[Closed] Do you commute to work by bike?

My commute is 7 miles, but it is mostly off road tow path and only takes me 30 minutes.

Yes, 5 miles, 22m in (uphill), 25m home (downhill).

I could get the bus, but riding is so much nicer & cheaper.

4 miles each way, 10-15 minutes depending on traffic, the weather or if I am knackered from the weekend.

For me 7 miles is about as much as I would want to do. I ave done a 7 mile commute in the past.

old commute was 15 miles, then did one of 4 miles for a bit, now it is 7 miles.

15 was a good ride, but felt a bit too long when doing it every day - especially if the weather was bad.

4 was too short... it felt silly getting all dressed up for it, but if I didn't wear proper kit I froze (did it over winter).

7 is a nice distance. Not too long to feel like a chore, but long enough that it feel like you've done some exercise and woken up.

Dave

7 miles sounds great.

Mines about 15, depending on the route & takes about 55mins. For various reasons I've only been able to do it once a week for the past month and I'm getting a bit grumpy. I hate sitting in traffic.

8 miles (each way)

45 mins in the morning.

55 mins in the evening.

(i live at the top of a dirty great big hill)

I do 7 miles in 30 minutes.

Just over 4 miles each way (longer route on way home), takes approx 15 mins.

5 miles / 20 mins. Takes as long to sort the kit out at each end!

I sometimes jog instead as that takes 45 mins with no bike fettling.

2.5 miles. 10 mins with a honkin uphill to begin with then down the rest of the way in.

Going home is about 3 miles. Can't be arsed with the hill on the way home 🙂 Which is weird, cos I'll then get on the MTB or road bike and put in a hilly ride in the peaks...

everyday, rain or shine. Only take the car if I need to transport something bigger than will go in the pannier or strap to the pannier rack.

If you plan to ride in work attire, I recommend using a pannier - much nicer than arriving at work with a sweaty back as induced by a rucksack.

3.5 miles each way by road / cycle path - 15 mins...

I've started tracking my commute rides with strava, and I've set a couple of private segments along the way (plus a couple of public ones on sections which make sense to do that).

I find its really helped my motivation to push the speed up; knowing that i'm racing against the clock to try to get a PB 🙂

Dave

12 miles each way, about an hour usually doddering along, 40 minutes if I'm in a serious hurry. I stopped using my commute as a time trial a long time ago. 'Commuter racing' is just tragic too, IMO!

I used to live in Sale a long while back. As I recall my local signed leisure ride took me past the sewage works. Lovely.

6.5 miles of very wet and muddy canal towpath. 40 minutes in, 50 minutes home (I live at the top of a 16-lock flight)

times decrease to 25 / 35 minutes in summer when it's bone dry and I'm fitter

used to be about 5/6 miles across Edinburgh - was about 25/30 minutes on way in, 35/40 return (basically down to sea level with couple of bumps in between).

It was an ideal distance I reckon, sometimes extended it by going long way round cycle paths but always about same journey time.

As above, used to stay only 2 miles from work and that was just too much bother to get togged up, bike locked away &c.

now it's 12 ft commute to the shed.

twice a week depending on commitments and weather. 20 miles so 1hour 15 ish

i do 12 km each way - most days takes ~35/40 mins.
occasinally come in from the GFs which double the distance to 25 km each way. takes ~ an hour.

Yes

32 - 40 miles RT,depending which route I take.

Find a route that you like and do it.
I love my commute , it's the best way in the world to keep base fitness( even in this weather :-))

45 miles each way, done one morning, then the next evening. 2.25-2.5 hours.

Ours is about 2 miles, takes about 5 - 7 minutes to get in, pretty much all downhill, depending on the traffic lights, and takes me about 10 minutes to get home due to being feeble when going uphill.

One of us goes normally goes back at lunchtime as well to see t'boy, so up to six miles a day in total. Got the bus in today though because the weather is atrocious and we don't have showers or drying facilites here.

6 miles in (downhill) 8 miles home (uphill, but not as bad a climb as it would be to do the 'in' journey in reverse). Love it, get grumpy if extreme weather means I can't ride. The idiots in cars you meet are, however, a completely different issue (and thread).

Cant commute as its too far....but as Ive been working from home lately ive been doing an early morning ride before work on my road bike bought through the cycle to work scheme....does this count?

