When I lived in the city I had a 16 mile round trip to work, which i did 5 days a week. Then we moved to the country and it became a 38mile round trip. I try to do it twice a week, but I am considering driving half and cyclig half as its the last 7 miles home that is the most dangerous. no lights, no hard shoulder, narrow twisty road with a 60MPH limit.

For a while i was doing about 60k round trip 5 days a week. Funnily enough by Saturday I was cooked. Now do it once or twice a week and that lets me train as well.

I should add, I tried commuting Cardiff to Bristol for a couple of months – managed 4 times some weeks, some only two. I did it through the swine flu thing though and I think I might have had it and tried to ride and ended up seriously overdoing it.

I started a new job in August,so my commute went from 12 miles each way to 18 miles each way, which is just over an hour. Last week I did that every day, and that was getting a bit hard.

Used to do 37 miles each way. Leighton Buzzard to North London with crappy Wonder Lights…remember them?

What I found the worst was the unpredictability of work i.e. getting caught late, say a conference call with a client and then cycling home, arriving after the kids had gone to bed etc..but if it was 10 to 12miles each way I would do it every day

However far you can get in the time that you’ve got available riding at an average speed that is never demanding.

And the unpredictability of everything else. Getting a phone call from your wife to say something urgent needs doing at home is a pain when you have a long commute.

One particularly painful ride home sticks in my mind. I got a migraine half way through the day, a proper stinker. SOP is to chug 4 ibuprofen, drink a litre of water and skin it home before my eyes and back shut down for good. Easier said than done when I’ve got 15 miles to cycle. I threw up unexpectedly on a road section just as a lorry was overtaking me.

That was fun.

I do 10 miles each way every day; I thought the other day that if I did the same route, on the same bike, I would get fed up very quickly; as it is I use one of three bikes on a whole load of on- and off-road routes, so every day is different which keeps it interesting…

Can’t see the point in driving half cycling half. Would def do the drive in cycle home cycle in drive home if I had to.

It’s easier too if you don’t have a rigid timeplan to adhere to as you can relax a bit and enjoy it.

I do 10 off road miles each way and it takes 55 minutes, anymore and I might not do it. I do it every day. I might spice it up with some training, cruising and then every however many minutes do a minute sprint.

@Maxray, there is no safe parking at night where I work, and like I said the road home is a bit of a nightmare in winter.

Ive been doing 13 miles each way since May
and loving it mostly B roads not much traffic
,the joys of living in the country mostly do 5
days a week takes 50 mins there an hour
on the way back..bloody hills,
still manage night rides and weekends on the Mtb
with no I’ll effects I feel it’s really improved my stamina
and overall fitness to be honest it’s the highlight of my day
I arrive at work (7am start) invigorated and raring to go
and the cycle home gets rid of any
work related stress, I could possibly do an extra couple of miles
each way but not much more I think around 15-16 miles each
way would be my limit

37 miles each way was pre kids, pre mobiles, conference calls didn’t exist and you worked your hours.

Couldn’t do that now, not since technology liberated me 🙄

Used to do between 20 and 50 miles a day, 5 days a week. Loved it

Fifteen years ago I used to live in south Reading and work just outside Basingstoke and commuted every day for six months. It was a chore doing it through the winter and I think I was a bit blase about safety – used to listen to a portable DVD player, ride on dual carriageway and go round a large roundabout over the M4.

Total round trip was 28 miles. I managed it ok but it did stop me doing much in the evenings – not sure that I could do it now with kids etc.

To answer the question, as others have said, you just get used to it if you keep doing it.

Everybody has their own tolerance levels and these will be influenced by homelife worklife weather hills cars facilities etc.

I started with a ten mile round trip, moved city and job and went to a hilly 25 each way. Now I do 15 each way about 4 times a week. I could only stomach the 25 miler one or two times a week in the summer but am good about the 15 flat each way now.

The mileage is pretty much limited by whats in your own head. 🙂

I used to do 10 miles each way every day but would often extend the route in or the route home. That was a lot of fun and I found very manageable. If you had a bad day, or just got soaked, then I’d take the direct route home and be home in half an hour or so.

I’ve now got a 20 mile each way commute and it’s a lot harder. I was doing 3 or 4 times a week but it was just too much. It would be fine if there wasn’t all the added stress of home (i.e. sleep becomes very important). And if the bike breaks it suddenly becomes a very long way to walk.

The main problem I always found with commuting was how important it became to have a working bike and how much commuting would eat equipment. When I was doing it everyday, I needed about 2 spare bikes just incase. Now it’s only a few days a week, I have more time to repair anything.

