How far is your commute?
 

So how far is your bike commute (one-way or round-trip, either is fine). And how much climbing do you have to do? How do you deal with getting all sweaty (especially during summer) from the ride in to work? Does your work have showers you can use to clean up? And how do you deal with work clothes--especially if you work in an office?

I was fortunate in that my company had an exercise room with showers and I kept a spare set of clothes in my office when I was commuting. Approx 5 miles each way. Uphill to work and a nice coast home.

About 17 miles. Follows a river, so generally flat. First half is totally flat, but I have to get up and down one mountain crest at about the 12 mile mark (going to work). I keep a sport coat and dress shoes at work, but will generally wear the same Carhartt pants and polo shirt to work that I wore on the bike. No showers. When the weather is hot, I'll switch to shorts. When its cold, I add more layers.

For 28 years my commute was 9 miles each way with a less safe 7-mile option that I used occasionally. FOr the last 2 and a half years my current commute is 6 miles each way with an 8-mile almost-traffic-free option.

I live in hilly Colorado Springs. My home was 650 feet higher than my old job with a valley in between so lots of climbing. My current job is closer in elevation to my home and with the longer rail to trail path there is minimal climbing.

Neither job has showers, but I learned from other commuters on bikeforums many years ago to bike in bike clothes and change into clean clothes, underwear and socks at the office. SOme keep clothes at the office, some bring them in a backpack or panniers. I carry them in a back pack on my back rack. In the summer I arrive early and cool off outside before changing into clean, dry clothes. and if need be I keep disposable body wipes at work. I also keep toiletries and shoes there, plus emergency underwear, and socks for when I forget to pack them with me (about once every 2-3 years). At both jobs I have had company shirts for events that I could use in an emergency as well, plus both jobs are a 5 minute walk from a Walmart or Target.

The old job had a large warehouse where I could park the bike and a dressing room where I could hang my clothes. When they were really bad, or when we had visitors I would park and hang clothes in an unused office.

At the new job there is less space and more people. I am lucky to share an office with just one other person. I can park my bike behind my desk, and use a portable wardrobe to hang my clothes including the company logo shirts and jackets.

I change and freshen up in the restroom.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d5b1a822b4.jpg

if you want to impress you are going to have to find all of them

Mine is only about 2 miles each way and mostly flat with a small hill near my house; it's downhill to start the day and a little climb to get home.

Impress who? and why?

Morning is usually 14km (but can be as short as 5km if I'm in a hurry, which is almost never).

Afternoon is usually 21km (but again, can be as short as 5km, and some days I'll do 30+km on my way home).

Flat both ways. I wear dedicated cycling clothes and change when I get to the office. With a towel off and deodorant even the hottest summer days aren't an issue.

I've had many jobs and schools to commute to, and the distance has varied a lot. My most recent job was 13 miles away, so I only did the trip by bike occasionally. The other way is by subway, and that's reliable.

I'm in grad school which is 5 miles away. I do that trip almost always by bike. The other way is also by subway, also reliable.

I plan to land a new job this summer, and I want it to be at least two miles away so I can do it by bike. I'd also prefer it to be 7 miles or shorter, but I'm willing to go 11 or 12 miles.

My old commute was 12 miles in the morning going to work and around 15 miles going home. Sometimes 20 miles, depending on how nice the weather is.

Mines only 1.5kms. hardly far. Honestly most days at least in the winter it takes me longer to get gear on than to actually ride lol. Another reason I tend to do it mostly on nicer weather days

2 miles each way.

On the way in? None. It's half downhill and half flat. On the way home, it is 61' of climbing.

I usually commute by eBike, this way, I can keep just below the sweat level on the way in, and hit it harder on the way back when I want to. Even then, I sometimes face a brutal headwind and dial in some minimum assistance to keep going double-digit speeds.

No.

