How far is too far?

[li10up]

I keep toying with the idea of commuting but can't commit. The thing holding me back the most is having to get up early to ride in. I am so not a morning person. Plus the shortest route to my job is 15 miles and that would be interstate...so more like 20 taking back roads. It would take me almost an hour and a half just to get to work. Does anyone commute that far?

[mimitabby]

My commute is shorter, but do it on a non-work day first. Test out the ride
I don't think 20 miles is too far, but in the winter a lot of us would be in the dark for much of the ride.

[mtbdarby]

That would be up to you to decide, I think. What other responsibilities do you have after/before work, ie spouce, kids, pets, etc? Is the time going to hamper those committments or is it the dark that has you worried?

My commute is 28 miles each way. I did it once this year I would love to do it on a regular basis a couple times a week but I'm a single mom to a 4 yo and I only get him during the week. So for now it was an easy choice of not doing it because I'm not willing to give up almost 4 hours of my day with him. Plus there is this whole daylight thing now. When are they gonn stop doing daylight savings anyway???

[Bad JuJu]

I think you might want to judge by time and safety of route more than miles. As Mimi noted, you need to think about whether you'd be riding in the dark, which could be all right, depending on the roads, the traffic, the lights on your bike, etc.

I used to ride my bike to work almost every day, but that was when I had only a 12-mile commute on a road with a nice bike lane and had my bike lit up like a Christmas tree when we went off daylight saving time. Also, I live in northwest Florida, where a "cold day" means, at the lowest, in the 40s, and almost never any snow or ice.

Now, it's 23 miles to where I work if I don't take the interstate, and that's 23 miles of heavily traveled roads, 55 mph speed limit (which means everyone's doing around 65-70), and I'd be risking life and limb the whole time. Plus, as you've mentioned, it would take so bloody long to get here, and then some evenings, I have classes that don't end until 8:30. Love those late classes, but they sure cut into my cycling time. *sigh*

[Mimosa]

The distance it not that bad, it can be done ... at least I would think about it too. Like the others said, first look if the ride is safe, especially in the dark.

And about that getting up problem, you don't have to do this ride very day, you can also decide to do it twice a week. That would still mean 3 'normal' mornings.

[veloputt]

One option is drive in the morning, ride the bike home, ride back to work the next morning, and drive back home... I did that a few times. My commute is 17 miles each way--1/3 on streets, the rest is on bike/multiuse path (which can be crazier than the road on sunny afternoons). I'm lucky I can flex my hours, so when I ride, I start work later and leave later than when I drive since I'm not worried about getting on the road before the commuting back-up starts... but now sunrise/sunset does affect bike commute timing

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Another option might be to drive part of the way to work and find a safe place to leave your car parked. Then only bike the rest of the way and then back to your car again in the afternoon.

[Squeaky]

My commute is 21 miles and I started by doing what Veloputt suggested (drive in w/bike, ride home, then ride in the next morning, etc.). Now I'm commuting round trip. I'm pretty lucky in that 3 miles is road and the rest is on a bike path. I have to get up by 5:00, but once you get going it's worth it (around mile 6 I'm really glad I dragged my butt outta bed).

Lisa had an excellent suggestion, especially where safety is concerned. I was worried about what's going to happen when my office moves, but I think that solves it .

[li10up]

Great suggestions...the wheels are spinning in my brain. I quit riding last year when DST ended so I have NO experience riding in the dark. I did buy a headlamp last year that is as bright as a car headlamp but haven't even used it yet. Can anyone shed some light on riding in the dark? (pun intended)

[Mimosa]

Depends, if there are no streetlights then it can be spooky since you really can't see far ahead or to the sides. And carlights which come towards you can blind you for a second or so.

I allways take routes which have streetlights and if not then I really must confident that I know each turn in the road.

[nuthatch]

Night riding is scary. Usually, even on unlit roads, I can see okay (got that Planet Bike Alias 15 watt headlight and an led headlight for visibility) but the cars still can't see me!

I finally quit last year in December when I could tell the cars couldn't see me making turns. I've got the front and back covered with lights - now I need some side lights (and I don't think reflective clothing are adequate for cars to see you are signalling to turn - it doesn't give them enough reaction time).

