jody

Hello all! Please allow me to introduce myself as I am a new member. My name is Jody and I live in Southern California.

On May 6 I start a new job and intend to bike and take public transportation. I'll kick off my commuting with bike-to-work-week and fully intend to continue thereafter.

Anyway, any tips, shortcuts, advise is greatly appreciated. I'm actually 20 miles from my office so I was going to bike the 8 miles to the train station.

Ideally I would like to work up to biking the whole way once or twice per week... but the final several miles is through the hills so I was thinking that eventually I would use an electric bike to help through the final couple of miles. (Am I going to get kicked off this site just for mentioning an electric bike??? )

Thanks for your tips.

LittleBigMan

Hi, Jody!

Sure, you can do it! 20 miles (with hills) can be conquered, even without an electric bike.

My encouragement would be stated as follows: start with one step at a time, and you'll be pleased with how far you can go.

John E

Where are you based, Jody? San Diego Northern Railroad ("Coaster") trains are extremely bike-friendly, as are Los Angeles' Metrolink equivalents. I know lots of people who bike partway and ride the train part way, or bike to work and ride the train home, etc.

jody

Thanks for the replies. I actually will be taking the Metrolink. I'll ride 8 miles to the train station and take the Metrolink. It's uphill from where the train drops me off so I think I'll take the bus to work and ride (downhill) back to the train station when I get off.

Any advise for how to work up my endurance to doing the 20 miles with hills. Ideally, maybe I can do the bike/train commute to work but then bike the whole way home. I've been taking some training rides and I don't think the 8 miles is going to be a problem but I'm unsure how to work up to the 20 miles with hills.

Suggestions anyone?

mike

Eight miles to the train station is ambitious enough.

20 miles each way would be a long bicycle commute even for dedicated commuters. Some folks do it and they have my utmost respect and admiration.

Eight miles each way for a 16 mile per day commute is certainly on the upper crust of bicycle commuters - check out the poll on the thread: "how many miles is your commute?"

LittleBigMan

I concur with this

Rich Clark

I agree that 40 miles a day is a lot for most folks. I do 13 miles each way, every day, and it seems about right (an hour, more or less, a chunk of time comparable to other modes of travel).

8 miles is far enough that personally I would want to wear cycling clothes, and would get pretty throroughly warmed up. Thus stopping and getting on a train at that point would be potentially problematic.

Instead, if it were me, I'd probably drive my bike in (or carry my bike in on the train, leaving my car at the train station) one day, ride home and ride back in the next morning. I'd do this twice a week, giving me 80 miles a week. If things are going well you could add one more round-trip.

For most riders, hills are mostly about having low enough gearing to match your state of fitness. If you're riding a bike with 1:1 or better low-gear ratio you can get up most grades, albeit slowly. Try it on a weekend before you decide it's a problem.

There's always a way. Deciding to do it is the big step, and it sounds like you've already taken it. Way to go!

Rich

MichaelW

8 miles is quite far enough to start with.
For hills, you just need to maintain your normal cruising power output, but use low gears to keep your pedals spinning fast. Most MTB and hybrid bikes have low enough gears for any hill you will encounter. Road racing bikes are usually geared too high to do this.
Before you get on the train, it is important to cool down , so ease up for the last 5 mins ands stop any power pedalling for the last minute or so to let the breeze cool you down. If you are wearing cycling clothes and the weather is hot, pour some of your water over your jersey.

This kind of commute is best taken at an easy pace, not a racing pace.