7miles should be a doddle after a few weeks acclimatising. Road will be quick but couldn't you go down the canal for a more relaxed ride in? From the map it looks like it takes you pretty much all the way to the quays from sale

bwoolymbr - Don't commute on the road from Sale to Salford. The Washway is bloody lethal. I used to do that journey in reverse from Chorlton to Alty

Pick up the canal at Sale, carry on past Stretford on the canal and hang a right over the bridge before you hit Trafford Park. You'll follow the tram lines past the back of Old Trafford. You're actually by the Quays then with no road involved

Most of that canal towpath has been recently surface too, so no mud. You see the odd couple of dog walkers, and people fishing. Its a really pleasant commute. And obviously really flat. You'll be there in less than half an hour, easy

Oh... and I commute 15 miles each way on't bike at the moment, 2 or 3 times a week. When I did the 7 mile commute from Chorlton to Altrincham, I did it every day

anotherdeadhero - Member
I stopped using my commute as a time trial a long time ago. 'Commuter racing' is just tragic too, IMO!

Beaten by lycra'd up fatties too often?

I bet you think track stands at lights are naff too!

Depends on the weather and where I am working. If I know im in the office and will be the day after then ill usually bike in.

6 mins going, 5 mins coming back, 2 miles each way.

20 miles each way, takes between an hour and an hour and a half depending on the wind. Average is 70 minutes.

Beaten by lycra'd up fatties too often?

I bet you think track stands at lights are naff too!

[img] [/img]

Track stands ARE tragic, unless you're properly good on a proper fix.

Track sitting (i.e. half decent balance) at lights is where its at.

14 and a bit miles each way, 87% off-road, usually about 1 hour 15 in the morning and a bit longer in the evening.
Not today as I was hypothermic when I got home on Monday, poor clothing choice by me and extremely foul weather. Trail is getting a bit cut up due to the wet though.

Track stands are epic bell-endery. If you think anyone is impressed by them, then you're as sadly delusional as the average half-wit at the first set of auditions for the X Factor 😉

Track stands ARE tragic, unless you're properly good on a proper fix.

Seated trackstanding I'm having trouble with, possible with a freewheel or do you really need fixed?
Anyway the point of trackstanding is not having to unclip, not showing off, so not much point devoting too much time to tracksitting is there?

10.5 miles each way through London. About 35 mins

My cleats would wear out in days if I didn't track sit!

Track stands are epic bell-endery. If you think anyone is impressed by them

Mine's about 50 mins from door to desk direct and a bit slower on the way home. Aim for 3 times per week depending on how much pedalling I might be doing at the weekend.

Summer time return journeys can be 2-3 hours if I take in a few cheeky trails in the way home 🙂

8 miles each way. 30 mins there, 40 back (uphill). It's a great commute on bike lanes through a park (in Melbourne) and along a river and I love it. But I wouldn't want to go much further as I do feel tired at the end of the week, perhaps because I'm unable to just pootle it.

FWIW I'd rather go out of my way on traffic-free paths than share the road with rush-hour drivers.

12 miles each way, twice a week normally. Average 48 minutes on a SS commuter but that does include a climb over the Cambridge Alps (Lime Kiln Hill) 😀
Nearly always a headwind in one direction.

Track stands ARE tragic, unless you're properly good on a proper fix

Ha ha ha ha ha..
Commuting taught me how to track stand .
Once you start playing the 'can't put your foot down/hang on to anything game*

[s]Track sitting[/s] commuter racing (i.e. with half decent [s]balance[/s] riders) [s]at lights[/s] is where its at.

*Only applicable in busy towns and cities

😀

I do 8-9 miles in the morning, with a couple of short decent hills, and usually 5 in the afternoon - pretty much every day im at work come rain shine or the white slidy stuff...

Fortunately very little is actually on road - ive got a cycle path that runs the full length of the seafront so 7 miles of the ride is on that.

Back in the day when I cycled everywhere (I didn't have a car) on my mountain bike.

My commute was 21 miles each way (hilly and weather always variable) and my best time was 54 minutes. I'd regularly do it in under an hour.

Today - I estimate it would take me twice that lol

16.5 each way, takes anything between 40mins and 1hr10, the usual route is very open so the wind makes a huge difference.

try to do it 3-4 times a week, not today for some reason....

just restarted.

tried several routes from my old house through the countryside but died of boredom more than anything and it felt really long despite only being an hour and 45

new commute is 1 hour each way circa 15 miles depending on route.

can do it full offroad in 11miles or on cycle paths and through parks and housing estates for 15.

actually loving it again compared to my old commute which was a chore i look forward to getting up for this one.

oh and this morning it was biblical horizontal rain so i was very glad that i have to pick up a desk straight after work 😀

My commute was a tad over 15 miles. Fastest time was 46mins slowest excepting punctures was 65 minutes on a mountain bike. That's a very traffic heavy urban route so quite a lot of junctions and traffic lights to slow you down, not very hilly though.

