45 Minute Plus Commuters - Check In
 

I'd like to see what's somewhat common for commuters that are riding at least 45 minutes one way, 3 or more days a week.

Chime in and share:

A bit of description of your route profile.
What kind of bike you ride. (photos would be cool)
How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride.
Distance & time (average speed if you care to share)
How long you've been doing this and any thoughts you have toward the future of your commuting.

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My new commute is right at about 20 miles and progresses from 6700 ft elevation to 7,300 ft on my way in. It's an alternate hwy to the interstate it parallels and it's fairly high traffic, little to no shoulder in some areas, curvy most of the way and there is no other choice.

The bike I'm going to use is my cyclo-cross bike. I can move on the flats at 30 plus pretty easily with it and I run narrow, yet bullet proof Schwalbe Marathon XR tires. That said, I enjoy a very short work day so I can take my time in both directions.

I'm going to be carrying a change of clothes and will do so by wearing a backpack (TNF Skareb 40) or a larger messenger bag (Chrome Metropolis).

Riding season has just arrived here and I haven't done this commute yet so I don't have times. I hope that the route is safe enough to allow me to continue with some comfort beyond the first couple of rides.

Photo of the bike coming soon. I need to get a recent one.

Current commute: 17.5 miles in, 13.5 miles out - I take different routes due to traffic patterns. I'm quite slow and average a bit over 13 mph. 850 feet of climbing each way, give or take, through urban/suburban streets. I have a bag that hangs off the back of the seat that handles all my clothing & food needs - 13 lbs when the bag is stuffed full. The bike is about 34 lbs. If all goes well and I get the house we're negotiating a purchase of the commute will be 18.5 miles each way, all through suburbia with less hills and very few traffic lights.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_DsgP5ZCCUco/SY...s400/vrex2.jpg

I ride about 12.25 miles one way on RURAL hiways. I have a Waterford road bike, so I use my BOB trailer to take my stuff in. My job is shirt/tie type of position so I have those clothes, breakfast and lunch as well as some other junk just for the weight. I use my commute as training for touring, RAGBRAI etc. so I have the weight in there so I'm used to it.

Since I own my own retail business, I installed a shower at my store.

Really only one major hill that slows me down to around 5 or 6 mph, depending on the wind. During the summer with longer days, I may ride a 30 mile ride in or home with lots of hills.

When I'm shape (other than round!) I average about 12 mph, although the other night I had a great taillwind and jumped it to 16.

My ride's 10 miles and change one way. The majority of it is a MUP following a creek, which is very nice. Especially this time of year when the flora comes back to life. Unfortunately, the evening ride back greets me with the occasional swarm of insect life, which is conveniently located at face level on the path. Probably about 4 miles of my commute is city streets, but traffic isn't too much of a concern until I get downtown. It usually takes me 45 minutes to get down there.

I have a rear rack that's used for anything I can't fit in my messenger bag (or if an item is so heavy that it would be a burden to carry on my back). I would prefer not to have a rear rack, but I use it often enough that it would be a pain to not have.

My weapon of choice: 2006 Marin Muirwoods

http://i34.tinypic.com/wtynnt.jpg

My route is 18.5 miles each way with rolling hills and one big hill each way. Round trip, I get in about 2200 feet of climbing. The ride typically takes around an hour ten minutes each way.

My ride starts on rural roads that turn into suburban roads for the first 4.5 miles. Then I am on two different MUP's for the next 10 miles. I end up with four miles on city streets.

My bike is a K2 Enemy Cyclocross bike, fitted with Topeak Rack and Panniers. I took off the cross tires and installed Conti Gatorskins. I also installed Planet Bike Cascadia fenders. This setup served me well all winter.

I load the panniers with my work clothes, dress shoes, towel and toiletries. I also carry tools, spare tube, extra gloves, pump, duct tape, tie wraps and some food.

I've been commuting this route for nine months, usually about three days/week. I expect to continue this commute for as long as I can.

