Flip Flop Rider

no way. 62 miles to and from work?

4 hours a shot, and that's moving

GrainBrain

I agree, OP would be smart to continue biking past work to a nice Cafe. I think a good solution would be to just quit the job and put in 150km/day

Seriously it's doable, I could do it but there'd have to be planning. Unexpected flats, mechanical problems would easily put a half hour into your ride. Plus stopping will cool you down and make it tough.

Just like you fuel your car everyday so to must you feed your body. I've had a couple, not-entirely-fun long rides where something I eat disagrees with me.

This is also a good case for an ebike imo.

ducks freewheels thrown at him

Hear me out! OP can still get a workout by putting out his watts, then be matched by the ebike to increase speed. If OP wants a workout then just turn off assist.

GrainBrain

It's interesting that my 60 mile times are similar as others have posted, we all seem to be close to the same capability. This is surprising to me, and should maybe concern the OP. So unless this is Greg or Alberto posting incognito, I'm going to say good luck!

Oh wait I know, does the OP suffer from asthma, cause there might be a solution

unterhausen

people report always being tired from much shorter commutes, so I doubt that it would work.

Darth Lefty 

Yhbt?

jefnvk

I assume you mean 100km round trip. 100km each way would be quite ridiculous.

Can it be done? Sure. I generally finish 50k rides in a touch above two hours. Would I personally want to devote four hours a day doing that? No, but that is not a determination for me to make in your life.

As others have said, make sure you know how long the route you are taking takes AT RUSH HOUR. Also take into account considerations like showering when you arrive at work.

northtexasbiker

If you have to ask if it's doable, then it certainly isn't for you.

WNCGoater

I'm just the weekend warrior type rider but I ride my carbon road bike about 15mph on average, including climbing and downhills. That's wearing typical biking clothing doesn't include any extra weight in clothing or otherwise outside of two water bottles. So 100 km is about 4 hours. And that's actual moving time. 4 Hours is a long time without a break out of the saddle.

I get on my touring bike and that drops to about 13 mph with winter clothes but no extra weight other than a bar bag, rear rack and the water bottles. If I were commuting that distance, I'd need some extra clothing and shoes to change into when arriving, something to "freshen up" with, and may need some work materials i.e. computer, files, paperwork, etc. so I'd need that extra weight in a pannier and now I'm adding even more weight.

So now I'm getting up towards 5 hours commuting time. Again, that's actual moving time, not factoring in breaks.

My point is riding 100km for a fun vs commuting 100km for work wouldn't be the same ride. At least not for me.

Daniel4

Depends on the work. If you're a paramedic who is on shift work, probably not.

If you're a competition cyclist, that'll be a requirement.

TimothyH

You guys saying that 100km each way is rediculous - well I did it.

I didn't do it every day but starting at 20 miles each way in the spring and building up mileage, a friend and I were able to commute 60 miles each way two days/week in the summer.

We did a centurty to work and a century home from work on the summer solstice several years. The guy I rode with did brevets so it was not a big deal to him.


-Tim-

GrainBrain

Heck yeah didn't mean to try and dissuade. I saw on your previous post that you drove your car to work Monday, then back home Friday. What was the reasoning? I can think of a few reasons to have a car handy at work, just wondering what your thoughts were.

northtexasbiker

Yeah, but in the context of the OP self proclaimed normal guy and inexperience of not knowing what his bike is capable of, I would say it's certainly not doable rather than muddying the waters with what some people are capable of doing.

Lazyass

The only question is what is the OP's previous screen name.

408mopar

Whatever it was, he or she sure does enjoy "pulling one's legs". lol

DrIsotope

Having received no update from the OP, I like to imagine that it's 100km each way, and the OP hopes to do the trip at least 3 days a week. In my dreams, all five days. That's 40 hours a week commuting, a full time job to get to a full time job. That's just bonkers. Even on an e-bike with the throttle cranked, and the terrain pancake-flat, it would still be ~30 hours a week. The mind reels.

unterhausen

OP is from the Philippines, I imagine it wouldn't be the best commute ever.

Riveting

+1 The 8 hours (200km) of riding on top of the 8 hours of work was my concern too. That 16 hour "work" day is certainly doable for a single commute day, but not very sustainable for back to back work days. The bike motor will likely fail before the bike does.

TimothyH

My friend and I worked across the street from each other. We had keys for each other's car. I had a jalopy Saturn with a roof rack and he had an old, beat up Toyota Previa minivan.

