Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Anyone just a commuter?

I know a lot of you guys do trails and centurys and very nice long rides(I read them all). It looks wonderful but right now thats not my thing. I work 60 hour weeks and I need time to do my laundry and stuff LOL girls got to have clean clothes!! So basically I ride to and fro work . I walk to do my laundry and food shopping but use the bike to go visit friends locally and do other things (library,P.O....etc) I plan on visiting friends and going to fairs which are farther away by bike. Right now I hop on the train or bus. Anyone else here live like that? I know some of you do both but right now I dont have time for that like I said before. I really want to be full bike person without the use of a car. I think Im getting there.

Commuting is a great way to get some exercise, and to spend time on the bike without taking it away from other things you need to do. But it's not my only riding. :D

Do whatever you want to do. That's the great thing about cycling.

Do whatever you want to do. That's the great thing about cycling.
I know isnt that great!

I commute and ride my bike for all the reasons - fun, cost, speed, and weight loss. I used to ride trails and things on the weekends for fun and found it to be OK but commuting really does the wight loss trick in my opinion, gets the heart going morning and night. Leave early and add length as needed for effect.

I started out commuting, and that was pretty much most of my miles for a few years. This year I finally recognized that my new, longer, 17 mile (one-way) commute is just not logistically possible, at least not all the time. So now I ride at night, after prime time (dinner time, etc.), when my wife settles down to do her school work.

The good thing about commuting is you double commit: Once you ride to work, you have to ride the same distance home. That's one way to get the miles in, and it definitely helped me get back into the mentality of cycling.

I started out commuting.

Then running errands.

If you get a rear rack, and strap a good sized milk carton on it, you can carry a lot of stuff. I can get a lot of my shopping done that way. Laundry? Well... maybe a single load at a time, but most ppl I know have at least two loads per trip to the laundromat.

A lot of people mix bike riding and public transportation in the same trip. Buses often have racks on the front for a couple of bikes. For longer distances, that can work well, and end up being faster than the bus or the bike alone - ride to a main route, hop the bus, and ride the rest of the way. By avoiding transfers (and the wait for them), you can end up with a faster commute than bus alone.

My family is car free. When I first started riding a bike it was the most miserable yet fun thing ever. Now doing it for a couple hours at a time is no problem. The big problem now is bike collecting. Our little garage has 8 bikes in it: 4 city/hybrid bikes, a road bike and three folders. I keep wanting to buy more :(

must... stop... buying.. bikes......

Oh.. and check out the "living car free" forum on here. Lots of nice folks with lots of good ideas.

My family is car free. When I first started riding a bike it was the most miserable yet fun thing ever. Now doing it for a couple hours at a time is no problem. The big problem now is bike collecting. Our little garage has 8 bikes in it: 4 city/hybrid bikes, a road bike and three folders. I keep wanting to buy more :(

must... stop... buying.. bikes......

Oh.. and check out the "living car free" forum on here. Lots of nice folks with lots of good ideas.

Sounds good....brb going to check it out.

I'm mainly a commuter as well. I like using the bike for things like shopping, it makes me feel independent somehow in a way that just driving there in the van does not.

My family never had a car. I remember us walking or taking the public transportation every where. We rode bikes too. I remember the biggest thing was walking the dog. Most of out neighbors kept them in the yard but we always walked our dogs. We had a sheep dog that I had to wrap the leash around my waist to keep him pulling me down. LOL He was adorable and his name was Leo. We also never had had to trim their nails. The pavement alway toned them down. I really miss the simple way we lived and thats why I won't get a car. Had nice memories being with the family walking and biking.

I started out in the beginning of June just commuting a few miles to work and back every day. Now I go on 20-30 mile rides, ride with friends in the evenings, and can't get enough of it. The only thing I've used a car for since June is to pick up my son's from their mother's house. I couldn't be more happy with this new lifestyle. I'm ordering studded tires for my MTB so I can keep on commuting this winter even, since I live in Michigan. I know a doctor that rides all winter and he claims that there's no weather too cold to ride in if you have the right clothing so I'm going to follow his lead I guess haha.

I was not a commuter until June; everything I did was purely recreational. Then once the days started getting shorter I was finding that I no longer had time to do long rides at night anymore, with a whole hour gone from the evening. Thus I decided to start commuting so I could get in an easy 40 miles on a weekday.