I used to commute about 5 miles each way and agree it sometimes doesn't feel like it's worth the faff. Loading up panniers to make things a little harder helped though 🙂

My office moved and I now have an 18 mile each way commute. Just did it for the first time last week, drove in, rode home (1:15 with some tinkering) , rode in (1:03), drove home. This week I was going to try both ways for a couple of days but the atrocious weather put paid to that! This is on a fancy road bike rather than my old rigid MTB commuter.

I live in Sale and commute 13 miles in the opposite direction to Warrington, usually only one or two days a week. What Binners said is spot on, except he forgot to mention that in the summer the canal towpath behind old trafford gets so over grown the track is only about 30cm wide, but as long as youve got a towel at work, you'll be fine 😆

Yes, about five minutes each way... 😀

Currently 6 (road) miles each way, about to become 8 miles each way as of Monday and 7 of those will be traffic free. Can't wait. (25 minutes in, 20 minutes home currently)

I ride 1 mile to work, with my son on the tagalong (his school is next to my office)
Takes about 5-10 minutes.

🙂

Approx 16.5km for me, 40mins in, 55mins home. Guess which way is downhill!?!

mrmo - Member
...not today for some reason....

Same here ! 😳

Roughly 7 miles mostly off road and canal paths, will be swimming back tonight if the rain keeps this up!

I do pretty much the exact same commute as the OP describes - Brooklands to Salford via the quays. straight up the Washway Road, on up the A56, turn left past the theatre of dreams and onto the quays from there. 8 miles in total, takes me 30 minutes and whilst the traffic can be heavy I've seen much worse (years of commuting in London)

6 miles each way 5 miles of it off road. I often extend the off road bit and my longest route home is 26 miles. Time varies with the conditions as I do it all year round whatever the weather.

Yes, 5 miles, 22m in (uphill), 25m home (downhill).

hows that work then?

I keep meaning too but Dartmoor is in the way. 56 mile round trip and 6000ft of climbing keeps putting me off.

7 miles each way from North London into the City. 30 mins in, 35 home.
Been a bit depressing lately with the persistent rain but it's still the best part of my working day.

Track stands ARE tragic, unless you're properly good on a proper fix.

Hi 8)

I track stand for several reasons:
- it puts you in a good position to get away quickly if you need to escape the traffic when the lights go green
- it saves on left shoe cleat wear - there are probably 30 sets of lights on my commute
- being able to balance at slow speeds on your bike is a valuable skill for mountain biking
- it makes you feel like Chris Hoy in a stand-off on the banking against Grégory Baugé in the Olympic final

so do I have to practice in my backyard til I'm good enough or can I use alllllll that wasted time at traffic lights to get some practice in?

+1

2 mile commute. 8 sets of traffic lights & I try to track stand (on a road bike) at any that are on red. As a result I can track stand easily on my MTB (where it's really useful).

"Track stands ARE tragic, unless you're properly good on a proper fix."

so you cant do them then ? thought so !

21 miles each way - about 1hr 20 on the way in and 1hr 10 on the way home, except for Wednesdays when its 5 miles each way, but generally with a trailer - 15kg in this morning to go to the charidee shop, last week was 24kg home with 5m2 of cork tiles + associated friperees.
It seems a bit damp out at the moment, so might be a bit grim on the way home.

4 miles each way - about 15 minutes in, 20 back (yep, there's a hill involved)

Was doing it every day, slight pause since last week when some scrote nicked my bike. Looking at the weather, I picked a good week to be bike-less though.

I'm luckily working locally at the moment so am commuting ~15 miles each way every day in about 55 mins. Lovely weather last few weeks...

I usually work in the City/Canary Wharf which involves trains and sh1t so no bikes 🙁

binners -

Thanks for telling me about that route! I have been down there a couple of times on my bike before but it hadn't even came to mind whilst I was thinking about getting to work. Do you know whether the section of tow path once you cross over the bridge has been resurfaced recently as the last time I went down it I nearly went in the canal. (one time was due to a rather angry swan blocking my path that nearly had my gonads off!)

I'm not 100%, but the stretch up to there is 3ft of gravel, and so is the section behind Old Trafford. That short section in between can get a bit muddy if its not been done too.

