17.5 mile commute
 

I am considering beginning to commute to work. The route I would take is 17.5 miles almost entirely by two lane highway.

I am curious if anyone's commute is similar to this. If so, how long does it take you? Would anyone here even consider commuting that distance to work?

Ride it on your day off.

I have a 22 mile commute if I take "the long way". I don't think this is much of a problem. I agree that you should make a trial run on a non-work day. You also need to consider traffic on your route and how comfortable you are with it.

I ride 24.9 each way. is your 17.5 one way or each way? I'll second 10 Wheels advice, ride it on a day off. You'll be hard pressed to ride 17.5 each way every day at first unless you're in good shape, but hit it a couple days a week and work up to it. It's certainly doable. Time depends on what bike you're riding as efficiency is the key here, but no reason it can't be done in 1:00 - 1:15 or so depending on terrain, your condition, and what you're riding.

-R

This is the commuting forum. Lotsa people have commutes 17.5 miles and longer. No reason why you can't too, it's that's what you want to do.

When I can take my long loop to work, it's 20 miles. My ride time is 1:10 and clock time about 1:25.

I used to ride 15 miles each way everyday with a finishing hella climb on the way to work in the morning. It's very doable, work into it slowly unless your riding some pretty good mileage already. The ride to work took me around 50 minutes, 45 on the way home, the differential due to the hill.

Have fun with it, by the end of the summer, you will be very fit.

CCrew - It is 17.5 each way. Glad to here there are others here doing long distances, most of what I saw people posting was between the 5-10 mile range so I was just curious if this long of a commute is very common.

I have an 8 mile (one way route), with options for 17 and 22 mile (one way). Max time to work is about 1 hour 20 minutes for the 22 mile route. Lately I've been doing 22 miles to work and 8 miles home. The only reason I'm doing that is because I'm gearing up for a century in April.

My round trip commute varies seasonally since I often take the train part of the way in during the winter. In the winter, the bike part of my route is typically about 30 miles/day. In Spring-Fall, it's around 43 miles/day. When it's nice, I may take a slightly longer, but more scenic route coming home which makes it around 50 miles for the day. I didn't start out doing this distance, though. Over the years, my commutes have been getting longer due to moving further away from the city.

35 miles/day is certainly doable if you're in good shape, but I'd be more concerned about the two lane highway. Part of what makes commuting so fun is that it's relaxing. I'm not sure I'd find 2+ hours/day on the highway very relaxing, but I know others here ride their bikes on roads like that. As for me, I'd rather have 25 miles of small/scenic roads than 17 of heavy traffic, but maybe there are no viable alternate routes in your case.

I'm doing 18 miles each way typically 4 days/week. Takes me about 1:10 minutes each way. The middle part of my ride is the low spot, so I've got plenty-o-hills to climb!

Either ride it on a day off, or on a day where you can get to work late so that you can size it up without the time pressure of being late to work. Also, make sure you have all the essentials - lights, fenders, repair kit, tools and something to carry your stuff in.

I could not imagine a world where I could not ride to work. I look forward to it!

I used to do a 17 mile route each way that had some steep canyons up and down at one end. It took me about an hour and a half each way. My primary problem was boredom and the feeling that it was cutting into my life.

I don't know that "common" is necessarily descriptive, from what I've observed here the norm seems to be around 15-20mi round trip. That said, there are more than a few here doing the distance you're contemplating.

On the longer commutes, endurance is really the key. If you've been riding distances for a while you can probably knock it out easily, the key will be the third or 4th day. I've found personally that it's really dependent on how well I sleep and how healthy I eat. My norm I don't sleep a lot of hours to begin with, so throwing that even shorter has a direct effect. There are some weeks by Friday I'm looking to ride a century on a weekend, and others by Friday I don't want to even look at the bike much less ride.

There's also a certain amount of psychology involved. It's really easy on a long commute (or a short one for that matter) to find a reason to bail, and I won't pretend that sometimes I have to make myself get on the bike. I'm always glad I did, and if I don't I regret it all day. I also notice a definitive increase in my alertness level between riding and not riding. If I don't ride I'm like a slug.

Just some observations :)

I use to do a 13 mile in about 35-45 min and i was in decent shape.

Depends on hills, weather, traffic, route, conditioning, ect.

i commute 11 miles each way. I often wondered how much of a commute I'm willing to do, and I've come up with an arbitrary number: 15 miles each way.
Suppose I could add another 2.5 each way though I'd probably do that 4x /week as opposed to 5x.

Be very careful, or you'll be in misery . . . oh, ah, I mean Missouri.