I still recreationally ride, but that's mostly on the weekends now, as my commuting trips on the weekdays have pretty much replaced my evening exercise. However I have absolutely no plans to cease my weekend rides for fun!! :D

I know a lot of you guys do trails and centurys and very nice long rides(I read them all). It looks wonderful but right now thats not my thing. I work 60 hour weeks and I need time to do my laundry and stuff LOL girls got to have clean clothes!! So basically I ride to and fro work . I walk to do my laundry and food shopping but use the bike to go visit friends locally and do other things (library,P.O....etc) I plan on visiting friends and going to fairs which are farther away by bike. Right now I hop on the train or bus. Anyone else here live like that? I know some of you do both but right now I dont have time for that like I said before. I really want to be full bike person without the use of a car. I think Im getting there.

I bought my bike as a way to commute partway, and that's what I'm doing for now. I live 15 miles away from work (I live in Boston), so I take 2 trains, and then bike the last 2.5 miles from the station. I am sore but loving it. I will slowly increase my mileage, but for now, I am where I need to be. It is different getting up so early, and I am EXHAUSTED at the end of the day, but riding really helps my state of mind and I feel great about myself. So...yeah, for now I am a commuter only!:thumb:

No-one should ever think of themselves as "just" a commuter. It takes a certain mental toughness to ride to work every day, especially if you have to go through heavy traffic for any part of it.
My husband is retired and now has time to do really long highway rides, but doesn't like functional riding in town at all - the denser traffic scares him. So, he used to be in awe of me when we lived in a much larger city and I commuted through the downtown rush hour to get to work.
Actually, if your commute is long enough, you can gain quite a bit of fitness from it. When I raced on the velodrome years ago, I found that the frequent starts of downtown riding were perfect training for the standing starts and sprints of track racing.

I started out an occasional (few days a week) commuter for 2 years. Still do that when it isn't so hot out, but do mountain biking when it is too hot for me to commute. I also use my bike for errands...well, actually, now I have 3 bikes; a hybrid comfort bike that I use for short errands and some greenways, my transend commuter bike for road commutes, and a rockhopper for mountain biking. My roommate has caught the bug, she has a mountain bike and road commuter, and my best friend bought a mountain bike a couple weeks ago. It's great!

I only commute, with plans to ride more later on. I commute to save gas and exercise. But honestly its too easy (in a way) for me. My commute is 12 miles round trip, through the city, on a flat bike path. There are minor inclines but im talkin 10 seconds max then it levels out. And even those kill me. Hopefully I will be able to ride more in the future, but Im no where close to trail riding, mountain biking, or centuries or anything like that. And it does help, when you ride to work, you know you have to ride home. Although sometimes my wife will show up and have an idea for us to go do something then i unfortunatly leave my bike at work(hahah) But that creates a big mess cuz then I have to drive to work, drive home for lunch, have wife come back with me at lunch to take the car, then bike home.
Not much weight loss yet because I havent been consistent with my bike riding, but im now trying to pick it up and ride 4 days out of the week.

Now that we have a daughter and 2 granddaughters living with us, none of which have any income, prospects, skills or much of a work ethic (well cept the 1yr old...she could be a baby model :D), I don't have time for organized rides, charity rides, racing or any of that stuff....but I do try to get in some nice rec/touring rides in on the weekend. I can usually sneak in about a 40 mile solo ride and a 30-50 mile rec/tourist ride with my wife on the weekends...otherwise commuting and some errands are about all the cycling we get. My wife works from home and gets off work an hour before me, so she rides up to my work and rides home with me when she can. The beauty of commuting is that your cycling becomes part of your day...you don't have to make time for it! ;)

PSA: Kids, they always come back...and they bring reinforcements! :eek:

Commuting is most of my riding these days. I normally ride 5 days a week on my 18.6 round trip commute. I used to ride more on weekends but life keeps getting in my way. I am hoping to crank up my weekend miles so I will be ready to ride some brevets next year. First one is in January so I need to start soon.
Commuting is a great reason to ride and my preferred mode of transport.

I only commute, with plans to ride more later on. I commute to save gas and exercise. But honestly its too easy (in a way) for me. My commute is 12 miles round trip, through the city, on a flat bike path. There are minor inclines but im talkin 10 seconds max then it levels out. And even those kill me. Hopefully I will be able to ride more in the future, but Im no where close to trail riding, mountain biking, or centuries or anything like that. And it does help, when you ride to work, you know you have to ride home. Although sometimes my wife will show up and have an idea for us to go do something then i unfortunatly leave my bike at work(hahah) But that creates a big mess cuz then I have to drive to work, drive home for lunch, have wife come back with me at lunch to take the car, then bike home.
Not much weight loss yet because I havent been consistent with my bike riding, but im now trying to pick it up and ride 4 days out of the week.

