21 mile hilly commute

Is that 21 miles RT or one way? My commute at the moment is 23 RT and while I wouldn't recommend it to a novice, it is quite manageable by an experienced cyclist five days a week. Maybe start off one or two days a week and see how it goes. If it's 21miles one way then that's not impossible, there are people on here who do it, but it'll be more of a learning curve and you'll have to start really considering how long you spend on a bike everyday and whether it's worth it when you could have arrived home much earlier.

Do you have a road bike?

2100 feet climbing?

I feel a whole lot better now about my commute.

I do 12 miles one way and climb 800 feet one way and 700 at the other.

my commute is 22 miles each way. its pretty flat though and takes 1hr 25. I dont do it every day. I'd highly recommend a comfortable road bike like a decent steel tourer or audax bike. and i listen to music on low too as its quite a schlep.

Yeah - it's difficult for me to say how quickly I noticed a difference because, being impatient to start, I began riding on a 10 year old MTB fitted with Ice Spikers (too icy for a road bike I discovered after a mile....). The biggest difference wasn't the speed o did each ride in but how much my legs hurt and how tired I was. These days (a year on) my legs only begin to feel tired on day 4 or 5 in the week.

Break yourself in gently but do try smaller but frequent and build up from there - you'll maintain your enthusiasm better IMO. If you feel totally shagged by week 2 you're more likely to give up and you need to recognise that, whilst what you are planning is certainly doable, it's at the more extreme end of commuting. It will take some getting used to. When I can I do 5 days of 30+ miles with 2100ft of climbing - I'm 46, 95-ish kg and been at it for an elapsed year (though had a 3 month enforced break with my son's illness). Don't try to break any speed records and, if you feel shagged, take a day off but commit to doing the next day else you'll be on a slippery slope. Do use a good saddle and chamois cream to avoid feeling too uncomfortable early on. Oh, and get some good puncture resistant tyres - again, nothing more demoralising than having to fix flats often. Stretch well after your ride and eat and hydrate properly. All of these things will make success more likely. And you will have some serious kudos from folks when they hear what you are doing.

All good advice above.

My commute is 25-miles round trip with 1100ft ascent (most in the evening).

I don't think I am much faster (3-years in) but am a lot less tired. Mind you, I am not training to improve my speed, just comfort.

Most of the time I'm fine , but every so often there will be a day with a massive headwind, and it will be hard.

Also get enough sleep. If I don't get enough sleep, it really hurts.

For 10+ years my commute has been around a 35 mile RT - can't recall the total ascent but I think it's something like 2000ft - I'll have to check that, it's certainly lumpy, much more height-loss going in, gaining on the return.
There have been rare occasions in the past when I've done all 5 days but even 4 days out of 5 sometimes left me feeling pretty washed-out. I've always used a drop-bar road bike, anything that makes it any harder would be unwanted, deffo no MTB, taking an hour - 75 minutes is more than enough.
When the days are longer and I've felt the motivation I have occasionally added in some extra miles for training or pleasure purposes (some alternative nicer roads).
Days I drive I take clothes etc so all I have to carry along with normal bike-related bits are the day's lunch etc.
Initilal suggestion would either be only part-route cycle with the first bit by car or Monday / Wednesday and Tuesday / Thursday off with the potential for Friday cycle if you still feel fresh enough.
Also depends if you do a big / hard ride at the weekend.

Just checked - My commute has around 240mtr climbing in, 400mtrs climbing back home.

my commute from home to office is 26 miles each way, with lots of hills in the first few miles, flatter thereafter. I started out doing it both ways every day, but I have started putting my bike in my car, driving the 6 miles to my inlaws (and thus cutting out the hardest hills) to leave me with a 20 mile each way commute, which is very manageable.

it is doable but will take some adaptation, your legs will harden up before you know it

TBH possibly THE main issue is that of time :
Even if you are pretty fit 21 fairly hilly miles will involve around 75 - 90 minutes on the bike.
That adds up to 2 1/2 - 3hrs total riding per day and, whilst that is a more pleasant alternative to driving in queues of traffic it does mean that you are starting your day and ending your work/commute day earlier and later than you otherwise would.
Coupled with working a full day and it means your time away from home is going to be longer and may mean that your time for other stuff, including resting, eating, sleeping etc, is insufficient.
I'd go for trying this 2 or 3 times per week, initially at least, to see how it work out for you.

andyrr wrote:

TBH possibly THE main issue is that of time :E.

and of being smelly all day unless you have somewhere to wash and change when you get there :shock: which will then take up more time.

One of the biggest problems i had when doing a 14 mile hilly commute was temperature control around november time - 7.30am and it could be icy cold an hour or so later it could be considerably warmer and i would now be a smelly steaming mess and would instantly start to drip if i immediately entered a building. Cycling home was always a pleasure as there was no need to rush. Best idea is to give up work, problem solved