I don't know if anyone has to commute this far. Tomorrow I will be commuting 33 miles to school and 33 miles back. What to expect and how to prepare for this commute. I won't be doing it on the road bike but my beater commuter due to not wanting to have the bike get stolen. What to expect?....or is this nearly impossible to commute.

Expect to sleep very well tomorrow night! Hope you don't have a lot of homework.

If you haven't ridden at least half of that distance in a row before, there's a good chance you're going to bonk out. It's possible to do, but I wouldn't. That's at least a 1.5h ride each way. I'd drive it, no question.

Give yourself plenty of time (like twice what you think) and I hope you've scouted the route? IF not, I'd postponed. For more on how to get started, see what I've written at https://austinbikeblog.org/?p=88

I'd say closer to 2 hrs minimum, and that would be pushing it, depending on what the 'beater commuter' is.
Takes me 45 minutes to do one third of that. Granted I have tons of stop signs and stop lights, but still.

I have scouted the route on google. all straights....and the furthest stretch is 17 miles straight....till my next turn off. I ride everyday but those are 5 miles to-and-back.

It will either be done in my comfort 21 speed bicycle or my cruiser fixed speed. Like i said, I don't want to take a road bike.

Personally I would take the road bike. Lock it up well and it won't get stolen; you'll also be much more comfortable riding at speed. I wouldn't take the cruiser; slow and heavy are not good for more than about 5 miles.

I can't imagine doing 33 miles on a single speed. Yikes.

wimp

easy as cake.

Regards

The 35 Something Year Old Idiot With The Derby Had On A Fixed Gear

i am having second thoughts but your respons just motivates me to go and do it. I am actually meeting a professor so I would not be carrying anything.

I say try it. If you're in good shape you should be able to do it; however, as others have pointed out an hour and a half an awful lot of saddle time to ride on consecutive days. I would shoot for three times a week maximum and leave Tuesdays and Thursdays for rest and recovery.

i live car free, so i can say it's not that far, just pick your route and either haul ass or take your time, you'll get there before ya know it, my trip to school is around 20 miles one way but i do longer rides, in the morning i'm usually hauling ass to school since i wake up late but take my time on the way back, best advice i can give is bring spare tubes and a pump and water

300 mile weeks on a beat up cruiser? If you`re strong like an Ox, yes, it`s possible. Have fun.

Holy crap, that's a long way to ride. I'd definitely use the roadbike. Can you use the bike for part of the route and the bus or train for the rest?

My longest commute was only 28 miles each way (56 total) and I was on the road for 2 hours each way. My route has plenty of hills. I am 50 years old and overweight and I can do it twice a week but it sucks. If the route is dead pan flat it doesn't matter if you have a multi geared bike but doing it on a balloon tire coaster brake bike is nutty IMHO. I half drive and only bicycle 17 miles round trip three times weekly and my route is flat. It takes me between 27 and 40 minutes each way depending on how hard I want to ride. Multiply my times by 3.5x to 4x for a realistic ride time. I ride a 65 inch gear but my bike is a 21 pound 80's conversion single speed with 1-1/4 inch 95 psi tires. Your balloon bike will be harder to pedal. Too bad you couldn't ride a fared recumbent. For a flat route that would be much faster.

We have a Very Long Commute Club (VLCC) here in Commuting forum, they post weekly threads sharing info, experiences and such. Those posts might be of interest to you. The latest thread is here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/455462-very-long-commute-club-week-8-18-08-prime-motivator.html

Search for earlier threads. And good luck with the long commute!

--J

How did it go then?

You'll enjoy the ride a lot more if you take the road bike...especially the ride home. If you insist in riding one of the other bikes, let the terrain be your guide to which one you choose.

I commute 26 miles one way. But, and its a big but, only do it twice are three times a week. I have three kids that need to spend my money in cheerleading, volleyball, softball, ect. And to do that, they need to be places an hour after I get off of work. I ain't that fast!

My commute is by a state route. Nice and steady with a low uphill grade for the first ten miles. I hit the second town and pick up another rider. I usually have time for a quick snack and water/G2. Then its time to finish. The last 15 miles or so is pretty hilly. I can do the ride in two hours, with my older buddy, or in about 1.5 hours by myself. I towel off and change at my work.

I'm on my GT Nomad Fitness. Its doable, like anything else. I just put a yearend leftover (twice, its a 2006) Schwinn World Class in layaway! Nice touring bike, lighweight with carbon on it and 28 hill climbing gears. I except to cut my ride down by 25-30%. Might not be alot on the hilly last part, but the steady incline of the first part will be shorter. And the ride home, sweet!

I'm 38 years old and at 285, last dr check up. You can do this. But its going to wear you out the first week or so. I would definitely only do it twice or three times the first few weeks.

Don't except to do alot of riding after your commute! At least not at first. Once you get your "sea legs", you will be surprise at the miles you can cover on a bike. I'm still amazed at what I can do and others, getting surprised weekly.

I would do the road bike. Its why you bought the damn thing! I have a buddy that will not take his $1500 Sporting Clays 12ga out hunting. Just too scared its going to get scratched up or dinged. He used an old beater, misses twice as many shots and doesn't have the fun he would will a properly fitted weapon. Things happen to material things, but hey you can lock your bike up, put an alarm on it, or what ever. Get out and ride it. Don't make a safe queen out of it.

Jerry

I have started riding the whole way to my office on occasion instead of bike-train-bike. The commute is almost exactly the same distance as yours. I have quite a few stop signs and lights in the last 10 miles. It takes me 2hrs 15min, and that's not taking it easy. It's flat here, so wind is the greatest hinderence, especially since I do it on a fixed gear Langster. I'm quite tired when I get home a night.

Ditto;

I have a 28 mile commute but I shorten it to 19 miles by catching a bus for 10 miles. If this is an option, do it!

I've been using a 21 speed comfort bike. Top sustainable speed is limited to about 18 mph, and can be as slow as 12 mph if I'm up against a good headwind. A road bike would save you 20 to 30 minutes.

Michael

Sorry slight thread hijack here -- this Idea has been running thru my head for months now (not that I could afford a recumbent at this point) How much faster (roughly) would my 12.5 mile commute be on this:



My problem is similar to Jerry in SO IL -- most days that I can't ride are due to commitments with my 4 kids -- so any thing I could do to cut down (substansially) on my commute time would be great. I mean If I could normally maintain 20 mph would I be able now to maintain 25?

I think the real question no one asked is, can you ride 66 miles in a day? What about just 33...how do you feel after that? I would definitely take your road bike...the impact of lower pressure, nubby tires or a heavy frame will be magnified substantially over such a distance. I'm also of the mindset, "what good is a bike if you don't ride it?" A 66 mile commute is definitely road bike territory. Invest in a good lock (or two) and your road bike will be just as safe as sitting in your house...or bring it into class with you...or your school may have bike lockers for rent.

A little more than a metric century a day on a beater bike. That's realistically 5 hours a day on a bike assuming that you can maintain about 15mph on said beater bike and there aren't a whole lot of stops. If you can devote that kind of time to riding everyday, awesome. When you graduate, buy yourself a beater road bike and climb up the road bike racing ranks.