You must live near me. :lol: I also have a 12 mile commute and yet to do it everyday. I am planning a 17 mile trail near me. Somewhere on this forum some people say its a way to get stronger for your commute(to ride longer than your regular commute)..so Im trying that out. But should be fun!!!! I havent lost any weight yet either....could be the body does make it harder after 50!!!:notamused:

Commuting is most of my riding these days. I normally ride 5 days a week on my 18.6 round trip commute. I used to ride more on weekends but life keeps getting in my way. I am hoping to crank up my weekend miles so I will be ready to ride some brevets next year. First one is in January so I need to start soon.
Commuting is a great reason to ride and my preferred mode of transport.

Yeah I know what you mean. Come every Saturday Im so tired (after a 60 hour week)I fall asleep at noon and wake up for dinner. Really :notamused: I started taking a 15 min nap at work and that really helps. What are brevets? A race or tour thingie? This Sat. Planning a trail ride(short but not for you) of sorts. Just local through the state park.

I couldnt be much further from you unless I lived out of united states, I live down in Southern California! I just left a message with someone else who also does a 12 mile round trip but they live in BC.

No-one should ever think of themselves as "just" a commuter.

Ditto. I admire commuters every bit as much as racers and tourists.

I cant wait till my off road tires wear out so I can get some slicks and see how much of a difference it makes. Some people say it doesnt make much of a difference and some say it is a huge difference. My bike is also a dinasaur too.. 42 lbs... But that is what im stuck with until I lose some weight and reward myself with another bike, that should be interesting when that happens.

Brevets are long rides that are not races and no one wins. :lol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevet_%28cycling%29




Yeah I know what you mean. Come every Saturday Im so tired (after a 60 hour week)I fall asleep at noon and wake up for dinner. Really :notamused: I started taking a 15 min nap at work and that really helps. What are brevets? A race or tour thingie? This Sat. Planning a trail ride(short but not for you) of sorts. Just local through the state park.

Currently, 98% of my cycling is commuting and errand running. A number of years ago I had trouble fitting in long bike rides. A co-worker suggested I commute to work by bike. My ego spoke up and stated that the <4mile trip to work was "hardly a worthy bike ride" (as I'd had a long history of much longer rides.) Meanwhile, by body got heavier and my life got busier.

I finally did a gut check about my expectations and my values - I value more contributing to the welfare of the planet - I value cycling advocacy - I value being visible as a cyclist and setting an example. When I started commuting regularly a few years ago, the <4mile trip was a bit of a (physical) challenge - I'd gotten so out of "bike" shape. My work is often physically demanding - so I still have nights where my ride home is a bit of a physical challenge. But I absolutely love it!!

Committing to commuting actually got me back on my bike. I dropped the attitude that I needed long hours in the saddle to call it "cycling". And dropping that expectation has awarded me the freedom to ride all kinds of bikes, all kinds of distances, and for many different reasons.

I recently tore some tendons in my elbow - and riding my commuter aggravated the injury more often than not. My road bike was even worse. A part of me was willing to give up the riding altogether for the duration of the healing (long time) :twitchy: when I realized my full-suspension mountain bike had been sitting unridden, many months, neglected. I've found that riding it did not irritate my elbow nearly as much - so I transferred all of my commuting "accessories" over to the behemoth FS MTB - and it's a blast!! The funny thing is... with such a heavy bike with big tires, I keep expecting to be late to work - and as it turns out... I keep hauling a%! on that thing and I keep getting to work too early!! And it is sooooooooooo comfortable!! :)

When my elbow is healed... I will eventually get back to an occasional long ride. If I want to "fit in" all the things I value in life... love, family, friends, contributing in some way, healing the planet.... and cycling, the cycling will often need to be in 20 minute bursts of joy.

The vast majority of my bike rides are for commuting or running errands. However, I still love taking my bike out after work or on the weekends to get a long ride in.

The commute is the ride I enjoy most. It wakes me up in the morning and allows me to blow off steam if I have had a rough day at work.

99% of my bike rides are for commuting/utility purposes. About 9/10 of my commute legs are by bike but I do wimp out occasionally when I hit my wall and call my brother or take the bus.

As of two weeks ago, we have no car ourselves so I have no excuse at the house. (Car totaled by other driver, DW is ok; no room in the budget for a new car payment, for now.)

Someone recommended the Car Free subforum; I highly recommend the Utility subforum.