Hmmm....maybe some of those brakelight - turn signal things?

[Geonz]

I have a brake light/turn signal set up but I couldn't figure out the installation. (Hilly Hundred impulse buy.)

Since I came here from the East Coast, spending 90 minutes on a commute doesn't seem strange to me - so I'm really grateful it's only 35-40 minutes for me (30 if I really haul :-)). I value that exercise time... but I have relatively few demands on my time.

It's really, really nice not to be dependent on a car.

Night riding... hmmm.... BE VISIBLE. Around here there are a lot of folks who ride bikes with no lights or reflectors to speak of, day & nght; drivers seem to see me even if I can't find my Planet Bike 10-watter. I ride on not-too-busy, but mostly streetlit residential roads.

[HappyAnika]

The shortest route I can take to work is 19.3 miles, generally I take routes that are 20 - 21. When I first got my bike I never thought I'd be able to ride to and from work in one day. My friend at work, who happens to live a couple of blocks from me, suggested we try riding home one day together, just so I could get comfortable with the route (the mile surrounding work is really difficult in terms of a myriad of bike paths and crazy intersections, its very confusing) and the idea of commuting in general. This helped immensely. I drove into work, we rode home, then I took the bus into work the next day. I continued to do this about 2 days a week for a while at the beginning of the summer when it was still too cold to ride in the mornings (I'm slowly beefing up my cold weather riding wardrobe so hopefully this won't be a problem next year). Then when it was warm enough and I knew I could handle riding 40 miles in one day I tried for the round trip commute. I am so not a morning person, and it was really difficult for me to get up, get dressed, and get on my bike. I would try to get to work before 8 so I could make it down to the showers in the basement without everyone seeing me all sweaty in my bike clothes, but I would say nearly half of the people I work with also cycle, so its not that big of a deal. After showering, this usually meant I was at my desk a half hour later than usual, which makes sense. It takes me about 1 hr 20 min to ride to work, it takes about 45 minutes to drive (the traffic is terrible), but I shower quicker at work. On the way home the traffic is even worse, it can take an hour to get home in the car, and it only takes 1 hr 5 min to ride home because its almost all downhill. There's this one particular intersection on the highway (if I take that route) where the cars always back up. You get to pass about 1.5 miles worth of cars flying by on your bike. Granted they pass you again after the intersection, but its still fun to not be the one sitting in the car being frustrated.

So say I usually spend 1.5 hours a day driving to and from work, then an additional 1.5 hours at the gym and getting home, that's 3 hours for commuting + exercise (not to mention roughly $6 in gas at $3/gallon, and x volume car emissions I'm putting into the air). Contrast that with 2.5 hours on the bike for commuting + exercise in one day, I've saved time, money, and the environment.

I have a fairly flexible work schedule, I just need to work 40 hours in a week, and no more than 10 hours in one day, so I can get in a little late one day and make it up another day. I actually get home earlier on the bike than if I drive to work and then go to the gym. The only thing I'd like to add is it might be a good idea of having back up transportation in case of rain or illness or some such thing. Its easy (although time consuming) for me to take the bus, I work with two people who live near me I can bum rides off of, and if my husband isn't traveling for work, he can come pick me up if need be.

All that said, I am done commuting for the season. It doesn't get light enough to ride until 7:30 am, and it gets too dark to ride without lights at about 5 pm. Daylight savings time will make it even worse in the evening. There is no way I would ride on that highway in the dark, its dangerous enough in the light. I prefer the back roads which are great in daylight, but would be treacherous in the dark. I missed the shoulder season where I could have gone back to just riding home, but I've been on travel and vacation. I miss commuting already. This is probably way more information than you wanted, but I'm in a rambling mood . . . Good luck, give it a try, you just might like it. Oh, and lots of people agree on this, that I seem to have more energy during the day after having ridden in.

[Geonz]

NPR did a story on people commuting 1.5+ hours each day... so we're just ahead of the curve.

Before I started riding everyday I noticed that on days I was yawning all the time... I had driven in instead of riding. I fixed that

[nuthatch]

AND we are having fun instead of going stircrazy inside a car!