So my family is looking at moving to a new home about 6 miles further away from work from where we currently live. I am concerned about the distance in that it will keep me from riding daily like I do now. I currently have a 16-18 mile round trip and will go up to a 25-30 mile round trip. I figure I will need an extra 25-30 mins a day to make this work. I don't want to pass up on a great place to live just for this issue, but it is a big one for me. For those of you who commute daily at this length, tell me your thoughts.

Elevation changes and traffic/traffic controls like street lights have as much to do with viability as distance. I happily did 24 miles round trip 4 days a week on flat ground with 24 traffic lights and 10 stop signs which were nice at night (triggered on demand, 40-45 minutes one-way) and tolerable during higher traffic times (55 minutes each way).

Trying the ride a few times when you'd be commuting would be _very_ prudent.

I went from a 10 mile round trip to a 25 mile round trip. The sole difference was that the trip took longer. No difference in how tired I am at the end of the week., No maintenance issues. No difference except longer riding time. It doesn't even feel any longer.

Personally, convenience is one of my highest values. Unless there was something really wrong with my present house, there is no way I would want to complicate my life by moving further out. However, if an extra 30 minutes on the road is OK with you, go for it.

I like it that way Recently started mixing in 45 miles one way.

I was at 17 RT before we moved to our currrent location (26-30 RT depending on route). I honestly did not notice it being significantly more difficult. My shortest route in now is 13 miles and takes me about 50 minutes in good weather and 55 in wind/rain. I don't ride every day but when I do the distance is just enough to be a challenge but far from overwhelming. Good luck.

Doubt you'll notice much other than it takes longer unless you've no shower upon arrival, then you may wish for a shower facility. If you commute year round then consider your clothing chart for those few days in early February where temperature is zero or below (without the windchill adjustment) and you have the luck for a good headwind on the way in. Those days, mostly due to headwind, my 60 minutes can all of a sudden be 75 and the longer duration led me to start using a sort of crotch blocker on those days to keep perspiration from icing up uncomfortably or leading to frostbite (I used a $20 pair of snow bibs and had them shortened to mid-thigh but retained the elastic hem to seal out the wind).

I commute daily about 35-40 miles (1 hour each way) - biggest issue is recovery and nutrition. You need to make sure your legs are in good working order each morning...consider also getting a light road bike and packing light and aero. Efficiency matters with that sort of mileage

Regarding nutrition, I noticed huge decreases in recovery time after switching from soy to pea protein (I'm vegan so options are limited). I was using whey before becoming vegan, recovery time with whey was comparable to soy...pea is incredible though if you can stomach it. Even if I do 60 miles and take a ton of pea protein before bed, my legs feel 100% in the morning.

No problem!.... I ride 30 mi round trip and ride from the valley up to the Shasta Dam. which is about 500 ft in elevation difference. coming home is always nice still have hills though.

My commute is 27 round trip with some hills. I'll be honest, it's a challenge on consecutive days. A friend who used to be semipro only has a 20m RT commute but does it MWF so he has a recovery day.

It all depends upon those six miles. I mean are they easy or difficult? ...Are they more stress-filled?...Do they include any hills? ...Are you subjected to traffic conditions that are unsafe?...Is the terrain rougher?

If those extra six miles are flat an uneventful, then it won't matter that much.

Just take an extra twenty minutes to start out!

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the feedback.

My round trip is 22 miles but unless the weather is bad or I have somewhere to be I take an alternate route to bump that up to 26 miles just because I like to ride a little longer. The route is flatter so it actually doesn't take much longer, but I get to go faster.

You'll just have to try it, your individual route, bike and riding style will change the answer.

I live 15 miles from my work. I LOVE riding in early before traffic and it is a 500ft drop on the way in and I make it in less than an hour. Going home after a long day is another matter sometimes. In order not to get burned out, I will often drive in Monday morning, bike home Monday night and bike in Tues AM, have the option to drive home Tues PM if I am not up to the ride after a long day. I think if you can stay flexible you can make this work. Is there a "bailout" option like catching a ride with someone, putting the bike on the front of a bus or on a train if you don't feel up to biking to both ways on a given day? Also do you have a more than one bike? I have a few so if I bail out of the ride home, I usually have another bike at the house I can ride in the next AM. I think you should try to take advantage of a good place to live and you can get in just as many bike miles as you did before, and more if you choose. But it depends on what other options you have.

If you don't have options, you might detour an extra 15 miles both ways on your commute and test how it feels, before committing to the move.

Don in Austin

My RT commute is just shy of 30 miles...I've found that with the exception of the long, steep hill I deal with in the morning, the mileage barely registers with my body anymore. Now that the weather is warm, I've added an extra 10 miles to my ride home, 5 of which is a pretty long, steady climb, so that actually feels like exercise. If anything, the only difficult part for me is getting up earlier to ride, since I tend to go to bed kinda late.

