Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 138 total)
  • how far is too far to commute by bicycle each day?
  • alex222
    Free Member

    As the thread title suggests. Just curiosity really.

    allthepies
    Free Member

    Anything over 75mins each way IMO 🙂

    druidh
    Free Member

    I found that doing 20 miles a day (10 each way) for 5-6 days meant I was knackered for any weekend riding.

    maxray
    Free Member

    I do 23miles each way but only twice a week. I don’t think I could do 5 days a week!

    clubber
    Free Member

    when I was very fit, I found 19 miles each way 5days a week fairly hard going though I’ve never been any good at just cruising along.

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    30 ish round trip or much over an hour

    esselgruntfuttock
    Free Member

    I did 15 miles each way while on nights a few weeks ago. After 3 rides in I was fed up. Coming home was the worst, I could see the mirage of a bed in the distance.

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    I am doing 6 miles at the moment and wouldn’t like to do much more. Done 7.5 in the past. I do work unsocial hours, long shifts and many days without a day off

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    I’ve managed 8 daily each way through the summer with any ill effects.

    alex222
    Free Member

    does any one have a longer commute and drive part of it? anyone managing a 20 mile plus commute purely by bike?

    kimbers
    Full Member

    over an hour each way would be too much for me

    tbh you will adapt to whatever you have to

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    24 miles each way. that’s too far. I know. although granted it wasn’t every day, once a week was enough

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    yes you can adapt but you dont want to ride for fun.

    mrmo
    Free Member

    i am doing 16 each way at the moment, a couple of years back i was doing 13miles. It doesn’t sound much an extra 3 miles but it adds up.

    I am not going to do the commute every day it is just a bit too much, it effects the weekend cycling.

    alex222
    Free Member

    does any one drive to their work with their bike then cycle home cycle to work the following day etc? Also how long is the 25 mile commute taking 2ish hrs?

    fisha
    Free Member

    Personally, as already said, anything over the hour to hour and a qtr mark becomes a chore to me.

    My route is 14 1/2 miles each way. It averages at about an hour, but I wouldn’t want to go further or longer as its an esposed route along the coast and i get hammered by the prevailing winds. I dont and cant do it everyday due to the shifts / weather sometimes.

    I find that at the 8 mile mark, i always come to thinking about whether i’m getting on well, or toiling at it. I reckon that a 6 to 8 mile commute I would do almost regardless of the conditions … its a really good distance I reckon.

    sturmey
    Free Member

    Currently doing 20 a day 5 days a week but I can reduce it if I feel a bit weary by the end of the week. But need to motivate myself to do more night rides and weekends.

    TheBrick
    Free Member

    I’ve done 13 miles each way every day through London (so lots of start stop) and that was ok most of the time. Done a asymmetric 17.5 miles there 13 miles back and that started to feel bit of a drag in terms of time and and effort. I think for me 15 miles each way would be my limit for 5 days a week.

    Although at the moment I’m very lazy and drive 8 miles to work 3 days a week and ride ride 2days a week!

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    6 to 8 mile commute I would do almost regardless of the conditions … its a really good distance I reckon

    I have to – its my only real way of getting to work

    Rorschach
    Free Member

    I used to do 19 miles each way…5 days a week.Last thing I wanted to do on my day off was ride a bloody bike 😕

    sturmey
    Free Member

    Same here tj

    scratch
    Free Member

    13 miles each way, I usually have Fridays off if I’m racing or have a hard ride planned for the weekend, I’ll do the full 5 if not.

    Suits me fine, I did a couple of years of 6 miles each way at another job, then did 3/4/5 days a week now just building up to it.

    Saying that, I’ve got a cold on the way so it’s the car in the morning!

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I did 18 miles each way in Germany most days. It was ok, I didn’t really want to drive all the time and it was quicker than the train due to connections. It was pretty good actually but not that great for targeted training – I was often too tired to sprint properly for example.

    esselgruntfuttock
    Free Member

    If I lived less than 10 miles I reckon I’d bike it every time I was a ‘normal’ day shift (ie, not a 7am start or 2100 finish!)

    MrSparkle
    Full Member

    20 a day is fine. Bit knackered when I extend it to 30 a day. I drive on Mondays as it’s my rest day (from cycling at least).

