Who uses there bikes to commute to work?

Gav888

Hi,

Im considering commuting 3 times a week (mon to wed) to help increase my fitness, but by doing this I would be too knackered in the evening for 2 turbo sessions (mon and wed) so I would have to drop these from my training schedule.

So im wondering if a 30m commute in the morning and again coming home in the evening would be more benefitial as a workout than a 1 hour turbo session? Also, I could take a slightly longer route home but no more than 1 hour max to get home.

The route is mainly flat with a big downhill to the office, but coming home that becomes a big uphill then a flat.

The ride to work would be easy as I wouldnt want to get sweaty but coming home it would be a fairly hard ride all the way, but not so hard that I couldn't commute the next day.

The turbo sessions that I would drop would be structured sessions such as 2 x 20, or longer SST interval workouts etc.

Im thinking keep the turbo sessions, what do you think?

bompington

Sorry, that's a longer route than 30m and you're going to do it in less than an hour?
Either that means 30 metres, or you don't need to train.

night_porter

I think he means 30 minutes riding not 30 miles nor 30 metres

Why not do the commute and see how things go, you may drop a few turbo sessions in the beginning but I would bet that after a few weeks you will start them up again because you are not too tired.

SBezza

I commute to work, but my shortish commute is only 7 miles. I do various routes home normally and based on what my coach has prescribed will do them at different levels.

Most of my morning commutes are done either at recovery pace, or a low level 1 pace.

If you live 30 miles from home, it is likely to take you longer than a hour anyhow to get home. You can do all sorts of training on the commute.

Even if you have a turbo session planned, an easy ride home, followed by the intervals should still be possible. Or do one of the turbo sessions on Thursday or Friday.

SBezza

If it is 30 mins, then he will be perfectly fine to do a turbo session after riding home, I do my intervals on the turbo after riding home. If I go the 7 mile route it takes me less than 30 mins, and I am nicely warmed up for the turbo.

Bhima

Try commuting easy without the turbo session, and then see how you feel after a couple of weeks. Once you're used to it, use it for SST stuff and then, if possible, re-introduce the turbo sessions and constantly evaluate your fatigue levels until you can feel yourself approaching the limit of what you can do.

I'm doing 10 hours of SST commuting per week. Just doing the 10 hours at easy tempo wattages felt like hell at first because of the relentless nature of riding every day, but tempo-threshold-vo2 work is easy now and after 10 weeks it was barely a challenge (and I got bored of the route) so I introduced a long 4-7 hour ride on one of my days off as I felt I could handle it.

Your body will just get used to it after a bit.

Gav888

Sorry, its a 30 minute commute, approx 7 or 8 miles and coming home I can do either the 7 / 8 mile route or a slightly longer one.

This might help. This is my current week(s):

Mon - Turbo, SST for an hour or simular
Tue - Rest
Wed - Turbo, Z2 or Z3 ride for an hour
Thur - Rest
Fri - Turbo, 2 x 20 at threshold or simular
Sat - Rest
Sun - Long ride circ 50 / 60 miles

or

Mon - Rest
Tue - Turbo, 2 x 20 at threshold or simular
Wed - Rest
Thur - Turbo, SST for an hour or simular
Fri - Turbo, Z2 or Z3 ride for an hour
Sat - Rest
Sun - Long ride circ 50 / 60 miles

And im thinking of doing:

Mon - Commute, long return ride
Tue - Commute, short return ride
Wed - Commute, long return ride
Thur - Rest
Fri - Turbo, 2 x 20 at threshold or simular
Sat - Rest
Sun - Long ride circ 50 / 60 miles

What do you think?

Its not possible to commute Thu and Fri as I have to drop my daughter off at nursery, which is next to my work.

Bhima

Go for it. In a few weeks you'll be laughing at how easy it is.

SBezza

Well you should be able to do the Z3, Z4 and SST sessions on the way home without any difficulty. The SST would be the hardest, as you will need to push on a bit to get to the right level, and you will have traffic etc to think about as well.

My zones are different but I do endurance and tempo rides on my commute home, couldn't stand doing these on the turbo when I can ride on the road instead. I only do intervals on the turbo now, that the weather is better. If I was to do a turbo session, it would be an quick 7 miles home and then hop onto the turbo.

night_porter

I had the problems of dropping off my daughter too so I changed my bike slightly by adding a trailer bike so that she could enjoy the ride too. When she got too big for the trailer bike I bought a tandem.