Sorry, couldn't resist. As others have said it's certainly doable. You may find that factors other than the ride itself make it difficult (e.g. spousal acceptance).

Paul

My commute is 14.5 miles one way

I'm not too worried about the 2 lane highway. I have ridden the route I am planning to commute many times in the past (well not the exact route but on the same highways) and traffic really isn't that bad. I typically will get passed by 20 cars or so in about the distance I am looking to commute. I really don't have any other good routes I can take. There may be a few ways I can cut out some of the highway but any other way I go will add mileage and I don't think I want to do that (at least not right away). I definitely wish I had a way to get to work by avoiding the highways but it is just not an option.

I agree with you about the misery, the weather here has been horrible lately.

Spousal acceptance is one difficulty I won't have to overcome. She is just as in to cycling as I am :) (well, that may be an overstatement :p)

I do about 16 miles each way. I usually commute by bike Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and drive my car Tuesday & Thursday as rest days. I'm thinking of switching to 4 days a week. My biggest problem is that my wife complains about me getting home later when I ride instead of driving. So now I just stay at work later when I drive (which is what I'm doing right now, actually). :)

Keith

Hey... as a matter of fact I am looking into getting a new ride - KHS TR 101- to handle a 26+ mi. one way ride to work. My route, the most direct way, would be on 2 lane road with little or no shoulder for the first 13 mi. then, basically the same for the next 10, after that wide shoulder for the last 3 to work. My wife (cyclepup) isn't to thrilled with the idea of me on those particular roads, so the actual commute distance will increase if I go through town. I'll give myself 2-2 1/2 hours for the run the first time there, just to be safe as far as arrival on time.

I had a 35 mile r/t bike commute for a while. I could only do it a few days a week due to the physical toll (hills! and TX heat) and also the time it took out of my day. It was hard to get enough sleep and still be in-plant 10 hours.

My commute now is 31 miles r/t and I haven't done it for over 2 months. My willingness to deal with cold weather decreases when I'm out in it for almost 3 hours a day; and I haven't gotten back on schedule after sleeping late through the holidays. Also working overtime which further cuts into my day.

Is it a straight shot route? Meaning no stops and go at traffic lights? I find those really pile up the commute times. You should do a trial run over the weekend.

My commute is 18 miles 1 way. I ride between 2-6 trips per week. Takes between 1.15 to 1.5 hours per trip. Darkness, rain, snow and cold slow me down. I need my car for work, so that's where its stays during the week. Ride home at night, ride back the next morning. Takes me an hour to drive, pedaled 2,000 miles last year on just the commute. That added up to 48 lbs of weight in calories burned. I might have lost 10.

Mine is 20 miles each way, I riding in the basement 28 miles each night, does that count until it is warm enough to ride outsie?

Give yourself 2 hours. 1.5 to do the ride w/time for roadside repairs and .5 to 'come down' and change clothes at work. Depending on how hard you ride, of course. On my 20 mi commute I averaged 15.5 mph on a regular day and as fast as 17.5 on a good day. Get Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires to cut WAY down on flats. For 28mm run them @ 120 psi. 100 is the suggested limit, but I've run mine @ that 120 for the better part of 2 years w/no adverse effects...knock on wood. :p Reflective clothing, good lighting, a complete toolkit including a chaintool w/some extra links, tubes, multi-tool, patch-kit, etc. Topeak Road Morph w/gauge frame pump. Headlamp for hands free after dark issues. Know your limits in foul weather. ALWAYS carry raingear...when it's needed it'll be there. CO2 bb pistol for dogs. DON"T let ANYONE know you have it...I almost got fired when someone reported I was 'strapped'. Met w/t supervisor and upon explanation he said to hide it as he was hamstrung should someone report me again. Spray it bright orange. Keep towells and a dry change of clothes for rain days. Panniers, rack, etc.

Essentially, think 'cycle touring' because that's what you're doing every day in practical terms. Step up your carb and water intake. Also, a protein supplement would be advisable until your body adjusts to the added stress. If you find yourself w/a short frustration threshhold take a day off. You're getting burned out. Otherwise, have fun. :thumb:

Disclaimer: I posted this w/o reading any other answers, so there're bound to be opposing viewpoints in terms of necessary equipment. Take it w/a grain of salt. It's only a guide.

Like others have mentioned do a dry run first. You might even find a few shortcuts or alternatives along the way. Sometimes it's not the amount of traffic that is the problem, but the speed limit and people driving it.

I have one stretch of road where the speed limit changes from 45 to 30 within about 100 feet or so. Lets just say I don't think the people are paying attention to their spedometers.