CigTech

Hi guys.

A few weeks ago I side I start the Very Long Commute Club again. So here it is.

There is only one rule to the VLC club. If it is a long commute to you then your in. With that said any one can join. So even if you only have a 1 mile commute but it's a long commute to you then your in. Does not matter what bike you ride or where you live.

We will be talking about tips that you use to help you on your long commute. Like how to stay cool on hot day's or warm on cool days. What gear you ride with: Tire flat kits, tools, ect....

This post will start off week one. Now that I'm back to commute 5 days a week with a 33.2 mile commute one way.

EdgewaterDude

My hat is off to you, sir. There is no way I could do a metric century a day for my commute.

My commute is 20 miles r/t. I carry the basics - tire levers, patch kit, co2 (but soon, an actual frame pump).

Steely Dan

i don't think i'd have any issues at all with being able to physically ride 66 miles everyday, but finding the time, that's a whole other story.

my 30 mile round-trip daily commute takes about 2 hours of my time each day, i don't have any more free time that i could reasonably spare unless i wanted my partner to leave me (i don't).

hyegeek

I'm doing 18+ each way and still working up to 5 days a week. It takes me about 1 1/2 hours to get to work or back home as it is at least 1/2 gravel and has some pretty serious hills. As to finding the time, this is the only way I could figure out how to get the time to train for a 100 mile gravel grinder I want to do later in the year. I simply did not have time to train so I took my 1/2 hour commute and hour lunch plus my 1/2 hour commute and hour evening ride and combined the time into my commute.

TheRedWolf

Great to hear that there are others out there. Seems like most talk, even within the cycling community, is of unrealistically short commutes (for Americans anyhow). Most of us live at least 10 miles and usually more from work.

I'm living overseas for a few months but back in the States my daily r/t is right at 40 miles. Like you Steely Dan I could ride further and occasionally do if I get up early, but time is the limiting factor.

I carry the same items as weekend rides- spare tubes, tire levers and CO2 and/or frame pump, a minitool, cell phone, and ALWAYS have a Clif bar or other energy bar (I have bonked on evening commutes of only 20 miles if the effort is hard and I'm starting out hungry).

alan s 

I think the Exxon Valdez was a VLCC, and I don't want to be in a club that includes them.

ThermionicScott 

Yeah, my hat's off to you as well. I could probably ride a metric a day (I do every Ragbrai!), but other things would suffer if I had to tie up 4-5 hrs a day commuting.

SkippyX

I'm in.

I've got a 42 mile R/T.

Of course, it's not as bad as some other people's rides since I live in Houston and Houston is as flat as a dining room table. The biggest hills I have to deal w/ are bridges.

I was wondering (after the third flat this week) about other peoples experiences with kevlar tires. My LBS (a local chain of bike shops) has 'em in stock but they're kind of pricey. Of course, everything in that particular shop is kinda pricey.

So, do you guys have any experience with kevlar? I've got 700c wheels, and I'm running 700x35c tires. Since I'm planning on Kevlar front and rear I can change the size up a bit, maybe go a little smaller/higher pressure for less rolling resistance.

Do you have any brand recommendations? Prices I should reasonably be expected to pay?

EDIT: I carry 2 water bottles, patch kit, a schwinn floor/foot pump (I know - rather fredly), some levers - all in a trunk bag. Of course, lights front & rear.

I wear a backpack to carry clothing and the stuff that I'll need in my pockets that day. On the weekend after payday I bring my food into work and store it on-site so I don't have to worry about carrying it in every day.

Tonka

I ride 12.5 miles one way and come back so it's 25 miles/day. Not very long to some, but it's a good way of getting to work and getting a workout at the same time so I don't have to get the gym in later. I carry a Road Morph G pump, my Kryptonite U lock, Cable, Park Patch Kit, Extra Tire Tube, 2 Pedro Levers, Park Tool, an Air Chuck CO2 Elite, CO2, Water Bottle and whatever else I am carrying that day for work (food, hoodie).

jeffpoulin

My commute is 43 miles RT with a little over 3000 feet of climbing. I do it 4 days/week and work from home the other day. That's about as much as I'd like to do. Hats off to you for doing 66 plus working an 8 hour shift assembling cars. I'd be interested to hear about what you eat to keep your energy level so high.

acidfast7

I agree. I'd love to buy the OP a beer and have a discussion with him. He'd probably have some insight or interesting thoughts to share.

