I've been doing 22 miles each way 3 times/week for the past 3 yrs. The five years before that, I did 18 miles each way 5 days/week. Both are mostly two lane highway. Once you get used to it, it's really no big deal.

Riding conditions rather than length would affect my decision the most -- open highway with some light rollers in the mild OR climate is much easier than urban cycling, something with wicked steep hills, or insanely cold temps or consistently strong winds. With my current riding conditions, I would definitely ride less often if the commute was over 30 miles each way.

Mine used to be 12.8 miles each way. I moved a while ago and it is now 9.7 to work and about 10.5 from work (I take a couple of back roads with a lot less traffic on the way home).

I did the 12.8 miles for a couple of years, and some days in the winter I was tired -- but that was mostly due to not getting enough sleep prior. Now my routine is a lot more manageable, but like others have stated, 5-6 miles would be ideal -- not too short, not too long. I get a lot of podcast listening done when I ride -- about 15 hours a week, so I find my commute to be very productive.

Damm , my house to work is about 5 minute ride in the morning and about 10 minutes in the afternoon because of traffic . I couldn't handle anything over 30 minutes because I like to hit the gym after work.

Well if you commuted 30 minutes (or better yet an hour) each way, you'd have no reason to go to the gym :)

My commute is 17 miles (1:15 minutes, more or less) each way. I try to do it 3 or 4 days per week in the summer (less in the winter). Since it can easily take 45 minutes (and frequently take an hour) to drive the route, I'm really not giving up that much time. Besides, I'd much rather be on the bike than in the car.

My commute to the gym is 30 mins each way , ill join a closer gym once this membership expires. Great ride when its dry out but sucks when its raining .

The jealousy is already eating away at me. :bang: :D

My commute is 13-15m depending on the route. There are a lot of hills, even more stoplights (I don't run reds, too nervous), and I'm a slow newbie to boot. So it takes me 75-80m.

I ran a bunch of stop signs and red lights once and it cut 5-10m.

My longest commute was 56 miles round trip from Columbia, Md to the Pentagon, 5 days a week, including a hand full of snow days.

My current commute is between 25 and 44 miles round trip of riding; depending on which days I lift weights or do shopping.

My ideal commute was 24 miles a day with about 2,000 feet of climbing.

flat route is 30 each way

hilly route is 50 each way 5k of climbing. I have only done the hilly route both ways a few times, usually I will take the hilly route in and the flat route home (usually once a week during race season)

right now in the off season i have been taking the flat route both ways 5 days a week :thumb:

short version:
theres this kid that i often see on my ride to work. he only lives 5 or so miles from work he does this crazy 30 mile loop before he goes to work. guess he loves riding. try the ride and if you like it do it. if not, figure out plan B.


long version:

so the longer version of the story is he use to live maybe 10 or so miles from work but took the bus. during a bus strike he got on the bike and found he enjoyed it and has been riding ever since. not sure what the deal with the loop is, but if it was me i would take the 5 mile commute and be happy.
my 13 miles one way isnt so bad though its all uphill going home. 40 min to work, a bit longer coming home. i hated it for the first week or so but now the miles fly by and i sort of day dream through the ride. i love it. with traffic and stop lights i only lose 10-15 min VS driving. previously i worked 25 miles away but took the train for 20 of it.

9 miles each way for me. It takes me about 50 minutes each way. Mostly flat, I have to cross the Alex Fraser bridge both ways, it is the only hill. I gave up driving just over a year ago, I love it. I would not mind a longer commute. My daughter is not living with me right now, so I dont have many obligations to deal with, time is not that pressing. The exercise is great, gives me lots of time to think. Keeps me from kicking the dog when I get home.

That's my situation as well. 15-20 minutes to drive vs 30-40 to bike, get some exercise and generally clean out some cobwebs and straighten out the ol' noggin a bit!

This summer I tried door to door 50 miles round trip with a mix of trails and streets. Takes me about 2 hours each way. 50/50 hills & flat. Kept it up through summer/fall..man the first couple of weeks were tough..
Before that, I had been driving part way and biking 20 miles round trip. Since the snow started, I,m back to drive/bike but only 15 miles round trip...boy I'm slow in the snow!

Nearly 10 miles each way for me right now. I'm not a diehard yet so I only do it about 2-3 times a week now that the days are shorter. I get to work sweaty and have to do the whole cool-down and prep time. That is annoying in some ways. I also cannot be late for work so I'm wary of flats etc. I'm about to pick back up the frequency when my Lemond Poprad is put together.
I'm sure if the commute was about 3-4 miles shorter I'd ride every day. While not a "training ride" on the way in it would be a simple commute. Afternoons are for adding the miles.

