[Closed] 60 mile daily commute...by bike

That'll be the death of you daily, but very doable 2-3 times a week. Adding 5 hours to your day though, by the time you've changed, showered etc.

Agree with Njee20, that will be very hard work 5 days per week. Is there a train option? I do a similar commute but get the train 2 days per week to make it more bearable but also to drop fresh clothes off at work.

60 miles is pushing it a day, and 15mph what you riding a unicycle?

hows the facilities? i can ride, store my bike securely indoors, shower in a changing room and wash/dry kit no issues, can you?

why not park and ride? get up, dress in riding gear, park 10-15 miles away for free and ride in? gear in car, then you have the option of taking multiple days worth of clothes so you can commute without a backpack, plus you have the option of the full 30 miles home if its good weather, or get in the car halfway, as there is nothing worse than looking out the window near the end of the shift when its pissing down, knowing you have 90-120 minutes on the bike

there is nothing worse than looking out the window near the end of the shift when its pissing down, knowing you have 90-120 minutes on the bike

Agreed!

To that end I find myself on a train home with my bike right now. Never done it before, but I broke a cleat riding in and couldn't get it off with a multi tool, there was a bastard headwind, it was raining and I ended up staying late.

I'm a big exponent of the drive half ride half thing, it's annoying right now though as I've got to get a train to somewhere nowhere near my house to retrieve my car!

I can average low 20s on the quick bike....was thinking 15 whilst carrying kit and heavier bike every day was realistic.

Really not clued up on parking, but know it is a problem so restrictions and grumpy residents. Maybe a brompton in the boot could be an idea....how quick are those?

Not seen facilities, but I'm told by the agent they are good.

I've done it a few times. It was quite tiring, more so than an evening or weekend ride because its mostly in rush hour traffic and on top of a full day of work. I averaged around 16mph with all the stopping (Staines to Basingstoke). I had a big detour to avoid the dual carriageway sections of the A30. I didn't have any facilities either, so had to use a cheapo bike and get changed in the disabled toilets.

The drive/cycle option would probably be a lot better as you'll get some biking in and avoid the parking charges.

I later moved to the countryside and averaged about 20mph on a nice quiet backroad commute, sometimes 21.5 mph (yes, i set up strava segment..)

My commute is ~65km in each direction (Tring->London). I have done the there and back but as suggested above, it is a mental struggle to climb back on the bike at the end of a day knowing that you've got another 2, 2.25 hours on the bike ahead of you. I travel in and out of London and that does nothing to add to the allure either.

I did 5 days a week for a couple of weeks last year, but I found that I couldn't enjoy my riding at the weekend. At the moment I'll do 3 days in, with maybe 1 back. I'm fortunate enough to be able to start late and so I can get the off peak train which reduces cost of travel significantly. On the days that I ride in and get the train home I just wait for the off peak to start.

5 days a week can be done, of course. It's not for me though. The thing that killed it for me was leaving the house at 05:30 every morning and not returning until gone 8. Give it a go for a while though and see what happens.

The thing that really helped me was sorting logistics out so that I wasn't carrying kit in each direction on every day. On a Monday morning I'd take everything in for the week, and then ride with just my lunch for the rest of the week (stuffed in Jersey pockets). On a Friday I'd then give it the pack horse treatment home again.

Adding 5 hours to your day

Only if the days he does not cycle he travels by teleportation.
If it is an hours drive each way then cycling adds 3 not 5 surely.

I do a 45 mile round trip and TBH 3 times a week is hardwork.

Train one way, bike it back.

That's the way I'd do it, not that I would mind.

Good route through the New Forest through Milton, Christchurch, Boscombe etc. etc. 😀

I've got a 45 mile round trip, usually so it a couple of times a week to get miles in but did 4 days last week then full day out in North Wales on Saturday on the mountain bike. Still physically battered today. Back on the bike tmrw!

