The IDEAL bike commute distance
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Ah so not just me then, then yes the cotswolds are particularly bad for road rage, it could be the narrow lanes or as i suspect a certain type of people that live there.
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My commute is a paltry 5 miles each way, however I have to take the "long way" in so that extends it to 20 miles a day.
I can extend the way home if I want to but don't often have the time to.
Or the energy come Friday!0 -
I think that should be the main factor in deciding the distance (how many hours a day you'll work roughly). At least, that would be my thought process.
It also depends how capable you are of persuading yourself to get up early/delay getting home by deliberately elongating your route.
Turns out I'm not very good at that and 90% of the time will opt for the shortest time route home.
This is very true: I find the lack of sleep much more tiring the the ride itself: I have done 80 miles/day four times last week and it was tough but manageable.
I would think 20 miles each way is perfect, you can blast it if you wanted to or pootle in and still be at work within a reasonable time. Before this I used to do 40m into work and then train back home which worked well for me as in the morning I was able to take the time from my sleep instead of time spent with my family.0 -
8-10 if ondulated, 12-15 if flat... something that you can do in 30-50 minutes
Yes pretty much agree with that.
Mine is a flat 9 but I have Richmond Park on my way home which means I can extend it indefinitely by increments of 6.7 miles...
Quite often do x3 in the summer which makes my ride home the best part of 30 miles maybe three evenings a week.0 -
I would say no more than 30 minutes each way - and that applies to any type of commute not just cycling!
Some days you are just going to want to get to work and home as fast as possible, so you don't want it too far away. But then you need to have the option to make it a longer route which will take around an hour.0 -
FWIW my commute on public transport is an hour (sometimes more) door-to-door and I don't think I would ever consider a longer commute than that, whether on PT or bike.
So that would put my max permissible bike commute at about 17-18 miles flat (given lights, traffic etc), which is perhaps more than ideal but I would do it.0 -
Less than an hour i would say is about right.
It seems like Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire is the way forward."If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."
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My standard route is 11 miles (c 80m of elevation gain) which I quite like; basically an hour breakfast table-to-desk, including kitting up and showering. There is a 9 mile pan flat route, but it's by way of CS7, so might as well be on the train
. My summertime route is 18 miles (c 175m of elevation gain), and I can extend it (as with KotLT) in 6.7 mile increments indefinitely. If the extra mileage was all through the park, I'd prefer about 15 miles for a standard route, but if the extra mileage was in city traffic, I'd pass. That kind of distance though requires you to have showers/lockers/secure parking at work.
By way of contrast, all of my options on PT (tube or train, with varying degrees of walking) take about 45 minutes door to door.0 -
A flat 41 mile RT at the moment, soon to be 34 miles with an easily extendable loop; I'm looking forward to the commute being under an hour. I might actually start to structure my riding into some vague training regime.
Anything less than 10 miles on start/stop London roads and I'd start to question the whole lycra thing.
But as long as it's quicker than all other modes of transport, I don't mind.0 -
Minimum of 10 miles each way for me which is perfect as even in dreadful weather half an hour isn't long enough for you to get really cold & miserableFirst love - Genesis Equilibrium 20
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12 miles each way works out good for me, with multiple options once I reach the end to tag on 3 miles plus. Used to have 7 mile commute which was great for getting back fast and options to extend, but the easy option was always a temptation0
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Surbiton to the wharf is 20 miles. I often thought Kingston Gate to Southwark Bridge would be ideal as that would include RP and Blackfriars Underpass... I am guessing 14 miles. I now do epsom to the wharf and whilst 1 miles shorter is no fun as is straight down cs7. In other words it depends on the route and amount of competition.0
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Clocked up 25 miles yesterday, I am going to see if I can do that everyday this week.
If I can build up that little bit extra I reckon it may make a weight difference.
Mine, not the bikes!0 -
Blimey, sounds like there are some proper commuting heros here...
Depends on lots of things I would say:
- Your fitness level
- Big city vs country roads
- Flat vs hilly
- Average weather in your part of the country
- What sort of work you do
- How much free time you want after work
- How tired you generally are
On which note I would probably heed towards the lower end of the spectrum here and say 7-8 miles each way with a hill or something in the middle to keep it interesting. Just about worth changing clothes for, short enough to cycle hard all the way and get it done in less than half an hour each way, short enough that a downpour won't make you too miserable or cold, doesn't take too much time out of your day but you can easily extend it on the way in or way home if your mood takes you (but don't end up dreading the ride to work/home if you are feeling tired that day).0 -
As mentioned, you can always extend commute but not shorten.
You dont want to be too close, as then it does not feel worth it to get dressed in lycra in the morning (unless you do that for fun anyway).
So I would say base it on time not distance, so 30mins at your average pace for the short route when in a hurry/tired, with an easy option to extend to 1 hr for everyday.0 -
Just under 12 miles each way for me with Crystal Palace / College Road hills to punish myself on if I choose to. I rarely choose to. Previously I did the Twickenham / West End run which was a bit further with the nice option of laps of Richmond park if I chose to. I rarely chose to. This is why I am slow.
