Bike Commute + Daily Training Ride
 

How many here bike commute AND do an additional daily training ride (before or after)?

I'm blessed with a short commute (about 5 1/2 miles) - which is great b/c there's no need to shower / change at work - but find that it's just enough distance to make me feel lazy & I usually don't do any additional riding. This = decreased weekly miles, additional poundage & overall loss of fitness!!!

Could obviously make my commute ride longer but LOVE the convenience of zero sweat and easy logistics of no need to change at work.

Pre-commuting I would ride daily from sunrise to 8am (so in mid summer could get in 2hr+ rides) - shower - then drive in to work. Could do the same and still bike commute to work but just haven't bitten the bullet.

I ride in the morning about 6.5 miles in work clothes. On the way home, I change into cycling gear and ride from 7-20 miles. I'm a noob but still get in 75-100 miles a week.

4.5 miles to work (all streets), change before leaving, then 13.5 miles home (streets and MUP). I think of it as a nice big circle with one really long stop.

I commute in 12.4 miles each way, about 4 out 5 days, since January....I have 3 "shortcut" routes that make the trip 22-25 miles each way.....my wife keeps mentioning that I may need to go back to school and brush up on my math skills as I determine these "shortcuts".....my point is that these are mental health "shortcuts"....I usually take about 2 "shortcuts" a week....sometimes in the morning when I know my morning is clear, and I get an early start.... sometimes on the ride home if the day has been an aggressive day, and I am not held up at the office until 6:00/6:30 or so......many, many times when my wife is out of town getting her "fix" of grandkids...

I'm blessed with a great boss and I stretch my lunch hour out and get a ride in then. My commute's just over 5 miles and I take the short way to work every day, but get some miles in at lunch or after work. The whole lunch thing really pays off when daylight savings goes away.

I've been trying to get in a ride at lunchtime the last couple wks, so ~13 mile commute (total) plus 10-12 miles in one sitting at lunch. Intend to stretch out, go for 60 min lunch ride rather than 40, but haven't swung it yet. Also, lunchtime rides to this point have been an every-other-day thing.

I could make my trip home a bit longer by going 3-4 miles the wrong way then turning back (or over-shoot work by 3-4 miles on the way in before turning back) but that hasn't been practical yet. I don't have time for much more flex than that at the beginning/end of work day.

Sounds more like a problem with motivation than with logistics. Maybe you don't really enjoy cycling as much as you think you do? I mean no disrespect, it just sounds like you need to find excuses to ride, whereas most of us need to find excuses not to ride. If you want to stick with an exercise program, it's probably best to find something you really love doing!

I do.

I have a similar situation. The most direct route from my house is about 4 miles one way. I usually take a slightly longer way home.

Yes, it's great, isn't it? Here's something that's worked for me: Ride in easily wearing your work clothes. No muss, no fuss, just lock up the bike and stroll into office. In my bag I've brought a jersey and bibs for the ride home. At knock-off time, ride home but take a twenty mile or so detour. I actually started commuting because I was training for a triathlon and I figured out it was a lot easier to get in my bike workouts when I already had my bike at work. If I took the bus home and changed, I'd be more likely to flop on the couch with a bag of chips and then I'd never get my workout in.

I've done that too, except I wouldn't drive. (I'm too cheap to pay for parking.) I'd just hop back on the bike.

I do.

Exact same story here, except an even shorter commute -- 4 miles round-trip. I currently take longer rides after work a couple of times a week, and longer weekend rides. In the "winter" (I live in Southern California), when it's dark after work, I'll be taking probably two-hour lunches to get those extra miles.

Furthermore, I find that I'm a complete bundle of energy after being pent up all day in a fluorescent office full of cathode ray tubes. Extra rides are essential when you've got a short commute.

When I did a regular commute a year ago of about 18+ miles RT, sometimes I would do a lap in Central Park on my way home. I'm a bit more serious about training now, though, so I think that would be a more frequent thing if I were commuting regularly now.

I do a training ride of about 20 miles a few times a week and then go home shower, put on dress clothes and commute to work, but its only about a mile each way.

I think that's the angle I'm going to go with, San Rensho . . . seems to make sense to do the morning thing so I don't pinch family time in the evening. Plus I've always been a freak that gets up 2 hours before everyone else anyway.

(roody I've been cycling seriously since the mid-80's - but I can totally see your take on my post!)

Thanks, all.

My training rides have actually interrupted my commuting for the past few months. My commute is too long to do in addition to a workout (30 mi. r/t), but often doesn't work into a scheduled workout.

When my schedule calls for 30 minute tempo intervals, or what not it's kind of hard to manage that on the way to/from work with no alternate routes that aren't cluttered by stop signs/lights every block or so.

When my schedule calls for shorter, higher intensity intervals I often work a workout into my commute.

Last couple months though it hasn't worked out too well, so I end up either riding before work in the morning , or after work. In which case I drive, or take the motorcycle.

I'm hoping to get back into commuting (on my fixed-gear, which I've barely touched since the season got into full swing) during the off-season.