1242Vintage

The short commute route is 22.2 miles, and the longer, more scenic route is 25 miles each way. Most of this ride is on a MUP along a river with lots of wildlife to see. Elevation difference is about 400 ft total and no real hills to speak of. On a good day, it's 1 hour 20 minutes. Add in a little wind, or after a tiring day at work, and it can take up to 1 hour 40 minutes.

I ride a CAAD9 and carry a backpack with a few tools, a spare tire, tubes, and my work clothes.

I'm very very fortunate to have a bike locker right outside my office and my building has a full locker room with showers in the basement.

Typically I commute three times a week. However last month with the great Fall weather commuted every day.

fmileto55

My route is 14.8 miles each way. A hill at the beginning. Mostly flat. Small town, rural roads to start then a little busier as I get closer to work. About 200ft of climb coming home. 50 minutes going downhill in the morning; 55 minutes going back.

I use several bikes to commute depending on weather or the season. Now, I'm riding a fendered Surly LHT with a ITM Selego trekking bar, two Dinottes, B&M Cyo, and two Monkeylectric lights. I use a framebag for tools and backrack with a bag for clothes and whatnot.

Drivers are mostly okay in the morning. Worse in the evening. I'm lucky I work on a military base, so I have safe bike parking in my building and showers readily available. Boss is a big fitness guy so he's encouraging me to continue commuting.

I've been doing this since 2007. Won't be changing jobs or location, so I intend to keep doing this.

FrankTheCrank

hairytoes

24.5miles each way, 10miles on a freeway. Typically takes 1hr 30min (1 20 in summer good weather, 1 40ish winter, 2hr in snow).

Used to do it 5 days a week, but have dropped to 3. A full week left me too exhausted.

|3iker

~11.xx miles one way.
I meander about from suburban town street --> MUP --> crush gravel trail --> busy city streets.
I can skip the MUP and gravel trail for the main artery to save a bit of a distance. But I like the tranquility of riding alongside the river and parks.
It takes me about 50mins.
I enjoy the first 3/4 of the route and dislike the last 1/4 bit due to heavy traffic and lack of riding space.

I'm currently riding a converted drop bar MTB. It's working out real well because it is comfortable and fairly quick if needed. 48t allows for good cruising speed.

CptjohnC

At this point it seems to live again, so why not continue?

A bit of description of your route profile.

A mix of city and suburban, paved and gravel MUP, 4 lane divided highway and city traffic, and some residential streets. toughest climb is about a 15-18% grade for about 1/4 mile, on a residential street and MUP, with several less severe climbs on residential streets (which lets me avoid a narrow, busy and dangerous street) following. I ride one 2 mile section of 4 lane divided highway on the shoulder.

What kind of bike you ride. (photos would be cool)

Kona Dew Drop with Topeak Explorer rack, cheap-ish Avenir panniers, and a small toolkit/underseat bag.

How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride.

Change of clothes, lunch, phone, PDA, etc... go in the left pannier. Spare u-lock, topeak Road Morph, roll of duct tape, inclement weather gear, spare riding glasses, spare blinky and spare tube #2 are in the right pannier. multi-tools, spare tube #1, patch kit, spare headlight, and masterlink are in the tool bag.

Distance & time (average speed if you care to share)

Ride in: about 11.5 miles in around 55 minutes. My GPS documented speed is just under 12 MPH most days (including all stops for traffic lights, etc...)
Ride home: about 12.5 miles, about 65 minutes, average speed of 11.5 ish. Of course, the speed varies considerably based on terrain and conditions. My MUP Miles usually average 15-18 MPH, while my urban (and climbing) miles fall way down around 10 MPH. I do this 3-4 times a week, depending on circumstances. Oh, I should mention: I drive the first and last 10 miles of what would otherwise be a 40 mile plus round trip -- I drive because I need to get my teenage daughter to school, and the location isn't accessible by public transit. My other alternative is to ride to transit, which is what I usually do when go straight to work from home.

How long you've been doing this and any thoughts you have toward the future of your commuting.

My current commute is less than 8 weeks old. I started riding less than 3 miles a day about 7 months ago, and started riding further about 5 months ago, ramping up over time. My plan is to stick with it, as I really enjoy it. Time will tell how dedicated a winter biker I am, though I spent many years as a year round motorcyclist, so I think I'll stick. I don't voluntarily ride in snow or cold rain at this point, though.

Drew Eckhardt 

Flat (maximum grade: +/-.3% with about 85 feet up hill in either direction) except for one highway overpass along good streets but with 23 traffic lights (10 were red on the day I decided to count) across the direction of travel and 10 stop signs.

