ze_zaskar

I tend to ride at a 80% pace.
Why? Slow enough to keep fresh riding every day but fast enough to not have to wake up too early and to arrive home at time for gym.

12 miles each way, not big hills but some climbs, always descending or climbing a little. Bike is a Surly LHT, racks, etc, Continental Speed Rides 700x42 and a pair of panniers with 25lbs inside. I tend to average 16mph

Ten Mile

I couldn't agree more... I used to worry about time and speed. Now I've changed my whole perspective on it, and get to work a little slower, but clean and dry all through hot summers and brutal winters. Lose The CarLose The Car breaks the whole thing down as far as how to do it, what to wear in different weather, etc. I was getting sick of the whole change, babywipe, change, change, change thing anyways. If it weren't for this, I probably wouldn't have kept going for long. Now I get to work, dressed and ready to go. The old way is too inconvenient to do forever. The way I see it, commuting should be fun, enjoyable and easy, not something that adds to our already long list of hassles.

Sullalto

Yeah, without a cheap gym with towel service right by work, I probably would only commute home.

Crog Welly

Varies day to day. Depends on weather. Tend to take is easier in the winter and ride harder in the other three seasons.

Just switched to recumbent for commute so its just slow for the moment. Gotta be pretty relaxed about commuting I find as there are so many non-bike considerations. Heavy luggage. Burly tires and tubes. Not really going to strain the Strava leaderboard under those circumstances.

TenSpeedV2

That is exactly how I feel right now commuting on my fat bike. Until the cold weather, ice and snow disappears, that is how it will be. Heavy bike, poor path/road conditions, and freezing temps really slow you down on a ride.

enigmaT120

I don't think there's any way to ride up the hills I climb without sweating. The Losethecar web site suggests going slowly. I do that, not that I have a choice. It suggests stopping if I start to warm up and sweat. That would be frequently, near constantly. My Fargo goes down to 18 gear inches and that's what I use climbing. It's a lot easier for me to just get to my bus stop a few minutes early, cool down, and put on a dry shirt I brought. I don't need a shower before work, but I change my shirt before getting on the bus, and change pants when I get to work. Luckily I don't stink when I get sweaty, I have no idea why. I do sweat a lot but wipe it off with my shirt.

Having said all that, I rarely hammer it when I ride. I imagine I'm in touring mode, cruising along at a comfortable pace, which for me includes getting sweaty in any weather. I guess I average 15 mph but that's partly because I don't use my brakes going down those hills I climb so slowly. I don't have a speedometer on my bike but I know the distance and I know how long it takes me to ride it.

FCtoDallasprofile.cgi by enigmat1201, on Flickr

velocity

1) I have to make time to enjoy the ride.
2) I also worry about flats and being on time.
3) As a cycling coach I know that intervals keep us fit when time is sparse.
4) I am on Strava and whole world is watching! LOL
Here's the ride on a good day no rain or absorbent amount of wind..there's always wind.

V

bkrownd

My commuting speed is entirely determined by traffic, weather and terrain considerations. If I need to go fast to take the lane or make turns in fast traffic then I go fast, and if I need to go slow to watch for road debris or climb big hills efficiently or be more careful in some way then I go slow. If I hear lightning I go VERY FAST. I'll do whatever seems necessary at the moment, and it changes daily.

Farmer Dave

This.

scroca

What kind of wind is that?

RSerio

My commute is about 14 miles and I start work at 5:00 am. Since I don't want to get up any earlier than absolutely necessary, I try to keep the speed up and keep the ride under an hour. It usually takes 45-50 minutes, speed between 16-19. I have tried many times to leave a little earlier and just take it easy.....yea I can't do that.

TransitBiker

It really depends on my energy level. Some days i simply slog through a trip just to get done what i need, other days i cut 20 minute trips down to 16, and other days i just feel like taking in the world and my music and cruising...... all really situational honestly.

- Andy

English3Speed

Do I commute at a slow relaxed pace, or go for speed? Both.


My jobs have generally been in urban areas, so traffic congestion means that if I bicycle as fast as I can I still struggle to break 10 mph. My current commute is about 2 miles. Ordinarily for a 2 mile ride in 10-20F weather I would not stop and rest every 2 blocks or so, but with timed lights and many intersections traffic is stop and go for the mile near the office.

For a long time I had a 7 mile ride, maybe half on suburban arterials and half on city streets; again motorist congestion slowed even bicycles to 10-12mph in town, and 8-10mph for errands across town after leaving work.

