I'm just getting my feet wet with this commuting; three rides so far. I was wondering if there's some type of general guideline for how to not overextend while getting into daily riding condition?

Here is a summary of my commute

5.5 miles each way
a few hills with one big one (to me) that I walk up currently.
3 stoplights that cross fairly large roads (long red lights if you just missed the green)
Currently takes me about 35-40 minutes total depending on lights.

So far I've felt fine after the rides, but I'm just wondering if I should just keep going everyday or take days off just in case?

If you feel fine after the ride, I wouldn't worry about it. If your leg muscles are sore, taking a day off will shorten the time it takes you to adapt.

As for the hills, check out this link:

https://sheldonbrown.com/gears.html

I thought I knew how to shift when I started, but this link helped me a lot with climbing.

Naw, you don't have to do anything special at all. Get on your bike and ride. Don't over complicate things too much. You'll get stronger with each day you ride.

to me, I'd say to start earlier until you get a bit stronger and faster, then keep moving your start time back until you hit a comfortable time. Take your time. Commuting is about the trip, not the destination!

I was a first time commuter back in October. Ride every day...you'll be amazed at how quickly you progress. You can't overextend yourself if you can make the trip already. Pushing harder just means increasing your capacity.

What's with everyone always saying commuting should be easy and laid back? It's the same route day in and day out...what's there to sit back and slowly take in? I'm in the "commuting is my training" crowd...which seems to be a vocal minority. Not that there's anything wrong with the easygoing route.

I change my route when I start getting bored with whatever route I am currently taking. It's fun to check out new clusters of streets and neighborhoods. I realize that some folks may be constrained in how much they can change their route. Another idea is to switch up bikes. That keeps things fresh for a while, too. Oops, looks like I'm digressing. To the OP: take a day off if you feel burned out. I bet in a few weeks you are going to start wishing your route was longer!

I *can* do my commute in 30 minutes (7.5 miles), and usually do it in 35 or so, but my commute is through the rolling hills of Southern Indiana, where on any given morning, you'll see a dozen deer, a blue heron or three in the marshes near the road, the random escaped cow (as with this afternoon), people leaving for work, people getting home from the mines, etc. You get to know your commute yes, but if you look at it, it changes constantly and offers perpetual changes.

Also, I like to listen to podcasts on the ride in (which usually slows my cadence a bit), and as I usually get really into the 'casts, I don't exactly rush to get to work.

As a teacher, I'm bombarded with students 10 minutes after I hit the door until the minute the door closes behind me (and sometimes they even follow me outside), so to have a bit of peace and quiet before getting there is nice, and after work, it's invigorating to find a random road and get lost for 20 miles or so in the afternoon.

Besides, every tuesday and thursday during the "season" I have training rides with a bunch of buds that takes us 20-50 miles out and back. That's my training. Commuting is just a time for zen to me.

Yeah I basically answered my own question as I was typing but posted it anyway. I was thinking, "what if I didn't have a car to fall back on?" I'd ride everyday. Certainly not going to walk or try to take a bus 5 miles. So I plan on riding as much as I can. My main motivation at this point is to lose weight. So far it's a functional and fun way to add exercise without too much additional time to the day.

The first day I rode was last week on my new 3 speed electra beach cruiser. It's a fun fun bike. But the first day I knew that wasnt going to work for the hilly commute (mainly because bombing a hill with only a coaster brake wasn't much fun to me.) So, I bought a used circa early 90s specialized rockhopper steel frame over the weekend and put some slicks on it. It has friction shifters and is 21 speeds. It should do while I try to get this commute to stick, and then I can dangle a new-bike reward carrot in front of me to help me keep at it when it gets hot.

@mickey Fair enough Sounds like a fun, scenic commute. I'm just sensitive to the impression that commutes require a steady pace and a hybrid bike. That was the impression I got from the boards when I was researching for my initial bike purchase, which turned out not to fit my personal preferences. As such, I feel morally obligated to plug the alternative. Not that the OP asked...oh well...

When I started commuting a couple of years ago, I hadn't been on a bike in years and I have a lot of hills in my area. I pretty much did what others mentioned above. I rode everyday and stopped to rest on the hills when I needed to. I don't recommend walking up hills. Try resting for 3-5 minutes and have another whack at it. It may seem like it takes longer to get home, but I think you'll get into condition faster this way. I also rode on my days off, taking it easy if I was tired or sore. Sometimes it's better to take an easy, "recovery" ride than a rest day.

I would say if you can do 2 or 3 days before you start getting sore, great! Then take a day or two to rest. I have always found if a person pushes too hard in the start, then you burn out and have no desire to go at it for a long time. I am just getting into commuting myself, and I am allowing myself to ease into it. I think I started off riding 1 day a week. Now I think I can comfortably do 2-3 days per week. The goal is to be riding full time by the end of spring except when some of my other commitments require a car (for hauling people or stuff). I know from experience that if I push myself too hard all at once I will lose interest (something I cannot afford to do on a shoestring budget) and slack off altogether, so for the time being I give myself a few days to recuperate until I commute for a while again. But as I improve/get used to the regular exertion, that recuperation period will be decreased.

Thats how it is going for me, but as always, your millage may vary.

Keep at it and take time away as needed. Soon you will be riding everyday and enjoying every minute of it and not even worrying about getting tired. Good luck on the weight loss and fitness goals.

