[Closed] Commuting ! is 32 miles too far each way ???

Defy.

I'd not want to do it on anything but a road bike to be honest! I want it done with as fast as possible, 99% of the time you're not going to want to dive off onto a random bridleway, you'll just want to get to work/get home, so a CX bike or whatever is a hindrance the vast majority of the time.

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Here is a view of the journey , not sure how you can work out the climbs but Google Maps says 31.5miles... 😀

my commute is about the same distance at arpund 32-35miles depending on route choice. I've used all sorts of bikes including 140mm full suss. Now it's a cx bike. If it's a nice route then enjoy the ride. Build up slowly say 1 or 2 days a week and remember to have enough food at work to aid recovery and maybe do a little stetching at lunchtime.

Try getting a transfer to Chester,more realistic commute I should have thought.

I suggest you ask on another forum, they'll wonder what the problem is.

Just do it. I cycled from north of Hemel Hempstead into London every working day and back in the evening. Think it was 29 miles each way.
Carried my clothes, shoes, towel and lunch in a large mussette.
No showers. What sort of work place has showers anyway? a sports centre?
Bike was a plain steel road bike with mudguards.
Tuesdays and Thursdays I rode in on my race bike.
Tuesday evening I diverted off to ride the club 10 before going home.
Thursday I worked my lunch and cycled to Milton Keynes and raced in the W/J/3/V races.
So no problem on a nice modern bike, with lights that actually work and technical clothing.

Dr oldgit recommends a large dose of something.

Hello.
My commute is 27 mile one way - the direct way.
Imo it's too far for every day commuting.
I mix it up a bit ,drive in and ride a long (mostly)off road route home & direct route back the next day for the car.
Try doing it on your mtb (with slickish tyres?) to get an idea of how knackered you'll be , as 30+ miles is not far from your weekly total in a day. Aim to do that for a few weeks - 4am in summer is lovely , and then have a go for the full job.
You will eat like a horse & you will be knackered if you do it too often.I've been attempting to get fitter for the Dyfi and commuting 3 or 4 days over the weekends - last sunday I bonked 10 miles in to the outward journey , I then had to work and cycle home it was a character building experience. 😀

My commute is 25 hilly miles each way. I don't do it everyday by any means due to work and family commitments but if I had the time I'm sure I could. I'd start building up from alternate days to every day, or ride in one way, leave the bike at work and public transport home and reverse the next day. Also have a back-up way to get to work for days when you can't fancy it.
At first any savings on fuel, parking or train tickets may be offset by the bill for lunch though.

Hold on, so its 32 miles each way, the third most dangerous road in the UK, finishing at 4am and you have no road bike?

Sounds like a great idea! 😉

Crewe - Wrexham by train, hop off and cycle the rest?

Edit: Maybe not, £8 a day even with a huge season ticket by train.

My job as support worker has advantage of shower in house so thats ok just times can be bummer,doing a 3-10 so home in dark ,means don't hit front door till midnight,plus all lanes etc.
|When on sleeepover shift can be good as 3pm start till 4pm next day.
Waking nights are worst 10pm till 10am and you eat horses daily round trip is 48 miles of welsh cambrians but some of the views are to die for.
Buses n trains not an option thanks to local transport stratergy.

Had fantastic double rainbow experience other day after bone freezeing hailstorm .

I don't know the area at all obviously but a quick look on google maps reveals a multitude of options on the route.

Example:
[url= http://g.co/maps/qeajs ]http://g.co/maps/qeajs[/url]

I'm sure there are plenty of class routes to enjoy in that area that avoid the main road. Ease yourself into it and build up.

No showers. What sort of work place has showers anyway? a sports centre?

A decent one?

Even our crummy london centre old stock building has two showers in the basement - they are dirty and dribbly but better than nothing

not read it all^^^^

But, I'd say it depends a lot on your day at work.
If it's 7 or 8 hours behind a desk then it's possible, but still difficult/extreme.
If it's 10 hours manual labour then it's going to be a struggle.
If you're ever going to try it then this time of year is the best time to start. Cycle commuting is a lot more pleasant when you leave and arrive at your home in daylight.