As SlimRider pointed above, it is not miles per se, it is danger they represent - traffic, pavement, bad neighborhoods. Test-ride these miles and come to your own conclusions.

I do 30 miles RT, it is a distance worth getting sweaty and deal with clean-up. I try to have a break in a week, it is critical in FLA summer heat. Sleep becomes more important too.

There is always the option of driving part-way if the full commute is too much. 30 miles RT is a long ride to do every day. Certainly do-able (I had a 30 mile RT on my first job, years ago), but I wouldn't let that stop me from living somewhere that I wanted to live.

No reason to give up commuting. Depending on the route (construction, etc.), my round trip can be 50 miles. If you're not used to the distance, work up to it. Only commute 2-3 days a week at first, and once you're comfortable add another day. Before you know it, you'll be fine.

Stephen

i do 30 miles round-trip, five days a week. i don't find it all physically draining to maintain such a riding schedule (but i do live in dead-flat chicago, so..... yeah), it's the time commitment that is challenging with such a long daily bike commute. i'm at work for 9 hours a day, then tack another 2 hours on for my bike commuting and that means 11 of my 17 waking weekday hours are automatically spoken for.

i don't have any kids, but i imagine as me and my girlfriend plan to move in the family-creation direction in the next several years, the time thing is going to get really tough. I might have to consider moving closer to my office to save time.

My commute increased from about 22 miles to 30 miles round trip last fall. I initially thought I might have to cut back on my bike commuting due to the increased mileage, but I am actually commuting more frequently since the move. The big issue is time. I have to get up 30 minutes earlier and I get home from work 30 minutes later. I haven't noticed being more tired or needing more recovery, but I am eating more. On days when I don't bike commute, I find it hard to control my appetite because my body is used to needing so much food to fuel the exercise.

Unless there are endless traffic lights, 30 miles RT should be perfect: not long but not too short either. My 60 miles RT sometimes feel rather long on those cold, dark winter days.

While I don't commute every day (2-3 days per week). My commute is 44 miles R/T. I do have showers available. The commute takes about 1 hour 20 minutes each way. The distance is not the issue, it is the time. Do you have the extra 15-20 minutes each way? Like others have said are the road safe? I will echo what others have said....Drive the route first, try one maybe two days the next week. While you might not be able to commute everyday, maybe 3 days a week. Let us know how it works out.

My commute is 18 miles one way. I do the reverse commute, that is, leave the car at work. 2-6 trips per week. You can break up the trips during the week. Pedal monday night/ tuesday am etc.

Protein as mentioned really helps recovery especially if you like to challenge yourself every time you ride like I do. I was finding that on consecutive days my times would drop despite eating really healthy, it was less enjoyable when my legs were screaming at me and I started to feel slow. After putting myself on a Whey protein supplement in addition to eating a ton of healthy homecooked food, I'm finding my legs feeling up to the daily 2X 15 mile hammerfest and my personal bests have been dropping week after week, this was after a 2-3 year plateau...

For me, I have about 1K feet elevation up and down each way and 30 miles RT is perfect for daily use. It's all about your fitness level, the pace you choose, the amount of time you can dedicate, your ability to outfit yourself with the proper equipment/clothing, the routes you have available and your ability to create and stick to the routine.

There really isn't any excuse other than the route really sucks safety-wise or you have a physical issue.

40 mile RT here.

It's doable. At least it is in Houston. Of course, Houston is flat as a table and we don't have the sorts of winters y'all have in Chicago.

I keep protein bars & shakes @ work and pay close attention to my rest.

Hydration is a big deal here. It's hot as an oven at times.

Bear in mind that I just started bicycle commuting.

I've been working at home for the last two years, so my commute is a little different these days, but before I took my office home, I was doing 46 miles RT on a daily basis. As much as 54 miles if I chose the scenic route. Towards the end I was doing this on my singlespeed, so I'm definately in the "it's doable" group. Like others have said, it's not the extra distance, it's what kind of distance you are adding, what you are willing to sacrifice for the extra time. My average pace was 80-90 minutes to the office and 95-135 minutes home. Wind and elevation really start to make a BIG difference on your ride time when you start doing the longer rides. I'm the cook in our house, so the long commute kind of cut into my ability to prepare a good dinner at a reasonable hour. My wife also started to complain about the amount of time I wasn't spending with her in the evenings. If you do get into it, and it's easy to get hooked on longer commutes, you will get into FANTASTIC condition. I had to start paying attention to my caloric intake, not because I was overeating, but because I was undereating and bonking on the way home. 30+ mile commutes will make you want to carry a bigger lunch.