Mars

Wow, we must be riding and not posting. We were on page 3 this morning!

The VLC and the XCC have been running for abut 3 years I guess, and many of us have been ridign a lot of miles over those years. that kind of riding has to have an effect on us. This week lets talk about how the VLC and the XCC has changed your body, for better or worse.

Not to brag, but my lower body has been transformed by all my riding. I am ripped from the waist down. From the waist up..... not so much haha. I used to get bronchitis/pneumonia every winter, but don't any more. In fact I rarely get sick at all now. I have more vim and vigor overall.

On the negative, by thursday I am getting tired. My legs have little aches here and there, and the effects of those miles starts to add up I guess. Friday night, I need a long nap before I go out til 3 am!

How has the long miles of the VLC and XCC affected you, good and bad?

Baying_Hound

Almost to my first anniversary commuting (29 mile RT). I love it so far. My Trek 1500 has been very good to me, but I think it is time to look into a dedicated commuter. I find I have alot more energy at work and don't crave my morning coffee anymore. I haven't really lost much overall weight, but I think that is just because my legs have bulked up while I am losing fat in other places.

It's a nice and refreshing way to both start and end my day.

Jakelin

I'll be new to the group starting tomorrow. I decided to bike into school this summer and see how it goes (four days a week). It's 15 miles each way, but is visually a really nice ride. I have been running the rout and putting in some miles in general to get ready. My first time riding it took me an hour and a half. Second time was an hour and twenty minutes. If I could get this ride down to an hour that would be huge. It takes 45 minutes to an hour to take the bus and the bus ride has really started to get to me. Spring and summer seem to bring out the oddest and noisiest people to use mass transit.

I am really glad I found this site. Some of the threads on here have been invaluable to helping me prepare for my commute.

Machka 

I wondered if this thread was still going.

This week I started commuting by bicycle, and rode twice. I won't be able to do it all 5 days of the week, but I'm aiming for 2-3 days each week.

My round trip commute is 67 kms (41 miles) ... does that qualify for the "very long commute club"?

nrk99

This is my first post of 2007 after having dropped off over the winter and having a spotty start this spring. I've got at 36m RT commute and, IMHO, think it's a pretty long commute, so 41mi certainly is! I've only been riding once maybe twice a week, though I want to ramp up to 3 times, possibly 4 if my schedule allows.

My biggest obstacles are getting going in the morning and getting cleaned up in time once I arrive. I now fill my water bottle with ice coffee and slam down a Power Bar and, while I get to work, don't feel especially energetic riding in. The cleaning up is pretty straight forward, I know, but I could use some advice on how get my engines running.

Bottom line is I am so not a morning person!

Marylandnewbie

Jakelin and Machka -- welcome aboard! You'll find we're a casual group without much of an entry threshold.

NRK99 -- I'm not sure if I have any solid advice because the best advice would be to get up a little earlier. Try to get in a solid breakfast and have a little more time to get your metabolism up to riding speed.

As for changes from all the riding I can point to a 40 pound weight loss and much more muscular legs. I still need to drop significant pounds, but at least the riding is keeping me at this level. I have found I generally have more energy. Also all sorts of things like climbing stairs, running around with my son, etc. are now much easier. I also think I sleep better since I tend to fall asleep more quickly and wake up more quickly. Plus I find the monotony of the daily commute ride very relaxing and it lets me ponder all sorts of other issues.

Machka 

I'm not a morning person either. I have to go to bed early in order to have the energy to be up by 5:00 am. That's basically my trick ... in bed by about 10 pm.

I don't have breakfast before I go, and I don't eat anything along the way. I just drink water. My stomach doesn't like to work first thing in the morning. When I arrive at work, however, then I have breakfast!


BTW - I posted some pics of my route on the post I made about my commute:
https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/312416-first-commute-year-67-kms.html

matthew_deaner

This is my first post to the very long commute threads, and my second post to the commuting forum.

I've been a rodie for quite a long time, but always rode for fun, not for transportation. Due to family issues and work hours, my training / group riding time got totally nixed... so I've been looking for ways to squeeze in riding time. I just started commuting this year to work and grad school. The ride is 39-miles, round trip, over hilly terrain near Bloomington, Indiana.

I cobbled my first commuter bike together from a '95 Giant Kronos frame and some old 7-speed RSX components. The frame was a bit too small for me, and there wasn't much room for fenders. I eventually figured out a way to fit fenders and a small rack to the frame. I commuted on this bike probably a total of 10-times until last week. I got fed up with it... the frame was too small and was flexy, the rack noodled from side to side when I stood to climb hills, and my trunk bag was junk and flopped over to one side or the other all the time. And there wasn't enough room to put panniers on the bike without heel strike. Obviously, the crappy bike and gear was dampening my ambition to commute.

