So, tomorrow I am going to cheat my commute. I have been terrible so far this year getting back into it (a week or so off will do that to me - I blame a stressful bout at work where I was unsure of how many hours I had to cram in the day and the holidays), and I think this will help get me back into it.

My wife works a little over 3 miles away from where I work - so I am going to carpool in with her, ride from her office to mine in the morning, then go from mine to hers in the afternoon. Her workday is longer (mandatory 1 hr lunch break) leaving me not losing any time from my own work.

I hope to do this twice a week, and do the full commute 2 times a week, and probably just drive on Fridays (cause I don't play around on getting the weekend started!)

What do y'all think?

EDIT: My regular ride is 11 miles each way. Hoping this will lead me to wanting to ride from home more than the twice a week I did last year. Also gives me a reason to ride my Univega mtb that doesn't have racks/panniers over my Volpe, which does (along with fenders)

I don't know why you'd call this cheating. I think it's a very practical approach. She's driving anyway, so it's not like there's any impact. Plus the 3 mile hop to work means you should arrive without being sweaty or needing to change clothes. If you have a bike with an upright riding posture, you might even ride in like a Dane, at a lower peed, but dressed for work and ready to go.

When Spring comes, you might opt to modify the routine occasionally by going in with her in the AM, but making a nice ride of going home the scenic way (if one exists).

In any case, it's your ride, and your life, so there's no such thing as cheating.

I did the multimode commute today:

To work:
1.5 mile walk to train station
6 min (8 miles) on the commuter rail
2h15m (230 miles) on the HSR
22min (14 miles) on the commuter rail

Way home
5.9 miles ride

mutlimodal is cool, bro.

True. This is a recently new job for her and the first time we have both been on similar work schedules. I call it cheating because it isn't all the way from home. As for work clothes and such - yeah, I was planning on just wearing whatever I was going to wear that day. It's something new, trying to be multimodal.

Mixing things up is good especially on bad weather days. Perhaps this could lead to both of y'all riding to work together a couple times a week.

Sounds like a good plan. I know a gob of people who do something like this, many using a bikeshare bike from their spouses office or train/bus station to their office. Others keep a bike at the spouse office or station for this, others take their bike with them.

Multimodal is better than nothing. Go to church if you need more things to feel guilty about.

It sure must be. As I look at the numbers you left home, went approximately 250 miles multi-modal in roughly 3 hours, and ended up only 6 miles from home. Does the HSR run in a circle? or is there a wormhole in the UK?

I have a second place in/near London for the weekends but work in the north of England. So, that's every Friday down and Monday back. Mix that with 1-3 international trips/month and that's my life :-/

However, the research lab doesn't move, unfortunately.

That makes more sense. I couldn't imagine a 3hrs each way daily commute. But I do agree that multi-modal is a great thing.

I suspect we could do a better job promoting bike commuting if we talked about using it as a "last mile" link in a multimodal commute. It could be used at either or both ends, and for many would not need to be carried on the train, as in ride to commuter line station, leave bike, rail in to city, transfer to subway.

I generally ride all the way to work, but there is a bus alternative, and when I can't ride, I'll bike to the bus stop and leave the bike there, hidden behind a gracious homeowner's fence.

same here. I have the option of bus or commuter rail and it's only 6 miles one-way.

The buses in my town all have bike racks. So if you have a long distance or bad weather you can ride to a stop and bring the bike with to near where you want to go and have a short ride from there. I haven't used them yet but I've seen them used plenty. It's a good idea and seems to work well.

I've wondered about that. Bike capacity is limited, and if you opt to use it only in bad weather you might run into the same issue as trying to catch a NYC taxi on a rainy day - namely everybody has the same idea.

Yea, I think they can only carry 2 bikes but I've never seen more than one. There aren't a lot of bike commuters here yet. I hope that one day there will be however....

Many people in Europe take a train to near their workplace and then have a bike that they keep there for the last bit and for getting around during the day. Works quite well.

Nothing wrong with multi-modal.

I do occasionally see buses with both bike racks taken up. Technically, bikes are not allowed in the bus, either. Folders would be fine, I imagine. Sometimes you see people with their bike inside, but it's always something small, not a 61cm road bike.

Don't look at it as cheating. Look at it as having the option for a nice long ride home every day

Thanks all for the opinions and "moral support" lol. I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner. Unfortunately today might be dashed - the internet went out on us and our ISP is sending someone today between 9 and 10 (so maybe closer to luncg? Hah). But it will happen. Tempted to drive in and stick to my plan for getting home and just get my car tomorrow

What do I think? I think you should ride on Friday. what better way to kick off the weekend than with a nice ride?

Not even kidding, it's the first thing on my mind when I have a day off.

Multi Mode is OK. she will drive whether you are in the car anyhow , so Why Not.

Its not an athletic contest like the Boston Marathon, And you are not Rosie Ruiz.

As Grant Petersen says, use a metric that makes you come out a winner. You win!

What does that 250 mile commute cost you, twice a week?

It depends on how early I can buy tickets and if I have some luck.

I was extremely lucky this last week and was able to get the long train journey for £10 and the two connecting trains for £2.80 and £4.70. I'm quite organised, so that long train journey usually doesn't slip above £26.25, but last minute it would be around £150 or so.

I just bought every ticket because they have a spring sale recently and it ran about £500 for 10 weeks of the 2 long train journeys per week.

There isn't a bike rack on the outside of the bus so you can throw the bike up there and take it to work with you?

I'd be at work all day wondering A/ who was riding my bike, and B/ how long it will take me to walk x miles instead of bike it.

No the bus doesn't have a rack, otherwise I'd use it. Where the bike is very secure, first by being out of sight, second by way of a decent lock, and lastly by virtue of a homeowner who's home much of the time. Even if it were stolen, it wouldn't be a great loss. It's my "last mile" bike, a simple bike I put together to fill the gap between a longish walk, and a short ride.