Long vs Short Commute

Paulie W

Until a couple of months ago my commute was upwards of 20 miles and has been that long or longer for many years. Having moved house my direct commute is now just under 3 miles.

Deciding I couldnt live without an hour or so on the bike first thing in the morning, initially I always rode an extended loop into work which totalled about 20 miles (and normally more or less the same distance home).

But, without necessity driving me on, I have on occasion when faced by bad weather, hangover, etc ended up just going straight to work .

And here's the thing...I find myself quite enjoying the short blast and not just because i can do it in under 10 minutes and have an extra hour in bed but because I find myself enjoying cycling flat out, blasting up the inclines and not really worrying about punctures or mechanicals since worse case scenario I can always walk it ...

So, given the choice do you prefer the long or the short commute?

Kieran_Burns

I've got my house up for sale and am looknig at moving somewhere nearer to work. It's not the 14 miles that bothers me, it's just the last 1 mile straight stretch - I just hate it and if I could get rid of that bit I'd cycle in every day without exception.

I've found a couple of places that reduce the commute to 10 miles which would be great for me as it is the same basic route except for the very last bit (actually STARTS on the bridleway as near as makes no odds)

14 miles is at the ragged edge of what *I* would consider a commute distance though, and would move no further away than I am now.

Mind you, saying that - I would not like to be too close as I really appreciate the wake up / wind down time that the commute affords me.

Oddjob62

My commute is just like yours. <20min door to door, but most of the time I cycle for over an hour in the morning. It's great having the option to get to work quickly if need be.

prawny

My commute is 20.05 miles door to door, I haven't had the balls to extend it yet :oops:

I do wish it was a bit shorter sometimes though when I'm feeling cack, but I wouldn't want to live much closer to the city

gtvlusso

6 miles door to door - often do 10 miles though. Can extend up to about 40 before things get silly and I wind up in Devon somewhere.

I like the fact that I have a choice every night and can tailor it around other stuff - like tonight I have to be home quick as a man is coming over to unblock our drains......However, tomorrow, it will be nice and sunny, so I will do 20 miles to work in the countryside and 36 miles home in the countryside.

The best thing is that within 3 miles of my house and my work I am out in the stix....so, I could not really have it better.

The centre of Bristol is 5 minutes from my place by bike too! Downhill!

CiB

I'd like to move to the next village a mile down the road. The first mile always has me doubting the wisdom of biking 20 miles to work; if we lived a mile nearer that problem would be solved. Surely?

cjcp

It's 14 miles each way for me. I can extend the distance by taking in more of Richmond Park on the way home. I certainly don't want to shorten it, but, at the moment, I'd prefer not to move further out of London to the point where I'd need to get a train into town. Yuk.

Paulie W

I think what has struck me is that for years I have had no choice - ok I could have got the train but that's not a real choice - but to bang out 20 miles every morning and evening. Now I have a choice, I can enjoy my commute - short or extended version - a hell of a lot more. Of course, my fitness levels are already plummeting...

ince

Mine is a little under nine miles each way. Seems like a good middle ground for me, sub 30 min if I try to blast and upto 35 min if I take it easy. Also not to bad if the weather is poor, had drizzel this morn but only half hour on the bike I can live with.

Due to time constraints, family etc I don't have much of an option to extend my rides in the week.

DonDaddyD

In London I don't think you get a choice of commutes. They are all hindered by traffic lights.

My 7.5 commute has something between 35 and 40 traffic lights...

jamesco

Shifting from North London to West London changed by commute from 2.5 miles each way to 12 miles each way. As there's no nice route to work and it takes about an hour due to all the lights, I often think a distance of around 6 miles each way would work so much better.

Guess it depends where you are and what your commute is like - if it isn't a pleasant ride then too much of it can make it a real drag, especially in winter.

roger_merriman

DonDaddyD wrote:

In London I don't think you get a choice of commutes. They are all hindered by traffic lights.

My 7.5 commute has something between 35 and 40 traffic lights...

if i head out richmound way they start to clock up rather fast, but if i follow the river down to kingston it's largely free of lights.

but them that area is very much outer london if at all.

bratboy

I love them both - I usually go long in the morning and short for the return trip.