I finally got fed up with the bike and, with tax return $ in hand, bought a new Surly Long Haul Trucker. I had the LBS add SKS 45-mm fenders, switch out the stock tires to some Panaracer t-serv 28mm tires, and switched to a more aggressive stem. The evening after buying the Surly, I ordered a Topeak Explorer rack and trunk bag, and some Jandd grocery panniers, and some used REI panniers off of e-bay. I ended up spending a lot of money... and I feel guilty about it. Hopefully it will be a worthwhile purchase. So now, I think I'm ready to commute regularly - possibly daily. I rode in to work all five days this week, twice in the rain (It wasn't as bad as I expected). I put over 200-miles on the new bike this week alone.

It feels great to get the day started with some riding, and I feel good that I'm reducing my ecological footprint and, in the long run, arguably saving money.

Anyway, I'm glad this forum is around... the advice has been helpful. Hopefully I will be able to contribute once I get this commuting thing figured out.

crtreedude 

Machka,

Surely you are in there. I am in I am told not because how long my is but how weird it is. It is not everyone who dodges chickens, cows, horses and rides up rock, mud and such just to get to work.

mirage1

With a commute like yours, and you doing it several times a week, it seems like the savings on wear/tear on your car and gas will make the better bike worth it soon! With the other bike it sounds like you'd have gotten fed up and quit soon.

CigTech

Welcome to all the new VLCers.

I have went from 220 lbs to 175 lbs in a 1.5 years. I have all ways been stronger in the lower half of my body then the top half. Now if I could just get the 6 pack going I'd have it made.

Marylandnewbie

Mathew -- I agree with a commute of your length, you will recoup the cost of a new bike pretty easily. And since the rugged LHT could become a family heirloom you will have that bike for years. The big thing with commuting is to remember you are in it for the laong haul. If you ride 5 days a week, you may need to pace yourself or schedule days of recovery rides in there so you don't burn out. As you've already found, weather isn't a big problem with a little bit of preparation. By the way remember to keep us posted on how the commute is going.

A cloudy, muggy commute this morning, but the real heat won't come until this afternoon. Temps in the 90s with humidity to match. Its officially summer in the city!

evblazer

Still haven't lost but a pound off my 280 but tried out my new Double oak to Irving commute on Saturday. https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...-Oak-to-Irving ends up about 44 miles round trip with a small detour and took me almost 2 hours one way but 90 minutes on the way home after a brief gatorade, water, banana and chocolate peanut butter cookie break.
It did made my ~10 mile current commute https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Shared-Service this morning seem like a trip to the corner store. I did get to see 2 firetrucks, 3 cop cars and an ambulance right down the street from my house blocking nearly the entire 4 lane route. Couple of cars apparantly couldn't handle the intricacies of a 4 way stop at 5am.

matthew_deaner

Thanks for the advice... I don't feel overtrained now, but I am doing more mileage than I am used to and I need to be careful. In addition to putting 200-miles on my LHT last week, I also went on a couple of fast training rides on my regular road bike (Trek 5200) for another 65-miles.

One problem I am having is with saddle comfort. I'm getting some chafing and soreness, probably because I'm using a lightweight racing saddle on my Surly (I grabbed it off one of my old road bikes). I ordered a Brooks B-17 for the Surly a few days ago... hopefully that will alleviate the problem.

Thanks again!

Matt

DataJunkie

Two weeks ago I made my first attempt to ride my 28 mile each way commute in and back the entire week. I had everything from mid 90 temps to 50s and 60s with torrential downpours. Everything was looking fine and dandy when I suffered a tire failure Thursday at work. After exhausting my supply of patches and tubes I gave up and rode the train home. The next morning I brought two tubes and a patch kit in. Turns out that the tire's bead was not hooking to the rim. Moved the tire and all was well.
So, this week is attempt #2. I've had plenty of 4 day in and back commutes lately. Just want the entire thing dang it!

I found a new way to make my commute seem shorter and flatter. I've taken to riding my Tarmac up canyons in the mountains. Holy cow that is painful. My last attempt was a 17 mile route with grades from 10 to 25 percent (well at least that is what the mapping program told me). I eventually gave up and turned around when I could barely pedal. That and I was out of food and low on water. No gas....my legs were out of it.

Marylandnewbie

Thick and heavy humidity on the way home, but while riding it wasn't too bad.

Matthew -- I think you're probably right on the saddle. I have ridden 4 on my bike and only this most recent saddle is giving me grief. At first I had it in the wrong position, but I think I have resolved those issues, but there is still some chafing. Finally after several weeks, it seems to be breaking in.

Cyclaholic

I'm looking at your new long commute on bikely. Dude, whats with those huge houses at the start? big blocks of land and most have swimming pools, looks like a real nice neighborhood compared to further along where they're packed in like sardines (its like that here too)

How fast is the traffic on your commute? what's the speed limit? looks like a lot of fast-traffic stretches.