1996 Litespeed Natchez titanium road frame with a carbon fork, Campagnolo brifters upgraded to 9-speed, 50-34 x 13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23, Selle Italia Turbomatic saddle (with vibration damping inserts on the rails - it's great), Bebop clipless pedals on Shimano mountain bike shoes (more walkable than road pedals, but not like SPDs - they might go when they wear out), 700x25 folding Gatorskins at 100 psi rear/95 front.

Just replaced my old Niterider head light which was getting flaky with a Magic Shine that's actually bright enough to see (and perhaps avoid) minor pavement irregularities.

Rear rack (currently held on with P-clamps which slip, but I'm going to get a local frame builder to add eyelets after I settle on a more attractive rack) with an Arkel Commuter pannier (laptop, clothes for the day, rain pants/jacket/pannier cover, lock, extra cliff bars, extra extra tubes, surprisingly adds up to 15 pounds).

11.75 miles each way, 45-50 minutes of wall clock time (shorter times are usually after 9pm), generally 15-16 MPH with only a few seconds of each stop counted with a bike computer best of 17.4.

16-18 MPH up the false flats and 18-20 down are typical if I'm just cruising along.

I work too much to get many other quality miles so I ride like I would for fun.

3 months for this route since starting a new job farther away than the last one (only 9.5 miles).

For the rainy season I'm going to add some light weight fenders so I stop getting as doused when riding in the rain.

Before warm weather gets here again I'll put a second water bottle cage on, because when it's sunny and 60+ I can drink 20 Oz in one direction and still end up loosing water weight.

Gonzoso

My commute is about 22 miles one way. It is to college. I bike commute when I feel like it, other days I car pool. I just started recently though.

I have ridden my route one way, but not both ways in a day before. Tomorrow will be my first 44 mile day.

The route is mostly back roads with light traffic, no shoulder, decent hills. I have a few hectic city areas I have to ride through, but that's alright, it keeps me on my toes.

I travel light. I know the day before I am going so i leave a notebook/text in a locker at school. I also deposit my kryptonite lock (u and cable) in the locker so I don't need to carry it. I typically only carry tools and layers. And hydration of course.

MileHighMark

A bit of description of your route profile.

Some suburban roads, but mostly back roads in/around Boulder. Good shoulders and bike lanes. One granny-ring climb, some rollers, and some flat sections mixed in. It provides a nice workout and clears my head.

What kind of bike you ride. (photos would be cool)

SOMA Saga tourer (2010 model). Set up with a rear rack and front low-riders. Full fenders (year round), 24/36/46 x 11-32 gearing, canti's, 700x35 (or 32) tires. Dynohub lighting up front, and battery-powered lights in back. Just made a ton of changes to it, so I don't have any current pics.

How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride.

Most of my gear lives in my front (Ortlieb) panniers. I carry a change of clothes, shoes, lunch, wallet, and cell phone. Spare tube, patch kit, mini-tool and the like are stored in a Soul Run tool pouch which is strapped on my rear rack (along with a Lezyne mini-pump).

Distance & time (average speed if you care to share)

11.5 miles door-to-door. Getting there takes approx 45 mins, and coming home takes 55-58 mins. Sometimes it's less, sometimes it's more--it all depends on the weather, my mood, and how much stuff I'm carrying.

How long you've been doing this and any thoughts you have toward the future of your commuting.

Started in June 2010 to supplement my off-road riding. I try to cycle commute 2-3 days a week. When my daughter gets her driver's license I'll shoot for 4 days a week.

Shawnrs

Greetings,
What kind of bike you ride. SteelWool Tweed Single speed 36/16. Looking at a 40 tooth ring soon.

How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride. Mondays and Fridays roughly 25lbs The rest of the week 10-15lbs of stuff. All in rear saddle bags.

Distance & time (average speed if you care to share) roughly 50mins on average. 14.5 miles (23.5km) at roughly 30km/h (can't go much faster). I try to hold 90 rpm. I am a little under geared for my trip. At 120 rpm my bike computer starts to flash. Have not figured this out yet, doesn't matter because at the point mylegs feel like they are going to separate. The route is largely flat. Only a 70m (200 ft) climb in the 2km near home. I am on the road by 5am. Very dark at that hour. I have Cycgolite 350 lumins head lamp and PB 1 watt flasher, flashing led straps for my ankles, reflective vest and rear flasher. Will be adding spoke flashers and another rear flasher.