If you've not even started contract negotiations yet, then you just need to throw the working from home 1-2 days a week in the mix 😀

I posted a similar question for half the distance (which for me felt punchy) at the beginning of last week. Just finished day 2 of the second week and have to say I'm loving it. In fact just shaved another 4 mins off my best time this eve - been amazed at how quickly it's affected my fitness. Not even tired now. Because I have to get train as well at the other end my door to door is two hours but it doesn't bother me because I see the ride part as a bonus and not part of the commute.

If you're fit enough I'd say do it!

I have to disagree. Most doable, I commuted from just north of Hemel to Staples Corner every day for years. That's about 30 plus each day. Worst you get is snow and thick fog, I only had pathetic Wonder lights. No problems ever.

Have commuted Windsor to Stevenage sporadically. I have ridden there and back too (An 84 mile day). Time rather than fatigue will be the biggest issue. It is doable, but as mentioned, it will be five hours of travelling per day.

You will not be maintaining 20 mph on Fridays.

Only one problem with it as far as I can see....

This country's bloody weather!!!

🙁

I do 54 miles round trip two, sometimes three a week. Possible.

I used to do a 75 mile one once a week, and to see if I could, did a 5 day challenge. it's ok if you don't have to do anything at work.

getting out of bed on thursday was a long, drawn out affair.

The main question is do you not like being at home? 4-5 hrs on top of a working day every day?
Leave at 6am home by 7/8pm? even if I could do the riding 5 days in a row the time out the house would be the killer.

Used to do St. Andrews to Kirkcaldy, similar distance. Great in the summer, not so great in the winter. My advice is do it 3-4 times a week but don't stick rigidly to a routine, such as drive every wednesday, much better to drive every wet day.
Decent road bike will make it much more pleasurable, but need somewhere safe to keep it, that distance on the cheapo commuter bike wouldn't be good

I found there's a difference between daily grind commuter miles and riding for fun at the weekends.
The more you commute, the less you ride for fun. When I stepped up commuter miles a couple of years ago to 25-30 miles I was wrecked
Doing a decent shift on the bike at either end of the day with work in the middle is tough.

Its not a chore. My ride in took about 1.5 hours each way, a bit more in poor weather. But in the car it. Could take an hour, so only a little longer by bike. And because I love road riding so much it was never a problem. Id ride the Hemel 10 on the way back on Tuesdays.
All pre kids.

I do 44 mile round trip, consistently 3 times a week but when work doesnt get in the way i do 4.

In the summer I could do an extra 8 miles each way, not so sure I would want to in the pissing rain in the winter.

Decent kit is a must, clothing, bike etc

Disagree about the commuter miles being a chore, puts me in a really good mood before work and I sit there looking forward to riding home (except for rain...)

I did 84 mile round trip (Cardiff - Bristol) for a short period, 2-4 days per week. I didn't mind the riding itself but it was a rather pleasant ride through the countryside without many hills or towns. The biggest issue for me was the getting up early and getting home late. I didn't mind the rain issue on the way home because riding for transport seems to give me a sense of purpose that recreational riding doesn't have. Getting out of bed and onto the bike on a wet morning was far harder, when I knew I could stay in bed another 90 mins and drive. It was only spring/summer when I did this though.

I left shoes, lock, trousers at work and I even splashed out on a super light rucksack to cut the weight down. Worth it.

I used to do Hertford to Royston three times a week there and back but that was only 20 miles each way...and on a road bike.

Actually, I am WFH for a while now, and it being summer I am tempted to go to the Bristol office for a few days/week. I'd have to bring my work laptop though 🙁

howabout doing it as half weekly rides

ride in mon, tue, weds

buy a weekly ticket

train in thurs, fri, mon, tues, weds

ride in thurs and friday

halve your travel costs enable you to carry in loads of clothes for the riding Days

+ you can add in a few extra one ways if you feel up to it using a lighter bike as you'll have enough Changes of clothes

Just about to start a new job that's about 35 miles away. Hoping that flexible hours will allow me to ride there, and take the train home when the weather's carp. Just looking at luggage options!