I do work in an office and wear business casual, but I wear my work clothes on the bike, since I don't get sweaty on the way in. In the winter when it's sloppy out, I wear rain/wind overpants that keep my pants clean and a jacket. In the summer, I try to avoid riding on rainy days, but I do get hit once in awhile. It's not a big deal on the way home. My commuter bikes have fenders, too.


What's your commute like? (length, hills) Do YOU have showers? What's your fitness level like? Can you take it slowly on the way in and avoid sweating?

eBikes are wonderful commuters; they solve a lot of sweat-related problems, and clothing/showering issues as a result.

That's a good excuse to plot a 15km route to get to work

I've thought of that, except I live in the country, on a single road. I guess I could go the wrong way so far, then come back towards home/work lol.

If my commute were less than 2 or 3 km, I would walk it rather than cycle it. I like taking the time to exercise.

sometimes I walk. I've got a couple of good hills so even the short cycling you have a bit of a climb.

Wait, wait. You get too sweaty to work in two miles downhill in the morning?

I want an e-bike eventually. I don't know when. There have been some fires with e-bike batteries here in NYC, and it's made the news a few times. The fire department is working on the fire code, and the City is planning facilities such as public charging places. That doesn't help me, and my building has banned e-bikes for the time being, and I agree with that. It's a wood-framed building.

Believe it or not, yes.

For the downhill mile, of course not.

For the flat mile, I have a hard time slowing myself down to the point that I'm not just breaking a sweat when I get to work. It's when I come to a stop, but my body is still making the heat from the effort with no cooling wind. I'm not talking "drenched in sweat" here, but "broke a sweat." 10-12 mph would be fine, but I just don't have it in me to go that slowly on a gravel bike.

eBike fires are one of those things that are so trumped up. It takes a combination of things for it to happen: Wrong/bad charger + battery with no BMS (battery management system)

I've been KIND of keeping tabs on the situation, and I thought that FDNY had written some codes to the effect of: "Can charge one eBike per unit, and only 3rd party safety certified eBikes/batteries/chargers can be used." But then I think the building owners can make their own decision.
My house is wood-framed and carpeted; I just bring the battery in and charge it on the hearth. I figure if the charger's protection and battery's protections both fail, the hearth will happily absorb any flames emitted.

By the way, I'm a regulatory engineer with electronics background, and I've skimmed the standards for eBikes, batteries and chargers. They're quite comprehensive, it's just that 3rd party certification is expensive, so it drives costs up somewhat.

Fair enough, and thanks for your expertise. It's a 12-unit coop building, and since I don't have the expertise to say my bike and charger are safe, I'll go with people's feelings for now. When I start to get serious about an ebike, we will know more, and I'll have a stronger argument.

Not surprisingly, wood framed buildings of a certain size were not approved anymore after 1930. This is a landmarked building from 1917. It's a former warehouse.

Until this summer, for 13 years the commute was 22 mi./ 35 km one-way with 3,600 ft. / 1097 m elevation change. 50 minutes down the hill to work, 2 hours 40 minutes home. Shower at my office. Rode 2-3 times per week weather permitting. Depending on my spouse’s job, she would sweep me in the canyon on her way home saving me an hour or so. But alas we have moved down to the flats. The commute is nice, flat, 30 minutes one-way. The advantage is I never use the car to work and the ride is just enough to get some exercise. Gets me ready for my day. And the ride home is a great stress reliever. I miss the old commute, except the getting up extra early, in the dark, for the morning leg.

Regular route is 19 miles each way. Longer commute is 31.5 miles one way. I bring my bike in the building and have plenty of room to park it in my office. I keep a full set of clothes at work as well so never need to carry anything with me. Got a nice shower in our gym that I'm pretty much the only user of. A large part of my commutes are on MUPS' and I rarely go through downtown so avoid large amounts of traffic. I ride it a few times a week when the weather is nice. I just enjoy the ride, it's fun so I don't have to do it all the time or for any other reason than I just like riding my bike.

I can't imagine living that life. It's quite a commitment to a lot of vigorous exercise. Good for you. I'm also happy you have something easier because you can sustain it for more years.