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Commuting is hard!!

Old 08-03-09, 07:11 PM
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Commuting is hard!!

You guys who commute 10 - 15 miles everyday are MACHINES!! I biked MAYBE 5 miles today back from the bus stop and I was bushed afterwards!! I was so self consious on the road becuase I was going so slow.
Anyways! I have SO much more respect for you guys! Amazing!!
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Old 08-03-09, 07:14 PM
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Give it a month or two of everyday commuting and you'll hardly even feel 15 miles .
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Old 08-03-09, 07:14 PM
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Take your time and build up to longer rides. Don't feel bad if you "only" do 5 miles. That's 5 more miles on a bike than that fat guy in the car next to you, lol.

I have respect for you getting up and commuting on your bike regardless of how far the commute is. Give yourself some credit and keep up the good work. Now take that much deserved nap. You earned it.
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Old 08-03-09, 07:35 PM
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I am chuckling here as I make a prediction. Sometime, in the not too distant future, you will be posting about how you take a less than optimal route home so you can get more miles on your commute.
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Old 08-03-09, 07:49 PM
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Ha 5 miles is the warm up. You'll get there don't worry about it.
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Old 08-03-09, 08:42 PM
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I remember the frist month i started to commute it sucked so bad. Now it is nothing i go for hill sprints after i get home just to burn off a little energy. Give it time.
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Old 08-03-09, 09:22 PM
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Quantum physics is hard! Commuting is easy!
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Old 08-03-09, 09:47 PM
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15 miles each way is exactly what I do. Started doing it a few months ago. The first month was torture, completely wore me out. Tool me an hour 40 minutes each way. The second month was tolerable, and borderline enjoyable. Took an hour 20 minutes. Now I'm down to an hour flat, and I'm thoroughtly enjoying it (except the climbs. I HATE the climbs).

I think the BIG difference between a commute of a few miles Vs 15 or so is that 15 is a real workout. I arrive at work/home drenched with sweat, my legs are burning, I've got to be careful about water and food intake, I wear the right clothes then shower and change at both ends, that sort of thing. Whereas the people I see who ride just a few miles typically ride in their work clothes, take it easy and don't build up a sweat.

... and contrary to what some might say, it never gets easier. You just get faster and learn to enjoy the pain!
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Old 08-03-09, 09:52 PM
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Originally Posted by wristwister
... and contrary to what some might say, it never gets easier. You just get faster and learn to enjoy the pain!
No, it gets easier. Not everyone rides flat out to work. Commuting's not an extreme sport.
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Old 08-03-09, 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by jyossarian
No, it gets easier. Not everyone rides flat out to work. Commuting's not an extreme sport.
Well then maybe I'm doing something wrong. I certainly don't ride "flat out". I ride at a comfortable, slightly agressive pace, always have. My legs STILL burn up those hills. I still arrive at my destination sweaty and spent. The difference is I get there quicker now, I'm riding up hills I once walked the bike up, and for some massochistic reason that leg burn and exhaustion feels good now!
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Old 08-03-09, 10:10 PM
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Originally Posted by jyossarian
Quantum physics is hard! Commuting is easy!
It's not so bad. General relativity, now that's some hard ****.
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Old 08-03-09, 10:11 PM
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Originally Posted by ambrisdelighted
You guys who commute 10 - 15 miles everyday are MACHINES!! I biked MAYBE 5 miles today back from the bus stop and I was bushed afterwards!! I was so self consious on the road becuase I was going so slow.
Anyways! I have SO much more respect for you guys! Amazing!!
Congratulations on starting to commute! No one cares how fast you go on your bike - all that matters is that you're out there riding.
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Old 08-03-09, 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by jyossarian
No, it gets easier. Not everyone rides flat out to work. Commuting's not an extreme sport.
True. You'll never get a Dew endorsement for commuting.