I do 20 miles each way with a reasonable amount of climbing. I do it 5 days a week occasionally but not every week, so between 3-5 on average. I also ride at the weekend. I head down to the coast on the return journey so pretty much always have a strong headwind home.

Doing a 60 mile round trip 3 times a week would be perfectly doable though by 5 days on the trot would be a killer.

[i]60 miles is pushing it a day, and 15mph what you riding a unicycle?[/i]

It is if you're going to hammer it all the time. 15mph average is lower than I would expect on a road bike though. Think my average last year for just under 6000 miles commuting was 16.5mph, that's including winter where speed does drop a fair bit.

Leave what you can at work, the less you have to carry the better. In summer everything I need goes in my back pockets and I do a clothes changeover the days I drive. In winter I use a waterproof rucksack as I'm happy being a bit warmer, have another light at a higher level and need a bigger range of kit with me.

But yes its perfectly doable.

I do 30 miles a day at the moment, I feel I could do 50 miles before getting fed up with it. I do drive when I want to, don't do more than 3 rides a week and never a full ride in and back on Thursdays which is night ride day.

My old job was a 70 mile round trip and after a full day's work I could very rarely be bothered with a 2 hour ride home after getting up at 6am to get there in time. And it saved me no money because I had to eat quite a bit more to manage. I ended up driving halfway with a towbar bike rack and that was much more pleasant.

I used to do it but only once week, it makes a very long day.

I eventually found a safe parking space in a small village en route about 15miles from work, a far more enjoyable experience.

You need to be careful of not turning it into a chore.

Did 30 miles each way 5 days a week for a year. It's fine if you have no commitments ( children, pets etc).
You will not have anytime to do anything. I was up at 5am, leave the house at 6am back at 7.30pm. Make dinner, wash up, make sandwiches for the next day and bed by 10pm.
Get up at least an hour before you have to leave, check bike over for punctures etc before anything else like making breakfast, also gives you a good indication of what clothes are needed.
Get home, check the bike before you put it away, clean, lube, inflate tyres.
Get your clothes, luggage, bottles etc ready the night before.
If you do this you shouldn't be in a mad rush every morning forgetting things.
Your bike will wear out quickly if you don't keep on top of it.
You will spend lots of money on food and lose weight.

But you should be fit and fast after!

Mudguards are awesome

[i]Get up at least an hour before you have to leave, check bike over for punctures etc before anything else like making breakfast, also gives you a good indication of what clothes are needed.
Get home, check the bike before you put it away, clean, lube, inflate tyres.
Get your clothes, luggage, bottles etc ready the night before.[/i]

I agree with points 1 and 3 but not all of point 2, you clean the bike every day?

There's no need to go over the top with the amount of food you eat.

I have a friend who does 35 miles each way a couple of times a week all year round - same route as me but opposite way round so he always gets a tailwind home. He takes it easy though and also has the option of the train half way through if he's struggling.

[i]I have to disagree. Most doable, I commuted from just north of Hemel to Staples Corner every day for years. That's about 30 plus each day.[/i]

30 miles plus each day is a bit different from 60!

[i]I can average low 20s on the quick bike[/i]

On a solo ride? If that's the case you shouldn't be riding to work you should be doing it for a living.

I try to do 'the long commute' once a week, but it does depend on teh weather. It's 38 and a bit miles each way.

No way I could do it everyday (even if I tell myself I want to) as it just takes too long. Getting up before 5 to aim for a 7:30am arrival at work just isn't good! Never get a good overall average speed as have to negotiate the east end of London all teh way to Holborn, so it's just slow progress sometimes.

Only you can decide.
Just do it.

I know a guy who regularly does just over 40 miles each way, on his rest days he drives part of the way and only does between 22 and 30 each way. What a waster.

Wow, average speeds here are ridiculous!

My best commute average speed is 16.5mph! A different bike etc might help but I'm still the limiting factor. A more relaxed 15-15.5mph is more standard for me!!

