In the summer, I see 52-60 commute a day as a possibility, but not a regular occurance. I did it 2x last November/December when I was at my peak, but I took the middle of December to the middle of February off on account of 37 degree rain or 30 degree dry weather (Seattle) was too much for my kit. So I invested in panniers, gloves, winter shoes and rain gear. I'm working on getting back up to 150 a week, albeit with 25 extra pounds of bike and 10 extra on myself. It will take some doing. 2-4 mph slower so-far with all that gear and what I lost in fitness The calorie count v/s cafeteria food cost kills the LCF economics.
I think I'll take the weekend off, then try Mon, Tue, Thur, Friday again next week and see how I feel before moving up to 5 days.
The "true" cost of petrol is a fair point I hadn't thought about. I'm telling myself the food cost could be a gym membership I probably wouldn't use & that makes it better.
What I ought to do is suck it up and bike both ways, then I can bring as much food as I want with out the hassle of pannier-on/pannier-off and do without lunch box complications for the bus.
Originally Posted by
noglider
[MENTION=413859]base2[/MENTION], 26 to 30 miles one way? That is a big distance! You have to expect that your appetite will be much bigger than most people's. It takes a lot of energy to go that far.
I mused over this a few years ago: fossil fuel is like simultaneously borrowing from our ancestors (because the fuel was formed over millennia without them using it) and borrowing from our descendents because we are depleting the supply and leaving them less. That is why it is grossly underpriced. If we paid the true cost, it would cost a lot more. A gallon of gas has 31,000 calories in it. As of today, it costs is $2.29 here in the US. That's insane. Even at its historic highs a few years ago, it was still under priced. How much does 31,000 calories of food cost? Of course, you can't put gas in your stomach for fuel. And cars consume more calories per mile than cyclists do because the vehicle is so big and heavy and we tend to drive them much faster. Still, this has been fuel for thought for me. When I resumed bike commuting a few years ago, I saw my food costs go up more than my gas costs went down.
I do eat a lot for someone my size. I weigh about 155 pounds (70 kg). I make a lot of body heat. I guess I'm just an inefficient engine.
In endurance events, athletes eat a lot of starch and sugar. I've found that when I take a long bike ride, this helps, and it's probably not as bad for you as it is when you're not doing endurance work. And your commute might be considered such an event. Do you really travel 52 to 60 miles a day, every day?