Too long a ride ?
08-26-09, 07:11 PM
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Too long a ride ?
Random thoughts about my commute and some stuff I just started thinking about.
I've been doing my Long Island (S. Nassau County) to Brooklyn commute, on/off for 15 years or so. I don't do it at night or in winter, and then only from April to October usually, as schedule allows.
It's between 26 and 29 miles ea. way, door to door, but the route I like the best is 27.5 miles.
The last few years I have not been doing a daily round trip of 55, mostly as I'm 15 years older then when I started bike commuting, have not been riding (generally) as much till this year, and found it a bit much. Instead, I often leave the car at work (it's in a secure lot), bike home and then back in the AM. This year I started doing a "Park and Ride", leaving the car in a municipal lot that cuts 8 miles off the route.
I found this shorter 39 mile RT to be manageable and enjoyable and started wondering why a 20 mile one-way was SO much easier, especially since I'm much fitter this year and regularly do 40 mile plus rides on weekends at a much faster pace and should be able to handle the 54 RT, at least once or twice a week.
Then I started examining my ride and realized that when I commute home, I make 14 turns in the first 19 miles, then 30 turns in the remaining 8. When I do the 40 RT Park and Ride, I get to the car before I have to do the final 8 miles with it's 30 turns.
Which brought back memories of why I consider the Transportation Alternatives NYC Century (in September) to be the hardest century I've ever done, being harder then a 107 mile leg on the '99 Bicycle Tour of Colorado that went over 4 passes. It was all the constant stops and starts in Queens and The Bronx that wear you down in the NYC ride and is the same thing I deal with in those last 30 turns of the commute, which come at the end of a long day at work as well as a long commute.
I recall advising other cyclists on past posts on assorted websites, to consider not taking the most direct route, but to stay off the heavily trafficked roadways by finding other local streets, that while they may extend the distance somewhat, make the commute more pleasurable.
Now I add that it's best to find a happy medium and to be aware that when doing really long commutes, that have a lot of stops and starts, will take it's toll in terms of energy used and is itself, something to consider and pay attention to. Find a route and distance that doesn't feel like drudgery, as something to endure, rather then something you enjoy.
My $.02
Steve B.
I've been doing my Long Island (S. Nassau County) to Brooklyn commute, on/off for 15 years or so. I don't do it at night or in winter, and then only from April to October usually, as schedule allows.
It's between 26 and 29 miles ea. way, door to door, but the route I like the best is 27.5 miles.
The last few years I have not been doing a daily round trip of 55, mostly as I'm 15 years older then when I started bike commuting, have not been riding (generally) as much till this year, and found it a bit much. Instead, I often leave the car at work (it's in a secure lot), bike home and then back in the AM. This year I started doing a "Park and Ride", leaving the car in a municipal lot that cuts 8 miles off the route.
I found this shorter 39 mile RT to be manageable and enjoyable and started wondering why a 20 mile one-way was SO much easier, especially since I'm much fitter this year and regularly do 40 mile plus rides on weekends at a much faster pace and should be able to handle the 54 RT, at least once or twice a week.
Then I started examining my ride and realized that when I commute home, I make 14 turns in the first 19 miles, then 30 turns in the remaining 8. When I do the 40 RT Park and Ride, I get to the car before I have to do the final 8 miles with it's 30 turns.
Which brought back memories of why I consider the Transportation Alternatives NYC Century (in September) to be the hardest century I've ever done, being harder then a 107 mile leg on the '99 Bicycle Tour of Colorado that went over 4 passes. It was all the constant stops and starts in Queens and The Bronx that wear you down in the NYC ride and is the same thing I deal with in those last 30 turns of the commute, which come at the end of a long day at work as well as a long commute.
I recall advising other cyclists on past posts on assorted websites, to consider not taking the most direct route, but to stay off the heavily trafficked roadways by finding other local streets, that while they may extend the distance somewhat, make the commute more pleasurable.
Now I add that it's best to find a happy medium and to be aware that when doing really long commutes, that have a lot of stops and starts, will take it's toll in terms of energy used and is itself, something to consider and pay attention to. Find a route and distance that doesn't feel like drudgery, as something to endure, rather then something you enjoy.
My $.02
Steve B.