My route is all city streets through Hollywood and West Hollywood. Some bike lane, some not. I tend to stick to two lane streets so cars can pass if they are smart enough. Bike is Jamis Aurora with a Brooks B17. I carry my stuff in an Acorn saddle bag (spare tube, tools, etc.) and Bailey Works messenger bag (change of clothes, book to read, camera, lunch, etc.). 13 miles one way, around 45 min. to work (downhill mostly) hour and a half or so home (uphill, plus don't push as hard).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/...c57f88af_o.jpg

bag
http://www.bhop73.com/pictures/sun.jpg

Good thread - thanks for starting it. My route is pretty short - about 6 miles on perfectly flat ground, followed by a subway ride of about 10 miles, then a three mile ride through downtown Los Angeles to USC, (University of Southern California). The first six miles is on a bike path through suburbia, but the downtown portion is a bit of a white knuckler.

My bike is a 2007 Specialized Crossroads Elite, (I know its a hybrid . . .), that I run with 700 x 38 Specialized Armadillo Infinity tires. I outfitted it with a Topeak Explorer rack and DXP trunk bag and am really happy with the set up, since I hated hauling everything to work on my back. I carry a change of clothes, a U-lock, spare tube and tire irons, a plastic baggie with first aid stuff, sunscreen, and a Blackburn Air Stick pump on the frame. I would guess the bike weighs a little over 30 lbs. fully laden.

My commmute is about 1.5 hours door to door, (30 minutes to subway, 30-40 minutes on train, and 20 minutes to campus). Average speed is about 13 mph, mostly because I have a tendency of hitting most of the lights, but i ride anywhere from 16-19 mph on the flats after I warm up. Interestingly, the most treacherous part of the ride is not going through construction downtown, but navigating a four way diagonal crosswalk at the corner of Jefferson and Hoover, where you have to run a gauntlet of students on bikes, skateboards, while yaking on cell phones oblivious to the world around them. Fun, fun, fun!!

I've been doing this at least 3 x per week, (usually 5), since last March, and its prime bike commuting season now. Usually 55 - 60 when leaving home at 7:00 am and about the same heading back at 5:30. I'm enjoying it now, because I can feel those 95 -100 F scorchers waiting in the wings for their turn in July. If anyone is in Los Angeles over Memorial Day Weekend, there's a bike ride that follows the route of the LA Marathon that is a lot of fun. It starts at the Los Angeles Colliseum on May 25, at 5:00 am and goes through different neighborhoods in the city for 27 miles before ending up at the starting location. Best part - the streets are closed to vehicular traffic so you don't have to worry about cars. Worst part - 15,000 to 20,000 people usually show up and there are some pretty spectacular crashes while trying to get everyone headed in the same direction. Sorry for going off topic here, but its worth trying at least once, especially if you live in the greater Los Angeles area, or are visiting here from out of town.

My commute's 17.5 mi w/a 500 ft drop in elevation in. Homeward is just the opposite w/an 18% 0.5 mi climb and several smaller climbs before and after. 40 mi rt was reduced upon joining Mapmyride.com and found some shorter routing. I ride a Motobecane Fantom CX w/rack, bags, lights, etc. The gearing is 50-40t x 26-12t. In using my commute for fitness and training I never use the smaller chainring. My tires are SMP 28mm. Since last May I've had 1 flat(2" self-starting screw that NOTHING would've stopped) and a slow leak just recently. Well over 7000 miles. Changed the rear tire this weekend and expect similar performance. I overinflate to 120psi.

Have 2 other commuters I use to change things up. One is an 85 C'dale SR300 conversion to 1x8 w/barend shifting. Gearing is 48t x 28x12. The other is a Fuji Del-Rey singlespeed...46x16. Both have SMP 25mm tires and a seatpost rack/trunkbag combo I swap back and forth. Also. I've got a set of SKS Raceblades I use for all 3 bikes.