Lol... I was thinking the same thing... Along the Coast or Over the Mountain sounds like an awesome choice to make... my fastest choices are, "Along the Highway" or "Through the Ghetto". I take the longer route and avoid both.

Until now, I thought I had one of the best commutes of anyone. I had no idea how good things could actually be

You never know.

My best commute was a 7.5 miler. It started out as a steep descent with a right turn at the bottom into a nature preserve, where I rode for 5 miles down the center of the preserve. Morning traffic was coyotes, bobcats, hummingbirds, and deer. The other end emptied into the industrial park near where I worked. No major auto traffic to deal with. And it was San Diego, so things never got too cold.

I ride 11 miles one way, every day of the year. Well, except lately I've had a cold I just couldn't shake for over a month, so I decided to drive the last couple of weeks. It's about gone now.

If I had to ride any more than this, I'd probably not ride every day. If I had to go 20 miles each way, I'd probably drop it to 2 days a week, and I probably wouldn't ride in the winter. As it is, by the time I get to that last mile of my commute my toes and sometimes fingers are getting very cold. If I had to go more than another mile or two, I probably wouldn't ride in those conditions at all.

I intentionally moved closer to work so I could avoid hour long commutes. I spend enough time on work related activities without spending another 2 hours getting there and back. My winter rides are 35 to 45 minutes, summer are often under 25.

I still have a gym membership and I still run some as well. I find a variety of exercise to be preferable to just one so while I highly value the exercise I get from cycling I wouldn't find 2 hours worth of riding 4 or 5 times a week to be worth it for me personally. When training for a race I do add on to my commute but just once or twice a week.

There have been times in my life when a peaceful hour long ride would have been fine and I could foresee that being desirable again later in life, - once the kids have moved out and I live in a low-maintenance house.

I was making a 25 mile roundtrip work this summer, including 8 going at my then 7 year old's speed. If I was desperate for time I would put him on a trail-a-bike and shave 30-40 min off the day's ride time. It's all about time, I need enough time to fit in the bike ride, family obligations, work obligations.

I started commuting by bicycle this past May. I worked up to the full distance by driving part way and biking the rest, and in September I graduated to the full distance! So, now I commute to work by bike 17.5 miles each way 3 times a week. Since I do not like to bike at night and because of the limited daylight now, I have to drive into work a couple of times a week so that I can work late and get my hours in at the office. I have a nice ride with about a third of it along a small river and through a park. Another third is on quiet residential streets. Unfortunately, the other third is in busy city traffic.

It a little bit hard for me to commute to work. If I did, it would involve a 25 miles one way all city and going through a city famous for it crime and homicide rate. My option is take public transportation part ways, but still that will involve me to have to leave my house at 4am (early mourning shift). So I pretty limit that commute part time and in the summer month.

Instead, my commute is after work. I have errand that about 15-20 miles (depending on my route) round trip from home after work everyday. Instead of driving that, I commute that on my bike.

My commute is 11 miles each way. Conditions are fairly good MUPs. It takes a little over an hour in the morning which is mostly flat and downhill and a little over an hour in the afternoon which has quite a bit of uphill.

I could come close to doing it every day of the week but I don't think this would help my general physical preparedness any more. While biking is good conditioning, it does nothing for your upper body strength or your posture. While there is no doubt in my mind that a person that bikes 5 days a week at least 10 miles each way is going to be in great shape, there will be some imbalances in your life and physical wellbeing. Maybe if you are in your 20s you can do other athletic pursuits at the same time. But I'm in my 40s and have a demanding job, wife, kids and house to care for. I'd rather bike 2-3 days per week and do other things for my strength like weightlifting, sandbags, kettlebells etc. for my strength rather than bike 5 days per week. However, I'm glad that I have the time and option to always bike more if I feel like it.

My round trip is a little over 12 miles. It's taken from 48 to 57 minutes. We don't have shower facilities in our building but the dress code is jeans and whatever. That helps a lot.

I've been doing this since October and am amazed at how much more I enjoy riding my bike rather than driving. Now, if we can get rid of this snow, I can get back on the bike.

43 miles return. Luckily winters are mild here, I can do it all year round. Work 3.5 days a week, not sure if I'd have the energy to do that 5 times a week for any ongoing period.

At that length you definitely also need to shower and wash your riding clothes. My employment allows this and there is a good warm place to dry them off for the return trip.