How long you've been doing this and any thoughts you have toward the future of your commuting. Two years. If the forecast calls for more that 5mm of rain. I wimp out. If rain is not in the forecast I am riding 5 days a week. Honestly I now dislike driving. Period.
The whole reason I started to ride to work was to loose weight. I new I had a bit of a gut but one day I looked up my BMI. I am 5'6 and weigh 180lbs I should be down around 150lbs. Alarm bells went off. So I bought a bike.
Thanks for letting me babble.
Shawnrs

bored117 

A bit of description of your route profile.
Distance & time (average speed if you care to share)

13.5 mile to Train station, with some rolling terrain with one long hill (3.7 miles) of 5-6% going pretty straight. Fortunately, it is going down for going to work which keeps my perspiration level down. Train and 1.8 mile flat from train to work.
I keep it at 17 miles by only taking first 13.5 mile one way a day for time being until I am a little more fit.
Down to station day would avg 18 mph based on computer, and up day would be 12 mph. It's getting slightly faster each week

What kind of bike you ride. (photos would be cool)

Dahon Speed TR 2008. It's a folding bike with enough gear. Good pricing and practicality.
IMAG0162..jpg

How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride.

1 Ortlieb Large office bag and 1 teeco pannier. Ortlieb for clothes, computer, etc. Teeco for extra water bottle, etc. I also have saddlebag that never really see use (emergency stuff).


How long you've been doing this and any thoughts you have toward the future of your commuting.

I was doing the 3.6 mile for couple of month and decided to ramp it up about a month ago to 17 mile a day. I love it for time saving (instead of Gym, I have more time to use) and motivation. I plan to ramp it up to 30+ mile a day by not driving at all eventually. But baby steps at first.
I might get some other bike when I don't have to fold bike everyday too.

will be was

Daily Commute from NJ to NYC.

jrn

A bit of description of your route profile.

Starts with a 450ft descent through my neighborhood, then MUP along Pearl Harbor for a few miles, then bike lanes for the most part until I hit downtown Honolulu where I ride in traffic for a half mile or so. I don't vary the ride up much so the way home is the opposite with that wonderful hill at the end.

What kind of bike you ride.

A Kestrel RT700 with my wife's Cannondale Hybrid as backup.

How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride.

I wear a backpack with my lunch, clothes, and patch kit etc.

Distance & time (average speed if you care to share)

12 miles each way and the total way home takes me about 45 minutes. On the way home the first 10 miles are relatively flat and the best average speed I've had for it is 21.7 MPH.

How long you've been doing this and any thoughts you have toward the future of your commuting.
I LOVE commuting and have been doing it on and off since 6th grade and plan to continue doing so until I am an old man.

weinstein

Last summer i worked part time 3 days a week and cycled 80km a day, two hours each way. Brilliant ride comprises 10km on roads and then 30km on trails each way. My current bike is an old Mongoose mountain bike, with slicks and I carry a backpack. I'm lucky my office has bike storage and showers etc.....

Looking forward to the new bike next year, either the 2010 Conquest classic or a trek Portland, I want to move onto drop bars and disc brakes.

Roll on next summer!

scoatw

A bit of description of your route profile.
Distance & time (average speed if you care to share)
I start out in a residential area making my way to the main artery which transforms from a 50mph 4 lane highway with 8ft shoulders to a 35mph three lane down to a two lane where the speed limit increases to 45 mph. and a 2ft shoulder. 8.5 miles that takes about 42-45 mins. I leave at 3:45am, make a stop to buy a paper and I get to work about 20mins early for my 5am start. This gives me time to fix a flat if I have to. I ride on Armadillos so that means flats are practically non-existent. I’ve had one this year, so far. I average about 5200 miles a year.

What kind of bike you ride. (photos would be cool)
I ride a Gary Fisher Utopia that I’ve had since 97. I just replaced the entire drivetrain this past year. New Velocity Aeroheats with Shimano XT hubs, Shimano Hollowtech LX crank(sweet!), chain, rear Dee, a new pair of Tektro cantilever brakes. Rides like a brand new bike. I can’t say enough about the Aeroheats, makes for a tough commuting wheel. In the winter I have a second wheel set I bought used and have a pair of Nokian Extreme 296’s that get me thru anything snow-wise(so far).


This is my other bike that I sometimes commute on. A Surly 1x1 converted to a 1x7. Awesome Trail bike in the summer and hopefully my new Winter commuter. I just got it in Oct. on Ebay so we’ll see how it works out for the snow. So far so good. Big 2.5 WTB’s that I’m installing some homemade studs in to make a bombproof winter tire

How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride.


I’ve got a pair of Axiom LaSalle’s with a rack trunk, the front I’ve got a homemade porteur rack attached to a Jand Mt. rack. Don't laugh, it'll carry a case of beer.