CptjohnC

I'd love to join, but I don't have a long commute anymore. It isn't the distance that changed, just my experience of it. I only ride in 2-3 days a week, 34-40 miles RT (depending on route).

No, to be honest, I still consider my commute somewhat long, but I enjoy it so much, I have trouble thinking of it as anything but fun. Except when I'm racing a storm or the wind is completely against me, or I have somewhere I need to be...

In addition to my clothes and lunch, I generally carry: road morph G; patch kit and spare tube(s); spare lights and batteries; Topeak multi-tool w/ integrated tire levers; Gerber multi-tool w/ needle-nose pliers; master link; water bottle; rain jacket, long pants, mid-layer and long sleeve base layer (though I will probably put most of these away for the season soon); 2 u-locks; zip ties, cargo straps and bungie net; reflective vest in case I'm not wearing hi -vis clothing or am riding after dark.

lungimsam

How do you keep up 66 miles a day everyday without your legs being maxed out? Did you just start this commute, or been doing it for a while? Tell us how you keep the legs going thru the week and how long till the legs get used to it.

EdgewaterDude

I'm sure I could physically do it, as my weekend rides are fairly long (just as any other 'serious' cyclists' are) but I think the mental aspect of it turns me off. I've been commuting by bike 1 year straight now, and at this point, my mind is numbed to the point where the commute isn't fun...at all. It's merely a means to get me to work cheaply and with my daily dose of cardio. I usually 'zone out' and listen to NPR or Pandora on my phone as I'm riding (calm down! it's only through one ear bud!)

Even then, I do 10 miles in in about 40 minutes or so, give or take. I think that my tolerance for a repetitive commute would only be another 15 minutes or so..which would only add another 4 or so miles in.

kdgrills

Ok, I'll play...

My commute is ~40 miles each way (80 miles round trip).
I drive half & ride half 4-5 days a week. I'll do the full ride
once or twice a week, most Saturdays.

I am a fair weather commuter, I generally (try to) skip
extreme cold & wet.

Won't be riding at all this week, catching up on chores
before my fishing trip starts on Thursday.

tarwheel 

My commute is 30 miles RT, and that's long to me. I do 50-60+ milers every weekend, but time is more of an issue on weekdays. My commute takes about 2 hours/day actual riding time and more like 2:20 including traffic lights. The route is also very hilly. I try to commute every workday but it works out to about 4 days/week due to lousy weather, meetings, doctor's appointments and other factors.

CigTech

Glad to see all you joining in.

To answer some of the qustion here. I been ridding for as long as I can remember. I'm 50 years old as of 4-16. Started ridding bikes back in the six grade every where. So I been riding for 38 years or so. I raced bikes back in the day, all road races. I just moved to Westerville OH last july. Then started working at Honda in Feb. Now that the gas price went throw the roof. I went back to bike commuting. So now I save about 60.00 a week on gas. I started off in March commuting 2 days a week for the 1st 2 weeks. Then movied it up to 3 days a week for 2 weeks, then 4 days a week for April and the 1st week of May. Last week did all 5 days. So thats how the training went.

As for what I do to keep the legs going. I eat a lot of protein foods before a ride and lots of Carbs after. Protein is good fuel for the muscle. Carbs to replenish muscle. If you spin while you ride and not grind throw the gears. Then your legs don't care what speed your doing. That means keep you feet moving. If you try to do what your body wants and ride with a 60 cadence (or feet RPM) then your using your legs to much. If you want to build muscle then by all means use a 60 cadence for 2 or 3 minutes. Then go back to 90 or 100 cadence for 5 minutes and repeat. But if you want to go fast for longer then spin your legs off LOL.

