Commuting - realistic daily commuting miles

I have aquestion about what people think is a realistic distance to commute on a semi daily basis (3-5 days week.)

My plan is to ride 36 miles one way to work in the morning, catch a car-pool ride home that afternoon and do the opposite the next day. Some days I'll need to do the car-pool driving so total days riding will likely be 3.

I have a dedicated road bike and a mtn bike w/ street tires. The commute is beautiful w/ relatively good roads, increadible scenary (sp?) and only medium density traffic.

I don't have a problem doing 20-25 miles solo or w/ a club but I'm wondering if 35 miles 3 times/week will kill me.

Any comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance,

well, you gotta provide more info...

What kind of mileage are you getting these days?? Per week? Per day? Per month?

What kind of work do you do?

Are you in good shape?

How long do you think it will take you to go 35 miles...most likely a couple of hours?

35 miles 2-3 times per week? totally doable......

randy

I have aquestion about what people think is a realistic distance to commute on a semi daily basis (3-5 days week.)

My plan is to ride 36 miles one way to work in the morning, catch a car-pool ride home that afternoon and do the opposite the next day. Some days I'll need to do the car-pool driving so total days riding will likely be 3.

I have a dedicated road bike and a mtn bike w/ street tires. The commute is beautiful w/ relatively good roads, increadible scenary (sp?) and only medium density traffic.

I don't have a problem doing 20-25 miles solo or w/ a club but I'm wondering if 35 miles 3 times/week will kill me.

Any comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance,

A recent move has extended my commute from 11 to 30 miles. My wife and a friend both work in the same office so I am able to pedal in the morning and get a ride home at night. Now that it's summer I sometimes leave my ride at work and pedal home the next evening. That's what makes it possible for me. One of the biggest factors with commutes of this distance is time. The round trip would take 4 hours out of my day.
Definately try it out on the weekend, but it's definately possible. One other thing I have to do is make sure I have a change of clothes waiting at work for me so I can leave the panniers at home. Every little bit of weight counts at these distances.

DanO

This is my first season with a 35-mile commute each way. I don't have a carpool option, and am only physically able to ride a couple times a week. I sometimes use the subway to knock off 15 miles on my way to work, which doesn't save any time but saves a lot of energy for my afternoon ride. But then again, I'm not a century rider. I am also riding one of the most popular paths in the DC area during the week, so I feel no compelling need to ride on weekends, when the path is congested with bikers, joggers, and rollerbladers.

If you are a good biker (18-23 mph on open road), it shouldn't be a problem. I can't imagine doing it on a mountain bike. When I'm fresh, I'm doing my 35 miles in 2 hours, which includes about 20 stop signs/road crossings and 20 mostly green lights. I also keep my professional clothes at my office, so I don't have to bother with a rack. It's just me, my roadie, my camelbag, and my tools.

Do it once. Then do it again.

my commute is 40 miles. Though I started with honest intentions, i quickly realized regulary commuting can become difficult; especially in my line of work where a phone call can mean many hours of OT. Riding home 40 miles in the dark is dangerous, and after an (unplanned) 16 hour day is just undesireable.

What i've found to work best....I drive in friday with my bike. Bicycle home friday night. I have no reservations about not working working mandatory OT on friday as I have the entire weekend if necesseary (i've also found crisis rarely crop up on fridays - EVERYONE wants to be home). I then ride my bicycle back in on Monday to retreive my car, and continue car or motorcycle commuting the rest of the week.

I agree, it doesnt sound like much of a contribution to do only two 1/2 commutes by bike, but on the otherhand, I have no alteranive but to use my bike as my only transportation during the whole weekend. Between that and 50 mpg on the mc, I can live with that.

I don't have a problem doing 20-25 miles solo or w/ a club but I'm wondering if 35 miles 3 times/week will kill me.

I think you'll do fine.

You'll be doing about the same number of miles per week as I do, and I jumped up to the 140 miles/week with hills I'm doing now from about 35 miles/week, no hills. the transition was a bit difficult mind you, but it definitely was possible in my case.

I have aquestion about what people think is a realistic distance to commute on a semi daily basis (3-5 days week.)

My plan is to ride 36 miles one way to work in the morning, catch a car-pool ride home that afternoon and do the opposite the next day. Some days I'll need to do the car-pool driving so total days riding will likely be 3.

I have a dedicated road bike and a mtn bike w/ street tires. The commute is beautiful w/ relatively good roads, increadible scenary (sp?) and only medium density traffic.

I don't have a problem doing 20-25 miles solo or w/ a club but I'm wondering if 35 miles 3 times/week will kill me.

Any comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance,


I think it really depends on your level of fitness, and what type of job you have. I have a 46.5 mile round trip commute, with a quartering headwind all the way home. When I rode last Tuesday the weather service said that wind was 16 mph. If I had an office type job, I could ride that every day., but I'm outside 5-7 hours a day walking around with a satchel of mail hanging from my shoulder. I predict that riding 3 times a week will turn into maybe as much as every day of the week as your fitness improves.

What if you split the commute by distance rather than by day? Is there someplace halfway between home and work where you could hook up with a carpool? You could either carpool the half that starts/ends at home and bike the other half, or vice-versa. Which is better depends on parking availability at work, carpool availability, etc. JAT.

i think i do about 60 to 100 miles a week.. but that's only like 6 miles a day during the week.

I used to work 12 hours a day in a Hotel and ride a Trek 830 about 10 miles each way to get home. I couldn't keep it up after a while. Also, I forgot my lights a couple of times and this is on Royal Deeside, where there are no streetlights for 9.9 of those miles and a very twisty road. The kind of road where when you're in a car, you forget about everything but you, the curves and your new CD. I'd literally be blinded by the car headlights and just had to remember which way the road went as it passed me and then wait for sometimes 30 seconds to get my sight back. A couple of times I had to stop. This was scary, especially as they were going about 50-80mph depending on the particular stretch of road. :eek:

Depends upon what kind of ride your commute involves and your condition... I work on average 4 days a week...Commute is 26 miles, but overall pretty hilly so the hills slow me down..No other means to get home, but the bike; should I go in on the bike..
The kind of ride I have..Once a week is about all I can do. But, then a 12.5 hour day is a big factor in that...
I do not find once a week difficult and keep that committment. But then, with you car pool option one way..It might be possible..
I would certainly give it a try. I think I could...
ps--Looked at my log tonight...So far this year, my commute has prevented me from having to drive 952 miles.. I am proud of that..

In terms of physical exercise you can probably do it. Whether you can dedicate the required amount of time for it is another question. If you can, I say go for it!

--J