Traffic means going for speed is still relaxed and slow.

pedalsimotxilla

My commute is about 5.5 km and all urban, and I've found myself using it for some sort of HIIT. On my way to college it's all slightly downhill, and on the way back, therefore slightly uphill. The two km closest to home I go more or less like on my training rides, on the upper limit of my confort zone: since there is relatively little traffic and almost no traffic lights I can keep a semi-constant speed. Then, when I get to the modern part of Barcelona (my neighbourhood used to be a town on its own until the early twentieth century), around 2 km of 100-odd metre blocks, so either I have to ride fast to keep on the green wave or I have fun doing short bursts and rest at the traffic lights. Then I have around 1.5 km on the old part of Barcelona, with a bit of cobbles, less traffic lights and I get into a park to ride a bit on dirt on the last part.

RoderWrench

Wow, I could have made this exact post. Everything about it is the same for me. In the morning I try to beat my best time. On the way home I detour to a bike trail. I'm usually on my hybrid and occasionally I try to keep the wheel of a roadie, but usually I just take it easy.

Saving Hawaii

I very rarely get to do the relaxed ride to work thing. Usually I'm either amped to get out the door early to take the long route or I'm slacking and get out the door too late to do anything but hurry. I also work on call a lot. Those commutes are always rushed. As for speed? Usually 16-17 average on the short route (with lots of stop signs) or 19 average on the long route.

I really like our downtown area and wish it was on my way to work. Easy to find a car to draft and go 30 for the next mile. I'll do it hauling a trailer on my vintage cyclocross bike. It's fun. One of the roads on my way to work could be like this but drivers are stupid and speeds yo-yo. Everyone wants to rush to a timed light before it turns green, stop, and then jam on the gas. I can't do much with that. If the stupid screwballs could figure out how timed lights work we'd be golden.

triplebutted

This particular job I have is great. I get on a MUP (or bike path as some places are called) by a creek and takes me 2.7 miles to my 3.0 miles away job. I have to get off and ride on a bike lane for 2 blocks to get to my work. I do it on a modern bike made to look like a classic Porteur so I'm pretty upright. I do have a Wald rack in front (would love to get the Velo Orange one) and nice leather saddle. I take my time as much as possible. Its an 8 minute drive by car and a 20 minute bike ride. When I did do commutes of longer than 10 miles, I still don't try to go that fast. I'm a cyclist so I can always do my fast rides on the weekday training rides and weekend hammer fests.

Saving Hawaii

Finally got a commute up to a 20mph average.



Now to do that every time.

halcyon100

The first :10-:15 minutes in the morning= warm up on a MUP. After that, I think I am around 12-18 mph, though that is an estimate since I don't use a cycle computer or Strava. I am ten minutes faster than what Google bike maps says my commute should take (they seem to assume a 10 mph speed for cyclists). I alternate between roads and MUPs, and have a number of stop signs and stop lights. I strive to go reasonably fast in the morning to not be late and have enough time to change clothes. I am more relaxed in the evening, especially in winter.

I only do intervals at the gym (1-2x week), never on the road while riding. I don't think that is safe.

Buffalo Buff

I've been timing myself a few times a week to figure out how fast I'm moving on my commute. Doing a 3.3 mile commute in 8:30-9:20, so about 22 miles per hour. Bit faster than I expected.

How so?

SHBR

Started commuting last October, after a broken toe injury made it difficult to walk. I had to take it easy on the bicycle too. Since then the toe has healed and I still commute at a relaxed pace, 11km takes just under an hour, including a ferry boat and 35 stop lights on my usual route.

halcyon100

Maybe I should say it is not very safe for me to do intervals on the road. I tend to push myself to the max when doing intervals, then recover, then push hard again, etc. When I'm pushing hard, I'm in a big gear and going for the max rpm possible. My sensory awareness of stuff around me is decreased quite a bit. I think pushing yourself that hard is better for stationary bike or a race - where there are protections from regular traffic.

Buffalo Buff

That makes some sense. I definitely know what you mean with the tunnel vision effect going all out can have on a person. I just never get it so bad that I'm in danger of not being aware of traffic.

Then again I've also been a skateboarder for 15 years and I think I got used to going at it hard with other skaters in the skateparks zooming by, so it could just be one of those things I take for granted.

caloso

I use the commute for interval training all the time, but generally for sweet-spot or sub-LT work. And because these are longer interval sets, I have to find a route that has fewer stoplights. Luckily, that's available in Sacramento, but in denser areas like the Bay Area it can be tougher logistically.

snow_echo_NY

depends on the day. relaxed pace if i feel tired, speedy pace if i feel antsy and need to burn some energy!