Another alternative at that point,if it is, is too nip through the Steets behind the Gorse Hill pub. Or even nip off by the bridge, and go through Trafford Park. Those roads are a lot quieter than the Washway then Chester Road

My commute on the way in varies between 4 and 10 miles and then on the way home its extended to about 15 miles but if its a nice spring or summer evening then I have in past done 35-40 miles ( not much chance of this at the moment! )

Only get to ride in during school hols when my wife is off work - otherwise am on pre-school run.

When I do ride in, it's 6 miles each way through lovely little Devon lanes on the edge of Dartmoor (the type with grass in the middle, massive hedges etc). There's a longish but steady climb on the way in and a mahoosive wall-like hill on the way back which I generally push up irrespective of whether I'm on a geary or (usually) singlespeed.

Average about 25 minutes give or take 5 minutes for random sheep related delays, fog paranoia, pothole trauma or bizarre tractor-related incidents.

19.5 miles... takes under an hour.

Wouldn't want to do it every day though!

Haha Marin_Maketh_The_Man - It was summer time when I went down that section of the tow path last and I remember there not being much room at all to get past, especially when you meet people coming the other way who are also on bikes. I always take a towel with me when I ride to work in case of heavy showers so I just need waterproof panniers and I'll be sorted!

simonjf63 - How do you find the traffic on Washway? I know it's busy as hell but do you feel in danger at all? I walked down the canal a couple of days ago and after the torrential rain of late, some sections have been reduced to deep muddy puddles spanning the entire width of the tow path.
I think I've got an excuse to buy some new waterproofs and panniers. In fact, I think I'll get a new bike too as my current commuter is a Chinese special that's too small for me and it doesn't even have mountings for a bottle holder.

Edit - I was thinking about what to do about the traffic before (drivers paying no attention to you or not giving you enough room mainly) and after looking on the web I managed to find a well thought out tabard that people on other forums have said has proven useful to them. As below:

[img] [/img]

ten hilly yorkshire miles each way, can't do more than 4 days though without losing my legs for the weekend.

wouldn't wear one of those tabards though, say a driver saw it, slowed down, read it properly, then sees you the next day, do that to the wrong sort of person. no thanks.
not to mention what your fiendly plod might say.

7 in 5 home o_O

I cycle with the wife up to her office in the morning adding an extra 2 onto my journey usually, then cycle straight home. Time taken varies based on wind and ability to breath (I have a hacking cough at the moment) and whether I'm cycling solo or not!

Solo 5 home shouldn't be more than 20 mins, includes a couple of road crossings and a farm track where conditions can be quick and dry to the present wet and wild!

Anyone who skipped cycling this morning is a pansy 🙂

Mine's about 10 miles, try to do it 2-3 times a week. Great big hill in the middle means it's 35min on the way in, and 55min on the way back. As there's no shower at work I'm quite happy it's that way round 🙂

Bobs right. You'll be going through Stretford. That tabard is more likely to get you deliberately targeted

our work regularly has queues for the 2 availible showers downstairs in good weather ..... our new recently renovated office we are moving to has one shower - that self same office used to have 2 crap ones !

not lately, using the Ark instead 😉

I used to do about 5 miles ish each way from the centre of Manc to Didsbury every day. The amount of scrapes and near misses I'd get into from drivers and other cyclists became laughable. It was like Mad Max out there, truly beyond the thunderdome. I used to hate it, even when I learned a quick back street route. Stay off the main roads and good luck!

18.5 miles each way, dont do it every day though, about 1hr 15 each direction

GG - Manc to Didsbury. Would that be the route where a bus passes within an insect pube of your bars every 1.3 seconds?

bwoolymbr - traffic can get heavy, I normally set off just after 7am on the way in and it's not too bad at that time. There are cycle lanes for a fair bit of the run, but the section through Stretford on the way up to Old Trafford can be a bit sketchy at times. Stick to your line and you should be ok. There is the option of taking the canal part way and coming up just before the cenotaph, but you still get the stretch without a cycle lane then
I used to go up through Trafford Park which is quieter, but you get a lot more big wagons, main roundabouts to negotiate and generally more stop-start

My commute varies depending on where I'm working - if it's only 4 miles I have to look for a longer route home. Monday was a good ride home - 22 miles along the TPT.
If I'm heading down Sale/Alty direction from Whalley Range, I go down by Jackson's Boat, not sure if that would help with a route to Salford Quays?

can we get back on topic please? this thread was supposed to be about how cool trackstanding is