My times in average between 1:05-1:15 depending on wind/weather. My times home are between 1:15-1:25 depending on fatigue and weather conditions. My route is almost all rural except when I reach the factory grounds then it gets a little busy.

My MBCX is my 'main' workhorse. Carry clothes for a week or two as we've got locker/shower facilities, though I don't use the showers...I shower just before leaving home and I work in a warehouse. My arrival time is usually about 45 mins before my start time. Plenty of time to cool down. Then I bring a work outfit home w/me everyday. The other 2 bikes are for 'fast days' w/little or no extra clothing for the ride home. I work 2nd shift, so I have to account for the temp at anywhere from 11:30PM-3:30AM as we have to work over sometimes.

All in all I feel very blessed w/my commute as I may go a week on my homeward ride w/o seeing more than 3-4 cars...not per night, but for the whole week! See all kinds of animals wild and domestic. Even rolled up on a herd of donkeys in the middle of one of the backroads I take...heck they're ALL backroads by some standards. That was an interesting experience...weaving my way through a herd of interested, docile pack animals. They followed me part way up the hill I started to climb then lost interest. There was some pretty thick grass on the side of the road. :p

Sorry, no pics of my bikes. :(

Count me in. I have a ~10 mile commute to community college that I'm doing twice a week at the moment, but next semester it'll be more often than that. I'm in the 45 minute club for now (about an hour either way. More with headwinds. Boy do we get headwinds.) but I'm working my hardest to get out of it :thumb:. I'd be able to offer an average speed and more accurate time/distance but my Cateye bike computer popped off the bike recently and instantly got run over by a car :notamused:.

I ride a 61cm Windsor Cyclo in white. I'll have pictures up soon (msg me if I forget and you want to see it) It suits me pretty well. I'm still trying to work a few things out with the fit (I need a new stem). I can definitely say that I'm the limiting factor, not my bike. I'm probably moving at the end of the month and it'll probably bring my commute down to about 4 miles to school. Unfortunately it'll bring the commute to work (~1mile currently) up to around 5 miles. I'd rather have a short commute to work every day and a long commute to school a few times a week, but I'll manage.

I've just been dealing with having a backpack sweat stain for now, but pretty soon I'm gonna be getting a rack and crate to put my backpack in to keep the sweat off. With summer coming up though (Florida heat and rain) I might have to bring a change of clothes anyways. The road is a combination of a 4 lane suburban road (speed limit 45) with a bike lane and a 4 lane highway (45 also) with broad shoulders the whole way there (Highway 50 for those in Central Florida.)

My ride is that long if I get a flat tire.

I'm 14.1 miles inbound and 17.7 home. The inbound trip takes me 45 minutes. Home takes 60 minutes. The shorter inbound route is less safe, but anything goes in the daily "I'm late for work again" time trial. The route is mostly flat and rural. There is a shoulder to ride on for most of the route. Inbound I only have two nightmare left turns to make. When I started commuting a year ago I had fights with drivers. We have now learned to coexist. Anyone who passes me safely gets a nice wave from me. Drivers now hold up traffic for me when I need to make my left turns. I ride a Specialized Sequoia that has had fenders added for all-weather riding, although I don't ride below 36F. I have a backrack and paniers that I carry my work stuff and lunch in. I swapped the stock ALX 20/24 spoke wheels with Mavic Open pro 32/32 because my weight (190lb) and cargo (10lb)was breaking spokes. I have one of those planet bike HID's which lights up the night sky... just wish the battery charge/discharge cycle count was better. My job is ending due to tough economic times and I expect to be out of work by July 4th at latest. My only criteria for a new job will be the ability to bicycle commute. It has been great for my sanity and weight.

I have a 20 mile commute that runs mostly on MUPs but to get from one to another, I have to zip through downtown St Paul. Total time 1:40 each way. I have an old 88 Schwinn Voyageur that I use for spring, summer, fall and a winter bike that's Specialized Expedition set up just for winter..I shorten my commute in winter and it's all roads since the MUPs aren't maintained and are a mess.

