This is a pretty active forum, so I doubt anyone has noticed my lack of posts in "How was the Commute Today?" and other similar threads but...

I've had to drive way too much lately. I've had a lot of things going on where I might have to leave work quickly or have an offsite meeting or whatever, and cycling just hasn't been practical. It's really starting to get to me. And my waistline.

And to top it off, my easy bicycle commute days are pretty much over. I started commuting because I got moved to an office that is only 7 miles from my house. Well, work at that office is starting to dry up, and I will soon be starting at a different building, this one 16 miles from home. I like to think that once I get settled in and I'm not working split days between the two offices, I'll get back to commuting, but I also worry that twice the commute might be a little too much.

The good news is that at the new place there will be a shower available to me apparently. So that's good.

In the meantime, though, I'm getting grouchy and fat.

16 miles is completely do-able. I went from 6 miles for a few weeks (to get into cycling - prior to this I had done NO cycling for years!) then to 11 miles each way for 6 months. I have done barely any cycling since finishing uni and am going back to 11 miles each way 5 days a week in feb. Once you get it done a few times you won't even notice it.

I have set my personal maximum for a commute at 20 miles each way.

Any commuting mileage is do-able, given the right weather and sufficient time. Unfortunately, commuting zeal often meets with the realities of daily life.

Let m = minutes.
38.4 minutes equals to 16 miles at 25 miles per hour.

you think you got jokes? that's superman talk.

who here really claims to make 25 mph average speed after red lights and all that jazz???? i wanna know.

Chuck Norris does.

I usually make around 13-14mph after red lights and walking through a walkway under the thames.

I claim 25 mph in a freefall off a cliff. 16 is more likely to be my average since I have no lights for most of my commute.

Guliford. Nice area to ride. I have relatives in Madison.

Yeah, Doohickie, if you went 50mph you'd be there in just over 19 minutes. I mean geez, it's just math.

I understand your reasoning, but don't write off commuting entirely. Trying riding once or twice a week, and you might find that 32 miles/day is doable. My commute will increase from about 22 miles now to 30 miles in a couple of years, and I'm not sure if I will be able to keep up my current frequency (3-4x/week). However, I have ridden the new route a few times, and I am definitely going try riding at least 2-3x/week with the longer route. The main problem for me is the extra time it will take, about 15 minutes each way, and that means getting up even earlier in the mornings. Yuck.

+1^^ Once or twice a week is still good but may need regular weekend rides to keep the fitness, eh.

Apologies, quick highjack: tarwheel, what're your current and future commuting routes? Are you (will you be) using the American Tobacco Trail? Are your routes on Bikemap or someplace similar?

I started off with a 5.5 mile commute, and did it 5 days a week. Then I moved and now my commute is 18.5 miles ONE WAY. Like Tarwheel says, it's not the distance that is the problem, it is the TIME. So I only do it two days a week, because by car it is a 25 minute drive but by bike it is an hour and five minutes or so.

I found advice on BF for long commutes which I followed, and it has paid off. For the 5.5 mile commute, I rode a Cannondale Road Warrior 4 with flat handle bars and I wore a backpack. That worked great for that distance. But for 18.5 miles I went to a touring bike with drop handlebars, clip-in pedals, and a rear rack with panniers (based on BF advice). With tailwinds I average over 18 MPH including redlights (but I do have a 10 mile stretch with no lights). The worst headwind day I had I averaged 16.5 MPH. On my Cannondale, my average was never much more than about 17 on a good tailwind.

So now I commute 37 miles round trip on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the weekends I get on my carbon fiber racing bike and it's like stepping out of a truck and into a corvette. And I'm good for 50+ mile rides on the weekend because of my training on a heavy assed cro-moly fully loaded touring bike.

Don't look at me. I can hit that downhill with the wind at my back.

I was in a training class at work (defensive driving--go figure) when it came out that I rode my bike to work much of the time. Someone asked me how long my commute was and how long it took, and after I told him it was just over 6 miles and took me half an hour, he paused and said, "What, are you delivering newspapers on the way?"

I'm with you, Doohickie. What with the weather turning colder, daycare drop off/pickup, work obligations, offsite meetings and such, I've cut back my commuting some. What I'm really worried about is when winter really starts--my wife has asked me to stop riding. I'm already cranky if I miss a day--I don't know if I can hang it up for 3 months.

Can you say electric pedal assist, and triple espresso?

