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How far do YOU commute?

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Commuting Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.
View Poll Results: How many miles do you commute each day?
1-5
22
14.67%
6-10
34
22.67%
11-15
27
18.00%
16-20
24
16.00%
21-25
15
10.00%
26-30
7
4.67%
More than 30?
21
14.00%
Voters: 150. You may not vote on this poll

How far do YOU commute?

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Old 04-07-13 | 09:38 PM
  #26  
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I put in 26-30. I average around 30 but sometimes stretch it to 35 when I got time. My in inbound is 12-13 miles with a longer route home for fun.

Chicgoland suburbs, which have some some trails. There are no safe road routes all the way to my work, so I travel on limestone and gravel trails 60+% of my ride, the rest road. I commute with a cyclocross, which is just perfect for this combination.
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Old 04-07-13 | 11:30 PM
  #27  
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1.6miles to work. i work 2 days a week. better then nothing at all.
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Old 04-08-13 | 05:30 AM
  #28  
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Oops! I entered the distance of my ONE-way commute. My round-trip falls into the 6-10 category.
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Old 04-08-13 | 06:13 AM
  #29  
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Bikes: Heavy, with friction shifters

Anything over 10 kilometres (on FLAT terrain) takes quite a lot of time AND effort. Can be done, but not EVERY day. It all depends how strong you are, how much time you have, how exhausting your days are (work, family, training, sleep...).

I have 11 km one way (22 km round trip), half through heavy city traffic, half open road, and while it is mostly fun, it is still around 40 minutes of energetic pedaling that, on some days, I choose to transform into 10 minutes of relaxed motorcycle riding.
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Old 04-08-13 | 06:19 AM
  #30  
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From: Netherlands

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About 34 miles (54 km's) to 36 miles (56 km's) roundtrip for me, depending on which route I choose. Mostly through rural areas, basically totally flat terrain. On these two routes, I have no traffic lights, just roundabouts. So more often than not, when I take thouse routes I can just keep pedalling without having to stop and go until I arrive at my destination. With that in mind I decided to get a recumbent bike a so called high racer for commuting
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Old 04-08-13 | 07:07 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by the sci guy
crap I didn't read the post before I voted and I only voted based on 1-way.
Subtract 1 from 11-15, and add it to 21-25.
Same problem. Subtract one from 1-5 add it to 6-10.
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Old 04-08-13 | 07:15 AM
  #32  
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I ticked 6-10 by mistake. It's actually 5.5 miles round trip.

But sometimes I extend my ride home, just for the hell of it.
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Old 04-08-13 | 07:16 AM
  #33  
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From: Formerly Beijing now KC

Bikes: Not enough

21km one way through the burbs of Beijing. It's almost completely flat with some...trying traffic.

I usually do five days a week, but it snowed a lot this winter, and my hybrid just isn't built for snow/slush/mud/pollution mix.
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Old 04-08-13 | 10:42 AM
  #34  
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Bikes: Schwinn DBX, Trek 820

17.1 miles each way... paved rural road mostly.
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Old 04-08-13 | 12:25 PM
  #35  
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did the poll as well before reading post. I don't do it every day but when I do it is 23 or so miles round trip.

suburban to downtown commute.
downtown and greenway part of ride is better than the suburban part of the ride.
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Old 04-08-13 | 04:13 PM
  #36  
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From: Central California

Bikes: Giant TCR C1

17miles RT if I'm feeling lazy,
22miles RT if I'm feeling good.
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Old 04-08-13 | 08:09 PM
  #37  
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this poll is fail because we are all great readers! lol
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Old 04-08-13 | 09:58 PM
  #38  
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From: The White Mountains of AZ
I'm just barely in the 30+ category and do it on a rigid mountain bike because the first couple miles are off-road. The rest is highway (65mph speed limit that few seem to observe). Sadly the only alternative routes would qualify as epic; One fine day I'm going to try one though. I need quite a bit of sleep after riding 2.5 hours a day.
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Old 04-09-13 | 07:20 AM
  #39  
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From: Lancaster, PA, USA

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Don't start with doing every day of the week or you'll be dead by Thursday (assuming you aren't riding 24 miles a day right now). Listen to your body. If your legs ache, drive in until they feel better. Eat lots of protein and carbs. Drink plenty of water.

My commute is 7 miles each way, and includes pretty major uphills in both directions through suburban/rural areas. I've been going since last Summer and still can't do five days a week.

Do a practice run on the weekend so you can get a feel for the route and how tired you'll get.
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Old 04-09-13 | 07:34 AM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by Papa Tom
Oops! I entered the distance of my ONE-way commute. My round-trip falls into the 6-10 category.
That's ok. I made the same mistake in the other direction. The overall numbers in the poll remain valid.
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Old 04-09-13 | 07:38 AM
  #41  
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From: Incheon, South Korea

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Depends on the day. Some days I have multiple places to go in opposite directions and can get 40km+ easily. My easiest days as low as 10km. Do it every day, add 30-50km of exercise cycling and another 160km in the weekend. You get used to it.
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Old 04-09-13 | 07:40 AM
  #42  
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Oops, I hit the wrong button. My commute is about 130 miles but I only do 11 of them on the bike.
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Old 04-09-13 | 10:14 AM
  #43  
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My commute is about 12 Km (7.4 miles) RT. Heavy city traffic.
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Old 04-09-13 | 10:20 AM
  #44  
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From: Oregon City, OR
Originally Posted by Papa Tom
Oops! I entered the distance of my ONE-way commute. My round-trip falls into the 6-10 category.
As did I. I'm right around 20 miles a day.

Semi dense suburbia, to city center, to industrial area.

Last edited by JReade; 04-09-13 at 10:24 AM.
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Old 04-09-13 | 11:45 AM
  #45  
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Interesting that 11-15 group is the same size as the more than 30 group/
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Old 04-09-13 | 02:32 PM
  #46  
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From: Frankfurt am Main, Germany/Arlington, VA

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My ten mile round trip commute can be either 90 percent on a busy shared use path or 100 percent on city streets with some bike lanes. This is an inner suburb of DC. I've been doing this year round in all weather on a daily basis for six years. For the past four years I have extended this to a 25 mile round trip commute, 95 percent on shared use trail. The shorter route is rolling hills, the longer route is a slight downhill going to work and a slight uphill coming home.
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Old 04-09-13 | 02:37 PM
  #47  
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From: 25 miles northwest of Boston

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in my opinion 13 miles was perfect for me
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Old 04-09-13 | 03:47 PM
  #48  
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From: Los Angeles area

Bikes: Several bikes, Road, Mountain, Commute, etc.

My commute environment is totally urban, some commercial, some residential but completely in the cities (Whittier, LaMirada, Norwalk, Los Angeles). 16 miles approx by bike every day; some minor variation depending on exactly which route(s) I take.

22 miles round trip each day via the Metro Green Line train ($3.00 per day train fare), no variation in train mileage at all!

Rick / OCRR
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Old 04-09-13 | 06:09 PM
  #49  
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From: Raleigh, NC

Bikes: Waterford RST-22, Bob Jackson World Tour, Ritchey Breakaway Cross, Soma Saga, De Bernardi SL, Specialized Sequoia

I commuted about 22 miles RT for 4.5 years. My office moved downtown about 1.5 years ago, making the commute about 31 miles RT, but I am riding just as often. I initially thought the longer distance would affect my ability to commute as often, but it's really no big deal altho it does take longer.
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Old 04-10-13 | 07:04 PM
  #50  
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From: White Plains

Bikes: Specialized

Just about 10 miles RT. It doesn't get more urban than Manhattan.
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