Originally Posted by pennstater

Northern NJ to Brooklyn NY. About 24 miles each way, but not everyday. From early March thru late October. Sometimes I'll leave the car at work and cycle home and back to work the next day. Lately I've been doing the roundtrip about twice a week. Sometimes I'll drive to the George Washington Bridge and round trip from there. On occasion, I've ended up hopping on the subway due to thunderstorms. I always ride when the Yankees have a home day game.

It's not as bad as it sounds. I usually don't carry anything. The portion in NJ is very quiet though it seems like I crawl out of bed and immediately start climbing the Palisades. That's a wake up call. The West Side Greenway in Manhattan is entertaining if you don't let the clueless get under your skin. Crossing Lower Manhattan through the Village early in the morning is easy. Then the path over the Williamsburg Bridge and about a 1/2 mile to the office. The ride home across Manhattan is much busier. I slow down and use extreme caution.

Started out on a Klein Aura with a triple. Gave that to my son and bought a Specialized Roubaix Pro with a compact. A couple of years later as a gift to myself I bought a Look 595 for weekends. Well, that spoiled me. Hated riding the Roubaix but wouldn't commute on the 595. Picked up a Look 585 frameset on closeout. Built it with parts from the Roubaix. Love riding that bike. This year I bought better lighting and extended my season to include riding in the early morning dark. Added a Ti Lynskey that clears 28 tires and feels more secure in low light and wet conditions.

All told about 1 hour 40 minutes to work +/- 10 minutes depending on wind along the Hudson. Closer to 2 hours home due to traffic. I place a premium on low traffic routes - not on speed.

Work is always better when I ride instead of driving. I've been doing this for about 6 years. When I first started, I didn't see many commuters. Now, it has become much more common. Over this time period I've had to have my wife or an employee pick me up only twice. Once when I totally ruined a tire and once when I grabbed the ferry to NJ after breaking a spoke.

This does not save me money. For me it's a health issue. I have lost weight and have lowered my blood pressure and resting pulse. I feel much better at 57 than I did at 40. I don't remember how it felt to be less than 40.