DTG

I know this section is all about commuting and not living car free. The question I have to the masses are do you still ride outside of work, if so, where to and is there a max distance you won't ride if the destination isn't work?

droy45

I ride on weekends also. In the summer I take day trips and ride to nice areas along the rocky coast of the Atlantic and enjoy the cooler ocean breezes. I've got to stop writing, this is making me too anxious for spring.

Mark Stone

I do all of my personal shopping and errands that are within a 7 or 8 mile radius with both bicycling and walking. Major shopping is still with a car, but if I just want to go over to a drug store for some personal items or to get a coke I hop on the bike or walk. I rarely just go out for a bike ride for just the sake of riding - even though I probably would if I didn't use it so much practically.

locolobo13 

I try to go for a ride on the weekends. But I also love to hike and that usually involves driving somewhere.

Max distance? Depends on how I feel. Better question is max time? Weekends are the time to do pesky chores too.

jrickards

I like to ride for fitness, routes that are between 30 and 60km. I will ride out to camp (60km) and along the roads at camp (35km). I would like to tour Manitoulin Island (probably about 250km around the island) and ride to my brother-in-law's (125km) this summer. I will do some shopping on the bike but not often: I would prefer to have a trailer or cart to do that "properly".

chandltp

For transportation purposes, I'll generally ride anywhere up to around 10 miles.. maybe 15 or more if time permits. If I'm staying somewhere overnight, like with family, I'll do up to 100 to 120 miles.

DocsDad

+1

JoeyBike

20 miles is comfortable for errands.

50 miles is a comfortable workout ride. I can knock that out before work at 10AM or enjoy half a day excursion.

80 miles is all I want - usually includes an overnight stay at a friend's house, then a car ride home with my wife.

150 miles is my max. Twice a year I ride around a nearby large lake. Takes 9-12 hours. I can still go to work the next day.

tarwheel 

Commuting isn't just an end in itself for me, but a way for me to ride more and maintain fitness for longer weekend rides and bike tours. I typically ride at least one day each weekend, sometimes both days, for distances longer than my usual commutes. Several times a year, I also go on bike tours ranging from 3 days to a week. My longest daily rides are about 100 miles, and I usually ride 1-2 centuries per year, but I ride 2-3 metric centuries per month on average throughout the year. On bike tours, I usually ride 300-450 miles over a week.

wphamilton

I'll do the recreational or training rides on the weekend, usually 30-65 mile rides. I'll take a bike for a quick trip to the convenience store or supermarket about a mile away, sometimes to walmart which is only 3.5 miles away, and in fair weather my maximum round trip for errands is about 25 miles.

Mumonkan

i ride to ride, commuting is my solution to bonus ride time when i dont have the time to just ride my bike for the sake of riding it, as well as keeping my legs in shape

farthest ive ridden is 66 miles but this year i plan to do centuries regularly, especially if i manage to build the CAAD 10 im planning

Rick@OCRR

I ride to work but also use my bike to go to the grocery store, Post Office, bank, etc.

I ride on the weekends, club rides as little as 30 - 40 mi. days, but more often I ride up in the mountains (on road, on my road bike) which is usually 45 - 80 miles with between 5,000 and 9,000 feet of climbing per day.

Then too, I ride double centuries, so 200 mi. per day is my "comfortable" limit. Once I rode 300 mi. in a day, but that was back in '85 when I was a lot younger!

Since I moved to California in '95 I've ridden 55 double centuries, though I have been cutting down; only rode 3 last year (Solvang Spring, Grand Tour and Knoxville).

Rick / OCRR

dramiscram

last year I did 8600 kms on the bike and 6800 of those just to go to work. I try to go for a 100-150 kms ride at least twice a month, its fun and it make my commute easier.

Also I do all my shopping by bike.

JReade

In the winter, I'll ride everywhere I can plus the weekend rides. 400 miles last month, without any commuting.