Hmmm, maybe I need to be doing some training

Thanks for all the comments, I should be able to work from home at least once a week so that would break things up a little. Train isn't an option. I don't want to take a role which means I now don't cycle at all, but likewise I don't want to be knackered and have no time for anything but work and commuting!

Eventually aim will be to move home closer so it isn't such a journey.

I can average low 20s on the quick bike

On a solo ride? If that's the case you shouldn't be riding to work you should be doing it for a living.

Hardly. Assuming the OP is talking about a 30 mile ride, that might optimistically equate to, say, a 58 minute 25m TT. Which is actually fairly impressive, but it's not exactly going to have OPQS banging on the door for him to replace Tony Martin.

Incidentally, I rode 25 miles into London this morning. It took me 2h05m. Traffic lights and traffic are a ****.

My record for Cardiff to Bristol was 2h9m or 19.5mph. That's the far East of Cardiff to central Bristol, an average of 19.5mph. Wasn't too unhappy with that I must say. That was on a full road bike with very little luggage as above. Usually about 2h20-30 though.

I was talking about a pretty flat 2hr ride - I'd be expecting late 19s low 20s. Depending on wind and that would be with a rest day either side.

Last months century was 17.4, last 50 19.6, last 35 20.2, on the fast bike with minimal kit.

For 5x60 with some kit on a heavier bike I thought a realistic pace would be around 15.

Fair enough. I can average high 20's for 8 miles of my commute, its downhill and if I catch all the lights and have a tailwind - but I wouldn't say 'I can average high 20's on my commute'.

[i]Last months century was 17.4, last 50 19.6, last 35 20.2, on the fast bike with minimal kit.[/i]

Less impressive but far more believable 🙂

I still reckon you'll average more than 15mph though. At the moment I'm about 18mph in and 16ish home depending on the wind.

For 5x60 with some kit on a heavier bike I thought a realistic pace would be around 15.

Sounds sensible to me if it's a predominantly rural route. Depends how hard you push it I guess. I tend to be very leisurely on my commutes as I don't want to be tired at work, or on the ride home.

I averaged 18mph for 240 ish miles on Saturday (London to York), but I wasn't commuting 😉

For 5x60 with some kit on a heavier bike I thought a realistic pace would be around 15.

Think you'd be about right.

It's all about the time - 2 hours each of a day with only yourself to please, go for it it you fancy it, the fitness will come if it isn't there already.

My commute is around 50Km and only happens maybe twice a week due to family commitments. Just takes a bit of an overrun at work and I'm not home till 7 which can be a problem.

Are you going along the West Quay road? Wouldn't fancy that any time of day myself!

This is fast descending into pointless willy waving about average speeds.

A couple of observations:
- commuting being the bulk of my riding I want to do that on the nicest bike possible, gets it out the way faster too, sod riding a heavy bike with a rack because that's what a "commuter bike" should be
- Driving halfway really does work well, just find a free rural car park somewhere and leave the car

This is fast descending into pointless willy waving about average speeds.

Well, yes, but isn't that what commuting threads are for 😉 ?

commuting being the bulk of my riding I want to do that on the nicest bike possible, gets it out the way faster too, sod riding a heavy bike with a rack because that's what a "commuter bike" should be

Do you need to carry much? I've got a laptop, d-lock, change of clothes etc. with me when I commute.

No, and I'd not ride a 60 mile round trip if I was carrying all that crap! That stays at the office, having been carried in on days I don't ride!

Particularly why can't you leave the lock at work?

A 60 mile daily commute sounds like a good way to take the fun out of road riding to me. I'd love to get out for that sort of ride each day, but having to do it, doing it at the start and end of a working day, doing it at commuter times probably in commuter traffic, lugging work kit, think I'd get sick of it pretty quickly. A couple of days a week might be nice though, and probably fit quite well with training.

