From what I understand it is reimbursement based. When I worked in a shop we had a guy that would come in every December and spend $240 or as close as he could without going over. He was happy with it and would usually get smalls, lights, chain, cassette and cables.

It has to be through your employer, because it's actually a credit that they take on their taxes. For every $20 they pay out for the program, they take as a credit on taxes owed to the government. So it's available to any employer who pays federal tax and wants to offer it as a benefit. It's probably too much hassle for most companies to bother with.

The federal tax rule says you're supposed to submit annually, enough receipts to show that you actually spent as much as you receive - can be on any bike related stuff like tires, repairs, locks, clothing, whatever - I wouldn't have any trouble producing receipts for $240 per year, but my employer doesn't ask for receipts. We just have to go to an on-line form and check a box that says we commuted by bike more than half the trips for that month, and we get $20 tax-free added to the paycheck. Apparently the feds don't consider this to be an area of high tax fraud so they don't bother verifying. Any employer might require the receipts though to do it by the book.

http://i.imgur.com/aKWt7TR.png

I asked, and my employer offers neither the transit, parking, nor bike versions. The parking one makes sense, we have a vast campus and plentiful parking. But I couldn't tell you why not the others. Except that they've been nickel and diming us for years (this year the HSA match shut off at a lower income threshold, they went from 80 to 48 sick hours, and for the old-timers they deleted the 200 hours at 20 years vacation level).

I never considered bike commuting until this year. I rode to work for the first time in September of 2015 during the Worlds here in Richmond as my office was on the course. I liked it so I took my aluminum LeMond, put a rack on it, bought some panniers and waited for the weather to warm up. I started in March and rode when the weather permitted. During the summer months, I would ride 3 or 4 days as I have a club ride after work and need to drive to the start. Ironic that I would drive to work to then go on a ride. I thought I would stop in October when it got colder but have kept going and rode yesterday when the temperature was 24 degrees F when I left. My commute is 7 miles each way and I have worked out a route that runs through neighborhoods with little traffic. It's pretty flat as well.

Overall I have commuted 108 days for a grand total of 1,600 miles (I take a scenic route home in the summer for a few added miles). My overall mileage for the year is 7,000 and counting and I found that the slow pace commute on a heavy bike has helped me with my recreational riding on my carbon Trek. It's amazing how light that bike feels compared to my commuter.

My goal next year is to commute more and maybe even in bad weather.

Well, looking at 2016 I can say that…

I learnt several basic skills in bike maintenance and I tried to apply all of them on my trusty land ironclad named “Thunder Child”.

I discovered the importance of preventative maintenance, particularly on the drive train, and I set both a weekly and a monthly schedules to clean it routinely. I got a cheap bike stand and I constantly modified my steed throughout the year, helped by a ton of suggestions and opinions of experienced cyclists I found here on BF. For that I’d wish to thank each and every one of you. Not one of my question got unresolved by a simple search on the forum, and many more ideas started to tickling my mind, reading about your experiences and solutions and taking advantage of your expertise and knowledge.

Writing on BF has also helped me to refine my skills in English written production.

I ferociously committed to commute by bike, (4S/AW four seasons, all weather) on my heavily customized hybrid, and I think I can safely say I’ll have the honor to finish the year as the first of the European BF users on the Mileage Thread (forgive me about this little bragging, and above all: kudos to every other European fellow bike commuter :)).

In addition, cycling has helped me to control my weight and I finally had my abs “six pack” back.


In 2017, I’d be quite happy to match and possibly exceed 2016 in terms of volume and frequency of cycle commutes.

My other goals for 2017 include:

- improve my very basic maintenance skills and apply them routinely on the Thunder Child,
- avoid traffic-related accidents, and possibly near-misses, too
- maintain my fitness level and weight, and possibly improve them by adding an upper body workout to my commutes and utility runs;
- realize and employ both my DIY studded tires and bike-mounted DIY car horn.
- use my trailer consistently for grocery runs and general utility duties;
- strive to continue to promote cycling to colleagues and friends as a healthy (even though not really “safe”, at least here in Italy) alternative mode of transportation.

Based on the assumption of 0.50€/Km, I could estimate that I saved approximately 750€, by riding my BUV (Bike Utility Vehicle) instead of my car.