The shortest possibly route is about 9.8 miles, which includes cutting out some road section by using traffic free paths or bridleways or using the busy main road route with a mile long hill when leaving work - can be done in a shade under 28mins w/o warm-up.

The longest recent commute was last Friday morning at just over 30 miles long and include taking in a few hills, about 1hr 45mins.

The light mornings are what I like the most, so I can leave the house before anyone else is awake and get a good ride in before work. The ride home will depend on when I can get away from work and how I'm feeling, but tends to be around 14miles at a brisk pace to be home for my alloted 17:45 time slot.

I the winter I ride through the towns and follow the street lighting, but in the summer I'm away down the lanes and over the fields.

benno68

My shortest way in is just shy of 5 miles but I usually do 14 - 15 miles on the way in and then 5 miles on the way back, over the last two months (except for once) I take the harder hill with a fairly short sharp climb - it's a bit of a killer for me but it's become an addiction.

Bassjunkieuk

This is an interesting one :-) Due to me not having a fixed place of work and needing to possibly work at any of about 7/8 sites in central London, 1 in Docklands, 1 down in Esher and 1 more in my local town my commute can vary from about 8-10 miles for city based, 12 for Docklands, 13 for Esher and 2 for the hometown one.

I usually change sites about once a week but can sometimes be on different sites during the week so can get plenty of variety for distance but as it stands I've been on the local town site for the last few weeks and it's doing me in! As the OP said this short commute is usually done at break neck speed and even when I "try" to have a slow ride I arrive home sweaty - I just can't help but try my luck racing the cars!

In theory I have plenty of scope for extending most of my commutes but due to family commitments and most extensions meaing that I'll encounter even more traffic it's not really practical, I have already promised myself an extended ride on Wednesday (and eat-all-you-want Chinese buffet for lunch!) but have no idea of exactly where I'm going to extend it to..........I think Croydon-Croydon via Downham could be fun, except this time I'll go DOWN Titsey Hill :-D

andy83

I love my short commute 3miles some days especially when im really tired but have the option of increasing to 18 miles which i did today and was a joy (ok i go all down the lanes and a very long way to work but still i enjoy it) however i work 12 hour days and at the end of the night really enjoy the short commute and never increase it.

am moving soon so commute is going to be minimum 7.5 miles but i have the added bonus of usually only working 2 days in the week which gives me 3 days to go out on long rides when the rush hour isnt a problem

salsajake

DonDaddyD wrote:

In London I don't think you get a choice of commutes. They are all hindered by traffic lights.

My 7.5 commute has something between 35 and 40 traffic lights...

So THAT'S why you don't bother filtering to the front (or thereabouts) each time! You must be in a constant queue!

nasahapley

My commute is either 16 miles with a few hills, or 17 with slightly less. Quite a long one I suppose, but I don't mind; if it was much less than 10 I'd probably spend more time faffing about at either end than actually riding, which would be a bit annoying. I am a bit of a cheat though, if I'm feeling lazy I can use my 'best' bike, which has a 16,000rpm, 600cc engine attached, or if I'm feeling lazy and it's raining I'll get the train. I do hope to cycle to work and back for the full 5 days sometime soon though, haven't done that yet.

Aidy

My "short" commute stands at 16 miles, I've been tempted to extend it, but I haven't yet

I'm still pretty tempted by the plan of leaving at 6am on the mountain bike and getting a decent blast through Epping Forest in on the way down...

Fireblade96

My commute is about 7.5 miles each way, but currently I mostly work from home, which is a real problem - it's far too easy to just roll out of bed, turn on computer, log in...and be at work without the wake-up that the commute brings. So yesterday I decided to start the un-commute: I still worked from home, but first I dragged out the MTB and went for a swift off-road 10-mile loop. No rush-hour traffic, out in the sunshine with the birds singing and the little fluffy bunnies hurling themselves under my wheels...home for coffee and started work feeling fresh :-)

I *may* go into the office one day this week...

salsajake

Chapeau. I think that deserves a pat on the back, though it would have been more impressive if you had gone out in a howling gale and rain.

dav1

My dorect commute is only 1.75 miles, far too short so I take a 5.5 mile route most days and usually a 10 mile route 1 day a week.