Fischer

I have been commuting 13.5 miles to school on my road bike for about 3 months.
I want to start riding to work but I drive about 35 miles. I was thinking of driving 20 miles and then riding the last 15 miles to work. I already have lights, spares, tools, etc. As well as having a locker at work.
I could use some park and ride tips(such as choicing a reliable parking place and picking a safe route at night)

sleepydad

I used google maps to find an area with free and safe parking. You can use "street view" also to map out your ride or look for parking. Worked real well for me.

RubeRad

Inland Empire, so...greater LA? If you can't find an actual park&ride lot, I would guess you should be able to find a strip mall, or big box store, that you can drive to and park, and ride your bike from there. Think of it backwards from work; if you had a bike a work, what direction/roads would you like to ride, what would be most safe and enjoyable? How far would you like to ride? That should give you an idea where to look for a place to park.

You can also consider a two-day operation; drive into work with your bike, ride home in the evening, rest overnight, ride back in the morning, drive home with the bike again.

For choosing a safe route, you probably have an idea of some of the roads that might be better or worse, but set aside a weekend time to scout the area by bike; are there bike lanes? Are they clear of debris or full of broken glass? Are there parallel roads with quieter traffic, maybe residential? Are there ways to set up a route to avoid left turns (which take you into/through car traffic)? Are there places where heavy right-turning car traffic has to cross the bike lane (esp. freeway entrances)?

Best of all, post a google map of a work location (or nearby major intersection) here, and what direction you need to go, or better yet a link to a google map bike route, probably a bunch of people here will give you thoughts about the route; some just based on the map, or you might pick up a few locals that can give you on-the-ground advice.

Fischer

I'm looking to ride from chino/chino hills/pomona area to glendora in Southern California. If anyone knows of a good route to climb and decend here I could use any help I can get.

Thanks for the advice. I found a park(Bonelli park was the name and my coworker actually told me to rode there). I am going to ride through there for a beautiful break from traffic.

jfowler85

Pretty much. OP says Chino Hills though, which is more like an affordable Irvine than L.A. Nice riding out that way. The Santa Ana trail would be nice...if it were ever finished.

RubeRad

I'm not familiar with the area, but looking in Google Maps at Chino/Glendora/Bonelli, I think it's a great idea to park at the park and bike-commute to work. Anytime you want you can add some extra miles riding around in the park.

Fischer

I want to ride as much of my commute to on save gas/the earth. 35 miles RT is my max when I could be working 10+ hours. That 15 is mile ride leaves me in the chino area. But if I ever need more I surely will take a spin around the park.

Fischer

Thanks for all of the replies