Got a new position teaching at a school closer to my house.
Excited by the possibilities but I clocked it at exactly 3 miles from home.
Booo.


Instead of "having" to ride 11 miles each way I'm going to have to motivate myself to add the extra mileage. It's going to cut into my daily free time more and it'll be easier to cheat and just ride in to work and back home. Darn.

Anyone else dissappointed by a shorter commute?

Ride 3 miles the other way, then come back and ride to work. 9 miles! There ya go I'm actually planning to move out of NYC to the suburbs. I wonder if I will still be able to ride to work.

Same exact thing happened to me. (Teacher too)

I went from 10 mi one way to 3. The commute to work takes almost the same amount of time it takes in the car. I actually could make it a 2 mile commute, but I purposely chose a less hillier route so I am no longer getting to work in a sweat. I typically go for a ride of 15 miles after work, but will probably increase the distance when the days get longer and warmer. It's a nice way to decompress and I get to hit the shower at home. Dinner is usually waiting for me when I get out of the shower since my wife is a stay at home mom. I like it. I'm doing less mileage per week though. I could up the mileage I really wanted. I could even do a longer ride in the morning if I could drag myself out of bed.

One problem: My wife has started to get a little persnickety if I get home late from my ride - calling and okaying an extra long ride usually works.

Congrats on your new position.

Well my commute went from 10 miles to 5 feet, suddenly and involuntarily.

Do lunch at home?

I do believe we have a winner!

Yes! I feared your commute might have gotten shorter for other reasons.

Regardless, we've missed you in the commuting mileage thread.

- Scott

There is no law requiring you to take the most direct route. One of my favorite routes would take me 20 miles out of the way.

+1

One of the joys of a short commute is routing flexibility. My direct route is 4½ miles. I have five routes I use routinely, each of which has several variations. One of them (16¼ miles) starts by heading six miles in the opposite direction. Another (25 miles) takes a long loop up along the lake shore before heading back to the city.

Another joy of a short commute becomes apparent in foul weather. The 20 minutes it takes me in even the worst weather is still well within the boundaries of how long I want to be out in it.

Yeah, I think I'll start looking at the possibilities. Might even be a mtb trail option, just have to figure it out. Maybe this could be the start of something good.
More routes will make it more interesting. Guess I won't need to spend so much on specialty cold weather gear either, go short in the cold and long in the warm at the end of day.
I think I may try to *gasp* run it occasionally.

Speaking of mileage, I've been down with upper respiratory sickness that really shut down my riding. Feel like I'm getting better finally, and cranky because i haven't ridden!

I use to have a 5 mile commute before moving last summer. It was a quick ride in the morning and easy to extend out on the way home.

I've had the same thing happen as the OP. The bigger impact is moving from a mosty rural to mostly urban commute. I miss the opportunity of getting up to cruising speed and for at least 10-15 minutes at a stretch (hills are a plus). Instead, it's a series of sprints, which is OK, but I'm trying to maintain/lose weight, not build muscle. And for me, the whole point of commuting is getting (enjoyable) aerobic exercise, with a minimum net investment of time, so taking the long way or going for long weekend rides is counterproductive.

I have learned to take the long way =) give it a try

Feel better, man!

Yeah, maybe when the weather is a little bit nicer I'll head out country way first for a bit before turning around for home, after work.

I didn't really get the point of the video. And I found it odd that the sun rose and set at such a steep angle, not to mention there were no sharp shadows at any time. Supertramp is a great band, though.

My job went the opposite way. 2 years ago my commute was just under 3 miles one way. I used to do a short ride at lunch, then an extended ride home. Was averaging about 13 mi/weekday.

Now it's 10 mi round trip and I haven't been extending it. So I'm actually riding less miles on workdays.

Like the others said, find yourself some fun routes home. The advantage is if you need to you can always cut it short.

Cycling into a howling Winter north Pacific Gale coming ashore
to get home, does add some adventure,
to a short commute.

Another one here ! Starting this week, I am down to 4 miles one way from 17 miles one way.

I am thinking of doing a long-ass ride (30-40 miles) in the morning before going to work.

I teach too. Last term all my courses were Distance Education which meant my commute was 15 feet from the bedroom to the office. This term I only have to go in twice a week which bites. On the other hand with the serious possibility of a faculty strike next month the further I stay away from campus the better.