Originally Posted by
daoswald
Some people will say, "At fifteen miles I haven't even gotten a workout." Ok, at fifteen they haven't gotten a hard workout, but they've gotten SOME workout.
15 miles can be a good workout. Especially in the morning if you subscribe to the half an hour of cardio in the morning before breakfast idea to burn fat. It's also short enough you can do a TT effort, or as others have said use the time for intervals. I commute every day, and although my house is actually very close to my work, I use the opportunity to get a nice morning ride in, usually 15-25 miles. I'll bring enough stuff for the whole week on monday and often ride the rest of the week without a backpack. Route time and intensity depend on what else I have planned for the day, what else I'm doing that week, etc. Mondays are usually an easy recovery ride and I try to throw in at least one max effort high tempo ride. Often my route is very hilly so I use that as my intervals.