

Anyway, it sounds like you have options. The issue here is to listen to your body. If it feels like you are burning yourself out on the 42 mile route, you can always switch to the shorter one. However, in answer to your question, there are no hard and fast rules in this area that I can see.

Thanks Chris. I appreciate the reply.

17 or 25 miles is a long commute if it includes much city riding. The distance might not be too much for someone who enjoys cycling, but the TIME is what knocks most long-distance commuters out of the ring.

My commute can be up to an hour long if the weather is snowy and I have to ride the fat-tire. I love the ride, but it is hard to be on the bike at six AM to be to work by 7:00.

Cyclochica.Avg.commute distance always gets my attention,since it is a big concern of mine.
When I am feeling good, traffic congestion makes bike commuting no more than 50% longer than the car commute.
Concerns I have. I could take a longer scenic route but that adds another 4 miles making it almost 30 miles one way.But it is a great ride through wine country.
Another route is about 22 miles but I do not like the road for safety... My usual route is 26 miles.. This I feel is the safest. I have made it in just under 2 hours..I have some long hills.
I do this once a week.Usually on Fridays when traffic makes the commute one hour anyway. When feeling good I bike commute in less than two hours.
On a nice sunny day, when feeling good, I will find myself taking the 30 mile route home, even though I do not like the twisty turny hill, but just because I feel good and want the scenic hills..
On this road, I see idiotic drivers pass on blind hills- daily.Not safe for motorists anyway.
No, I do not feel two hour commutes drain me..They make me feel energized. A workout on the hills and a shower at work and I am great.Topped off with a recovery drink.
Maybe your hills in Virginia does not slow you down that much. One hill for me is about two miles long and a decent grade. Think if my ride were flat and I lived in like Iowa, I would commute much more often.
So in short, the limiting factor for me is not my energy, but highway safety for cyclists and long grades slowing down my average speed.
My energy level . Not a factor..About 1/3 of my monthly mileage is the commute.Without those commute mileage, my riding would be too little for my riding goals.

Cyclochica.Avg.commute distance always gets my attention,since it is a big concern of mine.
When I am feeling good, traffic congestion makes bike commuting no more than 50% longer than the car commute.
Concerns I have. I could take a longer scenic route but that adds another 4 miles making it almost 30 miles one way.But it is a great ride through wine country.
Another route is about 22 miles but I do not like the road for safety... My usual route is 26 miles.. This I feel is the safest. I have made it in just under 2 hours..I have some long hills.
I do this once a week.Usually on Fridays when traffic makes the commute one hour anyway. When feeling good I bike commute in less than two hours.
On a nice sunny day, when feeling good, I will find myself taking the 30 mile route home, even though I do not like the twisty turny hill, but just because I feel good and want the scenic hills..
On this road, I see idiotic drivers pass on blind hills- daily.Not safe for motorists anyway.
No, I do not feel two hour commutes drain me..They make me feel energized. A workout on the hills and a shower at work and I am great.Topped off with a recovery drink.
Maybe your hills in Virginia does not slow you down that much. One hill for me is about two miles long and a decent grade. Think if my ride were flat and I lived in like Iowa, I would commute much more often.
So in short, the limiting factor for me is not my energy, but highway safety for cyclists and long grades slowing down my average speed.
My energy level . Not a factor..About 1/3 of my monthly mileage is the commute.Without those commute mileage, my riding would be too little for my riding goals.
An addendum...The other day I commuted to work.As I expected that day, we had water problems at work.. I had the large towlette sized body wipes and a gallon of water, I had brought before. I always fear without a real shower, I would feel grumpy and drained without the shower to 'wake me up.' No...Towlettes work for primitive camping..They did fine at work... I felt fresh and clean..Had enough water to even do a lite shampoo of my hair and a rinse of my riding clothes.
What draws the odd attention...My cycling wear out back hanging out to dry. As the undewear nazi would approve..My female work partner appreciates my underwear not out to dry.....Sure am glad lycra dries quickly..Can't imagine wet cycling wear upon the saddle.
An apology..Long winded person here..I did not mean to quote myself.