    LadyGresley
    Free Member

    Mine varies between 5 to 10 miles each way – any further than that I’ll get a train in the morning, but happily ride around 20/25 miles home. I never rush (don’t want to get too sweaty!), but have definitely got faster these days.
    Oh, and I don’t sit in an office – I’m outside on my feet all day.

    mr-brightside
    Free Member

    i sometimes cycle to work 10 mile each way but could not do it all week specialy now im starting at 6.30am i think it also depends on what your job is? my job is fairly manual (welder/fabricator) and do a fair amount of heavy lifting but i think if i had a office job i could cycle a lot more often.

    MrKmkII
    Free Member

    back in ‘the day’ (late 90s in this case) i had a 30-something friend who would regularly clock up 100+ miles a week commuting, often taking in far longer offroad routes. he’d then meet us at the weekend, smoke about a billion roll-ups and beast us all up the climbs. damn him!

    i used to ride a minimum of 6 miles each way, but often getting up really early to get in the hills to see the sun rise. that was a couple of years back via the lovely pentland hills…

    kayak23
    Full Member

    13 miles there and back tuesdays on the fixie, bit further and more off road thursdays on the Mtb. Don’t have a shower at work so sweaty backs can be an issue. The distance is about perfect though I’d say.

    TheBrick
    Free Member

    sweaty backs can be an issue

    Wet wipes!

    b1galus
    Free Member

    used to work short nights ,did 13 miles each way roughly but a different route out and back coming home at 3am in the winter felt a damn sight too long

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    i find 7 miles 5 days a week means i don’t want to ride weekends. drive in the middle of the week to keep me keen.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    17 miles a day, 3 days a week if possible

    maxray
    Free Member

    Alex222 mine takes about 1hr 20 for the 23miles, no need to worry about what you eat ( within reason 🙂 ) no need to go to the gym etc. I find it a good time to think about stuff too!

    ton
    Full Member

    for 7 yrs in my 30’s i did 12 mile each way 5 days a week.
    ate whatever whenever, rode plenty of long audax rides at the weekends off the back of it.

    i now ride 6 mile each way every day (very slowly cos of the ticker).

    i have commuted by bike every day since leaving school in 1982.

    samuri
    Free Member

    I think the route helps too. Mine is around 16 each way and I do it 4-5 times aweek depending on how many shirts I have in work. I usually take enough for two weeks in at once. My route is mostly offroad and parts of it are just lovely in summer. It’s getting a bit wet now mind, mudguards needed soon. I absolutely love it. Been doing it for over a year now, it’s never too far although some evenings in winter I wish it could be a bit easier. In summer I will regularly extend the ride home though, I think the most I’ve got it up to is about 26 miles, big offroad loop almost from the work from the work gates to my front door.

    And that’s a big old bite of chompy choddy right there.

    alex222
    Free Member

    Potential looking at a 27 mile commute. i am a reasonably strong cyclist but I am concrned that this may be too far so I am wondering about drivng part of the journey at first or driving one day then cycling home then cycling to work the following day and driving home. just weighing it up really.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    Old commute was 17m each way. Used to do that 5 days a week. Ideal way to get an hour’s exercise at each end of the day.

    But, I did get ill in February, and only properly got back on the bike last weekend.

    New commute is 26 miles each way. It’s lumpy, so takes 90 mins each way. Have yet to do it more than once a week.

    RealMan
    Free Member

    I think the route helps too

    Of course, if you live at the bottom of Alpe d’Huez but work in a cafe at the top..

    Although it’d be a fairly easy commute back home.

    Potential looking at a 27 mile commute. i am a reasonably strong cyclist but I am concrned that this may be too far so I am wondering about drivng part of the journey at first or driving one day then cycling home then cycling to work the following day and driving home. just weighing it up really.

    Half and half sounds like way too much effort and faff, and I’d guess that 90% of the time you’d chicken out and just drive all the way, unless you have the will power of a god.

    Driving there, cycling back, cycling there, driving back, etc. etc. Sounds like the best idea, but what if you need the car when it’s at work? Have you got a second car? Could cause problems.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    @alex222 – for me, if I could do something like that, I could cope with it more. As it is, once a week max for me TBH.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 138 total)

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