Hello all,

I am new to this whole commuting thing but I decided to go through with it and am in the process of buying a KHS Urban Express. I just quit smoking after 10 years, 6 weeks ago. After quitting I decided that to save even more money on top of not buying cigarettes that I would commute to work. The ride would be a touch over 35 miles round trip and over 500 miles a month with no killer hills. I would probably have to leave the house about 4am, starting out, considering my shift starts at 6 and ends at 2:30pm. I was curious if this was doable from day one, every day, without killing myself? Any pointers would be helpful.

That's awfully ambitious; that's twice the starting commute I had under similar circumstances (I commuted by bike for a year before quitting smoking, but that last year was a serious bit of 'tapering off', I never felt the need to smoke until the 'pedaling high' wore off). Depending on the bike you get, your allotted time may be a little tight, too.

I'd love to see you be able to do it, though; there's nothing like the rush of a good bike commute -- it's BETTER than napalm in the morning! (LOL)

I would suggest, though, that you look into the possibility of mixed-mode commuting; how is the bus system there? Do the buses have bike racks on the front? Do they go near your job? You could ride the bike partway there, the bus the rest, or however it works for you. Later, as you 'harden up' (and it will take time -- my normal rides now were epics just a few years ago), you'll be able to tip the scales further toward the bike.

My "tank" is a KHS urban express (my original commuting bike). I only ride it now when the love of my life (Jamis sputnik) is at the shop... which is where it currently resides (wrecked it on wed).

I think the KHS is a great starter bike for short-commutes. and I totally think that you could make it a daily thing after a few months of getting your body aclimated. but just know that once you get up to speed on riding a bike 500+mi a month, you'll no longer want to do it on a KHS urban express. Good luck!

If you can't drive partway in, you may want to try driving your bike to work, cycling home then cycling to work the next day and driving back.
As you get stronger, you can drive less.
Good luck!

I think it will depend on your base level of fitness and the pace you're going to try to keep for your rides. If you can give yourself enough time, and take it easy, you'll probably be ok right off the bat. Good luck!

Oops; duplicate post.

Go for it, but you'll probably have to work up to doing it every day. My commute is 23 miles roundtrip and it took me months to get to the point where I can do it every day. When I started, I commuted on a flat bar mountain bike. I eventually switched to a drop bar road bike. You'll probably end up doing something similar if you stick with bike commuting. But the only way you'll find out what works best for you is by riding and trying it.

Get some good lights, rain gear and go for it.

I really appreciate the replies. Chances are the buses won't be running by the time I plan on arriving at work, however, that may be a viable option for the afternoon ride home. The driving/riding one way sounds feasible but then there is the crime to contend with in the area that I work. Perhaps trying to do it just a few days a week at first might help me acclimate? I won't have much to carry with me either so maybe that will help a bit too.

Do at least one test ride on a Saturday before you commit to the commute. That will give you an idea of hazards, a chance to improve your route and an idea of the real time needed.

+1. I have been doing a multi-modal commute with bike --> train --> bus --> work. It is only a 3.4 miles a day riding. I went out with a fellow bikeforumer yesterday and tried driving to a bike path entrance, then riding probably 15 miles to what would have been work. It would be a bit much to do daily, at least at first, but I could easily do it a couple times a week. You might find that there are a lot more hills on a bike than there are in a car. Cars flatten them out and we only notice the big ones. On a bike, even a shallow incline and a 10 mph headwind will cut me right down to size.

On a weekend day, commute by bike one way with the option of taking a bus home. (confirm the buses have racks) I think that after 10 years of smoking, you might be putting yourself at risk for a heart attack. So be careful.

Also, if you haven't bought the bike yet, I recommend the Urban-X, or even the Green instead. You'll appreciate the fenders & rack.

As others have pointed out, keep in mind this is a slow bike. Comfortable, but slow, and not aerodynamic. I'm in OK shape. Never smoked, and my average speed on a city commuter bike like that is around 10 mph. Lots of guys here average 15+ on their more road style bikes.

I rode with a local bike forumer yesterday. I had my Gary Fisher Simple City 3, and he had a 23 year old Trek road bike that he had replaced the gear train and pedals on. He's a stronger rider than me to begin with, but even accounting for that, the hills & wind were easier for him to deal with, and he could maintain a higher average speed with the same effort. It only took one 30 mile ride, and I'm thinking of getting a more road-oriented bike. If I lived in a city, it would be different. But out here, I have a lot of open roads and long bike paths.

I think it would be really hard to start out at that distance and keep it up every day. The first day isn't so bad, but it'll wear on you as the week goes on. Plus you'll have occasional thunder storms, strong wind, driving rain, freezing rain, and snow to deal with. That's quite different than riding on a warm, sunny day. Don't get me wrong, commuting is great fun, especially when you get to the point where it's no longer tiring and you welcome the challenges that mother nature throws at you, but that kind of conditioning takes months (at a minimum) to build up.

You may want to pick and choose the best cycling days for now, maybe once or twice per week until you get used to it. When that gets easy, try riding on a few "iffy" days (where rain or strong wind is in the forecast). Make it a goal to do one full 5-day week by the end of the summer. As the weather turns colder again, try to keep riding as late into the season as you can, but keep your options open. Commuting by bike will be much more fun if you don't torture yourself.

You don't mention your age nor do you mention your activity level prior to this point. Nor do you say what kind of BMI you might be- (basically are you overweight?). I recommend, especially since you just stopped smoking 6 weeks ago, that you get a complete check-up at your doctors. If your MD gives you a relatively clean bill of health you need to do a test ride- just as someone recommended. Do the ride on a day off from work. This will give you the chance to see how long it will take, what the ride is like traffic-wise and how you feel afterwards.