A decent one?

+1

Our office in the City has several showers. They're good actually, hot, always work.

No showers I asked again today, 8 hours graft standing most of the day lugging and spannering as a maintenance engineer in a factory full of machinery 😯 shifts are 6-2 5 earlies 2-10 5 afternoons 9-6 4 nights,
its sounding very hard to do, and I still have to get a road bike, train is £10 one way which is what I pay in fuel, mmmmmmm 🙁

I'd have a go. I was labouring longer hours than you. remember it's a short slow ride with a massive break before doing another short slow ride.

never worked anywhere with a shower, it seems an odd concept. I see them at mines and quarries, which I understand. Don't folk just wash at home before or after work? Never phoned a business and been told to hang on his having a shower 😮

Ahh....city and London.

I'd have a go. I was labouring longer hours than you. remember it's a short slow ride with a massive break before doing another short slow ride.

Not sure if you're trying to sound hard or something, but it's not really is it? At slow speeds it's a 2 hour ride, each end of a full day at work, that's 4 hours riding, which isn't a normal thing to do. 5 days a week that's 20 hours, which is more than a lot of elite riders do.

Perhaps in your halcyon days you seem a little desperate to hang onto, but by your own admission on here your legs are dead after significantly less training these days, so I don't really know how you can then say it's easy, based on something you did years ago...

Looking forward to my 45 miles home tonight, shorts on for the first time, no lights, lovely. I doubt I'd feel the same if I'd ridden in this morning though!

Its going to be a 100Km a day roughly which is the most I do in a week in the summer on my mountain bike , road should be easier-ish but it is still quite a daunting task for me.
I was looking to save on fuel and grap some extra rides, it will take about 20 weeks to save £400 in fuel riding 2 times a week, and a bike will be around £500-£1000 to be quick and light enough to keep it up,
I'm going to see if they have a cycle to work scheme that would help if they do, but it is already quite a talk that I drive 30 miles each way,
so they may think I am completely of my tree wanting to ride in,

I am 50 years young also 😀

Not sure if you're trying to sound hard or something, but it's not really is it? At slow speeds it's a 2 hour ride, each end of a full day at work, that's 4 hours riding, which isn't a normal thing to do. 5 days a week that's 20 hours, which is more than a lot of elite riders do.

Hmmm, just what I did. It just didn't seem unusual at the time. Never thought I was being hard, just doing the bare minimum to race. Though distance seems to have become a bigger issue in the last decade or so.
If you think of a time without the net, and a very simpler time in the world of cycling, you kind of just got on with it. Long rides were the be all and end all. Cutting edge technology was aero levers.

jeffus, what about driving a few miles. 30+ miles seems a bit too much, but 20+ seems to be okay.

never worked anywhere with a shower, it seems an odd concept

It's for people who ride to work, or run, or go running at lunchtime. Very popular activities in many parts.

I do ride that sort of distance on occasion as I have a job that it varies daily where I work. But that is not the usual. I can do it and have done it twice in a week, the other days being shorter but still cycle commuting. However I work in the kit I ride in, baggies etc (sometimes take the lycra off though). I am very good at riding easy so I don't get sweaty and use too much energy and I only work for 6hours. Most people say I do a lot of miles but I don't think I could do that commute daily. You could however build up to it. Find somewhere partway to park and ride a shorter distance, or drive in, ride home reverse. If you still want to ride at the weekend you will find you can't really do it everyday. I do a lot less mountain biking now I commute.

Commuting by bike can be amazing, some days it is a chore though. But there is no way I would drive and trains are packed round here.

I would try the ride at the weekend on your mountain bike to get an idea of time. I leave around 6am to ride that sort of distance, 9am start. Usually there by quarter to so time to eat and relax a bit. But then I am not particularly fast. On the other hand I can't be late due to the nature of my job so I like to leave plenty of time.

