cppb

So I am getting really tired of an hour or more commute by car through congested roads every morning and evening, so I want to commute for three hours instead, and want to know just how crazy of a proposition this is.

I have found a route that is relatively safe, and I have ridden it on the weekend for a great ride. Also, where I work has a full bike locker and shower facility available, so if I leave my suit there the day before there is no problem. I plan on doing this three days a week and want to know:

1) Is this distance absurd? I have heard of a few hard-core commuters who ride longer distances, but most people that I know don't have more than a 10-12 mile commute

2) Is there an advantage to a dedicated commuter bike besides the ability to carry stuff? I only have my road bike (Litespeed titanium), but I don't plan on carrying a bag since I can leave clothes in the office and for a ride of that length plan on being in full kit anyways.

3) Is there anything in particular you would recommend?

Thanks.

10 Wheels

Lights. Seat post rack. Guessing it will take about three hours each way.

1nterceptor

You already tried it one weekend so you have some understanding
of how hard(or easy) it is for you. I guess you just have to try it
for real during your workweek to get a taste of things.

If you find that it's too hard, find some other alternatives. Can you
take your bike on public transportation partway? Instead of 3 days,
maybe just go for 2. If you're planning on riding in the rain, are you
and your bike equipped for that?

cppb

Yeah, the distance is not a problem in general, but doing it at 4am might be. And I can take the bus in to the city and ride it home so I only do it on direction while I get used to the increase in mileage.

Are there any specific concerns about riding in pre-dawn dark? I have decent lights, planning on getting more, but do you find that people are less aware of you? More/less cautious? etc.

Santaria

Most people will tell you to be lit like a UFO, only do it on an internal-hubbed, upright converted mountain bike. Preference should be on button up shirts and jeans.

It would seem that doing this once a week would be doable, trying for 3 round trips, on and on, would become problematic.

Also, if you already are comfortable on the road bike, I'd stick with that.

No matter what, enjoy the ride, do what you think will work specifically for you - and have fun.

MK313

If you can park a car at the office and ride one wAy each day, your commute becomes a lot ore manageable (Monday drive in, ride home, Tuesday ride in, drive home, etc).

trekker pete

I assume you work in nashville?

I lived in TN for 3 years, 2 in nashville, 1 in Symrna.

What is your route? I don't remember the roads around nashville being very bike friendly, but, it's been 13 years. Maybe it's better.

Anyway, if you can budget the 6 hours a day, go for it a few days a week. I think a better option would be either a car/bike commute, maybe drive into southern nashville or maybe laverne, then ride the rest. Or you could do the alternating bike/drive thing.

Good luck with it.

cyclist5

I'd say it'll take about 4 hours. My 20 mile commute to my girlfriend takes about 1.5 hours at least. Although, titanium bike, 4am=no traffic, little to no cargo, maybe a little over 3 hours if you hammer it.

I will say commuting 13-15 miles to school each way keep the road bike. I had a hybrid commuter bike and it sucked with added weight. I went from 8-10mph to 15-17mph when I made the switch. It saves me 20min/way.

I'd also build up to that distance. Maybe combine transportation methods or do half and half. I nearly died my first ever 7 mile ride on a mtb but now can do 26 miles no problem on a road bike.

SouthFLpix

I think it's doable. If you want to ease into it, you can always drive part of the way and leave your car in a supermarket or mall parking lot, and then ride the rest.

A lot of people spend 6hrs a day watching TV, so why not on a bike? I think you should go for it, but have some back up options in case you get stranded due to mechanical failure, or when (not if) Murphy decides to show up.

I think a road bike would be fine. Not a big deal.

dedhed

You'll really need a good light - A see light, not a be seen light, for the 4 am part, at the speeds you'll want to go to avoid road hazards.

jdgesus 

sure its doable, but you'll be riding alot, which might be what you're shooting for.

try it a few times, see if it sticks

garagegirl

I would stick with the litespeed, a heavier commuting bike will just make your commute longer. Get a saddle bag or seatpost rack. Run gatorskins or something like that because I would freak out if I had to deal with a flat in the middle of a 3.5 hour commute. The raceblade fenders work ok if you think you might encounter weather.
I'd start out either driving halfway and ditching the car, or driving in and riding home like MK313 suggested.

old's'cool

I don't have much in the way of experiece to offer, but I'm facing a similar issue, i.e. tackling a ~25mile 1-way commute in my new job location. Previously I was bike commuting a ~25 mile round trip up to 5 days a week. I'd like to resume bike commuting in my new location, to the degree practicable. I see an issue with the pre-planned, regimented "bike one way, drive the other" on alternating days, in that I like to bike commute on nice days and not on nasty ones. Some options I've contemplated, since I have multiple bikes & cars, is staging at least one bike & one car at work, so I can bike or drive home on a given day, at my discretion. I can see where this could go a little pear shaped, with all the cars ending up at home and all the bikes at work, necessitating a re-staging operation, but that wouldn't be a big deal I guess. It's also not that big of a deal to break down the bike and bring it in one direction or the other in the car, except that I've found in the case of my one fender equipped bike, even when broken down, that it doesn't fit in the trunk of a typical sedan. Well, like I said, I don't have answers yet, but I'm hoping to try this out in the next few weeks, once my bikes arrive at my new location and I suss out the bike routes to work.

GamblerGORD53

I say do it when you have a tail wind in the morning. haha After work speed doesn't matter.
Hope you have more downhill in the AM also. If it will take more than 2:20/ 2:30 or so then planB it.

buzzman

I had a 72 mile commute (36 each way) years ago, which I did a about 3 x's per week. How doable depends on a lot of factors.

1) Your fitness to start with.