If your job is physically stressful you're pushing the mileage for an every day commute. See how hungry you feel, will you have the energy to do a full day of work and then ride home? What about bad weather, wind, mechanical difficulties (esp flat tires). What will you need to carry with you? Are there other options- trains, buses, car pooling?

I think you might find doing a commute of this length 2 or 3 times a week at first might be more than enough. It's doable, it's on the high end of weekly commute mileage but it's doable with perseverance and commitment. Good luck- let us know how it goes!

When I started commuting, I thought 3 times a week was just wonderful. Gradually added in extra days, by adding rain gear, strength to manage headwinds, etc. It does take a while.

If you are younger, that while is pretty brief though.

It's doable, but will take a real committment on your part to do it every day.

I do 37 miles RT, but my route is very hilly (2000 feet of ascent RT) and I typically do 4 days/week.

Driving partway is how I got started with my commute. Started with a mtn bike with 2 inch wheels. I'd drive 6 miles in and bike the 5 miles left to work. Did this for about 2 weeks then changed the 6 car - 5 bike to 4 car - 7 bike. After 2 weeks of this the 7 miles of riding just feels too short. The following week I've started riding from my place to work.

It'll take time but that is what you want to do anyway. The worst thing you can do is to over work your body and the next thing you know you don't wan't to ride to work at all.

Sorry about the missing facts... I am 24 and I dont really excercise much but I am on my feet and walking all day. The job is in the manufacturing field but its not all that physically demanding. I do come home tired every now and then but thats when I skip lunch. I did a BMI calculator and it said that with me being 193 pounds and around 5'11' my BMI is 27.7 putting me in the overweight catagory. Realistically, I don't think I am overweight, having more muscle than fat. I'm still waiting on the bike shop to get the bike in, in my size so I'll probably get to riding thursday and i'll let you guys know how everything goes... Thanks again!

1) plan ahead, both the route and what you need to bring with
2) stash some clothes/shoes/food/toiletries at work to avoid schleping them to and from
3) get good lights
4) leave extra time to cool off at work and the unexpected during the trip
5) pack your stuff the night before
6) have fun

good luck, give it a go, and let us know how it works out. You might be surprised how much weight you lose.

+1, I think it will be brutal for the first few weeks. Your cardio is likely not ideal given the heavy smoking. If at all possible, drive in part of the way and bike the rest. Option #2 would be to do the entire commute but start off doing it 2 days a week and add 1 day per week as you build up your endurance. When I started out commuting I had ~9mi in each direction and I was definitely slower on Friday then I was on Monday :-).

By all means, go for it but ease into it. Pushing too hard at the beginning is a good way to injure yourself.

Sounds like you are in similar shape as I was when I started what I'm about to write about, save for the fact that I'm about 30 years older than you are.

I think trying to go from zero to 35 miles/day is crazy!

A few years ago at the tender age of 51 I went from zero to 28 miles/day and it was real tough. The first few months just about killed me with my quads screaming.

19 miles in the AM, from home to work. (90 minutes) 9 miles in the PM from work to about 1/2 way, wife picked me and the bike up with the car.

Some days, I drove the car.
Some days, I rode round trip 38 miles/day.

Here's how a regular week went.
Monday and Tuesday, I was okay.
Wednesday I was tired.
Thursday I was exhausted.
Friday, only grit got me through the day
Saturday & Sunday, rest.

You may ask why someone would do this. A good question. 1.5 jobs divided by one car = one bike commute.

I kept this up for 10 months, then the job went away.
Family and friends thought I was NUTS!
For sure, had butt and legs of steel.

I do not write this to discourage you, just relate my experience.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Jeff, still fat

Lots of good info above....here are some ideas (or opinions)... based on your replies some are repeats:

Bike: Go for a road bike (not race, could be cyclos cross, could be touring (ie long haul trucker) with drop bars
clothes: bikes shorts, bike gloves
rack: get rack for the bike..don't try to use a back pack
pedal: clipless

Ease into it.... assuming that you cannot do multi modal or drive one way bike the other. try something like

Bike in Monday and Bike in Friday.......do this for a couple of weeks.....then add Wednesday......... and so on.

trying the ride on a weekend is probably the single best idea out there

The problem is, you're already starting in the hole by buying a brand new bike. And that's just the beginning. It's an expensive hobby, and you don't really find that out until after you sink all that money into the initial purchase and start reading forums and browsing bike shops seeing all the things that you "need."

35 miles/day, just quit smoking, on your feet all day, 4 am, out of shape... (You didn't actually say out of shape, but you'll find out in a week how badly out of shape you really are.) Yes you can do it, but IMHO, the odds are stacked against you keeping it up long enough to pay off that bike and really start saving money.

I have been commuting 16 miles/day for a year and I am just now to the point where I can do it every day without wishing someone would give me a ride in when I roll out of bed. I know that if I had a car available to drive, there is no way I would have the motivation to ride every day.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't try, but I don't think you'll save enough money to make that a good motivator unless you can give up the car altogether. There are enough other benefits in cycling to make it worthwhile without the monetary savings.

Hobby? Using a bike to ride to work and as transportation is a hobby? And an expensive one at that? Wow. That's news to me.

Is there any safer spot somewhere in between? You could leave your car there for the day and continue with bike? Then cycle back there, put the bike in your car and drive home. I agree, going from zero to 35 miles rt, every day, sounds ambitious. You will appreciate a bike with fenders and rack, not sure if the one you're looking at has them.

--J