mrfix

Hi Jody
Welcome the world of real transportation. Stick with it, it's a great way to go. I commute 37.5 miles round trip in the hills of new england, I ride most of the year and utilize various routes depending on the weather, My cut-off temp. is 20 degrees, and I drive my car if it's snowing or raining hard in the morning. It takes me 52 minutes to get to work on a normal day, an extra 10 minutes for a flat repair. about 55 minutes to get home, unless it's nice out, then I tend to get lost sometimes. I carry a set of performance panniers and a topeak trunk bag on a topeak rack mule rack. The bike and gear weigh about 55 pounds in the winter and early spring and late fall, in the summer it weighs about 30 pounds because I don't carry as much gear. Of course, I'm a "what if type of guy" and tend to carry way too much gear. I have what I need to get to my destination, no matter what happens. As far as what too ride, as long as it fits, it really dosen't matter, here is a list of my bikes. I ride an ironhorse AT-50, re-fit with shimano LX and lower gearing with smooth higher pressure tires on wet, dirty or slippery roads, A 1979 Raleigh technium, re-fit with shimano D.A. for nice weather and clean roads, and a 1993 Bridgestone RBT re-fit with the new shimano dura-ace tripple and XTR rear for the best of days, the heaviest loads and the longest rides. But in reality, there are no bad bikes, they all have character and a personality of their own. They will all get you there. Be careful, enjoy the ride and be courteous and helpful to those you meet along the way. When they see you, they see us all - the impression you give them, is the impression they have of all of us.

Rich Clark

Wow, that's 21mph door to door. Really fast for a hilly ride. Most of us have to resign ourselves to going considerably less than 19 miles in 55 minutes. (On my mostly urban commute, I go 13 miles in about that time, what with stop lights and all.)

Somebody in your kind of shape should be bike commuting!

RichC

mrfix

Thanks
Every ride is a training ride. my weekends are spent in upstate Vermont where the hills are real. I log from 7500 to 10500 miles a year. My daily average speeds are from 19 miles per hour loaded on a good day and 23 miles an hour unloaded on a good day. Of course, when the weather is bad my average speed slows for safety reasons, but i can't recall a slower day than 14 miles per hour on a commute. I have to be to work by 7:00 AM, I leave my home at 5:30 and arrive at work between 6:22 and 6:30, 6:45 when I get a flat. But since I've built up a nice set of Mavic touring 519 touring wheels with ultegra hubs and 14DB wheelsmith spokes, and have been running Continental ultra - 2000 kevlar, 700X28C tires, the flat thing seems to be a thing of the past.

Rich Clark

Admirable. I would hasten to point out to new commuters and people who are just returning to the sport and thinking about commuting, that numbers like this are pretty far out on the end of the bell curve. Ordinary mortals should probably plan on going fewer miles in that amount of time.

My newer bike has 3200 flat-free commuting miles, shod nearly identically: Ultegra hubs, 519's, Wheelsmith 14/15 spokes, Conti TT2000 700x32c. I have to remember to replace the glue in my patch kit, now that I think about it.

RichC

mrfix

RichC
How do you like the TT2000? Do you have the kevlar beaded ones? How's the rolling resistance? I chose the ultra 2000's because of the smaller size and I assumed there would be less rolling resistance. I really wanted to run the TT-2000 originally, I feel they would be a better choice for heavier loads. I may try a set on my touring bike this summer. The parts choice on the wheels really works great, don't ya think. Did you build them yourself? I built mine and it was great fun.

Pete

jody

Thank you all for your input. I'm going out today to do a "test run" on the most important leg of my trip. I live in a rural area (cows all around) and acording to a map I found, a small river near my house (actually a concrete trickle of water run-off) has a concrete bike lane on either side of it. As far as I can see from my car that is the case but there is another six miles I can't see. I'm hoping to ride the length of that "river" today to make sure that I won't have any problems.

Tell me if you think this estimate is good.... (I have no idea how fast I travel.) The train leaves at 7:10 am and I was planning on leaving my house at 6:30. Stop lights/signs are few and far between so I figure that I can get to the train station in 25-35 minutes and then cool down (and stretch a little) while waiting for the train. The distance to the station is about 7.5-8 miles. How does my math sound?

Thank you all for your help! I'm also interested in finding out what "emergency" things you all carry with you - spare tubes, tools, etc.

Csson

Since you don't know how fast you travel, I would suggest that you do a "fake" commute to the train station and back. That way you can see how much time you need.

I think a 16 mph average can be a tough start. Give yourself ten more minutes (or more, depending on the test ride). I would also suggest a bike computer so you can keep track of how fast and far you go.

/Csson

Rich Clark

Try it and see. An 8 mile ride could take 30 minutes or 45 minutes depending on all sorts of factors -- the bike, the rider, the weather, the surface, the load, the wind...

How close you want to cut it might depend on how long it is until the next train.