[i]never worked anywhere with a shower, it seems an odd concept

It's for people who ride to work, or run, or go running at lunchtime. Very popular activities in many parts. [/i]

Its not odd, just a relatively new concept - first place I worked which had showers was a new build office in 2003. And I'd suggest that the majority of workplaces still don't have showers etc.

It's for people who ride to work, or run, or go running at lunchtime. Very popular activities in many parts

Like just about everyone I know, none of their bosses/companies have installed showers for them though. Is this a white collar thing.

Its not odd, just a relatively new concept - first place I worked which had showers was a new build office in 2003. And I'd suggest that the majority of workplaces still don't have showers etc.

Indeed I can't think of a single company I've ever worked at or even visited that's had a shower. Most just about have a toilet, and I'm not joking.

trio - sensible advice, though you do yourself and your abilities down.

PS do you or ali own a pink orange 5? couple out the other day past my house with one....

we have 2 showers, they do however, double as emergency showers if anyone spills dangerous chemicals on themselves

Like just about everyone I know, none of their bosses/companies have installed showers for them though. Is this a white collar thing

I would say yes, it is a white collar thing 🙂

we have 2 showers, they do however, double as emergency showers if anyone spills dangerous chemicals on themselves

Like SIS or High-5 😉

Hmmm, just what I did. It just didn't seem unusual at the time. Never thought I was being hard, just doing the bare minimum to race. Though distance seems to have become a bigger issue in the last decade or so.

So people are less fit now than they were 'in your day'? has the internet slowed down professional sport?! 😕

My point is, even If that is what you did you have posted threads on here saying that you can no longer do that. So then saying it's easy, and berating the OP for it all seems a little hypocritical and boastful frankly.

And I've no idea what you're on about with the showers, of course you know people have showers at work, you're sounding like a bit of a tool!

Berating him? encouraging more like.

And no seriously I don't, never specced a build with showers either. Then again I only know one person that has an office job. The exception is when we are working in mines or the quarries.

Like just about everyone I know, none of their bosses/companies have installed showers for them though. Is this a white collar thing.

Of course its a white collar thing. I've worked in a workshop before - no shower, a load of wet wipes and change of cloths was ok, but when work in a workshop with the open space / movement a little smell as worst is not an issue. I'm now in an office, a very standard 80s - 90s built one, poor air flow, temperature ranges from 26 C in the morning up to 30 deg by lunch and all afternoon, air con sometime on but not enough. A little smell in this environment (the physical and social environment) become more of a problem / issue quicker.

I found the morning ride okay, not too sweaty. 5.30ish ride start would be cool all year round. Coming home at 5pm was different story, traffic obviously the big one, and the A41 seemed uphill? but there was a bath at the end of it.
I just had a wipe with a flanel.

Back to the point I was trying to make. There was certainly less info about. The OP wouldn't have been able to question it on the net. It would just have been a case of doing it or not.
That said I stopped doing that when I was 40.
Then again the way I saw it was like this. I had to train and I had to commute. So 1 1/2 in the car or 2 hours by bike each way, so I saw it like riding an hour a day. The commute was a commute and it didn't tire me out. And I had this stupid 360 miles a week thing ingrained into me.
And no they weren't fitter, possibly a bit different.

Guilty for first post being a bit harsh

Just to add:

If you going to do a 32mile each way ie 64miles+ a day then you NEED a good bike, by this i mean spending some dosh/wonga...(this is going to me a important peice of transport kit id say to the misses,also more car time for her:)

I say this as £1k bike isnt going to be nearly good enough for that sort of constant mileage day in and out, your arse will be killing you after a couple of days.

Remember most £1k bikes are ment for weekend warriers or small commutes, not doing 320+ miles a working week....

You need a decent frame and kit which will make using the bike as effortless as possible and stressfree.