I think 20-25 miles a day is the sweet spot for me. Current commute is very quiet cyclist-wise until Oval when it suddenly becomes chopper central. Other than the 'Penge Murder Mile' it is easy and feels safe.Kinesis Racelite 4s disc
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in London, about 10-15km, or 40-50 mins I reckon...
Long enough for a good work out of work frustrations or thoughts, but not too long so that you can get cold or wet.
Personally, it has to be the quickest (i.e. most time in bed) commute option though or else I ll get lazy and start missing days
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For me it would come down to the time the journey takes. I reckon one that takes around 40 minutes is ideal. Enough to work up a sweat, but also if you want to take it really easy you aren't going to add too much to the journey. Also, it does depend on the other transport options - a commute that works out quicker than public transport options always helps with the motivation levels!0
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West Sussex here, My main two options are 8 miles flat (cyclepaths and quiet country roads) or 12 miles quiet roads with one longish (1.5 miles) climb and an equally long lovely downhill!0
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I currently only commute by bike 2 or 3 times a week. It's 18 miles each way and just don't want to do it every day as I'm knackered as it is! It takes about 1hour 20 to 1.5 hours each way due to the traffic (I cross central London as part of the route), but that's still quicker than driving and about the same as public transport (train, then tube, plus walks at each end).
I guess if I did try it every day, after a while I'd get used to it, but I want to be able to enjoy my weekend rides also, which some people don't after long commutes for the whole week.0 -
12-15 is about right.
I'm not very good at pootling on the commute. I tend to go flat out no matter how much i tell myself to chill! However, i also have to luxury (or otherwise) of doing drive-bike-work-bike-drive. I just take the front wheel off and the bike goes in the back of the car. I can shorten or elongate my commute depending on wind, weather or time.
At the start of the summer (i'm rubbish at cycling in the winter hence my previous posts on the subject) i do 7'ish miles each way. Mid summer i'm doing 3 "long" commutes each week and by about now i'm doing the 27 mile round trip most days.
13 miles is a nice distance. Not long enough to really leave a lasting impression on the legs but enough to leave you feeling like you've saved some cash/time on alternative commuting and done some proper exercise!0 -
To be honest you can extend your route to whatever feels comfortable and if you are comfortable then that's your perfect distance.
Or does that sound a bit soft?0 -
Thanks all. I'm still thinking around the 10-mile-ish basic commute is about right based upon what I'm reading. I've taken the job so I'm committed and I'll be starting the commute at the beginning of winter. That said, the weather doesn't bother me (rain and cold is far worse in prospect than reality) and I started my Highland commute in January on a 10 year old MTB on standard Spikers unfit and wearing the wrong gear. These days I'm far more experienced. 15 miles or more would be OK but tiring. That gives me a window to find somewhere to live.ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH0
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That gives me a window to find somewhere to live.
You could draw one of those custom search maps on Rightmove / Zoopla - not sure they have the functionality to do one that looks like a donut though ....0 -
Where in the Cotswolds you'll be working?left the forum March 20230
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Where in the Cotswolds you'll be working?
Malmesbury - so I've reckoned Chippenham, Castle Combe, Royal Wootten Bassett, Tetbury would be within range (as examples) and Stroud, Swindon etc too far. I'd actually like to be rural (broadband allowing)ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH0 -
I'm currently living only 3 miles from my work, so to make it worthwhile getting the gear on I need to extend my ride in & back. Most mornings I do about 10-12 miles & on way back about 15-20 but sometimes up to 30 if the weather is decent & I'm feeling the love (definition of "decent" he in Glasgow is very relative).
Anyway, I like the flexibility. If for some reason I need to I can go home the direct route & that's quicker than getting the train. I think its better than being "commited" to a longer commute as I've been in the past.0 -
I'm about 5 miles away which feels right to me. When I'm feeling lazy I can have a lie in and get to work in 20 minutes. When I'm not I'm close enough to the outskirts of the city to extend the commute via country lanes. For me being much further away would mean unlit roads and while I'd probably be OK with that now, when I first started commuting it would have put me off doing it through winter so being that bit closer to work has helped me get into a commuting habit.0
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As soon as you get completely outside London/other big city a long commute becomes an indulgence/un-necessary because you could almost certainly do it quicker by other means; so I would structure it so I had a short commute (30mins) that I could add a really nice lap or two onto in the evenings when the mood took me.
My commute (Victoria to Chigwell) takes a little over an hour on Public transport and a little over an hour on my bike - so even with 60-70 minutes on my bike I do not feel that I am spending too long on the commute.0 -
Where in the Cotswolds you'll be working?
Malmesbury - so I've reckoned Chippenham, Castle Combe, Royal Wootten Bassett, Tetbury would be within range (as examples) and Stroud, Swindon etc too far. I'd actually like to be rural (broadband allowing)
That's close to where I am. Some very nice quiet routes all around Malmesbury, and lovely rural hamlets to consider (places like Oaksey and Charlton are very nice, leading up to the Cotswold Water Park). Bigger villages like Brinkworth (apparently the longest village in the UK?!) also worth a look, and close to Malmesbury. You could have a dream cycling commute on the cards....
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