I just do the return trip 25K back. Sometimes i don’t do the Friday’s if i want to ride far at the weekend.

I used to do 26 miles a day 5 days a week no problem but weight loss was a bit extreme. Also it depends on the route mines was not to horrendous as it was fairly rural on a not to busy A road would not be able to take a city run of 5 mile return nowadays while I am happy to go 40-50 miles to a Pub

its 33 miles to my work each way and I can barely manage both directions in a single day. 2 legs a week seems to be my limit while still being able to do family duties, a couple of other rides, and weekends without being dead.

I do 16 miles each way. I’ve done it 5 days in a row, and that isquite tiring to say the least. Usually do it twice a week, work from home other days. Nowadays I only work 4 days, although typically I do a big ride with the bike trailer on bike Thursday (my child care day) , if you do a 40 miler with bike trailer, suddenly 16 miles to work seems like nothing.

I am lucky in that my 16 miles is all on fast roads, although it does have some hills (this is Derbyshire after all), so it takes about an hour. If I lived somewhere flat like London I think a 32 miles every day would be pretty easy, 45 minutes is a perfect commute length.

Mine used to be 11 and a bit miles each way and was ok to do 4 days a week in decent weather. Bringing clothes in and playing football on a Monday instead of riding.
Office move means it’s now 15-16 miles each way (about 55 mins) and I can manage 2-3 days a week. Its much more hilly now, still play footy on Mondays, but rest Fridays.
Like the earlier poster I find it impossible to take it easy, so it always hurts!
More than 90 minutes would be too much I reckon

I was doing 16 miles each way 5 days a week on a mtb with skinnies. I found I was feeling like I was always on the verge of getting a cold, a bit grumpy, and very tired at work. My thighs muscles would spasm at night, kept me awake a few times. I still had juice for the weekends ride though.

In my late teens I had a bump in Mum’s car and was banned from driving it for three months. In order to keep my glass collecting job at a ‘local’ nightclub I rode the 13 miles each way every Friday and Saturday night on a shonky old ten speed Raleigh with eighties bike lights. This was before I knew that better bikes (and riding kit) existed. After I was allowed back in the car I still did the trip on my bike every now and then just because it felt good.

From experience I would say that anything up to an hours ride each way is doable 4 to 5 days a week – how far that is depends on how fast you are and how fierce the terrain is. What I would recommend is that if you have a long bike commute it’s a good idea to switch to driving / other transport if you feel a cold coming – it’s very easy to get whacked by a virus. On the plus side I very rarely get ill and remain fit all year round.

ps: summer commutes home if it’s hot are the sweetest IME 🙂

15 mniles each way, 5 days a week was OK, I got pretty quick too, but couple that with a night ride once a week and the weekend would just be spent eating/recovering for the week ahead.

On the other hand I could eat with impunity. An average day could include 3 magnums, a bag of harribo and a packet of jammy dodgers and I’d still be loseing weight!

If I had the option/willpower I’d do it again with a better idea about nutrition (beyond calories in = calories out) and protein/recovery suplements I reckon it’d be good for building upto a serious level of fitness.

In fact I’ve got to squeeze into my old suit next month, might give it a go! Only 7 miles each way but if I cary on riding past my house there’s a very hilly 15 mile loop which’ll give me the 30miles/day.

10 miles each way for me, I work a rota so between 2-4 in a set, I find 20 miles per day plenty, especially on 12hr shifts where a late job might mean a 14hr shift plus the cycle time, 05:45 starts are harsh as is riding home after a night shift, plus I have a whopper of a hill to climb after 1 mile on the way in and its a nightmare on the way home in the dark and wet due to the manholes on the bends. Sunsets and sunrises have been pretty cool of late, plus the full moon is great. If I need to I steal the wifes car. I wouldn’t do it without a shower at each end.

I’d agree with acjim, up to an hour is alright for every day but beyond that it would start to affect other things- although what that means to you depends on your particular circumstances. About 10 years ago I used to do 11 miles each way, and while I occasionally got quite tired I did still get out at the weekends and sometimes back into town (by a shorter route!) for an evening.

But I was single and living with my folks then and didn’t have as much ‘other stuff’ on as I do now so I could happily fit in 1hr 20 on the bike every day. My route then was mainly nice Cambridgeshire B roads, not through urban or built up areas.

So in a very roundabout way my answer is “it depends”, with an upper limit of around 1 hour each way.

