Cutting down commute time
 

So I've been commuting to and from school for the past couple weeks. I'm getting much greater endurance as the days go by and have already cut down my return trip (mostly uphill in San Francisco). I started at 40 minutes the first week, followed by 37 minutes the second week. This week, the third, I followed the route I found on the second week and made it back in 27 minutes. I felt as beat as the other two times, but really wanted to catch 10pm cartoons ;)

How much time could one cut off their trip time by just doing the route three times a week? Any suggestions for getting there faster?

Cheers, Alan

The biggest factors that affect my commute time aren't related to my fitness or fatigue level (assuming I don't slip too far out of form). My commute is relatively short (4-6 miles each way), and entirely within the island of Manhattan on densely trafficked urban streets, so the routes we take probably don't have much in common. A longer ride will obviously get more benefit from speeding up than a shorter ride will.

But here are the things that make me go faster:

Favorable winds
Carrying less weight
Stretching before I ride
Being late for work :D

You will keep cutting off time for quite a while, but the improvements will be more and more gradual, and will finally stop. Literally, you can only get to be so good, as long as you are a human. threephi gave some great suggestions. I would add three:

First, if you are relatively new cyclist, pay attention to how often you are actually pedalling the bike. I have noticed that newbies often coast almost half the time they are riding. Force yourself to keep spinning the cranks all the time.

Second, work on your cadence. That means train to spin the cranks faster and faster. Aim for rpm of 90 or more, although it may take many months to reach this goal. Ride in lower gears! This might slow you down for a while, but as you rebuild strength while spinning faster, you will be MUCH faster in a few months.

Third, make sure you are getting in enough miles. If your commute is on the short side, get in training rides by either taking the long way home, or riding on your day off.

One other thing that might make you faster--as a last resort--get a faster bike!

One other thing: It sounds like you are riding at night. Be extra careful if you are riding fast at night. Make sure you have great lights and/or ride where the streets are well lit.

and getting all the lights

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've got the lights and the constant pedalling down (my girlfriend does that coasting thing and it bugs me to know end when she's going slow and i'm ready to break away down the hill like Lance!) The commute's only about three, maybe four miles and it's all uphill save a few flats spots. My bike right now kinda sucks but it's heavy enough that when I trade up to a trek 1000 or similar bike I'll have to put considerably less effort to go farther.

Go fixed if you have hills .... you will be riding faster than your GF, more control on the downhills - unless you release your feet from the pedals - and your climbing will improve significantly.

... charge the hill and wait for her at the top of it. That will make you stronger = the uphill sprinting + the resting time. If you are not tired, go downhill and charge back again, but slower. If she is still climbing it during your second attack, do it a third time going along with her. THAT is the way I do it while riding with Ms Huhenio.

Endurance riding with the SO ... that is another story. :love:

My commutes got faster when I started using:

- slick, higher pressure tires
- clipless pedals
- lighter bike+cargo
- lower handgrip/body position
- clothes that keep me cooler and drier when I'm pedaling hard

For a climbing commute, I think the lower weight, clipless pedals, and high pressure tires will make the biggest immediate difference.

Move closer to school ;)

On the practical side I would say determination is another factor that helps.
Give yourself a target time and try as hard as you can to make it. Remember to believe you can do it.

When you are angry or scared it is amazing how much power you have. Being determined to reach goals is one way to trick your mind and body into beeing slightly stronger than normal. Another trick you could use is if your girlfriend phones you and says she's beeing assaulted at the top of the hill, I bet you could do it within 90% of your current best time ;) (but I won't recommend this)

Roody: My bike only has seven speeds so there are times when I'm going downhill and then leveling off when there's no resistance if I try to pedal. Should I keep pedaling anyway? I thought I read somewhere that if I pedal, I'm still "helping" the bike even if I don't feel it but maybe I misunderstood. Thanks!

both ways??? next your gonna tell me you always have a headwind, vicious dogs that shoot bees from their mouths....

when i was a kid ;)

The best speed improvement I ever had was having a bicycle stolen out from under me by two gangs.

I had to go back to my slower bike the next evening, but my commuting time over 10 miles dropped 10 minutes in one night.

Give it a try... ;o)

Otherwise, get a DVR or a TiVo and just record the programs.

No haha, it's only uphill one way of course. Going downhill on the same course can get me to the destination in about ten minutes if I hit the lights right and don't have to avoid car traffic.

I'm going to try the sprinting tactics for rides with other people who aren't as fast. But I feel bad leaving my girl to fend for herself while riding as she is new to bicycling and not yet confident in her ability and needs more time to build skills.

Thanks for the tips!

I'm not sure you'll make the bike go faster if you pedal downhill with no resistance. But it is an opportunity to practice "spinning." By pedalling faster with less resistance, you train your nervous system and muscles to pump faster. After you can consistently spin faster, you will work on your strength, and so be able to pedal fast in harder gears and your speed will be faster. At least, that's how it has worked for me.

I pedal going downhill with no resistance to keep my legs from resting.
Especially on a long downhill.
It seems to keep my legs from stiffening up IMHO.

Unless I'm just really wanting to fly on the downhills, I use that time to give my calves a good stretch, (straighten leg and point heel down, using the pedals to press my toes toward my shin).

It helps keep me loose on my 36 mile RT. :)

i second the clipless !!!!!

just went clipless about...hmmm....an hour ago and they're great!!! i easily added about 3mph to my speed without hardly trying!

i was just going in for a bike fit and decided..what the heck, i'm going to go clipless sometime, might as well try them now....anyway, after the bike fit i went outside with the clipless and loved them...i didn't have the same problem other people report...but it may have been because i've been riding with toe straps the last few months and those are far more complicated to get into (tap edge of pedal with toe, flip pedal, slide in ,etc.,) in comparison, the clipless was a breeze....

to get out of them, i just pictured doing a little michael foot spin and, POP you're out...

yeah, that's how i went through two sets of brake pads in about 500 miles :D i find the same thing wrt the legs, so i use the brakes to keep a bit of resistance in there - basically pedalling against the brakes instead of gravity and rolling resistance, i guess.