How long you've been doing this and any thoughts you have toward the future of your commuting.
I’ve been riding recreationally since 1983. Doing centuries and stuff like that. I’ve been a full time commuter since june 2007. My car broke down so I didn’t have a choice right away.I could’ve bought a replacement car but I stuck with the commuting since things were going so well. Prior to 2007 I would commute sometimes if the weather was good. The coldest I had ridden was into the low 40’s. That’s when I would quit for the season.. I started getting tips and advice
from BF in 07 and learned what others did to overcome the cold. I’ve been riding everyday ever since. My personal low is -14. I wish I’d done this15 years ago. I’m 54 and I intend on riding until I can’t do it anymore.

hubcap

A bit of description of your route profile.

10 miles of suburban roads, about 4 miles of those roads bisect forest preserves (nice). I end up at a train station, at which I board for about a 30 minute train ride. After getting off the train, I get on a second bike that I have in a bike locker at the station. Another 5 mile ride on more urban roads with heavier traffic gets me to my office. I repeat the ride in reverse on the way home.

What kind of bike you ride. (photos would be cool)

Being in the Chicago area where it is exceedingly flat, l normally ride single speeds. I have a single speed Bianchi San Jose and a single speed Specialized Langster that is fixed. In the winter (which is now) I put studs on the San Jose and also start riding an old school, reasonably high quality, rigid GT mountain bike with studs. Other times, I might ride my Yuba cargo bike or my Citizen folder.

How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride.

Arkel Bug or Ortlieb panniers. Sometimes (but rarely recently) a backpack from Banjo Brothers.

Distance & time (average speed if you care to share)

Timing in the winter is a poor reflection of the rest of the year. It can take me an hour or more to get to the train station when it it <0F with -25F windchill. In the summer I can do it in about 35 minutes when I am flying.

How long you've been doing this and any thoughts you have toward the future of your commuting.

5 years on my current commute, 3 years before that with a 36mi RT commute (no train in the middle).
I sold my car earlier this year, so I anticipate doing this for a while.

Sean T

A bit of description of your route profile.
Rural and then downtown/city for the last bit. No climbing, some over passes

What kind of bike you ride. (photos would be cool)
- giant tcr, lotsa lights, no special commuting mods

How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride.
I drive a one or two days a week and bring a load of gear/clothes in on those days.

Distance & time (average speed if you care to share)
38 miles each way, 1:45 on the way in depending on lights (tailwind) about 2:00 on the way home (headwind )

mmatyus

Route:
Upper West Side to Gowanus Canal via the West Side Highway > Manhattan Bridge

Bike:
Motobecane Le Champion ca. 1981, Campy components, Mavic rims

Gear:
Backpack w/ Work clothes, wrenches-n-stuff

Distance:
10.25 miles Each Way, usually takes 45 minutes Each Way, which I think is pretty decent considering NYC traffic

Started last summer (my previous commute used to be more like 30 minutes), I'm used to the distance now and I absolutely love it, used to ride my brakeless fixed gear (47/18 ratio) but the whole stop-and-go thing over 10 miles takes a toll on my knees.

Sixty Fiver

I commute to several locations to work and volunteer and my own shop is only 32 steps from my back door and could be described as snow covered and icy right now.

My commute to the co-op is 8km through the heart of the city and a good portion of this has very nice bike paths that make riding just about as fast as driving and it is for the most part a pretty relaxing ride... it's a short 20 minute ride.

I spend alternate weeks at the frame shop and it is 50 km from my home (one way) as it is located in the country which makes for a wonderful ride... the first 10km tales me through and out of the city (my home is almost dead center) and then I have 40 km of wide open roads with huge shoulders. The first 25 km is a gradual climb and then I have 20 km of gradual descent before things take me up again. I usually plan on my ride to be 2 hours as I stop mid way for my morning coffee and if I go out without stops I can maintain a speed of 35 kmh in nice conditions without killing myself.

I have quite a few bikes and could ride any of them the 50 km... last summer my folder did the lion's share of the long commute as well as century rides and metrics... I spent quite a few evenings at the shop doing mods to the bike which started he season as a fixed gear but is now a 21 speed with improved brakes, wheels, and a number of braze ons.

It is also a great urban bike as it spins up so very quickly and is very agile... it also offers a wide range of adjustability so when I am in touring mode I run the bars higher and if I need to get low the adjustable stem gives me some very aggressive saddle to bar drop if I need it.



My hybrid sees a lot of miles as well as it is a great all rounder that is great in the city and very capable when it comes to taking longer trips although the folder seems to be consistently faster... both bikes weigh about the same and think the folder has quite an aerodynamic edge and the smaller lighter wheels make quite a difference.



Also take my touring bike on the long commute and it is well suited for carrying a lot more gear... sometimes I stay overnight and can use the touring bike to stock up on supplies and once I have dropped my gear and lightened the bike it is also quite capable of covering 35 km in an hour when you have no stops.