My ride is about 45 minutes (12.5 miles) in and 55 minutes (15.3 miles) home.

Coming in is straight down one of the major north-south surface streets (High Street, if you know Columbus, Ohio). Lots of traffic lights, sometimes I time them well, sometimes not. IF I make the right string of lights, I'll make 30 MPH, but I average around 16 MPH with all the stopping and starting. There is very little traffic at the hour that I ride in, so it's not too bad a ride. I like watching the city wake up.

Going home I head over to a MUP (Olentangy) that winds through parks, neighborhoods and a college campus along a river. I only deal with 6 traffic lights, so it saves time, but I still only average about 16 MPH because it's a "false flat" the whole way home (and pretty steep in the last 3 miles), and I can't really wind it out on the MUP.

The commuting steed is an 80's Phillips brazed and lugged steel frame that I've built up with a mixture of 80's vintage (SunTour) and modern (Shimano) parts, converted from 27" to 700c wheels, which I built, using Shimano hubs and Sun CR-13 rims. I carry work clothes and sometimes a canvas briefcase in a set of panniers that unfold into a grament bag. Loaded up, sans rider, it's probably about 35 lbs.

Mine is 12.5 miles, right now it takes me 40-50 minutes.

Bike is a Cannondale Cross bike (disc break version). I ride on all city roads. Most are two lane 25-35 mph roads, but I am on a four lane 55 mph road for a little. I have front/rear lights, a computer, mini U-lock, cable lock, rain/wind jacket and tools/spare tube with me all the time.

I need a dress shirt/pants every day and carry everything in a single pannier (always hang on left side of my bike). Carry dress pants/shirt/undershirt in an eagle creek folder.

http://im.edirectory.co.uk/p/55/r/ecfolderopen1.jpg
http://www.eaglecreek.com/accessorie...lder-15-40153/

It works pretty well, but there are still creases where I fold the shirt. I keep spray wrinkle-releaser at work to take care of that.

Belt/socks/boxers are stuffed in my shoes. The eagle creek folder, shoes and a lunch go in the pannier.

I have been doing this for a little over a year now, and I would reccomend panniers instead of a messenger bag. I made that change when I started this job and I can't imagine using a backpack/mess bag any more.

my commute
 

My route is about 22 miles round trip, and each leg takes about 45 minutes including stops for traffic lights, etc. The roads are hilly with few flat stretches but no monster climbs either. Most of the roads are suburban neighborhood streets with one fairly busy 5-lane road for about 1.5 miles each way. I average riding about 4 days/week depending on the weather. My total bike commuting was about 3,600 miles in 2008. Typically my average speed is about 15 mph.

I rode an old De Bernardi steel racing bike with 9-speed Shimano double group and downtube shifters for two years, but replaced that with a Bob Jackson touring bike over the winter. The touring bike is much better for carrying gear and has mounts for fenders and racks. I use a Carradice Barley seatbag to carry most of my gear, including clothes, lunch, wallet, cell phone, tools, spare tube, etc. I keep an extra supplies of clothes, shoes, towels, bath gear in my office so I don't have to carry as much every day. On days that I drive (usually when it rains), I restock food and clothes in my office, bring home dirty laundry, etc.

I've been bike commuting almost exactly two years. Over that period, I've biked to work 303 times and 6,830 miles as of today.

11mi in, 12mi home, generally takes about 45min each way, 400ft climbing going to work, much less than that coming home. About 2/3 MUP and 1/3 busy streets.

A few times a week I will tack on about 10 miles either heading in or coming home.

I keep all my clothes and shoes at work, so I only use a small Mountainsmith lumbar pack to bring in fresh socks/boxers, lunch, and some minor work stuff.