I will be riding to her school today to pick her up, only an 8 mile trip but I can do it in the morning and the afternoon (coz I work nights) so it adds 80 miles a week to my 90 miles a week commute.

Plus the added bonus of riding a double sized bike on my own for half of it. This only really works during the summer months but hey there are some great benefits.

1) It saves diesel

2) It takes no longer

3) I am exercising

4) I am having fun

5) She enjoys the togetherness

6) She is exercising

7) She is getting better at riding her own bike

If Dory (from Finding Nemo) had a bike she would say....Just keep riding, riding, riding, etc.

amaferanga

Since you're having 3 days off per week I'd have thought you'd be better to do your commute and the turbo sessions that you've been doing up to now. My commute to work is only 5 miles or 20 mins with traffic, which I do at mostly L2 apart from a couple of short hills. It's just not enough to interfere with proper training IMO. I do longer rides of 25-45 miles home 2 or 3 times a week (depending on weather) with a couple of turbo sessions (or more if the weather is censored ).

I do the same as SBezza in that my ride home is the warm-up for the turbo session.

Skippy2309

my commutes now silly short, 10 minutes in and not sure how much for the trip home.

2 main routes, one with a very very long incline, one with a decent flat followed by a shortish stupidly steep section, followed by another little up and down section with a nice long flat to the work place.

saying that the entrance/exit ramp goes up about 12 feet in roughly 25feet (its a pain in a car).

I mainly use the commute for power work, sprints, hill climbs, etc I am riding fixed with a 50/15 ratio at the moment... I am aiming to go 50/13 shortly I need to order another 13tooth cog as the one on my old wheel got damaged when I trashed the old wheel.


sprints are really good for you, I used to do them instead of cardio sessions in the gym. I got my body fat down to 4/5% using that method.


A nice ride in followed by an all out sprint home will aid your training (not advised on the way in incase you chuck up :P )

simon_e

Gav888 wrote:

coming home it would be a fairly hard ride all the way, but not so hard that I couldn't commute the next day.

IME it would have to be devastatingly hard for you not to be able to commute the next day, even if you only felt like pootling along in recovery mode.

When the weather's good I can commute (12 lumpy miles) ride out to club TT, flog myself for 10 miles and ride home fine. The next day is no harder than any other (unless I have a second beer at the pub before going home ).

Most crucial are sleep and good diet, both quantity and quality of each. If you have a light evening meal and keep active - no dozing in front of the TV - you can fit in a turbo session as well. Or instead do some high intensity sprint work as soon as you get home before you cool off.

Woosha

You will get used to the commute and it will become just part of your routine. Just got to see how you feel to start with.

mrushton

Do it on fixed with an 86" gear?

kinesin

I think you should be able to commute and do training. A few years ago my commute was a 28min PB, but often just just on the 30min mark and was I doing Triathlon training.

I would commute Monday-Thursday, and get the bus on Friday.
On two days a week after work I would cycle the 1.5 miles to the gym and normally do a 5km treadmill run, a few tiny weight reps while waiting for the 45m / 1hour spin session (varied by day of the week) and then a 1km in pool.
The commute home from the gym was another 30min ride.
On one of the days I didn't go the gym i would run trails between 5-10miles.
Swim session squeezed in on Friday evening (walk to the gym) followed by several hours in the pub (Night off)
Was out normally on Saturday over the weekend for 2-3 hour ride.
Sunday afternoon was bike to gym with micro towel, goggles & trunks in my back pockets for longer swim session.
At one point I started running to and from work once a week for real kicks :?

Just take the ever 3rd or 4th week off and stick to commutes/weekend ride.

This could only happen as I was single, started work at 8am, finished at 4:30/5:00pm and was comfortable not eating to well after 9:30pm, I made up for this as all I did at my desk was eat.

Over that period of my life was doing 12-14 hours exercise a week :shock: and still working full time. Deciding to stop watching TV gave me back a load of time.

Then I moved house, got a girlfriend, broke my wrist & ended up stopping everything for far too long. :roll:

Anonymous

You will get used to it. I commute a 46 mile trip for 4 shifts, day-day/night/night. You get used to it, just go to bed earlier.