I commute 7-8 miles to work and 7-11 miles home 3 days a week. I have a choice of routes to take and a long one I regularly take home that is more pleasant (mostly deserted trails). My commute is rather hilly, and I often have a 8-15 MPH headwind on my way in to work, although this is partially mitigated by the buildings of the city and being on the backsides of hills for a chunk of my commute. I also commute about a dozen miles (6 each way), five days a week to school on quarters I am attending (about every other quarter for the past 3 years, every quarter except summers for the next 3 years).

I wouldn't want to commute any further than the 7-ish (average) each way that I do now, in the terrain I'm in. If I lived somewhere flat, that didn't have significant headwinds, I think I'd be happy with a 15 mile commute (each way). Of course, road conditions (nice pavement, or the constant vibration and hazards I have to deal with), traffic conditions (heavy, light, or non-existant*), and road layout can make a huge difference as well. If you are lucky enough to be able to do most of your commute on quiet country roads or a nice bike trail/multi-use path that isn't crowded with dog walkers and moms jogging two abreast with double-wide strollers, than higher mileage seems a lot more plausible.

In short - if your 20 mile each way commute isn't under ideal conditions (little headwind, nice roads/paths, little elevation change), it's probably a little too far for a daily commute. If you can find a way to do multi-modal**, you could do that every day. If multi-modal isn't a possibility, I'd try commuting 2-3 days a week.

I don't have any advice to offer about cleaning up. I sweat a lot, but am lucky enough to have a shower and lockers at work. Each day I wear my cycling clothes in, hang them up to dry on a rod for that purpose in the bicycle commuter locker room and change into the work clothes I ferried in on my bike after showering. Some days I bring in several nights of work clothes in panniers so I can ride light(er) for a couple of days. Sometimes I just take one outfit at a time in and home. I would ask your employer if there is a shower you can use. Some places have one squirreled away somewhere that has been turned into storage or is forgotten in the basement or garage and you might be able to get access to it. Even working at hospitals, sometimes I have been the only one taking advantage of this and arrangements are ad hoc and it took a little doing to get access to them, ask around if the first person you ask about doesn't seem to know anything or isn't helpful. Your employer may get a tax break for having employees commute by bicycle that may make it worthwhile for them to install a shower and locker area as well.

* I used to commute home at 4AM one night a week. The city was asleep and I could basically ignore most traffic controls and had zero traffic to contend with. Under these conditions I could probably happily add a few miles to my commute, but who gets to commute both ways at such odd times?

** Some posters here on Bike Forums will drive their car with thier bike to a convenient point where they can ride in from. Sometimes this is a Park and Ride lot, sometimes a friendly business, sometimes a busy parking lot. Others take a train or a bus part way and then ride the rest of the way or vice versa. No idea what options you have in your area. It seems most places I've been recently have retro-fitted their busses with bike racks. I was surprised when I visited LA a dozen years ago and their new subway didn't allow bikes on board during rush hour. You should probably do a little research if you do have any mass transit options to see what their rules and protocols are. Here you are supposed to let the bus driver know that you will be dismounting your bike as you leave, which only makes sense, so they don't run you over, or worse - speed off with your bike!


GOOD LUCK!