How far is you commute

Seaurchin01

Apologies if this question has been asked. I'm wondering what the average commute is and how long it takes. I'm really keen to try commuting and am currently trying to raise my fitness level. I work about 13 miles away with some fairly major hills and busy roads in between. I can only afford about an hour in which to commute, ideally slightly less to allow for a bit of recovery at the other side. Am I being realistic?

anthdci

mine is 12.7 miles each way. All on road. My fastest is 49mins, but I am 99% under 55min. Or I can go another way which is 12.2 miles but have to use a rough pavement at the side of a busy dual carrageway, fastest that way is 60mins, so the longer route is much better!

redderekthelampshade

5 miles each way... Although I get up early so to avoid waking the kids and my other half I sometimes slip out and go have a long ride in, the ride in usually takes about 20mins although I tend to stop and either watch the ducks in the local park or I bump into some cyclists and dog walkers I know.. Being out in the early morning is a real little community.. I know which dog walkers will be at what point and strangely I have even learnt some of the dogs names just from passing them and their owners.. I digress.. I ride home like its stolen and that takes 15mins ish

crossborderreiver

You say you are limited to about an hour for your commute. Don't underestimate the time needed before you set off and when you get to work e.g the time taken parking the bike, showering and changing. Also be prepared for the weather to affect your timing. I don't know how fit you are but I would suggest you don't go at it all guns blazing to begin with because the cumulative effect can leave you knackered by the end of the week. Try the route out first on a non work day then try one day to work then a couple times a week then three times and see how that feels.
My commute is just under 15 miles each way. It's mainly flat but it's rare to have the benefit of a tail wind. It can take me anywhere between 50 minutes and an hour and fifteen minutes depnding on the strength and direction of the wind.

fill_uk

Mine is 12 miles each way, also with some big hills. Its 50 mins going and about 1 hour 5 coming home due to home route being all uphill. Slow traffic will slow you down as well, i do the journey in at 50 mins most days leaving at 6 am on mainly quiet roads but the one day i have to leave later so i can get the kids ready for nursery i leave at 7 and hit traffic, this adds 5 to 10 minutes or so to the trip depending on filtering opportunities.

I don't know how fit you are, i have got quite a lot fitter over 6 months I've been commuting but was at a reasonable level of fitness to begin with. I expected to get faster which i have according to strava times by a small amount but in all honesty my whole time commute time isn't going do much at the moment i just find i'm using the harder gears for longer.

Interesting what reddereckthelampshade said about knowing others out in the early hours, i can tell if i'm going slow or not and if i'm making good time based on where i see regular people i pass, distinctive vehicles that overtake me.

Seaurchin01

Thanks! My fitness level is reasonable though I expect a bit of a curve as I start commuting. I have been going out everyday lately and not so shy about the hills. I think my timing may be an issue and will have to possibly reconsider that one. I have to leave at 8 am (kids to see off first) and my first client is 9 am normally so it's peak time rush hour. Back to the drawing board perhaps though still determined to do this

godders1

It would be tough. For me an hour to do 13 miles and get sorted at the other end would just about be doable. I currently do 16 miles in about an hour on a good day so could just about get washed and changed in the 10 minutes that I'd have left over having done 13 miles.

Would be a bit of a rush job though and you wouldn't be able to have any days where you ease off and take in the view.

Of course you may be a much quicker cyclist than me but I consider myself to be pretty average so hopefully a useful benchmark.

passout

5 miles - 20 mins or thereabouts depending on lights. It's the showering / getting changed that takes the time - but it can work fine if you have a system. For me works out the same or quicker than driving.

Mrs_Ragbrutty

When comparring distance you need to factor in the time it actually takes you to get out on the road.

My cuurent commute is approx 11 miles and takes about 40 mins. However it takes a fair while for me to get out the back door and onto the road. I have to unlock the back gate, chuck the bike out, lock the back gate, go indoors, lock the back door, walk through the house out the front and round to the back. Get the bike, walk up the side of the house and down the path to the road. My old 15 mile commute took 50 mins, clearly I wasn't cycling the extra 5 miles in 10 mins. It's all the lock the bike up or put it out of sight when I get to work. Oh and attatching the lights and turning them on and off.

In other words I think that a 13 mile commute is doable within an hr including all the faffing about. I cycle slowly most days and only push the pace one day a week. I'd push the pace every day if cycling was the only exercise I took but it isn't.

DaveL

About 0.6 miles, about 4 mins there, 2.5 mins back only problem is in the winter when there is no leaves on the trees, I can just about see where I work

Dave

matt@theforce

Between 17-24miles each way depending on route/weather.