My old commute was 16 kms (10 miles) per day, 5 days a week. It has shrunk to a pathetic 5 km per day. :mad:
I'm moving to Toronto in the spring and hope to average 35-40 kms per day. Keep in mind this is used for race prep and conditioning.
As Chris L. says, depends on how you feel. I require more recovery time if my commutes are hammerfests, which they usually are...

Cyclochica,

I'd say just try it and see. Enjoy!

:)

(My commute is about 30 miles round-trip. It really makes the work day more "up.")

Once again, Mike makes a valid point. The most important thing I find when commuting it simply getting to work on time. Perhaps you should do the ride on a Saturday morning prior to "going live" and just see how long the routes actually take.

Thanks for all the great advice. I am planning on starting this in April and I have worked out a plan with my cycling buddy. Once I get my new bike squared away I am going to do a test run over a weekend. Neither the distance nor the time really worry me. When it warms up I usually ride 25 miles before work anyway, and I can knock that out in well under 2 hours.

The 25 mile route would be the safest and most scenic. The 17 mile would be the fastest. I am thinking of doing the 25 mile route into the office, and the 17 mile one home. However this works out I am definitely ready to do this, and I am really excited. I guess it was contagious, because my weekend cycling buddy has decided he wants to commute as well starting the spring.

One question: should I have two sets of cycling clothes to wear for the day, or should I just rinse out and hang dry one set at work?

Thanks for all the great advice. I am planning on starting this in April and I have worked out a plan with my cycling buddy. Once I get my new bike squared away I am going to do a test run over a weekend. Neither the distance nor the time really worry me. When it warms up I usually ride 25 miles before work anyway, and I can knock that out in well under 2 hours.

The 25 mile route would be the safest and most scenic. The 17 mile would be the fastest. I am thinking of doing the 25 mile route into the office, and the 17 mile one home. However this works out I am definitely ready to do this, and I am really excited. I guess it was contagious, because my weekend cycling buddy has decided he wants to commute as well starting the spring.

One question: should I have two sets of cycling clothes to wear for the day, or should I just rinse out and hang dry one set at work?
Cyclo..One reason I take one set of cycling clothes..I commute to work on PM shift..Feel better when no one much is about to see my clothes on the line..
Once I told the story...Did not get my drying cycling clothes out of the lobby restroom in time, where they were hanging to dry. Plant manager came in earlier than planned and the whole plant made sport with my clothes 'on the line..'
If possible I would prefer to carry as little as possible and wash out my one set of cycling clothes...Plus don't like smelly clothes crumpled about getting moldy. Do you have like your own locker, where you can put your personal stuff.?

One question: should I have two sets of cycling clothes to wear for the day, or should I just rinse out and hang dry one set at work?

Hmmm... If I was in a cooler climate, I might say two just incase it rains or something. Personally, I only take one set of clothes, but that's just because with our relentless heat, changing into wet cycling clothes at the end of the day is pure relief (they're normally more wet from sweat than rain -- even if we get a downpour). However, if it's going to be cold, you might find it more comfortable to have a dry set of clothes to change into.

Until I moved closer to work last year, my commute was 5 miles each way. The ride took between 15 and 20 minutes and was just long enough to get a bit of a workout and not too sweaty.

But, now I just have a quick 2 mile sprint into work. This ride takes 8-10 minutes...hardly worth putting on the cycling shoes. At least it beats any alternative. Having to be at work at 7am (I am not much of a morning person) I am not willing to go out for extra miles in morning and with a family waiting for me after work, I feel obligated to come straight home. So, instead, I save my extra miles for the weekend and afternoon family rides (as soon as the ice melts and the wife ventures back outside).

To reply to the initial thread inquiry...

