My 6,7 year old ride up a bigger hill than that bridge to school. Are those other pictures supposed to be hills?
Of course you guys are all great cyclists, that's why you've won so many Tour De France lately. Oh, well nevermind about that one. You are overestimating the capabilities of your countrymen, and underestmating the ease of commutes over there. Of course you don't sweat, when I was there in July it only got into the middle 60sF. When I was there, most of the bikers I saw were barely making beyond walking speed. So let's see, country that is tiny, flat as a board, doesn't get hot, commuters riding as slowly as possible. I guess they don't sweat much.

You don't think some of these people who have commuted for years and years long distances are " used to cycle"? Get over yourself and your sense of superiority.

My commute is about 12 mi round trip. I go from home 3 mi > train > 3 mi work. The mornings have been cool enough that I dont have to worry about sweating much, and the train's AC is nice on the ride home. Usually I just have my lunch, work clothes, and rain jacket in my pack. If I ever get a flat I'm close enough to work or home on either end that I can walk it and figure it out from there.

As an aside, while I understand the stereotype of americans that need to buy all the latest gear and senseless over-priced junk, trying to deny the value of clothes/gear made specifically for an activity is just stupid. Speaking as someone that has spent many hours hiking and snowboarding there's nothing better than haveing layers that both keep you warm and wisk sweat away or dry off fast when you get rained on. I'm not saying you need some team jersey to ride 3 mi to work, but you best believe when I start riding 10 mi each way next month for school that I'm gonna be rocking some padded shorts.

I grab the bike closest to the front door that doesn't have a flat tire.

I commute 22 miles round trip, but don't spend a lot of time "planning." I use a large seatbag (Carradice Barley) and keep all of my tools, inflator, spare tube, etc. in the side pockets all of the time. The only planning I do is to pack whatever clothes or food I bring with me to work each day. I don't do that until just before I leave in the morning. The secret to commuting is to make every routine so you don't forget something. The only time I ever forget something is when my routine gets broken -- such as when my wife gets up early on occasion and starts asking me all sorts of questions just before I leave for work. That causes all sorts of problems ... in more ways than one.

My commute is about 6 or 7 miles each way. Sometimes I'll make it a 10 or 15 mile trip on the way home.

I wouldn't call what I do "planning". I select my clothes for work in the morning (just as I would if I were driving) and pack them in my messenger bag. I put on whatever clothes I'm going to ride in. In the winter that involves a few layers but, again, it's nothing really "planned" as I do it the morning of.

I pack a lunch too, but again I would do that regardless. The other thing I do is try to remember a water bottle.

There's various bike maintenance issues that I deal with but it's not any different than making sure I change the oil now and then in a car. I also keep a spare tube + patches in a seat bag. In my car I keep an ice scraper and jumper cables. I don't consider that stuff "commute planning".

I did one-time planning for my commute when I set up my seat bag with the necessities: Tubes, levers, patches, etc.

Now it takes me longer to plan what I'm packing for lunch than it takes to plan my commute. I get up, walk the dog (which allows me to check the weather and decide on what to wear for the ride), get dressed to ride, and I roll.

aww, maddyfish is suffering from a badly inflated competitive nature.
Not to mention a misplaced sense of patriotism (someone dared to compare the people of a SMALL country with AMERICANS! Oh the noez, send in Nimitz Battle Group!! )

And what was that irrational crap about "they are bullet proof, never need to sleep and when it rains they sprout an umbrella from their heads"?? What are you, a 12 year old girl in the middle of a menstruation cycle?

Owch. :crash:

The Nimitz Battle Group is busy with the Swedes. They claimed they were better at riding trains than we were or something like that. Come to think of it, that might have been the Germans. You're pretty much all the same to us anyway ;)

...unfortunately, work/school/gym/rugby pitch/parents' are all a little far from my home, so I have a little planning, but the usual stuff as I leave for all day: sport stuff, lunch, work clothes, books n papers, shoes... That's most of my planning but it can get pretty tricky sometimes!

I don't usually have a toolkit: sometimes only my multitool. Never too far from home, always in the city, so if I'm really in BIG trouble with my bike, I'll lock it somewhere, take the bus home and leave earlier in the morning to fix it/bring it to shop. Do I have to say thievery is not a big problem up here in Qc city (except at the University, but even there.... )???

7 mile. Only ride one way. the way TO work is bus.
plan? yes.
I need to catch my bus.
Make sure I got lunch and cash for bus.
make sure I got my riding gear in a backpack. (Summer: shorts and Tshirt. Winter: clear sunglasses and later goggles. Head skullcap and later full cover baklava. gloves and later 2x gloves. long jersey and later thermal undershirt. rain pants. shell. fleece etc depending on weather. I love non-winter riding, there is so little to take.)
I time my eating during the day for the ride home.
my gike has a bag with spare tube, CO2 pump, and tools. the bare minimum.
phone to call the wife in case I really get stuck.
I think thats all.

Fortunately, few here have overestimated the levels of your insecurity. What's the deal with insulting an entire group of people you don't even know? What are you trying to prove here? That all cyclists from Kentucky need to look down on Europeans? I'm from KY, and the hills here aren't that big of a deal. Unless you literally commute 20 miles up and down cliffs--both ways--lighten up, Francis, and take some time off until you no longer need to swing the e-peen so hard. Not every American wakes up in the morning thinking everything's so goddam better just because it happens to be in America.