I'm at 5888 miles cycling and 1407 miles running so far, which is my lowest annual total since I started keeping track in 2008. A torn hamstring tendon in April caused me to take 2 months off, and my leg is still not as strong as it once was. I tried to get back into running, but ended up re-injuring it (although not nearly as badly as the first time). Cycling is okay, though, so I'm planning to do more cycling and a lot less running next year. My main goal in 2017 is just to stay healthy, though. If I can stay healthy, I don't care how many miles I do.

lol, I would be at 0 miles running if it weren't for the occasional game of pickup ultimate

This has been the best year (or at least the most days on a bike) riding, I think. Last February was really mild in the NYC area. So I got to ride just about every day back then. Also haven't been sick in the last two years before my recent battle with bronchitis. Maybe cyclecommuting helps to keep me healthier than I thought? I don't really have any goals for mileage. But am happy to do around 5000 miles this year. I didn't keep totals before this year so have nothing to compare it to. But I think most years could be closer to 4500 or so factoring in the extra snow or bad weather days off the bike. I'm just happy to be riding the bike. I sometimes think that I'm strange when I see other folks reactions to my commute. But I think its possible while still being reasonable with limitations (no riding: under 20F, roads not clear, sick days, vacation, etc). If I had a goal, I guess it would be to reel in my diet a little more. I'm a big boy at ~230 lbs. So could use to lose some more weight and be around ~200 or so. I still feel strong at this weight so losing would put me into another category on the hills. Its just that I like my SMIDGAF diet too much at the moment. :) Also nice to eat like a horse and not worry. My wife still marvels and complains about my eating habits...

Here's to a better 2017! :beer: May your bike never creak and may the wheels stay upright and on the road/MUP...

All done with only 447.1 miles, which is maybe about 36 round trip commutes. Not sure exactly since some used other routes or errands and I'm not going back to count. I'm sure I'll do better in 2017... touch wood.

i don't track my mileage. i don't set riding goals. i don't use a bike computer or ride apps or any of that stuff.

i just ride my bike to work every workday unless there's a compelling reason not to.

in that regard, 2016 was another smashing success!!!


my gameplan for 2017: ride my bike to work every workday unless there's a compelling reason not to.

1,600 miles commuting this year. Only my commuter has a device that tracks mileage. Would have been more but I had some dental surgery at the beginning of October. I am still not riding, doctor orders and riding a bike in the snow is much more difficult. It still hurts to smile. My blood pressure, the last time the doctor checked was 100/60 and pulse was 52. Not bad for a 58 year old insulin dependant diabetic. A side effect from the surgery and having my mouth wired shut for 52 days, I now weigh the same as I did when I was 16 years old. So, 2016 has been a pretty good year for me.

I was awesome. That's the highest rating one can earn. I rarely fall short, and 2016 was no exception. Well done, fella!

Hoping I don't die for at least the rest of the year. Dying this year would suck more.

A broken bone in my thumb kept me from riding for about month, but other than that I did all right. I would have liked to hit 3,000 miles, but was somewhere around 2400-2500 miles. I'll know my mileage better in the period April 2016-March 2017 as I have been keeping track of it.

2016 has been a crappy year. My goal at the beginning of the season was 1200 miles and commuting to work 50% of the time. I started out well, but soon developed SI joint inflammation and because of allergies I can't take NSAIDs, so I was down for 3 1/2 months. My guess is that I rode <200 miles. I stopped logging because it was too depressing. I'm hoping for a better 2017, but I'm having a flare-up right now, so who knows. All I can do is keep up the exercises from my PT and hope for the best.

Not a bad year overall; 4,451km = 89% of my 5,000km goal for 2016, but >40% more than my 3,171km in 2015.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/386/31...f85691fe_b.jpg

I was well ahead of my pace for >5,500 or maybe even 6,000km as of end of August, but then had ~2 weeks in Kyrgyzstan for work, a few days home, then a week in Indonesia, followed immediately by foot surgery which kept me from riding for a couple weeks. Then December has been a write-off with Snowmageddon hitting Vancouver, so 4,451 was the best I could do.