Get a decent bike like those reviewed recently ie
Trek Madone 3.5
Focus Izalco Pro 3.0
Canyon Ultimate AL 9.0 Di2

Those sorts of bikes will be comfy enough to last these sorts of miles while being high spec enough to most importantly GET YOU TO WORK ASAP, id rather bash out a quick 32 mile and get to work feeling fresh thanks to the bike, than come to work sweating my balls off as my bike is heavy and not fast enough.

just my 1 pence

I'd have said guarded up genesis steel job, or a nice Condor Fratello.
Sorry no being contrary on purpose.

Imagine finishing work then having to ride for 2 hours to get home, **** that!

I do it once a week, but not having ridden in as well. It's usually ok, but I think it would be a particularly bullish person who did it too regularly, having ridden in as well.

I'd have said guarded up genesis steel job, or a nice Condor Fratello.

Guards for winter yes, but a decent light carbon bike for me, I just want to get there fast and with minimal effort.

I say this as £1k bike isnt going to be nearly good enough for that sort of constant mileage day in and out, your arse will be killing you after a couple of days

Disagree. £900 gets you a lot of bike these days, but as njee20 says a full road bike as light as you can get, not a chunky audax job. Just make sure your contact points are right and fits and is set up correctly and it'd be fine. However fit and setup are absolutely vital on a road bike, far more so than an mtb.

But that's another thread. It took me 18 months to get my road bike dialled.

I say this as £1k bike isnt going to be nearly good enough for that sort of constant mileage day in and out, your arse will be killing you after a couple of days

I also agree with Molgrips on that, if that's your budget it'll be fine. I bought a £700 Allez to commute on, which I use through winter (notionally...), then swap to the Madone in the spring. In reality I used the Madone a fair bit through winter, because it's a nicer bike to ride, but there's nothing wrong with the Allez per se.

I would say yes, it is a white collar thing

I worked for the water board - we had showers at the depot and on sites - to help clean up sewage etc

worked out of london where offices had showers - not that unusual..

you can also just have a sponge bath using a sink if you need to.

or do what my colleague does and stink 😉

Isn't Allez the range of slightly more comfortable bikes? So not really audax bikes as such, still carbon and fast, but with a few nods towards comfort. Although thinking about it, I seem to remember talking to a guy who had one and thought it was too heavy.

I wish I'd looked at them when I got my road bike, since I don't race it.

Isn't Allez the range of slightly more comfortable bikes?

No, it's their entry level alu 'race' bikes, like a poor man's Tarmac the Secteur is the more relaxed one, a cheap Roubaix if you will.

I found it too high at the front - had to take the bearing cover off the headset to get it low enough. It's the mid-range one and with SKS Race Blades and my PowerTap wheel it weighs 22lbs, a featherweight it certainly isn't! To be honest it's the only alu road bike I've ever had, so I don't have a reference, but it's nowhere near as comfy, stiff or fast as my Madone - which is now 8 years old!

Used to do ealing to reading, 31 miles each way, two or three times a week,
The key to sucess was eating enough food during the day at work so as not to bonk out on the last few miles on the way home.

mainly flat, so rode a bob jackson fixed wheel road bike 47-16 about £300 worth of bike.

I then got a new job up in northampton, used to ride to watford get the train up and ride home, 85mile round trip, i bought a felt f85 road bike for this...

looking back, it was a bit nuts!!

It's the mid-range one and with SKS Race Blades and my PowerTap wheel it weighs 22lbs

My Kona wasn't much less than that out of the box! I think it's maybe 19.5 now with some nicer kit and the powertap. That's the nice thing about being an MTBer, even porky road bikes feel really light.

My MTB weighs 2lbs less. The Allez's a dog!

Thanks everyone for your input, the wife says NO I will be killed,crushed etc.. so I'm saving quitely for a road bike 😀 and see where it takes me, seems £900 could build me a nice 2nd hand bike, I've been looking at a couple of Giant Defy carbon frame and forks on fleabay and they look quite nice a 105 groupset of Merlin and some quality wheels would make £900 build achievable. Thanks again., 🙂