How far is too far for a commute?
 

Ok, so I have been seeing a few different commutes, and this may have been covered already, but what is everyone's limit? How far is too far to commute one way? I'm interested, only because I work in a business casual office setting, and would especilly like to hear from similar commuters in this particular situation.

I think sixtyfiver noted that around 45 minutes was the threshold people were willing to commute. A lot of people here work in a business casual setting and still bike. My commute is just under 10 miles and I'd say it's about 35-40 minutes.

A good summary. When my my office moved and my commute became significantly longer than 45 minutes, it became hard to justify getting home that late. My rides during the week are mostly later in the evening after dinner, etc.

It used to take me over an hour to commute to work by car or an hour and a half to commute by train. At that point, I moved closer to work.

Now that I'm biking to work, I'd consider anything less than seven miles to be too short. Right around 10 miles seems perfect, though at that distance I need to change clothes when I get to work. If I had to bike in my casual work clothes and not change, I'd probably want a ride around 3-4 miles, but it would make me sad.

I used to commute 16 miles, one-way. But I was young, in the military so an hour or so commute each way could be justified for the fitness benefits. Since then 40-50 minutes is about all I can fit in.
This is a very personal decision - if I lived in a bicycle positive area I'd consider and hour or more time well spent. My 50 minute commute now is only that long due to red lights at some very major intersections with approximately 5 minute light cycles. My actual mileage now is only 6 miles each way.

My commute is about 1.5 hours each way (and slightly longer in the winter). I wouldn't want it longer than that. About an hour would be just about perfect for me.

Too far is when it interferes with responsibilities or relationships.

Like others mentioned, time is the limiting factor for most people. My commute increased from 22 to 30 miles round-trip in October. The distance isn't an issue, but I had to start leaving about 30 minutes earlier and I get home that much later in the afternoons. Getting up at 5 a.m. is tough. My "official" time is about 1 hour each way since my computer stops counting when my bike stops, but actual riding time ranges from 60 to 75 minutes depending on wind, the number of red lights I catch and how tired my legs feel.

For me, an hour(ish).

as others have said, it's ALL about time. if i could bike 50 miles in 45 minutes, i'd do it. if it took me over and hour to go 2 miles, i wouldn't do it.

my current commute is 15 miles one way, and time varies greatly by season and wind:

a dry summer day with a good tailwind on my road bike - 45 minutes (all-time personal best - 42 minutes))

a sloppy winter day with a bad headwind on my winter beast - 75 minutes

but most of my commutes average around 50 minutes on my road bike, 60 minutes on my winter bike. those times are a bit longer than i would ideally like them to be. 30-40 minutes would be much better from a "living the rest of my life" standpoint.

It depends. How far do you want to go? How much time are you willing to spend?

My 20 minute commute became an hour commute (15 miles) last year. For 20 minutes I wore my work clothes (business casual). Now, after 15 miles I need a shower, so total time is now more like 75 minutes. This definitly at the limit of what I am willing to do.

Too far? How long do you want to sit in a cage ( car) ? My commute is 18 miles one way, the last 6 miles to Boston are on bike paths. By car, it takes about one hour, by bike 20 minutes longer. Lots of days are one way by bike. I reverse commute, leave car at office, bike home, bike back to work in the AM. In warmer months with longer daylight, I take the mountain bike for 20 mile rides home with about 8 miles dirt. Works for me, YRMV.

Thanks for all of the responses, they are very helpful. Currently I have a 13 mile commute, but I'm looking at all of the options in order to try and cut that down as much as possible. The mostly direct route is a little more treacharous due to extremely narrow roads with high traffic. Thank you to all who offered up information. It's very helpful.

It is not the distance. It is the time that you are willing to spend commuting to and from work.

I do 15 miles round trip. Takes me an hour.
I think 20 miles round trip might be my limit.

I'm planning to start doing a 20-22 one way commute. It's reasonably flat, and primarily downhill on the way to work; the last 3 miles will be on an MUP that goes right by the hospital.
I agree about the time issue, but in my mind, that will be partially offset by combining commuting with training, rather than coming home and going for a ride. I'm planning to do some MTB races this summer, as well as cx again in the fall, so I'm looking at this as a good way to get base miles in, with the option to extend the ride home and/or use it for intervals.
When I used to commute in the 90s, I had a 5 mile one-way. One of my neighbors worked at the same hospital. I could usually beat her home on the bike.

