Originally Posted by
GeoffM
Honestly? The only thing preventing me is (right now the snow) getting really sweaty riding to where I have to go.
The weight of any carried items could also have a negative effect. It just depends on how far I have to go.
I'll tell you this though: Riding 47 miles isn't a problem. Riding 4 miles to the machine shop with car parts in a backpack? Far more difficult than you'd realize!
I've never got that sweaty cycling. Maybe that's because I've never seen the need to exert myself all that much. As for weight, I've carried four heavy grocery bags with no problem, and I've toured across 10,000 miles and 15 countries with about 40lbs of stuff over the back wheel. If you have a set of panniers, weight really isn't an issue. In the 1960s and '70s Vietnamese bicycles (usually old cruisers) would carry 600lbs of supplies each through jungles and over mountains to supply the North Vietnamese Army.