2) Road conditions. Lots of stop lights? bumpy, hilly roads? # of intersections on the commute etc.

3) Weather. Where are you? What time of year? Will it be light or dark as you make your way in or home? Wind? Rain? Thunder and lightning? Sudden summer storms are pretty unpredictable at times and you can expect to get caught out in them once or twice.

4) What you do for a living. Is it a desk job? Is it something physical you do? My job when I was doing that commute was loading trucks at a warehouse. I was exhausted sometimes on the ride home. And I worked 4 pm to midnight, often with overtime and riding home at 2 or 3 in the morning after really long days.

5) Do you have lots of responsibilities at home? Kids? Spouse? Significant other? Doesn't leave much time or energy for mowing the lawn when you get home, playing with the kids, going grocery shopping etc. You're on the bike cycling 6 hours per day and if you include in that the prep time for the ride and the shower and change of clothes it's closer to 8.

When I did I ended up sometimes getting a ride part way home with someone else who worked there to shorten the mileage. And actually had to pull off and fell asleep by the side of road one night I was so tired.

Just know that if you really want to do that kind of mileage and work a full day it will require commitment, discipline and lots of energy. You'll have to eat really well and get plenty of sleep or you'll suffer physically rather than get more fit.

All that said, I say go for it if you're so inclined. But, whew!, that's a challenge.

enigmaT120

I find (I leave the house at 5:00 a.m.) that there are not people out to be unaware of me. In my nine miles to where I catch a bus, I may get passed by two cars at the most. I do live in the country though. I need a good headlight so that I can see, and a couple of tail lights just in case. I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where I can do my whole 46 miles, but it probably wouldn't take much more time than my mixed bike/bus commute. I just wouldn't be worth much to my employer by the time I got to work. :-)

B. Carfree

I used to have a 100 mile round-trip. It was only 40 miles on the way in, but that roadway was not rideable later in the day, hence the greater return distance. Once I got used to it, doing both directions five days per week was no big deal. One year I had a little soccer mishap and had to have a leg screwed back together. I spent a few weeks doing the drive in, ride home, ride in, drive home scheme until I had a bit of fitness back.

I strongly recommend good lights, and more than you need. The most reliable ones like Dinotte are a bit expensive, but are still cheaper than an ambulance ride. Someday you will have one (or more) lights fail on you ten miles in. I would also recommend that you make a conscious effort to really push yourself routinely on the way home. Make a mental note of how long it is taking you and try to get faster. In spite of being in my mid-40s at the time, I eventually got (back) to the point of averaging 25 mph. There's nothing like riding hard for lots of miles to improve one's speed.

AdrianFly

I recommend seeking an alternative, especially when your front wheel is at the lbs for truing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT1TjEgSEAI

colombo357

If you can pull it off, your job must be very easy and stress free. If it isn't, good luck.

I see zero training benefit from this as well. You won't want to ride on the weekends, and most of these miles will be junk miles.

colombo357

Wow... daily solo centuries with a full day of work as your mid-ride break. All while averaging 25mph.

work4bike

That's a pretty big commute, I don't know how I'd approach it. My furthest commute was a oneway 25 mile commute. I liked it, but 40 miles is getting up there; 40 miles on its own isn't bad, to me it's the getting up so damn early everyday that I'd hate.

P.S. One way I got conditioned for this long commute was to take a vacation and go on a biketour around the east coast, got me use to riding big miles day-after-day.

work4bike

You the man.

Commodus

I wouldn't do it. I love to ride, getting into randonneuring and stuff, but riding's not my life - despite what my girlfriend may tell you. When are you going to cook? Clean? Keep your girl happy?

cppb

Whew, thanks for all the advice. For Trekker Pete and those curious, I do work in Nashville and plan on riding Murfreesboro rd into Smyrna where it still has a shoulder, then taking Rock Springs (no shoulder but country road and 5am should be fine) to Nolensville Pike into Nashville. Nolensville is ok for most of it, but there will be about two miles when I will probably be on the sidewalk when the shoulder drops away and traffic is bad. It's not ideal, but my test-rides have felt safe.

I do have a no-stress desk job (intern at the state legislature), so being tired shouldn't be an issue. I also have decent (not great) lights, so I appreciate the advice on getting better ones. One of the primary reasons for not driving is to save on gas, so I don't want to drop $150 on a set of really expensive ones. What I have are a pair of knock-off tactical flashlights with bike mounts. They are each brighter than my 1-watt cateye that was $40 even though they cost like $10 for the pair. They are the best "see" lights I've ever had, but still may not be adaquate for a country road at 4am. I might order a set of the non-knock-offs to add more lumens but still split the difference between cycling-specific lights.

I am mot curious about the idea that this will have zero training benefit. I appreciate the idea that I might not want to ride on the weekends, but frankly, most weekends I ride about 40-50 miles once or twice, so if I am doing that up to six times a week I am really improving my milage. Also, while there will be about 10 miles each way that are city, "junk" miles, 30 each way are on about the same kind of roads I ride when I train anyways. Does this change your assessment, or is it mostly due to riding while waking up and being more focused on getting from point A to B than on a good training ride?

Again, thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to post once Ive actually made the trip once or twice! It's supposed to rain/storm here all week

AltheCyclist

There's an interesting article about a guy who has one-way 50 mile commute (come caveats, he does it twice a week, breaks up ride but still a good read for commuters)
Article here https://outsideonline.com/adventure/t...ev_154507.html

To answer the OP, I definitely think it's doable but sure is a lot of miles (12k a year or so?!?). I'd make sure to have the standard commuter equipment (2-3 spare tubes, lights, fenders, clothing/gear) and some.