How long does your commute take

suzyb

Reading CiB's thread where he mentions he commutes 20 miles got me wondering just how long time wise you guys commutes are.

My drive is usually an hour, sometimes a bit less, others a bit more. I reckon if I ever get a job 10 / 15 miles away I'd be able to cycle there without having to get up any earlier than I currently do.

What about you guys / girls. Do you cycle because it takes less time than driving / PT. Or does it take you longer but you cycle because it's cheaper and more enjoyable.

UndercoverElephant

Realistically, my 12.5 miles each way takes an average of 40 minutes, but the times probably range from 32 to 48, depending on the wind. By car, it's probably a tiny bit quicker, but there were times it took an hour and a half.

rolf_f

If I took the shortest way in (6.5 miles) it would take about 22 minutes and be way quicker than any other option (even if a car could keep up there'd still be the issue of multi-storying it and walking on to the office) - however, I almost never, ever take that route. Not really a proper work out.

Normal short route in and out is 9.5 miles which takes from about 30 to 40 minutes depending on direction and wind. Then there is my default inward trip which at the moment is 18.5 miles and takes about an hour minimum. The equivalent homeward trip is about 22 miles and takes at least an hour and 15. Then there are proper extended commutes which take longer.

I've been a bit soft this year really hence over 2500 miles fewer ridden compared to last year.......

veronese68

Mine takes around 20 minutes. It's anything from a smidge usually about 5.5 miles. I ride through the middle of Kingston and over the river on cycle paths, then through a large fairly flat park and finish up with a rather unpleasant urban A road that is quite narrow and busy at first then widens to a dual carriageway. It usually takes around 20 minutes. More like 22 at the moment. In the summer it was below 20. My record is about 18 I think.
I've done it on a motorbike. It's a bit further due to having to stay on the road, but my peak speed was a lot higher. That took just under 17 minutes when I timed it. Traffic was light, and I knew I was timing it.
The car can take 20 minutes, but is usually a lot longer.
Cycling is less stressful than both other means of transport. I think this is because I don't have to negotiate the one way system and get to ride through the park. The traffic winds me up in the car, and people trying to kill me winds me up on the motorbike. People still try to kill me when I'm cycling, it's just they have less opportunity.
Cycling is cheaper, as fast or faster and I enjoy it. So much so that I sold the motorbike as it was n't being used.
I rarely do PT, no idea how long that would take. The problem with public transport is the public.

veronese68

Found my actual figures on Strava.
Motorbike 17.48minutes. Average of 19.7mph, peak of 51.4mph. 5.5 miles covered.
Car 27.04 minutes. Average of 12.3mph, peak of 35.3mph. 5.5 miles
Bicycle 18.31 minutes. Average of 16.5mph, peak of 31.3mph. 5.1 miles
I only timed the car and motorcycle once, but they were quick times. That's the quickest cycle I could find without checking every ride. Average is a fair bit slower at the moment.

meanredspider

About 50 minutes in on average (all bikes and weathers) and 65 minutes home (for the 18 mile route back)
By car it really depends on traffic on the bridge (unbelievably stupid roundabout design) - 20 mins typically. Can be as little as 13 minutes home.

bails87

By car it's virtually always quicker, but I like the bike.

50ish minutes by bike, versus a typical 30 minutes in the car.

iPete

20 miles
Car: 2 hours if I was stupid enough!
Train: 1 hour 20
Train w/ Brompton: 1 hour
Bike: 1 hour 15

roger_merriman

combo of Bushy park and back roads mean about 20 mins for 4 miles.

just once in a while I take the big(ger) roads which for about the same distance the time is almost halved.

The car is anywhere from 45 mins to 15mins depends on traffic.

public transport is a good hour.

walk is about 45mins.

bike is most of the time faster, plus I get to gawp at Deer and lovely royal parks etc.

Slapster_UK

Interesting thread....

For me, its about 6 1/2 miles each way (although I do two different routes).
Takes me - on average - 32 mins in, and 28 minutes back.
Car is 13 minutes each way but costs and is not so much fun - even in the rain!!!

asprilla

22 miles

Cycling - 1hr 20
Public transport - 1hr 20
Car - God knows and I think I'd go all D-FENS if I had to find out.

Fat-Boy-Roubaix

14.8 mile by bike Summer 50-55 mins avg Winter slowed me down 55-65 mins

Car by motorway 18 miles 30-35 mins but if it goes tits up it can take 1hr plus

stanarchist

if i drive all the way to work it takes between 45mins and 1.5hrs dependant on traffic. But I hate it.
If I drive to local train station (which is criminal 'cos its only a 20min walk) it takes 2 trains and is an hour door to door. But the first train is always very very overcrowded and a real pain in the a##e.