Gorgeous picture. Wouldn't mind a view like that riding to class.

Yowza!

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/e...23/pwned-2.jpg

My commute is just under 3 miles, and I suppose I do plan somewhat. I often ride different bikes to work, so I have to make sure my multi-tool, pump, spare tubes, etc. are on the bike I plan to take. I also usually take my lunch, and I choose which bike to take based on rain, whether I intend to get groceries after work, etc. I don't really wear any special clothes, but if it's raining I take spare clothes and in the winter I wear a rain coat. But other than that I just wear the clothes I work in.

6 Miles each way, I pack my lunch for work and my laptop into one pannier, pack my work clothes (shirt, pants) into my other pannier and off I go.

Planning.... hmmm.

I guess I have to make sure I wash clothes at least every three days (3 bibs in rotation). Add air to the tires every other day. That's the extent of it.

I used to check the weather when I woke up, but haven't done that in a long time. I let them talk me into driving a couple of times - which I ALWAYS regretted.

i only need to go 4 miles (each way)

- i get up, showered and dressed.
- pack a lunch sometimes, fill up my water bottle, throw everything in my bag (sometimes extra shirt if i am wearing a jersey to work)
- ride to the coffee shop, get a coffee, walk 2 blocks while i drink.
- hop on bike and off to work

Same exact motions as if i was driving, just substitute the walking while drinking coffee to driving.

My commute is about 8.5 miles each way... my preparation includes taking a shower and getting dressed. (Seems like a good idea, right?)

Anyway... I ride in the same clothes I work in, don't do any special packing or anything, so I just go. After a few 120 to 380 mile rides, 8.5 miles just doesn't seem that daunting anymore. ;)

....

Yeah, ok. I count my commute as relatively flat and have 3 hills that are at least twice as high (and much steeper) than any of those bridges. ;)

My last job my commute had much more climbing than the current one.

But why snipe at each other? You've got just about an ideal commuting situation... enjoy it. ;)

ps: Oh... and don't forget weather... I've ridden everything from -12F to 105F in the last couple of years... Blizzards, thunderstorms, flash floods, heat waves, hail, you name it.

I hear the weather there tends to be a little nicer. :D Maybe I should move there.

12 kilometer commute is unheard of in your country (and the wife of your future king is not even a national)

Nope. Never. I get my errand bike and go. I don't even put on cycling specific clothing, and no helmet either (even though I have 3 expensive helmets specifically for road and mountain).

The only thing I plan is the stuff I carry towards my destination. They go into my basket in the back.

12km commute is pretty normal. Just like anywere else in the Western World, lots of "suburbanisation" happened in the 60-70's. Large numbers of people moved out of the cities to smaller communities. Most of them have jobs in the city. All in all i'd say commutes up to 20km one way are very common. There are ppl who do more but they are a relatively small minority.

As for the wife of the future king, can't you take her off our hands, together with the whole royal family? ;)

For the weather i'd suggest you move to South of France, ideal biking climate. Dutch weather, while deffinitely not the worst is not that great. Typical humid sea climate with lots of rain, with occasional hail and snow in the winter.

I fill my water bottle up before I leave home and work. Plenty hot here in the desert.Aside from that, minimal planning. I bring a change of clothes into work and have a towel here too, so I can dry off if I've had a particularly sweaty ride. Every week I cycle the work clothes, so that takes some planning but not much. And I try to make sure I've got minimal repair tools (multi-tool, wrench, pump, etc.) in the event that I need them.

I pack my clothes and keep deodorant at work. and just wear shorts and a shirt on the bike. Sometimes bike shorts if I know i am going to take the long way home.

Nothing extravagant. It hasn't been warm enough for me to get a "bath kit" to use at work in the bathroom. But then again I get to work fairly early when the sun isn't crushing us yet.

No planning, just routine 8.5mi

Of course before I started cycle commuting I had to plan/prepare for it.

Al

40-mile R/T commute. The water at work tastes... unusual, so I bring 5 or 6 20oz bottles of water from home. And whatever books I need to work on homework during downtime. No real planning, just 10 seconds of thought before I go.

In four weeks when I switch to the day shift I'll be planning dress clothes/shoes and shower supplies. It'll be a PITA.

I too started commuting in the 2nd grade. The distance was just under half a mile, but it did involve riding on the side of the largest road in that side of the state, though there was a crossing-guard when we crossed over the highway to school.

Children commuting to school by bike is very rare these days. Tell us about your daughter's commute. How long is it? Do you escort her? Is it done as part of the safe routes to school program?

Of course you need to plan. Each day's commute is different. I keep the basic tools in my backpack. If I am riding my recumbent, I add the locks, tubes and safety vest for it. Then I consider whether I will have to meet and greet clients that day, or have to bring a certain disk or data stick with me, or whether it will rain or snow. But it's all pretty easy.

Actually right now, I'm working out of home as of a couple of weeks ago. Till the company collapses or gets its act together my commute is either recreational and I ride for 1-2 hours for exercise or utilitarian where I go shopping and run errands on my bike. Before that it was 3 miles each way.