Having a car for either of us to use came in handy when the school called and a sick child needed to be picked up, when weather was just too bad to ride home, didn't feel well and wanted to drive, had to work late, etc.

We also hauled a couple of changes of clothes and some food to work Monday and hauled it back on Friday.


-Tim-

sweeks

I've done 100 miles (161 km) round-trip a few times on Bike-to-Work Day in Chicago. It is do-able, but I can say it's not sustainable (at least for me). The first couple times I did it, I worked a normal day as well. The last time I worked on BTWD, I got a cramp in the middle of performing a root canal on someone. After that, I would take the day off and just ride in, hang out for a while, then ride back. Most years, I do the "multi-modal" Bike-to-Work (folding bike and METRA) and swing by Daley Plaza on the way in. *That* is sustainable, and lots of fun. I've done the BTW Century on my folder once... just to say I did it!
Steve

WNCGoater

I don't even want to commute 60+ miles each way by car!

CliffordK

That may well be a good solution.

Depending on regulations, and etc, E-Bikes may be regulated to about 20 MPH or 30 MPH. At 20 MPH, one would be able to cut the commute to 1.5 hours. At 30 MPH, it is down to just over 1 hour.

And one isn't arriving to work totally exhausted. Of course, you won't get the same exercise with the e-bike, but it may be a good compromise.

If there is secure parking at work, then the e-bike also opens up different possibilities such as splitting the commute. E-bike to work, road bike home. Road bike back to work, E-Bike home.

Or... perhaps another argument for a lightweight option like the Vivax Assist. Give some boost, but also have something that could be ridden as an ordinary bike with minimal ride degradation (I think). It would also help make up for lost time with those inevitable flats.

ksryder

Can the bike handle it? Never heard of it but sure, probably.

Is it doable? Yes. It is technically possible.

Is it advisable? LOL

Steve B.

100km EVERY DAY ?, 5 days per week ?. That's 300 miles per week without the weekend warrior hammer fests.

I wouldn't do it.

I used to manage about 150 miles/240 km per week commuting, 2 RT's at 54 plus a park and ride of 36 RT. I was 20 years younger, racing and could do 200-300 mile weeks on the bike.

It takes a huge toll on you, unless you are used to putting in 6,000 - 7,000 mile years. I was tired after work and found myself not paying attention to the conditions, which is especially a problem if you do the same route every ride. Then you are susceptible to near misses and other potential accidents. As well I learned to never race the route to save time as that made me more vulnerable to accidents. I was also single for the most part so had the time to deal with all other life requirements.

Is it doable - Yes.

CliffordK

We haven't heard many details about the OP's commute.

I'd imagine he is merely cycling up to the observatory on Mauna Kea every day for a night-shift job. The after work ride is less stressful.

https://www.strava.com/segments/10729084

What you haven't done is give any details about your actual ride. Or perhaps finances. Nor is it clear whether it is 50km x 2 or 100km x 2, or the number of days a week you intend to ride.

As riders push their physical limits (and perhaps also mechanical limits of a bike), then they tend to start making a few changes (sometimes with opposites).

• Lightest bike one can afford
• Most rugged bike one can get
• The most Aero bike one finds comfortable.
• SAFETY

So, if I had the finances, I might choose to seek out a 15 pound bike (probably will end up being a little heavier as one adds self-rescue gear, and minimal cargo capacity).

I'd make choices like rather than carry a laptop back and forth to work, see if I could get the functionality I needed with carrying a flash drive, or even using a VPN or Cloud storage.

Full TT Aero? Clip-on Aero bars?

Choose rugged, but light and low resistance tires. I'm not sure what the choice would be, but it would also depend on the environment, and the number of flats you get. Also the budget for tire upgrades. Something like Gator Hardshells last long, and are reasonably flat resistant, but not known to have the lowest rolling resistance. On the other hand, Vittoria Corsa Speed tires have low rolling resistance, but less flat resistance and wear out faster. Tubeless + sealant might be a bonus though.

In the end, as one better defines the task, and gains experience, then one will begin to seek the answers that best fits one's own situation.

Retro Grouch 

Yeah, that reminds me of all the people you hear about working 100 hour weeks. That averages out to a little over 14 hours per day. That doesn't leave much time for sleeping, commuting, eating, shopping, personal grooming etc and any kind of social life. Anybody who says they are working 100 hours per week and who seems to be living an otherwise fairly normal life is lying.