I just have to ask, what's the building in the picture? looks like those giant mezo-american drawings in the desert, and it has a funky ramp going underground right at the front, I'm intrigued! I'm guessing missile launch site

Cyclaholic

Re. our theme of the week, commuting certainly keeps me fit but its far more than that. What's unique about the approx. 3 hours I spend on the bike every day is the mental chillout time.

It really is a meditation time for me, a time to mentally unwind and even contemplate philosophical aspects of life in general. Sure there's a focus on not getting killed out there but that inevitably evolves into reflexive skills and spatial judgements that become mostly subconscious so the mind is freed up to contemplate other things. Work (and now fulltime study) is mentally demanding and I have 3 kids under 5 years old so there's no 'quiet time' at home, if it wasn't for the long commute I think I'd go out of my mind.

Anyhow, I've been using https://www.bikely.com and really starting to like it, here's my current commute....

https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...ood-to-NthRyde

I think all VLCC'ers should do a bikely route to share here (thats your homework for next week )

M_S

Can I be the first member of the Moderately Long Commute Club (MLCC)? My commute for this summer is about 18 miles round trip, though it's closer to 40 once a week (when cycling in from my dad's house).

Cyclaholic

Welcome to the LHT family you have purchased the best commuting rig known to humanity (of course, I'm just a little biased )

I love my truck, I started with a bare frame and built her up. I know everyone must be sick of me posting pics of my bike by now but I can't help myself, I just have to share the love

Here she is ready for some long distance loaded commuting...





...your turn to post some piccies

matthew_deaner

Nice bike! I love the discontinued green color... I had to settle for the navy blue, which is nice, but not as cool as the green.

Your handlebar setup makes a ton of sense. What kind of bars are those? I've seen them on fixies before but never a road bike.

I'll post some pics of my LHT in a few days. Unfortunately, I don't own a digital camera. I do have an SLR and a negative scanner.

Here is my commute to both of my jobs (I usually work in the morning at one of the jobs, then the afternoon at the other):
https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...ington-Commute

Your commute looks difficult... I bet you have to deal with a ton of traffic. I am fortunate that my commute goes through some rural areas with fairly low traffic. There are, however, a ton of hills. The first hill hits 14% grade, and the second major hill goes to 17%... not easy on a loaded commuter.

Cyclaholic

What? they discontinued the green? didn't know. The green is my favorite color, everyone spots it as a Surly before seeing the decals.

The bars are the Profile Air Wing bars, the shifters are Shimano bar-ends, and the brake levers are Dia-compe which are the only road style brake levers designed for pulling V-brakes, regular road brake levers require an adapter otherwise they don't pull enough cable. I can operate the brakes and gears simultaneously from the same hand position, it's like STI brifters but with the bombproof reliability of bar-ends (and 1/4 the $$)

The aerobars are just to get the weight off my wrists when the old carpal tunnels give me grief.... and to mount the headlight.

The last 1/3rd of my commute is a bit of a challenge traffic-wise, just have to stay sharp. I've started using a helmet mounted rear view mirror, just to remove any lingering doubt of my complete fredness , and to help with traffic. I'm surprised how usefull it is.

Don't worry about those hills, they will make you strong.

crtreedude 

My commute is pretty aggressive, rough rocky roads and steep hills with plenty of mud and livestock to make it interesting. I used to be 220 lbs, now I am 185 lbs. Every pound hurts on that road. My wife just told me today she needs to tapper all of my shirts - does that explain well the differences to my body?

Marylandnewbie

Cyclaholic -- are you sure you can't squeeze bar ends onto those handlebars - maybe sticking out to the sides for more hand positions (or in case you grow more arms and hands) ;-)
I do like you idea for homework for next week. I may give it a try if I get the chance although my commute is a non-event compared to most.

As I rode through the humidity this morning another benefit of bike commuting occurred to me. I am much less susceptible to temperature changes than I used to be. Since I'm out in the heat and humnidity for a couple of hours 5 days a week, I am pretty acclimated to our conditions. So even though I spend 8 hours in an air conditioned office, going out into the heat doesn't kill me. Same thing is true in winter, I still need to layer up, but the cold does not usually feel excessive.

pieholden

Greetings! I finished my first ride in to work today. 22 miles in just under 2 hours. I chose a busier road than I previously planned but I think it's the right choice. It's Hwy. 41 in GA from Marietta to Atlanta. I rode an alternate route on Sunday but it was farther and I think a bit more unsafe due to a lack of street lights, only one lane per side in most places and a serious lack of any shoulder. Anyway, I feel great and can't wait to ramp the rides up to 5 days per week. I will be bussing it home for now because the rush hour ride home does not appeal to me at all. The only thing that really sketched me out was the wind and panniers pushing the bike around at speed. I'm sure I'll get used to this. Happy trails!