My main commuter is the Kona, with fenders, and I ride my good bike a couple times a week, so long as the weather is clear.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_auFHYj0eKH4/Sb...0/DSCF0679.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_auFHYj0eKH4/Sd...3292009027.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_auFHYj0eKH4/Se...4162009031.jpg

Thanks for the opportunity to write. In my Introduction to BF, I described my nearly perfect year round commute. I live in downtown Boston (Kenmore Square) and ride to Norwood, a suburb 14 miles distant in the reverse traffic commuting pattern. I ride early in the morning, leaving before 6 AM with scant traffic in my direction. Then in the evening I take my bike back to Boston on a commuter rail train, since the train is empty on the reverse commute. The Train Station is about 3 minutes from work, the Downtown Station is about three miles from home, and the train ride is about one-half hour long.

I have four major routes I follow, each defined by the moderate hill I climb. The environments I ride through I describe as gritty urban, pleasant urban, pleaant suburban and ritzy suburban. The routes are all within about 2 miles of each other, so I can mix and match. In the nice weather I'm usually training for a century, so I extend my mileage according to a schedule I follow, up to 30 miles on a week day. My usual times on the routine commute are about 1:15 in the winter and about 1:05 in the summer.

I ride a Bridgestone RB-1 on dry days including winter, and my beater bike is a Cannondale Mountain Bike. Inspired by reading Bike Forums for the past winter, I now ride on rainy days, which I previously avoided, and I used studded tires for the first time this winter. I carry my things on a rear trunk rack and a backpack for overflow. I'm fortunate that I work in a hospital and can wear scrubs most of the time, though I keep some good clothes on hand for special occasions. I have shower facilities and I bring my bike inside near my office. The hospital is located in an active downtown suburb, and many services, e.g. barber, dentist, grocery stores are within walking distance.

I am one of those cyclists that prefers to listen to a radio while riding, and from the various posts on the subject, I seem to be nearly alone in preferring talk shows. My user name is how I'm introduced when I (rarely) call in ("...and now here's Jim from Boston..."). A curmudgeonly host on WRKO often disses bicyclists and when I write or call the station I refer to myself as their "Number One Fan among Boston's Bicycle Commuters." :lol:

I've been doing this commute for over twenty years and I always am looking for new ways to improve it. I've become kind of a legend and people are always asking me about the ride, in particular on bad days as in "You didn't RIDE today, did you?" One bad thing on the horizon is that the commuter rail system has threatened to stop evening service, thus making my commute a round trip rather than one-way. So far I think it is a bargaining ploy, but I may have to HTFU and do it Round Trip.

I ride a Giant OCR3 or a trek 4900 with a bike bus combo. So on the way to work, I ride about 4 miles, and on the way home I get off and ride about 16miles. I carry pretty much nothing except a laptop and a thermos, and maybe a reflective sweatshirt.

My long trip home starts at the bottom of the bluffs and it is a constant grade up until about 3 miles at the end. I average about 12-17 mph

1. 27ish miles (one way) of flat-to-rolling terrain - normally takes me around 1.5 hours. Heading to work, it's rail-to-trail for 23 miles before I hit the city proper and start navigating city streets to my office. Here's the elevation profile that charts elevation and gradient, starting at my office on Capitol Hill and heading West on the Custis/W&OD (the dip and spike at around 1:23:00 is fully accurate):
http://home.gwu.edu/%7Ebdcheung/bike..._elevation.png

2. I ride two bikes: a Surly Crosscheck and my CAAD9. Which bike I take is determined by my training schedule and weather.

Pic of the Surly:
http://home.gwu.edu/%7Ebdcheung/bike/IMG_0338.JPG

Pic of the Cannondale:
http://home.gwu.edu/%7Ebdcheung/bike/img_0968.jpg

3. I wear a backpack with my clothes and lunch in it.

4. See #1

5. I've been doing this for about a year now.

I do a bi-modal commute, since I live 70 miles from where I work. As a result, I put the bike of the day on a roof rack of my car and drive over half the way. I take a MUP (W&OD Trail) for the largest part of the commute, and as a result of the bi-modal I can vary the distance I travel. Minimum is 14.5 miles each way with options of 18 miles and 24 miles each way, driven by where I can park and leave the car. Currently I opt for the 18 mile as a minimum, with 24 mile trips thrown in 2-3 days a week. I'm trying to work up to the 24 mile daily at this point.