RichC

MichaelW

There was a thread on Things to Carry.
Normal cycling stuff: lights, lock, gloves, helmet, pump.
Repair stuff: Spare inner tube, spare patches, tyre levers , zip tie, hex/allen keys, tool (swiss-army knife/leatherman multi-tool/bike specific multi-tool ).If you bike has bolt on , not quick release wheels you need a spanner. Know how to fix ailments like punctures or snaped cables.

Small first aid kit for cuts and grazes(those things in sealed sachets like antiseptiic wipes, gauze pads, plasters)
For cold/wet days, an extra jacket or waterproofs.
For hot days, some water.

Some money ($bills can be used to repair split tyres), mobile phone. A small rag to clean your hands, and a couple of plastic bags.

+ any work clothes .

For an 8 miler you may want to carry the stuff on a luggage rack rather than on your back.

ljbike

Welcome to the forums.
As a new rider you may want to rethink your time. Csson's suggestion is a good one. Once you have made a leisurely ride exploring the route, you will have a much better idea of how much time it will take.

And the only way to learn how to ride hills is to just ride them; but I'd do that on weekend fun/training rides and not on the commute.

Rich Clark

I like them a lot, but not getting flats is nearly 100% of why I like a tire. I didn't know there was a kevlar beaded TT2000. Mine are the standard wire bead with aramid (kevlar) belt.

These are the only tires I've had on this bike, and the only bike I've had these tires on, so it's hard to say how they perform differently from other tires.

How do you measure rolling resistance?

RichC

Richard D

Wind, weather and traffic conditions can have quite an effect on your commute time my 14 mile commute (half hilly rural/half flat main road on an MTB) varies between 1hr10 and 1hr35.

Richard

mrfix

I agree that a test ride is a good idea. Also, depending on how tolerant your boss is, you need time to ride to the train, deal with you bike, deal with inconveniences along the way that may arrise such as flat tires. As to you cargo, you will need clothing, both for work and weather and at a minimum, one tire tube that fits your bike and a way to blow it up. One suggestion I have is to learn how to fix a flat tire, They happen at the most incovenient times. Nothing ruins a great commute like ill preparation. Stick with it it's very rewarding. It really makes my day when I ride to work. Good luck.

OhiOH

Long term you gotta just ignore that demon in your head that says ‘looks like rain or too hot or too cold or too busy or too tired or too…….’ You get the idea. I’ve had some of my best rides on those days.

Mikew305

20 mile ride to work huh?

Well i commute to work by bike quite often. Its about 8 miles there and 8 back. Not too bad at all...sometimes i wish it was a bit farther. 20 miles should take you about an hour...maybe an hour 15min. Depends on the bike <ive got a mtn bike>

Also...you may want to invest in a "CAMELBAK"...those small backpacks that hold water. They really come in handy since they insulate well and keep about 1.5 liters of icecold water, cold. Nothings worse than hitting mile 10 and looking into your water bottle to find a few drops left.

www.camelbak.com

Good luck

John C. Ratliff

Jody,

I'm brand new to this forum, and stumbled across the site doing another type of search (for Schwinn LeTour bicycles). As mentioned above, the type of bicycle is not too important, but the ability to be at ease and look around is while in traffic. Be sure your reach on the bike is not too great, so that you can look around and behind you during the ride. Don't simply assume that because you are in the bicycle lane, that someone won't turn in front of you. (Happened to me at ~25 mph--good falling technique allowed me to come through with only scrapes.)

I'm in the "older" category at age 56, and I average about 13.5 mph on my commute. That is a pretty comfortable pace for me, but slow for my son.

I use two bicycles. My first one is a Trek 1440 which I turned into a commute bicycle with panniers and a front bag. The second is an old Schwinn LeTour 10-speed which I've just converted to do my commuting on. I'm going to use the Trek 1440 for fitness riding. It surely changed the character of the machine when I stripped off all that weight. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I've changed the gearing of the Schwinn by changing the inner chain ring to a smaller one. It makes the hills much easier to climb, and is very inexpensive (less than $25). So there are solutions to hills even if you have a very old ten-speed bicycle.

My advise is simply to get out there, give yourself plenty of time, and get to the train station. You will enjoy the ride, the exercise, and the people you meet.