or vice versa?
Any hard core racers that also commute to work?
Or any die hard commuters also racing on the weekends?
Curious to know if the commute effects training or is the commute used as training...

I haven't raced in 10 years, but I did commute at times during my racing years. I would typically use my commute as a warmup for my evening training ride (different bike, different clothes) and as a way to gently work out the kinks in the morning.

These days, my commute is my workout, so I tend to ride harder than before.

I do triathlons. My commute is the bulk of my bike training. I try to throw in a longer ride on the weekends. I notice winter riding really whips me into shape come spring.

when I raced, I generally commuted as well.

I race mtb, 5 day a week commute, plus training rides. both on and off road.

Conventional racing no, triathlons yes. All that's keeping me from trying cross is a suitable bike.

But I'm far from serious. A few triathlons a season. I've got kids and the wife works some evenings and weekends so I *have* to use my commute as training. I'll just get up early to add additional miles or take a longer way home. I'll get in some group rides when I can.

Most of my group rides start at a bike shop that caters to commuters. One of their shops is located on a bikeway. Several people that do the group rides race too, and most if not all of them commute. Some of them practically live on their bikes so I don't think they see their commutes as training.

I participate in cyclocross races and some short track mountain bike stuff, but I'm more of a roving obstacle than a racer. To the extent that I train, most of it is just variations in how I ride my commute. Depending on what I want to work on I'll choose a route with more hills or longer stretches without traffic control devices. Generally, I'm not disciplined enough to improve much, but I'm also not terribly worried about my results so that kind of works out.

Joined a CX team this year and my first race is coming up middle of next month for the Raliegh Midsummer Night's Cross, in Roslyn, WA.

I commute 4 - 5 days per week, 34 miles round trip.

Yup. Race single-speed mountain bikes occasionally. Commute daily. Commuting makes a great recover ride or to augment a workout later in the day. At 10 miles my ride is too short to consider training.

I don't want to show up at work sweaty, so I take it pretty easy on the way in. I hammer home, though.

I'm a triathlete, which means I can sprint at 18 mph. 19 if I have a tail wind!

Yep. I'd also guess that the majority of racers I know also commute. If you have a fulltime job or family or both, there's really no other way to get in the mileage needed to remain competitive. Today I happened to ride my race bike to work because I'll be doing an interval session on the way home. It's also the easiest and most efficient way to make it to the weeknight group training rides.

Is there a minimum distance for maintaining this speed to qualify as a triathlete?

Long enough to get out of the way of the ones sprinting at 35 mph.

Actually, I try to avoid sprinting in triathlons if I can, - maybe to get by a clump of riders but mostly it's about going at a speed that you can maintain while remembering that you've got some mileage on foot to do after you get off the bike.

There's a lot more going on in something like a criterium. They're alternating between pushing hard and catching their breath while on somebody else's wheel.

They're both fun to watch for different reasons. Triathlons are better to watch if you can see them in the transitions. The pros are pretty amazing. Criteriums let you see the riders go by multiple times, but it's sort of like Nascar, it's not terribly interesting until the last few laps. At least not for me. It's pretty awesome though towards the end when the stronger teams make their move.