If I do a straight commute its 58min to work and 1hr 11min going home (all uphill going home)

Gizmo_

matt@theforce wrote:

Between 17-24miles each way depending on route/weather.

If I do a straight commute its 58min to work and 1hr 11min going home (all uphill going home)

It's uphill most of the way home for me too... but I'm always faster! Partly because it doesn't matter if I'm a soggy mess when I get home, partly because the traffic, better in the evening...

Initialised

6.6-7.5miles 22-30 minutes depending on traffic, lights and conditions. I find it's short enough not to need to change/shower as I can wear casual clothes e.g. baggies during work. I also do a ~10mile ~800ft climb, 40mph descent ride some lunch times to ease the boredom and escape into the surrounding countryside for a bit. So day that check you speed will clock me at 50! Some times I add a 25mile loop to the end of the day and 10miles to the beginning. So ~13.5 miles minimum, 60 miles maximum.

McNulty

19.9 miles each way - just finished my first 5 day commute

jakjtb

5 miles there 6 and a half back. all on roads with a lot of hills in between.

Azhar

16.4 miles each way. Took me an 1hr 35minutes to begin with (fitness well poor) and now got it down to 1hr - 1hr 10mins. Lots of hills though. Just a have to put with a lot of traffic half way in my journey but mostly all country side roads

twoshots

10 miles each way (depending on route) with a couple sharp climbs. I'm down to 33 minutes now, but originally it was more like 40-45 minutes. (A personal target is to get it below 30 miuntes!) I'm lucky that it is mostly country lanes and I avoid the busiest routes.

These days I leave home at ~07:20 and have to be at my desk by 08:00. That includes a shower/change. Nothing like a little pressure to get you going in the morning. The hardest and slowest part is getting out of the door. A 3yr old, a wife, finding bits of kit that have moved, bike out of the garage, remembering that you brought some work clothes home to wash, the weather is not what you expected etc. I spend more time faffing than commuting these days.

Yellow Peril

Just over 10 miles each way straight across the Island from Peel to Douglas. I can see the sea as I set off and I stop just before I hit it the other side. Occassionally when the weather is good (hardly ever then!) I go along the coast road towards KirkMichael which doubles the distance but is worth it just for the view.

The regular ride is along a good road but there are sections of it that are unlit and in winter it is absolutely pitch black. Good lights are essential. No extreme frosts here so cold isn't a big issue, wind and rain are! I very rarely travel by any other means to work. Why would you?

veryslowtwitch

You will need time to wash and change at the end of the commute but remember that you have saved this time when you first get up (unless you want to shower immediately before and after the ride). It is much faster to don (clean) cycling kit prepared the night before, have a cup of tea and get out the door, compared to rising " normally".

But it does take ten minutes to change back into bike kit at the end of the day at work, when it can be much easier to step into the car.

13 miles each way.

defy3man

I do 5.20 miles each way and this involves quite a bit of climbing both ways. Hopefully, starting on bike again tomorrow and going to be on it everyday as these last few weeks I have had to be a motorist due to picking up wood etc for the garden. Get some real bad winds up here and rain to match, got to say I get a buzz riding in the rain. Nothing better than getting home soaked through and then straight in to a hot shower, it somehow seems to give you an energy boost.

Brad123

I'm 2 miles but take the scenic route to work witch is 10 miles but straight home after work. It is flat with a few small rises up and down. Do it in 30 to 32 minutes

slowbike

Seaurchin01 wrote:

Thanks! My fitness level is reasonable though I expect a bit of a curve as I start commuting. I have been going out everyday lately and not so shy about the hills. I think my timing may be an issue and will have to possibly reconsider that one. I have to leave at 8 am (kids to see off first) and my first client is 9 am normally so it's peak time rush hour. Back to the drawing board perhaps though still determined to do this

You might be able to drive part of the way - if it's any quicker! Or catch a train or whatever - but basically cut down the ride to start with ...

clarkey cat

My route is about 21 miles each way. Took a while to get used to it and I take Mondays and Fridays off (to prepare for and recover from a long ride at the weekend) but love it now. Sometimes it doesnt feel long enough! (and other times it feels about 20 miles too long...)

Bordersroadie

12 miles each way, all back roads, a few small hills. I have everything laid out and bag packed the night before. 38-45 minutes. On arrival, a quick change and roll-on deodorant. I'm a furniture maker so a bit of sweat makes no odds to me! The bike stays inside in a non-dusty part of the workshop.