After all the above, I don’t think it’s about distance; everyone rides different speeds, across different terrain and geology.
I guess it also depends on what your working day is, sitting down, standing up, walking around, manual labour, 7.8.9.12 hr shifts?

For me it’s about time no matter where I’m working. anything over an hour is a drag, but I work a 9hr shift on my feet, walking around with a bit of lifting. My ideal would about 30-40 mins each way (long enough of a commute to ‘get over’ work running through the brain and feel like a good amount of exercise so I don’t worry too much about what I eat)

Well the job (which I havent got yet but do stand a good chance as I am up against one other person) is for a precission engineering company but I will not be doing any manual work. So I guess I will be working in an office alot. The route is not too steep but will require me going down the a61 from sheffield to alfreton so its not flat but equally not too steep. just trying to weigh up weather its worth me doing. I easily ride 20miles on mtb in a few hours or probably an hour on the road bike. most saturday i will ride 70 plus miles on my road bike. so I was just trying to weigh up whether it is a good idea to actually attempt it. been useful so far. I’m also pleased because it is easily the longest thread I’ve ever started. 😀

Currently doing 9 miles each way 4 days a week and loving it. Still have enough energy for a longer cycle at the weekend, when I get the time.

12-14 miles e/w would be around perfect for me.

Used to have a 14 mile one which was great – even with a big headwind it was less than an hour.

Moved house which meant a lumpier 18 miles e/w and that was too much and a job move means it’s 20 e/w now. Can catch train 1/2 way in the mornings which makes it a much more pleasant 30 mile day, which I’m trying to get back to regularly.

Return trip tonight currently looking a bit pish…

alex222 – Member
does any one have a longer commute and drive part of it? anyone managing a 20 mile plus commute purely by bike?

alex222 – 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.

I have a 60 mile each way commute, but wanted to start cycling some of it.
For a while I parked up in a village I was familiar with and cycled the rest of the way. It was 12.5 miles each way on the bike. I really enjoyed the cycle and at one point was doing it 3 times/week, but it got to be a real ball ache; getting kit ready, getting bike in car, at the end of the day, getting back to the car around 6pm and still having an hour of driving to do…..

So I knocked it on the head. If it was a shorter distance drive at the end of the day it might have been more tolerable, but I just found it too much of a grind.

I do 9 miles each way, 5 days a week. I also do a 50-60 mile road ride most Saturdays and an hour on the MTB most Sunday mornings. Much more of a commute and I probably wouldn’t enjoy or even bother with the weekend rides as much. Also, I’ve recently changed from commuting mainly on fixed to using gears which makes a big difference in the windy season !

15 mile each way trip for me although I’ve got various route options including a largely off-road one which I do on the CX if the weather is OK. In crap weather it’s just not feasible, the canal towpaths turn to horrible grinding paste mixed with dog shit. 🙁

I have done it 5-days on a few occasions but normally it’s 3-4 days a week with the other day or 2 either bike-train-bike, driving or driving and riding a track session.

I’ve done commutes of 24 miles each way before (Lancaster – Kendal) and, while it’s a stunning road ride (one of my favourite) especially in summer it could be a right pain sometimes. That was only about 2 days a week at most though, flexi-working.

I think you have to be pretty committed to be consistently doing more than about 10 miles each way per day, it’s getting to the realms of “serious” cyclists rather than your typical commuter.

I do 15 miles each way which takes about 1 hour. I aim to cycle two days per week for the lighter 30 weeks of the year. I spend time away some weeks so I will make up to four journeys in some weeks and I do feel a bit weary doing 120 miles.

If I was going to do it 5 days a week all year round I would want to be cycling about 6 miles each way. At this distance time wouldn’t be an issue due to the savings made in town.

P.S. I use a rigid Cove Handjob with slick tyres.

10 each way, tuesday, wedn and thursday.

I cant remember who it was on here, I think it could have been radoggair, who commuted something like 60miles each way. Thats probably too much.

I do 20 miles each way between 3 and 5 days a week all year round. If I do 5 days my legs are quite tired by the Thursday morning but I’m usually fine again for Friday.

I wouldn’t fancy doing much further than that. Friend of mine does 35 miles each way a couple of days a week but he’s knackered after two day in a row.

EDIT: Having a choice of routes makes a big difference as you can get bored doing the same one every day there and back. I have 4 or 5 options all around the same distance (although I could extend the route easily).

Still happy to get out on the bike at the weekend for long rides.

And I’m 44 btw so not a young whipersnapper.

Very easy way to get pretty fit.