Article: How Far is Too Far to Bike to Work

[cvcalhoun]

@dasgeh 156026 wrote:

The big issue that the article and this discussion has ignored is type of bike. I’d agree that 10 miles on a flat-bar is nutter.

But there are more types of bikes than are dreamt of in your philosophy. There are ebikes that make 10-miles each way easy. There are cargo bikes that enable kid- (and softball-equipment-) hauling. And there are e-cargo-bikes that allow some of us to do the dance of dropping off kids and getting to work and responding to emergencies, while reaping the benefits of getting (moderate) exercise, reduced cost, and more certainty as to travel time (and probably reduced time spent in travel too).

In other words, join those of us on cargo ebikes, and you can tote your kids around, park for free and get to work without being sweaty!

Umm, I do 12.5 miles each way on a heavy flat-bar bike with no e-assist. Of course, I make no representations about whether I am a nutter!

[AFHokie]

Count me in the nutter crowd as well. My commute is ~10.5-11 miles each way depending on the proclivities of my Garmin and the construction detours.

Additionally, I prefer a flat bar for commuting.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

[Crickey7]

Indeed, I routinely pass drop bar riders on my flat bar bike.

[Phatboing]

@dasgeh 156026 wrote:

But there are more types of bikes than are dreamt of in your philosophy. There are ebikes that make 10-miles each way easy.

This is true. There were a couple of regulars during summer and fall who would breezily swoosh by me going up the hills. Sometimes they had stuff, sometimes they didn’t, but every time it made me jealous. I’m trying to convince Mrs. Boing to get an e-bike so she could come on longer rides with minimal effort.

[Birru]

I won’t self-incriminate on whether I’m a nutter but I used to frequently commute 10-13 miles on a cheap flat-bar fitness bike and it was perfectly comfortable.

[dasgeh]

@AFHokie 156034 wrote:

Additionally, I prefer a flat bar for commuting.

It makes my back hurt just thinking about 10+ miles each way every day on flat bars. If you can rock the flat bar, more power to you.

[Tim Kelley]

@dasgeh 156096 wrote:

It makes my back hurt just thinking about 10+ miles each way every day on flat bars. If you can rock the flat bar, more power to you.

Core strengthening work and bike specific stretches might improve your perspective on flat bars. Working a desk job doesn’t help much either.

[Anonymous]

@anomad 155967 wrote:

However, the farther away you are the more likely you are to bail if everything isn’t perfect.

Truth. I’ll do the 3.5-4.5 miles into various errands or appointments in old town in essentially anything other than ice. Even if it’s after dark and my light dies, I freak only moderately, improvise routes, and carefully head home. The 30-mile each way to work I’m much pickier about and probably would not do at all if I didn’t have the luxury of two gas-powered vehicles, which means I can leave one at work and one at home and always have an option to bail on biking if weather, bike, gear, body, or time is lacking. And don’t do in the dark fall/winter months. (NEXT WEEK: Daylight savings time! = restart bike commute for the year!)

[ian74]

There is no distance too far! There’s just never enough time, and sometimes you get tired.

[drevil]

@ian74 156485 wrote:

There is no distance too far! There’s just never enough time, and sometimes you get tired.

ORLY? I used to work with this man, whose commute was 3-4 hours EACH WAY, every day (Drive -> Bus -> Metro -> Walk). He ridiculous He won the WTOP longest commute one year.

I’d love to see how long it would take him to ride a bike to work!

http://dcist.com/2013/05/man_commutes_from_delaware_to_virgi.php

[Judd]

@drevil 156490 wrote:

ORLY? I used to work with this man, whose commute was 3-4 hours EACH WAY, every day (Drive -> Bus -> Metro -> Walk). He ridiculous He won the WTOP longest commute one year.

I’d love to see how long it would take him to ride a bike to work!

http://dcist.com/2013/05/man_commutes_from_delaware_to_virgi.php

I could see the Fingerman biking this daily if he didn’t have a family.

[Bruno Moore]

I think I was at 11.5ish each way when I worked at Bikeyspace—and people looked at me like I was Nutz. Think I held the trophy for longest bike commute during most of my tenure. And, truth be told, it did make me a little reluctant to go home at the end of the day, knowing I had that long trek ahead of me.

Now my commute’s two miles. It’s nice that I can get from door to bike locker in under ten minutes (and into civpro in under fifteen), but it sucks that I hardly ride much anymore. Also, what with all the lahskool free food (yay, more pizza…), the 1L Lbs are always stalking.

Somewhere in between, like about five miles, might be nice, especially if there could be an easy, traffic-light/stop-sign free stretch. Thinking of downtown DC to Brooklandish up the Met Branch; it was really only after there that things started to Drag.

[SolarBikeCar]

I commute 15 miles. electric assist made that distance possible for me. Without electric assist my limit would be about 9 miles. I have a commute budget of 45 minutes which at 9 miles can be done at an average speed of 13mph. To get 15 miles in 45 minutes requires average speed of 20mph , which is not possible without motor assist. At 20mph biking is just as fast as car commuting and more predictable as it is not subject to traffic problems.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@SolarBikeCar 156526 wrote:

To get 15 miles in 45 minutes requires average speed of 20mph , which is not possible without motor assist.

That is not true.

[chris_s]

solarbikecar;156526 wrote:

to get 15 miles in 45 minutes requires average speed of 20mph , which is not possible without an utter disregard for the safety and comfort of other trail users.

ftfy

[Author]

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