Most of the trail was formerly rail so no hills to speak of on those portions, but where that deviates onto street or other trails there are some leg burning hills (Custis Trail for the DC folks) About 3 miles of the trip is on-street, and while most of it has bike lanes, it also passes several subway stations, so inattentive cagers are the norm, and the bike lanes are the place to double park. BD posted a elevation profile...

I ride primarily MTB's. I have 4 bikes I rotate through. A Gary Fisher 29'er hardtail set up with touring tires racks and fenders. A Gary Fisher 26" hardtail that's set up with a rigid fork and slicks. And a Gary Fisher high zoot XC race bike with full knobbies that I ride when I feel like picking on roadies. They don't realize that it weighs like 20lbs and hate when an old guy on a MTB drops them on climbs and starts :). Last, and I don't ride it much is a Lemond Tourmalet road bike. Love the bike, don't like beating it up.

2 of the MTB's have racks and I have a trunk bag that holds tubes, tools, etc. Road bike and the XC race bike I just backpack it but still carry spares. Frequently I do both when I carry my laptop.

Time on the 18mi runs anyhere from 55 mins to 1:25'ish or so, depending on my mood and the bike I'm riding. PR is 47 minutes on the 18mi ride. For the most part I'm *not* in a hurry. Been doing it pushing a year, and I'll be doing it as long as I can. I've lost 15lbs and actually feel like poo when I don't ride. I log all my mileage, and on the average I'm 5-700 miles a month commuting. I'll also do centuries/tour on weekends and vacations.

-Roger

That cannondale looks awesome.

awh, thanks :)

I especially like the Trek wheels on it.... LOL Just bustin ya BD, looks sweet. Needs greener tires tho.

17.5 miles, one way



1.5 mile climb from the start 3.5 mile drop down MUP , 12.5 miles on MUP and finally 1 mile road again.

elevation info

home 378'

1.5 mile climb tp 390 feet then 3.5 mile long drop to 145 feet (to MUP along river) , 4 miles pretty flat on MUP then climb to 421 feet (same MUP) then drop causualy down to 35 feet to the office.

lots of climbing on the way home (any route) the MUP is easier with 3 moderate climbs vs the 14 mile road trip with one huge hill and then rollers all the way home

Bike /gear No photos (sorry) Custom marinoni turismo, 28cm tires, front tripple, rear rack and use Carradice or home made Panniers (depending on load) ortlieb handle bar bag , soon to have front rack and rando style bag. fenders, friction suntour barcons, and Tioga sure foot 8 platform pedals I was using speedplay frogs but decided to use platforms for the Use any shoe thing , (I wont be going back to clipless any time soon.)


"John"

A bit of description of your route profile.
Semi-rural and suburban roads. Bike trail available if I want to go that route.
The flat route: 13.5mi one way, 350' of gain in the last 2 miles to work. 600' in the last 2.25 on the way home. (I live at the top of a really big hill.)
The rolling route: 11mi one way, 500' of gain to work; 1000' on the way home.
The added hills: I have the option of adding up to 3 big climbs into my route. Each one is 1 - 1.25 miles long and consistent 7% grade or steeper.

What kind of bike you ride. (photos would be cool)j
2008 Cross Check set up as a randonneuring bike
1988 Trek 400 set up as a singlespeed/fixed gear (usually ride the singlespeed side)
1987 Schwinn Woodlands set up as a fat tire cruiser.

How you carry your gear and what or how much (volume) stuff you bring on the ride.
Rack trunk or handlebar bag, depending on what bike I take. All I need to bring is lunch and my essentials (phone, wallet, repair kit).

Distance & time (average speed if you care to share)
Depends on the route and the bike. Between 11 and 18 miles.