David Bierbaum

Despite my liking the commuting forum a lot, I work from home, so commuting by bike would just be an exercise in silliness! For me, all that grocery shopping and running errands to bank, post office, and library, IS my commuting.

I find using the bike for this is very freeing, since before, I'd let it all pile up so I could do everything and cart home a car-full of groceries, so that I could use gas most efficiently. Now, instead of big grocery trips, I just make frequent grocery trips. When the sun rises early enough for me to restart my pre-breakfast funxercise bicycle trips, I can hit the store when absolutely nobody else is even there, so that it's practically my own personal shopping paradise!

Anyhow, for me, the constraints involve time, rather than distance, since a home-based business doesn't do much business if one is not at home...

modernjess

Yes, all year, all manner of riding, road, mountain, snow, errands, whatever. The commute helps maintain a base fitness level so the weekends rides contain less suffering and more fun.

AlmostGreenGuy

I'm a health and fitness nut, and a greenie, so I ride everywhere I can. I'll go 40 or 50 miles to get to my destination. It's mostly about the available time to travel or the weather, not the mileage.

Terry66

I ride every chance I get. I ride for fitness, I do time trails, I ride mountain bikes, I run errands and I do self supported weekend touring. Sad thing is that I'm only a part time commuter. I travel for work many days and need my car. Just the way it is.

100miles is pretty much my limit. Touring, I think my most was like 80+ but on a loaded down bike that seems like 200!

GrouchoWretch

I like to ride for basic transpo at lunch and on weekends. Not as fast or cushy as driving, but I get more out of it. I haven't done more than 25 or 30 miles, but I could double that without much problem. More than that, I dunno, maybe life's too short to do that much of any one thing? Haven't decided yet.

squegeeboo

I ride out side of work, but nearly 100% of my riding is utilitarian. Commuting, going to the grocery store, meeting friends etc. I do maybe 1 recreational ride a month, if that.

kevmk81

I ride outside of commuting. I like to train to get faster on the bike. Heck, I commute from home to work in the morning, then from work to indoor training with my cycling team, then from indoor training back home! Actually, tonight after indoor I'll be dropping by my wifes workplace to give her flowers for valentines day.

I ride on the weekends, both Sat and Sun. I ride to the gym to lift weights as well. On any given week, I'll always do an extended ride to/from work if it's a day I have nothing else to do. Short commute to work is a hair over 10 miles. Short commute home is a hair over 11 miles. I'll gladly put in 15 to work & 15 home going a long route (if the weather doesn't want to make me go home as quick as possible).

hsh101

My experiences are very similar. I'll ride ~2000 miles/year commuting, and another 4000 miles/year recreational. I'll do one extended bike tour, and a lot of weekend distance rides. I'm good for ~4-5 centuries per year, and am riding several metric centuries per month during spring and summer, into fall. Commuting is a great way for me to add weekly base miles without taking up much more time than if I were stuck in traffic in my car.

caloso

I race in addition to commuting. In fact, I started commuting so I that would have my bike with me at the end of the day and could go directly on a training ride rather than having to ride the bus home to get my bike. Training rides are typically between 25 and 60 miles, but they're usually based on time and wattage goals rather than distance. I will occasionally ride as far as 100 miles.

enigmaT120

Commuting is almost all the riding I do. Sometimes I'll take my mountain bike up in the logging roads west of me if I'm free on a Saturday, but generally I stay home on my days off. My dentist is in a town 15 miles away, and if it's a decent day I like to ride there, get my teeth cleaned, then ride a slightly longer route home. But that happens, at most, two times a year.

sbslider

Yes, I ride outside work. I rode inside work a few minutes last weekend when no one was here. Kind of fun, but it is really too small to get up to speed.
I ride most places in town if time permits. Generally the only time I drive is going somewhere with family or going surfing.
The max distance I have rode in a day is a century. I would not ride a century to get to work. I opted to live pay more $ to live close to work so I could ride there comfortably.