Getting back in the swing of things
 

Greetings & salutations,

I haven't commuted in almost two years - or ridden regularly for a great while. I will now have a new commute which will be roughly 6.9 - 7.3 miles, and need to get into the swing of things. I remember riding regularly that distance with no problems. How long did it take you to get into riding a similar distance on a daily basis, to get your fitness levels up? A week? two? a month?

If you are in reasonable shape you should be able to tackle this right now. Your butt will give out much faster than your legs or lungs. That distance depending on hills or stops should be about a 20 minute easy ride.

I was in almost the same situation as you when I started commuting in September. I hadn't been riding regularly for a few years. I'm in pretty good shape, but not an athlete. My commute is about 6 miles (12 r/t). I didn't have to work up to it at all in terms of fitness. It was more a question of gaining confidence riding with traffic and really getting to know my route.

Regarding MacNasty's estimate of how long it will take: I think that depends on your route and riding style. I have lots of places where I stop for lights and traffic. Plus, I ride wearing professional clothing, so I'm going slowly enough that I don't arrive at work drenched in sweat. 6 miles takes me just under 30 minutes at that pace; that's total time, including stops for lights and traffic.

Depends more than anything else on terrain. 7 miles (roughly 6.9) on flat terrain is a cake walk and anybody should be able to do it at something over 10mph average. However, 1 long or steep hill changes the rules entirely and for someone not in shape changes a cake walk to a death march.

7 miles @ 14 mph average (which is what I can do on my hybrid) makes 30 minutes...

I currently do 6.9 miles one-way, with a large V shaped hole in the ground at the beginning. The worst part isn't the distance, or even the hill, but the 1.2 miles in the open country along side a 6 lane road. In winter, the wind just sucks until I can get into town. Then of course, I get to deal with traffic. It usually takes me about 35-40 minutes each way, which isn't too bad. As long as I keep doing it, I stay in decent 'bike shape'. It's when I fall off the wagon, or don't ride (like now, with 7" of snow on the ground), that it feels worse. Just keep up on it, get a good saddle, and don't carry anything on your back and you'll be fine.