Cycling to the main station (approx 10 miles away) and then catching one train and cycling from station to office 1.5hrs door to door. Costs me nowt (free rail pass) and I feel mentally and physically better for it.
Cycling all the way home/or in depends a lot on the wind direction but on average its approx.3 hours - nice in summer (especially if the wife meets me at the pub about 2 miles from home) bit sh## when its blowing a gale and chucking it down

Like Fat-Boy-Roubaix I do find that my average speed drops by a few mph

CarlosDSanchez

22 miles each way, quickest is an hour 4 minutes, but all through November/December I've struggled to get below an hour 20 minutes unless I have a howling tail wind. For some reason riding in the cold is harder.

Don't have a car, but when I've borrowed one it takes 40 minutes or so. I can also drop the distance to 12 miles each way using the train which shaves about 5 minutes off.

First.Aspect

About 7 months so far.

redvee

Each way is approx 40 mins though the way home is longer but flatter and does involve a short steep hill which means a walk for 1/10 mile.

okgo

17.5 miles - 55 mins - 65 mins - by bike

40 mins by train but £15 per day or £2k per year.

Asprilla, no way it takes that long from Walton to get to your place in town

cyclingprop

4.3 - 6.3 miles depending on route in, up to 20 miles on the route home.

12.5 - 19 mins by bike door to door (record days are definitely the ones I wake up late).

Trains/tube/other = at least 35 mins door to door.

Add in the shower in the office and you're about even, but it doesn't half feel better by bike.

CiB

20.5 miles; 35 minutes by car or 1h 5m - 1h 20m on the bike. Add to that the time taken to have a coffee, breather and get scrubbed & polished for the day ahead on bike days =15 - 20 mins, and it's not even close but still the preferred option.

The All-Comers World Record for home to work is 56:37, but the recovery period swallowed up all of the time gains that day.

bompington

19 miles (with 1300' ascent in to work, 1550' home). Time is very wind dependent, best is 56 mins, worst 1:45!
As it's a rural commute with light traffic there's no way it's anything like as fast by bike, I can do it in 20 minutes without speeding by car. Public transport is slower - 30 minute run to the nearest bus that'll take me in the right direction then 50 minute bus journey.
Bike fettling, faffing with battery chargers etc., getting showered and changed, all add to the time, and now I have the added hassle of recovering my wheels when Bomp jr. has nicked them for his bike.

But it's still worth it!

graham.

I have an embbarasingly short commute of 3 miles. It takes:

Car = 10 mins.
Bus = 30 mins
Bike = 5 mins

Graham.

Twostage

I've got a range of commutes now where it's a car/bike split. Shortest is 12' longest is 16. Plus a full bike only of 23. The route I choose varies depending on time, conditions (ice etc.) and how I feel.
It would normally be quicker by car but biking saves diesel and is more fun.

suzyb

There are more people whose bike commute takes longer than other options that I thought there would be.

cjcp

Bike: 40-45 mins
Walk/Train/Walk: 50 mins

optimisticbiker

Now in new offices, closer to home, so
Walk/Tube/Walk: 1hr20
Bike:50min
Car: Not done it yet, guess ~1hr but not found somewhere to park outside congestion charge zone thats in reasonable walking distance...

okgo

suzyb wrote:

There are more people whose bike commute takes longer than other options that I thought there would be.

It's only really people in big cities that benefit time wise from cycling.

If my brother was to commute by bike it would take probably 45 mins, yet it's 10 mins in the car. The beauty of the country.

EFCdaveMCR

For me, the actual journey door to door is much quicker on the bike. 25-30mins (5miles) compared to a little under an hour on public transport (bus+tram).

Getting showered, dried and changed means it ends up taking about the same time, using "couch at home with brew" to "desk at work with brew" timings, but the main difference I find is that, on the bike, I arrive at work knackered, but with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. If I get the bus/tram, by the time I've spent an hour in the company of far too many people's hot breath, my stabbing hand gets very itchy and it takes most of the working day to calm down... then I have to do it again...

Dudu

When I was commuting (retired last year):
Bike:
16.7km there, 50-55 mins (uphill, prevailing headwind); 17.5 km back , 45mins (one-way systems, downhill, prevailing tailwind)
Bus + train:
1hr each way if lucky
Car:
Only done it once. It took ages.

Dudu

okgo wrote:

If my brother was to commute by bike it would take probably 45 mins, yet it's 10 mins in the car. The beauty of the country.

... spoiled by commuters hooning around in cars... :?

Agent57

Door-to-door, about 1h 45m. But a large part of that (1 hour or so) is on the train. I ride about 2 miles to the station (around 10 minutes) and then 3 miles from the station to the office (around 15 minutes).

mtb-idle

18 miles each way takes 1 hr 15 mins but this includes 119 sets of traffic lights (PB of 1 hr 5 mins when I had to get in for 5 am one day back in the Summer, no traffic and lots of green lights).

Commuting on tube and train takes 1 hr 15 mins on a normal day. Never shorter often much longer if there are delays

Not really an option to drive in. Would take hours and is too expensive to park in Canary Wharf.