Evening all,

I’ve been commuting 5 days a week for years. It’s only a short commute of circa 4.5 miles each way. Traffic is quite heavy too. I ride for pleasure at weekends and in the evenings (not so much in the evenings in the winter). I’ve often found that my legs rarely feel fresh. At a guess, it’s probably because I’m on the bike one way or another for at least 6 days a week. Occasionally I’ve not had a day off for 3 weeks on the trot.

I’m currently off the bike recovering from a broken collarbone (surgery + metal bits).

I’m back at work on Monday but won’t be able to ride, instead I’ll walk. It’s about 3 miles if I walk.

Would I see more of a benefit to drop the commute by bike, walk to work and back 5 days a week and do a couple of turbo sessions in the evenings?

Just how junk are these short commutes in heavy traffic?

Do you think walking would make me even more tired?

Cheers

Do you really think the commute makes you tired? 4.5 miles x2 isn’t very far, and if you’ve been doing it for years then I doubt it.

But yes, I’d have thought that a good few intervals on the turbo for an hour 2-3 times a week would do more for your strength than 45 steady miles spread over 10 rides over a week.

However, given the first point, why don’t you do both?!

I’ve been there and done that. The commuting was just running me into the ground and making me slower. After I had a week solid rest, I was flying, in comparison, on the mtb at the weekend. Just do a couple of days a week of commuting, taking it easy on the way in and trying some sprint intervals home or something. What you really don’t need is more training and less rest.

I was wondering just how much the commute does take its toll, as short as it is. The reality being that it’s rarely much more than 12 hours between getting off the bike and getting back on it.

Then adding turbo sessions on top in the evenings just leaves me spanked for the weekend.

I’ve just realised that the question is now pretty much pointless anyway! I won’t be up to riding outside for a couple more months at least (real bad break) so I will be walking to work from next week. I can however use the turbo.

I’ll ask the question again in December and I’ll be able to answer it myself!

Yep, I’m done with commuting into central London (certainly during the winter) it was making me fall out of love with cycling

4.5 miles – is that enough to warm up properly, never mind get a benefit from a commute ?

Could you swap some days on the bike for walk or bus, then extend your commute on the remaining days / structure it to avoid the traffic ?

The mrs told me to go out for an hour on my bike this evening, I managed to get a good few miles in, pushing times on a couple of strava segments etc – hammering a couple of nights a week on the bike has to be more fun than a turbo…

Switched from commuting 5 days a week on the bike to car-share 3 and bike 2. Result was to want to go out more weekends, in fact actually do more miles. Riding is way more efficient than walking, can’t you just take it slow, get a SS?

I think the real answer to this is going to depend on what you mean by ‘Would I see more beneit’.

What would you like to achieve in the mid to long run?

The commutes aren’t long enough to build power, even if you went balls out on them, it’s propbably only a 15 minute effort and you need something more like 40 minutes hard effot to achieve a training benefit.

Turbo training is very effective when done properly but it is really hard to do properly. I’ve tried and like almost everyone else I know who has tried, you get so far into a training schedule, a certain percentage of power for a certain durtion of time, and then it gets too much. But if you can apply yourself, then you could see huge benefits. But you need to know what to do and for that you likely need a coach to advise you.

Having also recovered from two collar bone operations in the past, I did also use the turbo as a way of getting some fitness back without putting myself at greater risk of more complicated injury after the initial 12 weeks of healing. I’d consider that as a sensible option.

My mindset when I ride to work is so much better than any other transport option that I can’t conceive if not doing it (only 4.5 miles on the short route). I just feel so much better. And I get home, take off the back pack and go and ride again.

I’ve gone off commuting for just this reason, trouble is it is the most practicle way to get around, tend to mix it up now, a day by bike, car/walk combos, public transport whatever but when its a bike day I’m in real take it easy mode, normal clothes, keeping effort levels very low.

Day on, day off proper training rides and a weekend mash up are much better for fitness.

You’ll still be getting exercise my walking. In fact, it’ll probably be more exercise walking 3 miles than cycling 4.5. 4.5 miles is enough for a warm up, you should really do that and then do a turbo session when you get home. The turbo is boring, so if you can minimise time on it by warming up on a commute then that’s great.

A rest and change is always good for the mind and the body. So walking occasionally will do you a lot of good.

At 4.5 miles I would have thought it would be OK to do that every day, but it really depends on the ride. If it’s flat and you can pootle, despite the traffic, in some way it might be less tiring than walking 3 miles

My commute is between 9.5 and 12 miles each way depending on my route. Plus I cycle 3 miles with the dog most days

If I do a full week of cycle commuting I find I’m knackered. I usually do 3-4 days, and try to get to the gym 1-2 times a week too. Still knackered then!

I only do mon-wed in the office and i can’t imagine not riding in. it’s only 6 miles, which is barely enough to warm up so I potter in through the traffic at ~14mph watching out for the dickheads then do 20 odd miles on the way home through the lanes. Thanks to the lack of traffic going the longer way it actually only takes me 30 mins more at <20mph (always bloody .something under 20mph, bastard traffic getting out of town)

If there’s a longer way home, i’d do that a few days a week and whack in a flexible working request for WFH a couple of days.

The other option is to draft a bus 😉

I walk more in the winter and it’s a nice change. It’s a good opportunity to catch up on music. I was getting a lot more puffed out as it was 40 minutes non stop exercise rather than pedal and coast. In the winter the incentive to do the long ride in is not as strong.
You will start racing yourself though and look for ways to speed up. My times improved once I got my boots resoled so I wasn’t slipping in the mud!
Will be looking to run it this winter as long as my wonky knee holds out.