hey ironbutts, how far would you consider HEAVY commuting?
 

I'm trying to explore the future feasibility of my namesake... a living situation where I may need to be commuting 41 miles a day for maybe 3-5 days per week during any weather which allows it. (to potentially include riding in the rain, and depending how well roads are cleared even when some snow may be on the ground) Yet I haven't gone biking in almost two decades, so i've completely lost all "feel" of how far you can go, how punishing it is for your body, let alone the fact that a high school kid can go alot further and faster than someone nearing 40. I remember having no trouble going 20mph (between stoplights but on roads/paths that didn't have many) for 13 miles a day in high school but to basically triple that I think would have taken some serious getting used to even then let alone now.

The equation can radically change with varying levels of e-assist of course which is the only reason I don't consider it completely unfeasible. Yet I don't exactly see 40 mile battery packs out there either, which sort of tells me something already. :) There's also gas assists and I could let that take me the whole way but i'd like to try and maintain 20mph speeds in town and most gas assists peter out below that, sometimes legally required to I think...


So i'm just seeking some general community feedback. What kind of regular commuting riding do you do? How many miles and how many hours? On what kind of bike? (more towards comfort, or more towards racing efficiency... since i'm not sure I could tolerate a racing tuck for an hour each way anyways. I did my 13mi/day on a mountain bike!) For what type of shape are you in? (i'm not in good shape at all right now still recovering from the injuries that made me stop biking, resuming biking will help some of that but i'm not going to be a slender cyclist anytime soon) Any other notes on conditions? I figure i'd get a general feel for what people would consider light, medium, and heavy to be (perhaps on different types of bikes - i'm sure a fat tired cruiser would have to go notably slower than a triathlon bike, but would the comfort of it let you do as many miles just slower?) which will then give me some benchmarks to compare myself against when I start trying to work biking more into my daily life. (under the 1-2 year preparation process before I have to do it for college which may... never even happen if it's too grueling in reality)

I commuted for 17 miles each way for a while. The rides were longer than my patience. I soon wanted a life.

In my mind any commute that is more than an hour is "HEAVY" commuting.

distance is so variable, conditions so different, and riders too individual to make any sort of generalizations possible. But more than 2 hours a day by any means, any fitness (even car) just "getting" to work... that's a commitment I just couldn't do.

I'm 16.6 miles each way with three phases:

1.) Protected bike trail
2.) Heavy traffic street (with lights every 100-200 yards)
3.) Light traffic street, typically windy

On a great day I'm at a bit over an hour. On a windy day or unlucky with lights it can push 90 minutes. I'd love to commute everyday for fitness and getting miles but it's definitely impacting my non-work time. The 2+ hour bike ride is about a 40 minute car ride and there's definitely some days where I'd take the hour plus of time in the sack or loafing after a long day in the office.

I'm a Trek Domane (carbon) as it's the only bike I have, not a traditional commuter but it works well for me and I'm very comfortable on the bike. I'm overweight (31/5'10"/265) and part of my motivation with the commuting is because I really don't like exercising in a gym and I really enjoy riding.

That is a long commute. I'm at 12 miles each way, which takes about an hour. My bike is almost 30 pounds and I've seen the e-bikes come in around 60 (which is not that bad, my bike weighs 60 when loaded for touring). I think part of it depends on whether you have to haul your clothes with you or if you have a locker at work. The less you have to haul, then the better you would be with a lighter road-oriented bike.

Mornings: 14.5 miles, I make it in 55 minutes to just over an hour
Afternoons 17 miles (I go 2.5 miles more to go around a huge hill that I drop off in the mornings)
It's taken me 1hr and 10-20 minutes.
My avg speeds are just under 15mph.

Roads: all kinds with and w/o bike lanes.
neighborhood street, suburban through-fare, state hwy, MUP/greenway, and downtown city streets


I ride full routes 4 days a week. There's usually one day, due to weather, work, or some other obstacle where I shorten a route by using the local MTA part of the way.

Mine is 7 miles each way, takes 30-35 minutes depending on the lights, traffic, and the direction of the wind. :)

I'd consider anything over 15 miles to be "heavy". At some point, you have to consider the time spent. If I can drive there in 25 minutes but it takes me an hour by bike, I'm probably going to be driving.

To answer your real question, yes 41 miles a day would be pushing it if you haven't ridden in 20 years. Take a test run on a Saturday and see how far you can go. You may need to build up to the distance, or try a "multi-modal" commute, e.g. take the bus halfway.

Is there any mass transit along your route that you could leverage? In many cities, there are bike racks on buses and you can take bikes on trains. Starting cold, though? I don't think 20+ miles each way is feasible.

20 miles one way? It is OK if you work 4 hours a day. Otherwise - your personal life will suffer, as well as doing any other sports or exercises. You can do it once or twice a week as a form of sport AND commuting (with a change of clothes of course and perhaps a shower too).

Distance is not a problem, just the time. Depending on wind, traffic lights, climbs etc, it can take from one hour (minimum, absolute minimum), to two hours. One way.

That would be a long commute for a beginner. I have a 15.5 mile one way and it takes me about 80 minutes give or take depending on traffic, weather etc. I do not do it every day but aim for 3 days per week. For me the time is really not an issue but the mileage wears on me if I do it every day.

I do a 33 mi RT commute. Agree with others that my limit is about 1 hour each way. That doesn't count prep. That is the biggest chunk I will take out of my day, and only about 3/week.