If you have the time and energy, bike as far and long as you can. Some day you may not be in the position to fit in long rides, so use it while you got it.

I have direct and indirect routes for the ride to work, at 7.5 or 10.5 miles respectively. These are a good work out and neither route involves much traffic or town riding. I'd be interested in adding more miles, but have problems getting out of bed in the morning....

Cheers,

Ed

Cyclochica I ride 18.5 miles each way 5 days a week most of the year, my route includes rolling hills and 2 lane highway. There are no traffic congested areas, the ride time varies from 55 min. to 1 hour and 15 min depending on the load and the weather. I live in new england so the weather is a factor for me. The past month has been a killer, I have only been able to commute to work 1 or 2 days a week because I don't ride when the temp is below 10 degrees F. I find the commute easy once you get into the grouve of it. It's only when you take a break for more then a week does it get hard. I ride to work at a pace that I don't work up a sweat, I ride home a t a workout pace. good luck with your commute.

My commute is 4 miles each way mostly flat with a short hill at each end. I'm in my 64th year & I generally ride home & back at lunch. This is just about right for my exercise without getting to hot & tired. It generally takes me 15 to 18 minutes each way depending on traffic & how many red lights I hit. My all time record was 13 minutes when I hit every light green and was in shape from a Summer of commuting & touring. Ride as much as you can now, you slow down some as you get older. Don

I think it depends on your conditioning, and how much stress and responsibility you currently have in your life. My current commute is 34 miles each way. My previous commute was 17.5 each way. I have 3 kids at home and work 45-50 hours a week. The 17.5 commute (35 round) was about right for getting a good work-out and not getting too burnt during the week, but the 34 mile commute (68 round) put me over the top. I park and ride at the 11 mile mark and commute the remaining 23 (46 round). The 23 mile commute is probably about the same work-out as the 17.5 because it is country roads and the 17.5 was mainly city riding. On average, I am commuting about 2,800 to 3,000 miles a year mainly between March and November. We have cold winters in Connecticut with icy and snowy roads that prevent safe commuting, but I usually get in 100-200 miles from December to February.

Thanks everyone for all the great insight. I have decided that to start, the 25 mile route may be a bit much for me. Especially since I want to start commuting in April. I am working with a couple of local roadies on mapping out an acceptable route using the 17 mile alternative. I am really glad I have been thining ahead, because I keep thinking how disasterous this could be without planning ahead.

[QUOTE=cyclezealot]What draws the odd attention...My cycling wear out back hanging out to dry. As the undewear nazi would approve..My female work partner appreciates my underwear not out to dry.....Sure am glad lycra dries quickly..Can't imagine wet cycling wear upon the saddle.
myself.QUOTE]

I have learned that clothing is easy to hide by doubling up things on a larger wooden hanger BEHIND A DOOR so it doesn't distract people.

For example if it's cold an rainy, I hang the base layer inside the jacket and all dry in about an hour. Same for the pants. The hanger has a bar, so I double up the lycra inside the rain pants (similar to how you wear them). And they dry also.

There's a drawer at my desk for shoes and whatever. For underwear, I have a special undershirt and bottoms made of that dry weave stuff. (not cotton). So when it's hot, I drape those over an old hanging folder to dry inside the un-used drawer. No washing is required - till you get home.

Of course, I don't let anyone see me hanging the underwear. If you forget to hang the stuff up it'll probably reek by the end of the day...and still be wet.

Hope this helps.

VR. KElley..I am lucky in that when I commute on PM shifts. very few people are about at night..In a daytime office setting, it would be a problem...We do have security about...Once a female guard happened upon my stuff and wondered what the hell...
Upon further investigation she found out it was normal and had no reason to include it in her security report. She was new. mabye that concern is one reason I don't commute during daylight hours. Other than fact I would have to leave at about 3:30 AM...
Good ideas though..What about while it is really drippy.? I do not like to wring out lycra with too much stress on the fabric.