Originally Posted by
ajmstilt
In my mind any commute that is more than an hour is "HEAVY" commuting.
I'm 16.6 miles each way with three phases:
1.) Protected bike trail
2.) Heavy traffic street (with lights every 100-200 yards)
3.) Light traffic street, typically windy
On a great day I'm at a bit over an hour. On a windy day or unlucky with lights it can push 90 minutes. I'd love to commute everyday for fitness and getting miles but it's definitely impacting my non-work time. The 2+ hour bike ride is about a 40 minute car ride and there's definitely some days where I'd take the hour plus of time in the sack or loafing after a long day in the office.
I'm a Trek Domane (carbon) as it's the only bike I have, not a traditional commuter but it works well for me and I'm very comfortable on the bike. I'm overweight (31/5'10"/265) and part of my motivation with the commuting is because I really don't like exercising in a gym and I really enjoy riding.