My commute takes about two hours, for more than half of which I'm sitting on a train, usually sleeping. Even so, I think I'd be pretty happy trade that for a 16 mile ride. Hypothetically, of course.

How long would 15 miles really take? There's only one way to find out: do it every day for a month or two, then tell us. Calculating it in the abstract is pretty much impossible. Math is overrated. Case in point, here's how my commute really works out:
20 minutes on the bike
+ 65 minutes on the train
+ 15 minutes on the bike again
______________________________
= 2 hours

I know, it makes no sense, but that's how it works out.

my 11 mile commute took around 45-50 minutes (with some walking / and waiting for lifts at the walkway / taking the stairs (which is tough while carrying a bike!).

Is mixing riding with public transport an option? I did it for years. Worked well for the most part.

I have a 17 mile commute, which I only do when there is a decent weather forecast, and rarely do it 2 days in succession. It takes me 70 - 80 mins vs 35-40 mins in the car. I am lucky in that there are only 3 or 4 intersections where I have to wait for traffic. I ride a SPD equipped cyclocross with trunk bag; keep shoes, pants, shampoo and lock at work. I pump tires and prepare food, drink, clothes the night before.

Once I get settled in my intent is to commute just as frequently as I had been: 3-5 days a week (assuming no other life/time commitments to cut into that). My average commute speed is somewhere around 12-13 mph realistically, including traffic lights.

My commute is 22 miles each way, but I also have the option of taking a train. I ride all the way every day from March through October, but take the train most of the way in the winter. Commute time is around 90 minutes each way if I bike it. 3 hrs/day on the bike is a good chunk of time, but I like it. It's the one part of the day I have completely to myself.

No one's forcing me to commute. I do it cause I like to. If things change i'll reassess. Post when you feel you can contribute Doohickie, that's all. Remember ceiling cat is watching...

I went from a 6 mile commute to a 30 mile round tripper this year. I only ride it three days a week at present as I cant get to work earlier enough on Mondays for meetings. Its tough at times and takes a big chunk of time out in the morning and evening. I combine my riding with the train, so it takes about 2 hours when its all said and done. I average about 14 mph with lights, though I dont have a lot of them. Im pretty tired by the end of the week to be honest, and if I had my way, my ride would be about miles shorter each way.

What I found at the beginning when I was riding sporadically was that it was actually harder, as my fitness was not as good. The ride is easier now with more days, but the fatigue does seem to build up by weeks end for me. Still, its kind of fun having 90 miles a week under my belt from commuting.

Good luck with it. Maybe you just need a break fora while.

It takes me 30 - 32 minutes to make my 8 1/2 mile commute. That's on fairly flat ground with a headwind both ways(really!). It doesn't seem to matter if I'm on my road bike or the commuter, and I'm not in the best of shape, though I'm definitely getting better! I've started riding a different course to get in an extra mile or two, bringing it up to about 10 miles in right around 40 minutes. You can do it! I'm completely behind you riding 32 miles a day. There, that should help!

Doohickie is a faster rider than I am; and I live near his house and used to commute to the same office building 6 months ago. On a good day I could average 85 minutes each way. At first it would take me 105-120 minutes each way.

The route includes walking the bike over 50 yards of unpaved large gravel to cross train tracks; sometimes waiting on the train; waiting on some really slow crossings of busy highways and major arterials (at least 5); some decent grade long hill climbs; a low-water crossing and segment on a MUP where low speeds are required for safety; a school zone where rolling through stops is likely to get you ticketed.

Public transportation is not available anywhere near his new workplace and is much slower than riding the bike for the areas where the buses do run. However, there are several viable options for a park+ride strategy; there is a hospital 6 miles from his house with plentiful free parking and a security patrol; and there is a gated company recreation area 9 miles from his house. Both are right on his route and are safe places to leave the car. When I started bike commuting I would drive partway and then ride from one of these sites; and just do the full commute once/week. It really doesn't save that much time for an experienced cyclist and there will also be the times when you discover that you forgot something important when you transition from car to bike. For me that would be forgetting the bike headlights or gloves in cold weather.

The longer rides do have additional considerations. Time is one. Better lighting is needed. Warmer clothing for winter due to additional time in the cold. Bigger water bottles with better insulation for summer. Cycling-specific clothing may be more important. And determination to ride vs drive may be more conservative when conditions look iffy. Weather forecasts here aren't the greatest. There are some long rural stretches where it would be difficult to find shelter or assistance. So it can be tough balancing between being prepared and having to lug around non-essential stuff for the longer ride.