rms13

I'm moving next month to a condo. My wife and I currently share 1 car and with some added expenses I would like to avoid buying a second car for at least 4 months. New condo would be 22 mile commute each way and basically on one main road. Going to work would be mostly flat and downhill but coming home would have about 1400 feet of elevation gain over the 22 miles.

I usually ride around 300 miles per month recreational and do 20-50 mile rides with 2000-4000 feet of climbing regularly but rarely ride every day. So this would be about 900/month. Curious if anyone does that much commuting miles or if I'm crazy to consider it?

BobbyG

Can you do multi-modal? (Bus and/or tran in addition to bike) I think it's doable if you have the time.

rms13

I can. There is a train that would be about 7 mile ride from home and then 2 mile ride from train to work. Makes it more doable but total travel time would be the same or maybe longer with train. I also need to buy a monthly train pass for about $200 if I'm going to ride more than 2-3 time per month (to make financial sense). Once I get to that additional cost I'll consider buying a cheap used car and doing commute in 45 minutes. That will probably be ultimate end game and ride once a week or so

slebo3213

I do 12 miles each way with about 500 ft drop on the way in and a 500 ft gain on the way home. It takes me about 45 min in and just under an hour home. I do that once a week and get in one other equivalent ride a week.

I can't imagine doing 22 each way.

rms13

Yes. I estimate 90 minutes each way by bike. I live in Los Angeles area so commute by car will be 45+ min each way with traffic (and need to buy second car). Mixed commute by train will end up being close to 90 minutes each way. So time wise biking is fine and more enjoyable but don't know if my body will give out and revolt against me

Leebo

Mine is 18 miles one way, but I only average 2-6 trips per week. Seems like a big bite to chew everyday. Carpool option? Ride share?

SDROADIE

This is about the same as my ride to work everyday, I couldn't imagine driving 22 miles each way though! I would have to take a shower at work or something..haha

fietsbob

No, I did 12, Most of it Rural, Section 8, affordablre apartment in Junction City , gig in Eugene. then I got to Move.

My Condolences on the Lousy Public transit in LA..

TexMac

yes. My actual commute is 23 miles one way but somedays if i feel great or it's warm i can make it 28 miles one way Luckily we have a gym with showers and lockers so i leave my clothes, shoes, lotion, toothbrush etc at work.. travel light with a kit for change and bike tools. I get atleast 900/month other months around 600 if i take vacation.

rms13

And yes we do have showers at work and I travel light (change of clothes and lunch).

ThermionicScott 

If you search for "very long commuter club" on this forum, there have been some good threads with eye-popping commuting distances over the years. I'd think that the time commitment would be the hardest part, since one can ride a bike more or less indefinitely at the right pace.

CrankyOne

I've a friend who lives in Assen NL and rides to/from Groningen NL most days. I believe it's about 20 miles each way. He rides an upright Dutch bike in normal street clothes. No need to shower at either end. He does have the advantage of good Dutch bikeways the entire distance though which eliminates stress sweat (and being upright and riding about 13 mph does the rest).

cdrewferd

My commute is 16-20 miles each way depending on route. I also climb around 1000' going to work, but can pop that to around 2000' depending on route home. I can do mine, no matter the distance or climbing, in around an hour. I'm about to switch from my hybrid Trek DS to a BMC GF02 disc, so I hope to be able to do it a bit faster, though just being more comfortable will be worth it. I think 22 each way is doable, but you will have to change at work as riding at a leisure pace for 22 miles is going to be extremely boring and take forever.

slebo3213

I guess we can just chalk that up to one's definition of "need"! lol

Leisesturm

L.A.? No one really knows which is worse the air in L.A. or the air in NYC because both are beyond the ability of the equipment that exists to measure. You are going to suck that down 5 days a week, two hours every day? Really? I don't think so. But don't take my word for it. The proof is in the pudding as they say. Try it for two weeks and tell us how it went. I'd spring for the monthly ticket myself. $200/mo is pretty steep but I guess you are on a commuter line. If you don't mind my asking... why are you doing this? Me and mine moved so we could be closer to work, not further away.

ItsJustMe

I will be later this year, but probably I'll switch to 2 or 3 days a week. I have plenty of cars lying around, I would just rather ride, but I can't afford the time to ride 58 miles a day 5 days a week.

GSJon

I have a 38 mile commute by bicycle (29 by vehicle) each way. When I ride, I ride the bike to the train in the morning then ride home. 4 miles to the train, then 1 mile to work.

That may work for you.

Jon

mcours2006

Kudos for you for even contemplating it. Riding three hours a day for five consecutive days is a hell of a lot of riding. I would second the bi-modal strategy.

TenSpeedV2

Cannot compare this at all. Summer in LA, 22 mile commute, and no need to shower? Unless you work in a factory, this is unacceptable for 99.9% of people. What are the summer temps and humidity in NL?

1242Vintage

Yes. The short route is 20 miles each way. If the weather is nice a wind at my back i take the longer scenic route at 25 miles each way.

I have secure bike parking and a full locker room with showers at work. Makes commuting easy.

gregf83 

I do 41 miles/day. It takes a while to get used to, particularly if you plan on riding on the weekends. It's not too hard to ride every day from Apr through Oct. The winter can be a challenge though and I probably end up riding 5 out of 6 days on avg.

a1penguin

I was commuting 32 miles total daily, but it was flat (200 ft overpasses). I did it four days a week. Many people biked in one direction and took train/bus on the trip home. Work offered a "tech shuttle" but it was a horrible route and during commute hours, I could bike it in the same time it took to drive to the shuttle stop and take the shuttle. It would be nice if you could come up with a solution that was economical and allowed to your commute by bike some of the time.

canklecat

Years ago my usual commutes were 20 mile round trips, but a part time job after my regular job often stretched out to a 40-50 mile total ride by the time I got home near midnight. But back then I worked in hospitals and there was usually someplace to clean up after the ride, sometimes even shower if I was early enough. Since I worked directly with patients that was important, otherwise I'd have driven the car more often.

baron von trail 

20 in the morning; 30 in the evening.

baron von trail 

Office job here with no shower on premises. I just take a shower in the morning before I leave, and then use a large alcohol wipe and towel when I get to work. In the summer, I sit in front of a fan before I wipe and towel off. Don't need a shower at work. Just fresh clothes, some deodorant and those alcohol wipes---the fan helps too.