Bikeforumuser0019

Hi everyone.

Occasional bike commuter here looking to do more in time. I work two jobs, and have yet to ride on a day when I must be at both jobs. I think I could make the actual ride... the logistics of it are more challenging than I expected.

When you're commuting on bike to work, how much time per day do you spend riding? I think if I make it up to 90% commuting by bike (including appointments after work, etc). I might be averaging riding for 2.5 hours a day, some days more, some less. Does that seem very unreasonable or pretty average?

Thanks!

tarwheel 

I end up with nearly 2.5 hours of saddle time on many days that I bike commute. My bike computer only counts the time that my bike is moving, which is about 2:00 to 2:10 most days. However, if you count the time that I spend sitting at traffic lights, it comes closer to 2:20-2:30. Some days I take a longer route home and end up with about 3:00 hours of riding time.

Whether that is reasonable for you depends on your fitness, the weather and how much free time that you have. I get up at 5 am on weekdays to allow enough time for commuting in the morning and don't get home from work until about 6:30 pm. It makes for a long day, but I don't have to worry about going to the gym or exercising after I get home.

bmthom.gis

Somewhere between an hour and a half and an hour and forty five minutes. Recreation rides are more like 2-3 hours. Lately it has been not very much time though. Fall can't happen soon enough down here!!

ThermionicScott 

About 25 minutes each way, so 50 min total. That's often not enough, so I'll either take a detour through some of my favorite hills, or go on a separate ride after I get home.

1nterceptor

My commute one way is 1.5 hours or 3 hours round trip.
Sometimes if I'm running late in the morning; I would
take my bike on the train/bus. Cutting my commute time
in half.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slP...6zPoymgKaIoDLA

MMACH 5

I'm at two-hours each way. That's kind of a lot, so I do it every other day. I drive on Tues & Thurs.

Ky_Rider

About 1.5 hours each way. I only ride one way each day though. 3 hours a day was just too much for me. I alternate with my motorcycle.

robert schlatte

My commute is one half hour each way. it is not so long so i am able to do it every day 12 mos a year, rain, shine, snow, sleet, hail, etc. I also do 40 to 60 mile training rides on the weekend as well as occasional bike tours when I get the time.

tdreyer1

Not much, tbh. Anywhere from 30m to a couple hours depending on how far I decide to go out of my way after work.

kickstart

An hour and ten to twenty minutes a day for my 16.8 mile round trip commute. Recreational time on the weekend can be anywhere between one and ten hours. A total average per week is probably around twelve hours.

GovernorSilver

Takes me about 1hr 15 min to 1.5 hrs each way, depending on route choices and traffic conditions, esp. the timing of the lights. Before I started commuting by bike, my morning routine was exercise for about 35-45 min. then take the Metro to work (about 40-45 min. ride depending on timing of train transfer and unexpected events like a sick rider) . Thus the exercise routine + Metro ride would take about the same amount of time compared to riding my bike to work. I still like to do a strength training workout for my upper body and core 3x a week, so I commute on the "off days".

Bikeforumuser0019

This helps provide me some perspective. Thanks!

Ideally, I'll be pushing myself hard for a while because I need to loose some weight. After that's done and I'm just doing maintenance on the weight, I think I will feel a little less pressure to get everywhere by bike regardless of the weather, time involved, etc. But actually, so far, I've really enjoyed the long bikerides. I always appreciate having "space" for thinking in between other obligations.

ItsJustMe

1.5 hours currently. Next year it's looking like it's going to be about 3 hours a day. I'm only going in to work 3 days a week, telecommuting the other 2. At 1.5 hours a day I'd prefer to ride every day but I couldn't afford the time at 3 hours a day, and the deal was I had to start telecommuting now if I wanted to do it next year. I guess it won't be bad in the winter either.

Darth Lefty 

I get a lot of variation depending on whether I pick the quickest route, quickest bike, and how I feel. Best-case my ride in is <30 min and my ride home is <35. Typically it's more like 35 and 40 minutes. On a bad-feeling day or if I mountain bike it might take an hour home. Home takes longer because it's uphill and I typically don't feel as well in the afternoon as in the morning. You can check my numbers, I'm in the BF Commuter group on Strava.

GovernorSilver

In my case, it helps that I enjoy riding a bike much more than taking the Metro, and even more than driving to work. Thus, commuting by bike doesn't feel like a chore or exercise routine at all.

When I first started, I read about various complaints/horror stories about bad behavior from other cyclists, motorists, bus drivers, etc. but they don't bother me as much as I thought they would - one exception being the bus that came up behind me fast and blaring its horn repeatedly. Even counting that last experience, I still much prefer commute by bike over the other two modes of transportation.

gaucho777 

2.5 hours seems like a lot to me.

My daily commute is about 25 minutes of saddle time each way (~7.5 miles) or about 30 minutes total dealing with locks, etc. (also have a kids trail-a-bike part of the way, which I lock up at my daughter's school on the way).

Wittyname

40-45 mins each way if I take the most direct route, depending on which lights I catch. I frequently extend the ride home to about 90 mins, would do longer but I have to pick up my son by a certain time or the sitter yells at me

BobbyG

It takes me 40-45 to work and 45-50 from work on the bike. Driving takes 20 to 25 minutes each way so I'm spending an extra 45 minutes a day commuting on the bike but getting twice that time in exercise.

gregf83 

During the week I basically ride for 1 hr 5min every 12 hrs.

wolfchild

On most days it's around 40-60 minutes each way. My ride is shorter in the morning then in the afternoon. Less traffic in the morning allows me to run a lot of red lights and stops. In the afternoon I often run errands and do some grocery shopping on my way from work, it adds extra time to my commute. Many years ago before I became car-free I used to work at two different jobs. I would bike commute to one job then come home and drive my car to my other job.

a1penguin

16 mile commute, about an hour, perhaps 1:05 wall clock time. I am now biking to work four days a week. But the weather is nice :-)

DTG

Half an hour most each way, so a hour total. I can normally do it 20-25 but figured to round up due to traffic stops.

rmfnla

My daily commute is about 7 miles round trip so at 15 minutes there and 20 - 25 minutes back I'm only in the saddle 30 - 40 minutes a day...

mconlonx

2hrs each day I do the full commute, up to 3 days/week... but usually less.
in: 25 min to a meeting, 20 min to the bus station, 15 min to work
out: 15 min to bus station, 45 minutes home.

When I drive to the bus station, 30 min: 15 min to work, 15 min to bus station.

Marcus_Ti

As little as 40 minutes round trip...or as much as 2-3 hours depending on how many miles I feel like riding before/after work.