That would be a tough commute for anyone, let alone someone who hasn't biked for 20 years. My commute is 31 miles/day round trip, which takes me about 2 hours, but I have been cycling regularly for years. That doesn't mean you couldn't do it, but it would take a bit of will-power, stubbornness and commitment to make it work. You would also need to ease yourself back into shape or would likely suffer injuries or discouragement. My advice would be to try to break up the commute by driving or taking transit for part of the route, if possible. Or you could drive to work with your bike on a rack, ride it home, ride back to work the next day, drive home, etc. That way you starting with more manageable distances while you get back into shape.

I am old and do 27 a day. But I have been doing it for years.

Time is the only real factor. You can work up to the miles. If you don't have home and family obligations, then a 41 mile daily RT isn't a problem.

You'll have to work up to the distance, though. You can drive partway and park the car. you can drive in with the bike, ride home, then ride in and drive home. There are all sorts of alternatives.

I get to choose the length of my commute. In foul weather I can take a direct route. Otherwise, I choose a longer one. Lately I've been doing 29.5 miles a day. It's no real problem. (For the record, I'm 56.) I just budget the time. At my typical pace, it's an hour of ride time in, then 45 minutes (by a slightly shorter route) coming home. Plus stoplight time each way.

For longer distances, the bike makes more difference than for shorter ones. I ride road bikes because their design intent is to cover longer distances quickly and comfortably. For 41 miles RT, I wouldn't advise anything else.

As for motor assisted, if you're going to turn a bicycle into a motorcycle, why bother with the scotch tape and bailing wire? Just get a motorcycle or a scooter and be done with it.

:thumb:

While for shorter distances (up to 10 km one way) I would recommend anything BUT a road bike, for longer one that is the best solution (or a recumbent :) ).


One more thing to consider: weather.

For rides up to 5 km, you can get away with anything.

For rides up to 10 kms, you need decent clothes, but however severe weather, you are only exposed for under 30 minutes, so if you start getting cold toes, fingers - it's not a real problem.

For longer rides, you need really good clothes and shoes - for rain,snow, strong wind etc. It will affect you.


These are just things to consider - not trying to discourage you - GO FOR IT. Just have it all in mind when planning - time, clothes, gear, bicycle. I love bicycle commuting, wouldn't have it any other way. :)

OP - Everyone's commute is different so the answers might or might not apply. I would suggest that you just start out with 1 or 2 trip per week and see how it works for you. 41 RT can be a breeze or not depending on the traffic, road condition, lights, etc. For 3 years, my commute was 60 miles RT, 3 times a week and I started out cold. Now my commute is down around 54 miles RT.

Regardless of the mode, anything over an hour appears to be the point where people start to find their commute to be onerous although cycling for an hour a day is probably going to be more enjoyable than driving or taking transit so one could extend that a bit.

My commutes have run from 30 minutes to 2 hours one way (50km)... riding 100 km a day (62 miles) was actually very enjoyable and something I did in good weather with 80 of those 100 km being ridden in the country and not in the city.

I did this in my mid 40's but came into that with a good deal of experience in long distance cycling... I used to average 60 km a day as I commuted and also worked from my bicycle to make calls on clients.

My normal commute is 30 miles RT, which takes less than an hour each way. This summer, I rode 50 miles RT for a couple weeks, and the extra 1/2 hour each way really made a difference. Pushed the time devoted to bike commuting close to 4 hours a day with prep and changing time involved. Not something I want to devote that much time to.

I bike commute 17.1 miles each way so 34.2 miles every workday...171 miles every week but who's counting? :lol: I found bike commuting to be life changing on many levels. Prior to 2010 I hadn't ridden a bike since I got my drivers license in 1980 (I'm 49). I started slowly by riding about 5 miles to catch a carpool...after a couple months of that and a winter layoff, I decided to try the ride to work (17.1 miles). I haven't regretted it. Granted my commute is pretty sweet....mostly all rural roads with very few stops required...Many days I start pedaling at home and don't put my foot down till I am at work. The 17.1 miles takes me about an hour +/- 10 minutes depending on the wind. I'm down about 15 lbs. from my pre-bike commuting days. The bike commute clears my head and strengthens my heart...not bad for an activity that also gets me to work without spewing pollution into the air or using gasoline. I recommend it to anyone and often do. I ride a schwinn dbx super sport that I bought used off Craig's list. It's a cross bike with 23c tires, drop bars, a rack, and fenders. I added clipless pedals. Biking to work has allowed me to slow down and realize the speed with which we move ourselves in this age of fossil fueled extravagance. Whatever you do start slowly and pace yourself...drive part-way ride part-way can be an effective way to work up to the full distance over time. Good Luck!

13 miles is perfect for me. 22 is too far due to exponential increases in road hazard exposure & traffic delays

OP do you have family obligations and such? That's the main reason why I only do my 31 mile RT twice a week. 31 miles RT takes me about 2:15-2:20 total time. I was splitting it up between days on Tues-Fri but that meant leaving my car at work twice a week and also keeping the bike rack on the car all week long. Last week I did the whole round trip in a single day, on Tues/Thurs. However those days meant I was gone from the house, my wife and 3 y.o. son for a whopping 12 hours (before 6:30 am to almost 6:30 pm). But my car stayed at home and I didn't have to use the 50-lb. bike rack at all, which was nice.

I couldn't imagine riding any farther than that for a round trip. But my commute is also quite hilly and I never can break 14 MPH moving average unless I have a healthy tail wind in the afternoon.

14.5 miles each way is my shortest route. I agree with someone up there that over an hour each way is getting into heavy land.

+1, all of it.

My commute is 34 miles RT and I do it on a road bike (except during winter, I have an old mtb but I only commute by bike half the time in winter)

There's no Iron Butt Association for bicycles, but you may get your Saddle Sore Certificate as you start commuting. Bicycling is way more physical than motorcycling, and like the above posters mentioned you'll be better off starting with less distance as you figure out what's a long distance for you.