I think sixtyfiver nailed it with that. It really is more about the time than the distance, and 45 minutes seems right on the money as the limit.

Far isn't the question, it's time. My commute is roughly and hour each way. More than 2 hours a day would be too much given family and other obligations.

This is about me. I am 14 miles roundtrip. If I had to go longer than 45 minutes (one way), I would start stripping stuff off of my bike and my back to get my speed up and time down :) :) :)

An hour to an hour and a quarter of riding time each way is my sweet spot, unless it is really cold. Of course, you have to add time to get dressed, undressed, shower and bike maintenance to the equation. My ride is my workout, and 45 minutes each way leaves me wanting more. On a really nice day, I might extend my ride home up to two hours if I have the time.

my commute by public transit is 45 minutes to an hour. by bike it's about the same. Less if I don't consider time spent locking the bike up and stripping it of removable valuable (and therefore stealable) things, and changing into work appropriate clothes. Wouldn't want to regularly do more than that as I value my time with my family too much. As it is, by public transit that feels too long. On nice days I'll take the long way home on my bike sometimes (or the long way in if I don't mind being a bit late), but it's not a regular thing.

So you can subtract any time you would have spent at the gym, right? If you wouldn't have gone to the gym, you can instead subtract any time you would have spent sitting on the couch because it's too much effort to get up and do something else.

13 miles each way? Do-able but time consuming. And coming from Keller.... yeesh.

I'm on the SW side of Ft. Worth which I find to be very ridable.

It's better to ride faster on a safe road than take the treacharous direct route.

I've got two routes I take, one 10 mile through suburbia, one 12 miles along mostly rural roads. Both take about the same time if you factor in the time spent sitting at traffic lights. The shorter route is marginally safer in my case, but both are good.

I have a 30mileRT commute. It takes me about 1h10min in the morning and 1h15+ in the evening. The morning is more down hill towards the ocean, and evening up away from it. Best I've ever done is 1hr flat. I'm mostly limited by stop lights. If I drive it takes me that long, if not longer in the evening. So its still way better because I get to ride instead of sitting in a car for that amount of time. Bus is 1hr15+ in the morning and 1hr30min to 2hr+ at night.

When I first started riding it took me 1h30min each way. I think that is about my limit. I'd have to find a new job or living situation after that point.

For me, it's more about living in a place that puts me in close proximity to everything I need, rather than imagining if I'm going to bike commute or not. I'd rather live in a small urban dwelling with 2-5 mile rides than spend my life traveling back and forth from my suburban palace. I can still go on long rides if I want to, but I don't HAVE to.

I've seen it broken down, previously, into distance: roughly 10 miles plus or minus is a medium commute, and 15 more or less was considered a long commute. I'm leaving that vague because it's such an individual and subjective evaluation, plus the difference in difficulty. My 10 mile commute is much easier than someone else's 10 mile commute for example. So time makes sense - and I know that anything over 45 minutes driving day after day tends to wear me down.

You bring up a great point I think, which leads to the fact 45 minutes driving (which is where sixtyfiverer's number ultimately came from) is not necessarily the same as 45 minutes cycling. It might be longer for cycling, maybe an hour or maybe more, that people would be generally willing to cycle to work without burning out on it.

When I was working, my commute was 22 miles each way. That was a committment. The ride in wasn't difficult to accomodate---I simply had to get up earlier. But the ride home was a hassle. In the winter, that meant I was getting home in darkness. But I'm single with no kids, so all I had to worry about was feeding myself and showering when I got home.

Time is more of a factor than distance. 60 minutes one way might be my limit unless public transit took significantly longer. My commute is rather short at 12 to 15km (7.5 to 9 miles) but it is very urban/suburban with lots of stops, lights, traffic & hills. It's takes me anywhere from 40 minutes (quiet summer Sunday morning to work) up to 75 minutes (winter storm on the way home). Since cycling takes just as long as public transit it doesn't affect my personal or family life any differently. But I commute more for the exercise and health benefits more than any other reason.