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.