[i]but having to do it, doing it at the start and end of a working day, doing it at commuter times probably in commuter traffic, lugging work kit, think I'd get sick of it pretty quickly.[/i]

I don't have to do it though, I could take the car but I'd much rather ride, whatever the weather. I love doing it at the end of the day, by the time I get home work is long forgotten about. I wouldn't fancy carrying all that lot though.

Pretty well all my kit stays at work: trousers; shoes; jumper; lock; towel. I also leave a pair of socks and underpants at work just in case I forget 8) So all I need to take on the bike are: socks; underpants; t-shirt; keys; wallet; phone. In addition there's the usual bike spares plus waterproof. Towel gets swapped weekly, trousers as and when I think they need a wash.

So there's a little bit of "bootstrapping" to get things there and set up but once that's done I've actually got very little to carry for most day to day commutes.

re willy waving - I was challenged! I said low 20's was doable over tha distance...but I felt 15 was realistic day in day out

No idea what I can or can't leave in the office at the moment as I don't actually work for them yet. Trying to make my mind up about the offer. I'd probably pick up a ribble or planet x £1k special with a tyre change and some guards they should be quick and comfortable enough.

I don't reckon riding one way leaving car or bike is an option as I'd not be comfortable about leaving either overnight. Train is out as the station is a reasonable way

Particularly why can't you leave the lock at work?

I could if I bought another lock, which I should do really...

Riding 60m each day there's probably not much point taking the laptop home either 😉

one way commute sounds best to me (or alternate days, or some other part-time/part-way system). I personally wouldn't want to do more than about 2h per day - but have happily done up to 90 mins long term.

I don't reckon riding one way leaving car or bike is an option as I'd not be comfortable about leaving either overnight.

You do half and half. Park somewhere in Lyndhurst or somewhere and ride from/back to there. Not leaving anything overnight.

I don't have to do it though, I could take the car but I'd much rather ride, whatever the weather. I love doing it at the end of the day, by the time I get home work is long forgotten about.

Mmmm, I suspect you're in a bit of a minority there, not many folk (myself included) would want to do that day in day out, you're absolutely right in the fact there's no obligation being a good motivator etc etc. On the days I've ridden all the way to work I absolutely dread having to ride home frankly, it's not relaxing at all, doing it consecutive days I'm just knackered and want to be at home!

I guess it depends on the route maybe. I've got about 6 miles of not too bad traffic then the rest is across a moor. If I was riding 20 miles across london my outlook may be different.

Average speed comparisons are a bit pointless, there is a big difference between a commute through london and a commute through the countryside.

Traffic, Lights, Crossings etc play a big part in your average speed in how much slowing down and accelerating you have to do.

I know two guys who regularly do 30+ miles each way 3 - 5 days a week. One rides pretty much every day (20K miles per year) and sets off around 4:30 AM. T'other leaves around 5:30 for an 8 - 5 day.

I'm too bone idle to commit to that level of riding and as has already been mentioned, when it's lashing it down, blowing a hooley and dark, the thought of 1.5+ hours to/from work doesn't float me boat.

It's really obvious but I'll say it anyway; summer riding is quite different from a dark and dank winter trip.

I ride in at weekends as my weekend work is not set in stone. its 28 miles and takes approx 1.45. The driving route is 32 miles and often takes 1 hour. The time difference isn't so great and I have got in a good ride and not spent £8 on fuel.
For your conundrum I would be looking at a New Forest car park around Picket Post, by the service station. Drive the M27 /A31 quick bit by car, then off the A31 and a lovely ride through and out the forest toward Hurn airport. No significant hills and some really nice riding roads , beware of the local wildlife though.

I do 20miles a day 5 days a week all year .... I wouldn't want to do much more tbh there's a cumulative affect so at the end of the week you really feel fatigued.

The best thing is to do the car bike thing and find a good parking spots so you can tailor the length of the ride to your mood.

Also think about punctures and lighting for the winter it's all gotta be thought out and you need good stuff as a puncture or loss of lighting 30 miles from home is a giggle 🙂