Still, my best year ever. 5,000km remains my goal for 2017, though I'm not off to a great start (Snowmageddon still).

https://c5.staticflickr.com/1/722/31...ef2739c1_b.jpg

Here is the data as reported by Garmin. This is all riding, not just commutes. However, I only had 8 non-commute rides totaling 237 miles. The year started off slow due to some weather and family medical issues, but I got a lot of miles in anyway. I bought a new Cannondale Synapse in late September which I now use for all rides. It takes some special planning to make your average elevation match the number of activities, but I managed.

Count: 426 Activities
Distance: 5,593.95 mi
Time: 356:30:32 (h:m:s)
Elev Gain: 180,920 ft
Avg Speed: 15.7 mph
Calories: 304,603 C
Avg Dist: 13.13 mi
Avg Elev: 426 ft

I'm going to aim for 6,000 commuting miles for 2017. That is an average of about 115 miles per week for 52 weeks. I usually have more than that, but have to average in days off, holidays, etc.

In 2015, I logged 1,100 miles and set my 2016 for 2,000 miles. I hit it and exceeded it by a little bit. I logged 1,970 miles and counted the rides on Citi Bike I did without logging them with ridewithgps. I also did some rides on my own bikes without using the app, so I'm definitely over my goal.

Not sure what this year's goal should be. 2,500 or 3,000 might make sense. There's a good video on Global Cycling Network that offers some nice goals to set for yourself. For instance, it can be a long ride longer than previous ones, whether it's 100 miles or something less. Another, if you have a power meter, is to increase your FTP by 10%. Hmm, that got me interested in power meters. Maybe I can approximate the measurements with the calorie estimates that the app makes.

What is Functional Threshold Power?

Holy Crap! I just realized I biked over 1800km last year. Considering all of my biking is either to work, errands, or with my kids, it's more than I thought.

In unrelated news, the last 2 years have been my worst years for running in more than a decade.

Final 2016 cycling mileage 2686, plus whatever didn't get recorded because I forgot to move the cyclocomputer to the B bike.

I started bike commuting in May and am still working on experience. For 2016 I logged 1,189 miles on the e-bike commuter alone. Unknown how many miles on the Specialized or my now-gone Schwinn hybrid. Goals for 2017 are:

- 2,000 commute miles
- Ride to work every possible day; don't get lazy!
- Use the new beater bike for errands on the weekend; don't get lazy!
- Hit 50 consecutive miles on the Specialized some weekend soon, then go for 100 not long after.
- Learn standard maintenance for the bikes, and also set up a cleaning schedule; stop being neglectful!
- Sign up for a century ride some time in the spring, or wait for fall, but JUST DO IT!
- Train, train, train, and ride, ride, ride!

2015 was 2105 miles, 217 hours
2016 was 2375 miles, 230 hours

with both commuter bike and the family bike. i ride about 10 miles every weekday and then some additionally on the weekends. some weekdays i ride 15-20 miles if i'm biking around for appointments or errands. my goal in 2016 was a bike camping trip which i did. my goal for 2017 is a bike camping trip with the kid (she would be on the back and also riding on her own). she has done 5 mile and 9 mile rides with me! on a tiny 16" which doesn't have any hand brakes or any gearing. she's a tough little lady. i can't wait to get her a bike with 3 gears and hand brakes. i feel like we could do so much more. for context she just turned 6 y.o. so in 2016 she was 5 y.o. all year.

we'll be attempting 10-15 mile rides this year i think. i should start thinking about upgrading her bike.

OK, I have assessed myself. Carry on.

You're in the city. Average speed really doesn't mean much. It's more reflective of how lucky you are with lights, and how willing you are to run them, than how fast you are. Many calculation methods will only use actual run time...but there is still slowing and accelerating all the way to from 0mph, and most take at least a few seconds to stop the count.

edit: DANG IT! Sorry about the 1 yr old bump lol. Clicked over from the 2017 assess yourself thread...and lost track of where I was.

I'm a terrible person :o

That's OK. Not terrible at all.

My commute had hardly any lights, as most of it was along a path which is MUP in some sections and bike-only in other sections. But your point is well taken. I still think wind was a bigger factor than anything. Though in 2017, I did manage to increase my speeds.