Second place is just the first loser

When I started commuting last spring, I was over 300#. My 7 mile route is fairly flat (just a few overpasses and climbs up to flat bridges), but I just went to it 5 days a week and kept riding. You'll feel stronger just about every day. BTW, my weight starts w/ a 2 now, so it's great exercise.

Ride the speed you want. Some days I feel like pedaling harder and trying to make it to work or home as quickly as I can. Other days, I feel like slowing down and taking in the beauty around me - wildlife, the monuments on the Mall as seen from across the Potomac, etc. Even when I ride hard, I try to remember to take a second to remember how scenic my commute is.

Then again, I'm on a hybrid (ahem... trinamuous)... LOL

Good luck with the commute and have fun with it!

I know how you feel about that hill, I have one that used to murder me. If you ride it enough you'll learn where you're strongest on the hill and where you need to attack it. On mine there is traffic light 1/2 way and I just spin up the hill, it's not so steep yet and I can build some speed. It gets steep past the light and that's where I stand up and leech off the speed I had built up. It felt great to figure it out and not be gasping for air at the top, and now I'll take it with any bike.

just enjoy it. I started my commute to school with 7 miles then made it 9 miles and now it's 10 miles. It takes 30-40 minutes because of the lights, I just kept adding miles as my fitness went up to keep the commute at 30 minutes. It's faster than any car commute to school

rule #1 = do no harm

rule #2 = the angle on your shoulder, or "intuition" should be listened to

when I chop wood, if I encounter a log that gives me pause, I skip it. meaning, don't take any unnecessary risks

you don't have to ride every single day to wear the arm patch of a bike commuter :-)

just found this - lots of interesting stuff:
https://weblogs.cltv.com/news/weather...ike-commuting/

Thanks for the replies and tips. Already tried the one about resting for a few minutes instead of walking the rest of the way up the hill; It didn't occur to me to even try to ride a little bit more as I was huffing and puffing walking up the hill. I was just focused on making it to the crest before riding again.

Rode in this morning and the only thing I noticed was my butt was sore when I first sat on the saddle. I thought I might be in for an uncomfortable ride but I settled in fine.

I think my plan initially will be to try for 3 days at least so I don't burn out. If I want to do more great, but if I skip a day or two then it's not like I've given up or anything.

That soreness will go away in the next week or two, and won't ever come back unless you take an extended holiday from the bike (like a few months).

I think of every trip I take by bike almost as time travel... the trip takes 0 time, since if I didn't ride my bike, that's time I'd be spending on some other form of 'pointless' exercise (like sitting on the exercise bike in my basement).

Someday you'll ride up that whole hill, too! There will come a day when riding up is easier than getting off and walking up. Three days a week is a great plan; that's enough to build your fitness. I hope you stick with it and enjoy the health benefits. Maybe you should keep a few stats, just so that you'l be able to look back and appreciate how far you've come from where you are now (resting heart rate, weight, total mileage, average commute time, for example). Good luck!

A rockhopper with slicks as a great way to go. If you are wearing a backpack, i bet it has rack mounts in the rear. Try spinning up that large hill. Find a comfortable gearing that you can maintain your breathing without redlining. Sit and spin. It may not be fast, but you'll get there. Is there a pedestrian cross walk button on those big intersections ?, that may speed up the wait. My 17 mile ride yesterday was 35F with steady rain for 1.5 hours. Got to love it when the pedals on your road bike go under water. That happened on the street as well as the MUP.

Yeah it already came with a rack on it... It's not level either. Does that matter, or only if I was mounting panniers to it?



Paints chipped pretty good but like I said earlier it's working so far and I'm unsure if I'm going to put more money into this or wait and get fitted for something down the road. My hands get sore pretty easy so I might put cheap bar ends just to give me some different positions in the short term.

on my commuter I sit straight up on my bike. its incredibly comfortable. I would really recommend getting different handlebars and doing it.

otherwise I think that bike will suit you perfectly. though if you ever feel uncomfortable, I would really suggest getting a fit if the handlebars dont fix it.

First, try tilting the saddle nose up a little. Second, try moving the saddle back a little (you may have to lower the saddle a bit to compensate for the added reach). Both of these adjustments can sometimes help reduce the amount of weight you place on your hands when on the bars.

Update (in case anyone in similar boat is looking for motivation like I was before I started.)

I'm still at it. Went on vacation a few weeks right after I started, but I kept at it when I came back. I feared I might have to start from square one but I was suprised to pickup right where I left off if not even better.

The hills are still the tough part but they don't discourage me or anything. They're just there. Actually, if anything I'm looking forward to getting better at them and tackling more rides with them rather than avoid them in the future. Weird.

I was interested in if I was being a baby about how steep the one hill was and did some rough guesstimates of the % grade of the hill (after looking up on line how to calculate.) I figured the length of hill from the gradual start to the crest at about 3/4 mile with a elevation gain of about 350 ft. That put the grade around 9% if did everything right. From what I read that is nothing to sneeze at. It takes me a couple 1 minute stopping breaks to refresh before continuing to ride up (more like wobble up) in lowest gear.

Only change to bike was to add a trunk bag. It's nice and convenient to just toss my keys, wallet, and phone in there instead of dealing with them in my pockets. I think the bike is working out fine but I can't help but lust after something new and shiny. I'm thinking maybe a touring bike or cyclcross like a surly cross check might be what I get next. Something that I can still commute on but also something that wouldn't be bad for a little distance riding on the weekends.

Until next time.

One can never have too many bikes. N+1. The cross check and long haul trucker get LOTS of good reviews here.

cool beans bikefoz!