I do like to push it a bit when I commute; personal choice. I ride a full-suss MTB, my 'everybike', and 18-20 minutes for a 5.25 mi. commute is average; on good days, like this past spring @ my last job location, I pulled a 9-mile 1-way in 32 min. At least three days a week, I'm taking 'the long way home', adding miles for the fun of it. I live 2 miles from work, and today was the 1st day this year I only rode the 2 miles in. Normally, it's that 5.25..... I change up my routes, play on the way, just enjoy it; I also punish myself on the small uphills on the routes. I have to suffer a bit to feel good later.
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Old 08-03-09, 10:24 PM
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Originally Posted by wristwister
Well then maybe I'm doing something wrong. I certainly don't ride "flat out". I ride at a comfortable, slightly agressive pace, always have. My legs STILL burn up those hills. I still arrive at my destination sweaty and spent. The difference is I get there quicker now, I'm riding up hills I once walked the bike up, and for some massochistic reason that leg burn and exhaustion feels good now!
Hills don't get easier, you just get faster. But not everyone has hills on their commute.
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Old 08-04-09, 12:11 AM
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I used to be in the same boat. My commute each way is only 5 miles. Now I take long detours in order to get my commute up to 12 miles each way. Just keep at it, your stamina will build up and you will be able to do your commute a lot faster!
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Old 08-04-09, 12:39 AM
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I love my commute: 5 miles RT. Completely flat except a 6% grade extending 2 1/2 blocks on the way to work...and coming home is fun!
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Old 08-04-09, 12:52 AM
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Originally Posted by dlester
I am chuckling here as I make a prediction. Sometime, in the not too distant future, you will be posting about how you take a less than optimal route home so you can get more miles on your commute.
Congratulations on starting to commute on your bike. You're already doing better than the couch potato who drives his car to his neighbor's house. I have a very short commute compared to most people on this forum (3 miles RT to one building where I work and about 5 RT to the other). It's easy because it's flat. But at least I'm out of my car and getting a little exercise. A short time after I began bike commuting, I started taking roundabout ways home on side streets just to get in more time on the bike.
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Old 08-04-09, 01:24 AM
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My shortest route to work is just under six miles, one way. I nearly always take that route to work, but I have lots of alternatives going home. My favorite extends it to just over 12 miles and includes a couple of hills that exceed 12% grade. The big hills are only about two miles total, but they definitely get the blood pumping!
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Old 08-04-09, 02:13 AM
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Hang in there it really does get easier and you will be looking for longer routes. The best advice is keep it a bike ride not a race. Ride your bike for the pleasure of riding & not to get somewhere as fast as you can.
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Old 08-04-09, 02:19 AM
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Originally Posted by bmt074
Give it a month or two of everyday commuting and you'll hardly even feel 15 miles .
this is so true. make sure if you buy a new bike to get a fit. I dont know if you're a guy or girl, but as a guy it can get rather numb.
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Old 08-04-09, 05:13 AM
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Originally Posted by ambrisdelighted
You guys who commute 10 - 15 miles everyday are MACHINES!! I biked MAYBE 5 miles today back from the bus stop and I was bushed afterwards!! I was so self consious on the road becuase I was going so slow.
Anyways! I have SO much more respect for you guys! Amazing!!
Already been said but it will get easier. The people I truly respect are the ones who started off in not very good shape and who I could tell were pushing it hard and then a few months or years later look like totally different people. There is a guy like that I see on my commute (22 miles roundtrip) who has totally changed in two years. I started off in so-so shape 3 years ago and having to leave my bike overnight because I could only do one way per day. Now I'm doing my commute roundtrip about 3 times per week, could probably do it every day but I have other things to do as well.

Stick with it and you'll build up a good foundation of general well being. At least in Kansas it is generally flat, been all over that state!
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Old 08-04-09, 05:26 AM
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I'll tell you I am one of those 10+ mile commuters. Started just as you have 5-6 miles RT/day. Short commute was very hard at first. got easier with a lot of time, lots of weekend extended rides longer than my daily commute rides. Started riding 22 miles RT/day back in May and again it's hard. But just noticed this morning on one of my desperation hills that hey I was actually standing and climbing the entire hill! I could not do that before. Wow that was fun actually hurt like hell but I made it up the hill a whole lot faster than usual. Those hills I used to sweat and walk up now are just little risers. It does get easier in some ways but then you find new challenges that make it hard again. One of the fun things about this is the new factor. Always something just around the corner. Keep on keepin' on! Best thing I've done for myself in decades.
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Old 08-04-09, 07:52 AM
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I go 11 miles each way, and yes at first it's tiring. I'd have rubber-band legs when I got home, especially when climbing the stairs. The thing I did that helped a lot was to ride only every other day (MWF) at first, then two days with a rest in between (MT{W}ThF). When you're building up strength and endurance, the rest and recovery days are important. Chris
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Old 08-04-09, 09:37 AM
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Let me add my voice to the chorus of "I remember my first week" singers.

When I started, my plan was to ride to the transit station 2.5 miles away and back in the evening. I gave it a test run after work one evening. I made it out half a mile and realized that if I didn't head back then I wouldn't make it back. When I got home, I could barely stand up.

But I kept at it, and within a week, I was making it to the transit station. Within a month, I was skipping the transit station once a week and going the entire 11 miles to work. Now, two years later I'm commuting 110 miles a week, riding centuries on the weekends and doing cyclocross races in the fall.

One other reminiscences... Even once I was making the entire 11 miles, the rolling hills were killing me. In fact, it used to irk me hearing people call them rolling hills because they were kicking my butt. One hill in particular, I'd crawl up in my lowest gear and have to stop and take a breather for a few minutes before going on. Yesterday I took that hill at 20 mph.

Did I mention that I was 37 years old, overweight and obscenely out of shape when I started this?

So, yeah, stick with it and you'll find you can do it in no time.

+1 on the rest days. You can get there without that, but it will take a lot longer.
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Old 08-04-09, 09:48 AM
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Originally Posted by jyossarian
Quantum physics is hard! Commuting is easy!
+ ln(e)

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