As for the commute time, you do what you can. I work from 4:30 pm to 1:00 am. It takes me about 93 minutes each way. So thats 33.2/93*60 = 21.4 avg speed. I left today at 2:30pm and got there at 4:18 pm. today I had a 5mph tail wind. Built 463 cars then left there at 1:10 am and got home at 2:25 am with a 2 mph head wind. So not to bad

Ok guys here what I take with me:

1 tube 700c
1 700c Tire
1 patch kit
6 inchs of bike chain
chain tool
extar cable (shifter/brake)
spare light batteries
Topeak multi-tool
2 Water Bottle
3 Met-Rx Big 100 Meal Replacement Bars, Chocolate Graham Cracker chip

I use a Cree XLM-8 Head light and a tail light. Gramin Edge 205 GPS. Trunk bag and Panniers I made from a leather chair that some one throw out. I just cut the leather off and made the bags. I al so made a frame bag but don't use it much.

JPinWI

Wow. 66 miles a day! That is a VLC! Have you signed up for the National Bike Challenge? You'd score 86 pts a day!

I ride 34 miles each workday and shoot for an hour door to door. I use a backpack bungeed to a rear rack for hauling my daily change of clothes and bike related stuff. I'm a desk jockey so I can get by wearing the same pants multiple days of the week and only bring in socks,undies, and a shirt most days. I've been able to haul up to two dozen free range chicken eggs in my backpack for distribution to my coworkers. If it's threatening rain I will put my back pack into 4 plastic grocery bags to keep my stuff dry.

I don't ride much on the weekends unless I have a mission that can be accomplished by bike.

Does our VLCC have a secret handshake or password.?

missstefani

I'm in! Just started biking (like 2 weeks ago), and I'm working my way up to the full 40 mile r/t very slowly (just started on Monday). For now, I park my car about 2.36 miles away from my office and bike the rest. It'll take a few months for me to be able to handle the whole thing (ridiculously out of shape), but that's the plan.

kdgrills

Heh, I'm picturing Ralph Kramden & Ed Norton in The Honeymooners, The Royal Order of Raccoons.

Touch elbows, wiggle the raccoon tail on the lodge hat, & a good "Woo".

CptjohnC

Dang you're fast! For me averaging 14-15 MPH overall is fast, though that is significantly impacted by long stoplights. But even with no red lights, a lighter load, and switching to my road bike instead of my hybrid commuter, I don't think I could expect to average over 20MPH for 90 minutes. My hat is off to you!

Sean T

My commute: https://app.strava.com/rides/8556461 I love it. ~35miles one way. I only get to do it 2 or 3 days a week but try to got both there and back as often as I can.
-sean

Steely Dan

DAMN, BROTHER! impressive, to say the least.

i could never hope to average 21.4 mph on my commutes through the crowded, congested, urban streets of chicago. there are WAY too many damn stop lights (every block) for that kind of action. i once hit a 19 mph average on a commute home, and that was with a wicked tailwind and absolutely everything going my way traffic and stop light wise.

if i had 66 miles of commuting here in chicago, that would take roughly 4 hours everyday, and i just don't have that kind of time to dedicate to getting to work and back.

CigTech

It helps that I only have like 8 stop lights geting out of Columbus. Then open road untill Marysville. With like 6 stop sings and 2 stop lights in Marysville. Then open road to Honda. So I can really open it up on the back roads. I had a cop tell me to slow down last week . Most of the ride is as flat as it can be and that helps a lot. In the car it takes me 40 minutes or so to get to work. So 90+ minutes on the bike is ok with me. I enjoy being the engyen any ways.

kdgrills : thats a good handshake and the password will be Spin

Sean : man you have a few hills to get over. I bet you can get some speed off those hills.

Missstefani : Good to have you on board. Don't make the mistake of not eating enoug. Most people starting out on bike to get in shape make a big mistake of not eating enough. You'll burn 84 cals a mniute commute at 10 to 15 mph. So eat enough before the ride to keep you fuled.

JPinWi : I looked at that before, but feel I would be taking away from the rides on there. With being a X-Racer. So I let them do their thing. I have to many bikes now LOL

roby

Most of the time I drop of my son at school and bike from there, which is 60km round trip. When he doesn't go to school or I don't have to drop him off I often bike from home, as I did yesterday, 120km round trip. It could be shorter but the tradeoff would be more traffic so I take the scenic route. Granted my legs today are cooked and I couldn't do it again, and I barely held a 30km/h avg speed. I do quite better speed wise when I simply do the 60km roundtrip.