Personally, I ride competitively and tried to snatch the extra time available for commuting to and from work. First there was the inconvenience of having to shower when arriving at work, second stocking a locker full of clothes and then riding through busy city traffic. After a number of close misses in traffic with cars not watching for a cyclist, it lasted three months. I reckoned that if I could keep this up for a year without a serious crash, I would be lucky.

Depending on time of season, I train between 10 - 17 hours a week, including some long days, and business travel.

The only solution was a professional indoor training bike, giving me the flexibility to ride any time when home.

At the end of the day, it depends on your cycling objective, mine is first health and second competition to keep the motivation going, so I have a challenge to work/train for.

If you just enjoy riding, commute when you have the opportunity and don't when conditions are not favorable.

I totally sympathize with the OP. Altho commuting is great exercise and a stress reliever, working extra long days saps a lot of energy and motivation -- and also eats into the limited amount of free time we all have after work. I have bike commuted on many occasions when I have to work overtime, it makes a long day even longer. Fortunately I don't face that choice very often.

Perhaps you could take steps to free up time in other ways. Eating out or picking up food at lunch or on the way home from work. Taking a shorter or longer lunch break, or at a different time than usual. Going into work later. Doing some of your work from home.

Also, having a good light system (front and rear) makes a big difference in how enjoyable your night-time commutes are, in addition to making you safer.

I used to go to work at 4am and get home at 9:30 pm,6 days a week,mostly 7....for 26 years I didn't see the sun.

Sounds like a gravy job to me.....:)

Life on uranus seems kinda bleak.....

During those times (which is most of the time) when I'm working long hours, although I often feel wiped out before the ride home, I do very much appreciate cycling the roads with fewer drivers, as long as my gear is running smooth, and I always feel a lot better afterwards. Some coffee before the trek is nice.

I sometimes regret leaving the office "early", because the rush hour drivers are often such confused, clueless, angry, stupid, distracted A-holes, and I hate needing to slug down two good beers just to get back to even keel after the ride.

I too am female and work 10+ hours a day. I don't want to bike home in the dark either at the end of the day; sometimes I procrastinate at work just so that I don't have to get on my bike. But I do, it's not that fun in the dark; for me I feel a bit unsafe.

However, when I do get home from my bike ride, grab a bite to eat, and place my a$$ on the couch to watch tv or surf the net, I know I've done a lot in the day and don't have to get up to do a workout. I just enjoy the rest of the evening, fully relaxed and ready for a good night's sleep.:)

I have appreciated reading everyone's thoughts about this. It is true that I could probably manage things at work a bit better to avoid long days. I was recently promoted during a context of some staff turnover and a lot of organizational changes. Prior to this shift, I biked to work for a few years and I very rarely had days that went over 10 hours. Since the promotion, there have been a lot of critical issues to be resolved, plus the learning curve of a new job. I expect/hope :) that my hours will reduce in the next couple months.

Currently, I am trying to "plan" my overtime and drive when I think I need to stay late, usually 1-2 days a week right now.

Right now, I am only riding to work once a week. On that day (normally Wednesday), I have a recurring private appointment on my calendar at the end of the day so that I can leave at a decent hour and avoid the worst traffic. I still get the occasional "late" meeting that I cannot avoid, but generally, it keeps them to a minimum.

Glad it's not just me feeling so unenthusiastic about the commute home in the dark. I never look forward to it, unless it's summer and nice weather, but I always feel better for it. I think I'd come home like a bear with a sore head if I didn't have my de-stress cycle!