How far is your daily commute?

[Bradford Champlin]

I currently trek around 2mi to work, 4mi total daily.  Grocery stores are within 10-15 miles of my current living arrangement.  So not too bad.

I ask this question mainly to get a consensus of how far people commute and in what kind of conditions.  I live in St. Peters, MO and the heat/humidity is outrageous after I get off work at 5pm.  I'm planning on moving out with my gf sometime in the next 6 months, but I'm wondering how far is too far to commute in a non-biker friendly city/area.  I commute all year round, whether rain, snow, or heat.  I like to use my car as little as possible to 1) save gas, 2) save mileage on my car, 3) save money, and 4) get a good work out.

So drop me some comments on how your daily commute is, the conditions, and how much you like and what you could do differently to make it better.

Thanks!

[Walker,Fritz]

I commute 8 miles each way, year round including rain and snow, in Allentown PA.

 

We have no dedicated bicycle infrastructure.   However, I rarely have issues with motorists.  I’m fortunate to be able to use secondary roads for my commute, though some of them have a decent level of traffic.  I also attribute the lack of issues with the way I ride, following all applicable laws, but also more than willing to ‘take the lane’ when that’s what safety requires, riding a straight line, using hand signals, and being generally visible and predictable.

 

     Fritz

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[Bradford Champlin]

Ya, I do the same.  I use all applicable hand signals, but I feel most motorists have no idea what a left turn signal looks like on a bicycle.  They might have learned it when they got their permit/license, but most people don't know.  Along with that, I do plan to get a bright green/reflective vest for riding around from now on.  I notice that motorists probably dont' see me all too well with dark clothing, black panniers, and an olive green LHT.  But at night, I light the road up!

What do you use for lighting on your rig?  I was planning on getting a Schmidt Son28 from Peter White for front hub generator/headlight.

[Elias Friedman]

I commute from my home in Manhattan to either of our two ambulance bases (Brooklyn and Bronx). It's ten miles to the Bronx base and thirteen miles to the Brooklyn base. Commute year round no matter what's thrown at me.

Sent from my Droid2
Elias Friedman A.S., CCEMT-P
אליהו מתתיהו בן צבי
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[Jim Brown]

My actual ride to work is 10 miles but I will ride anywhere from 10 - 19 miles each way. I live and work in the Raleigh NC area. I am more unique then most commuters. I work at night 3PM till 11PM. I really like these hours for commuting since they are totally off hours from most drivers. The drivers I do encounter seem nicer to me. At night they give plenty of room and there are so few of them maybe one car per mile at night They major issue I have at night is people driving around with their high beams on as if it won't bother me. I don't know how they can think this but they do. The area is well lit too so there really is no reason at all to drive with high beams but people do it. Since I do ride at night I do have lights. My main head lights are custom made by myself. I really disliked the cost of cost of good commercial systems that gave me enough light. Plus I don't really like LED systems. Rather then spend 400.00 to 600.00 on a system I spent about 40.00 building my own dual 20 watt halogen system out of PVC pipes.

I ride all year. In the past 5 years I have driven to work once. My opinion is if it is not safe to ride it's also not safe to dive.

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Driving is a PRIVILEGE , not a fundamental right, it can be taken away.

It is my RIGHT to ride my bicycle. It can not be taken away.

[Kelly Bersch]

I live in the Phoenix, AZ metro area. My commute is 26 miles each way.
Most of the year I ride both ways three days per week but in the summer I
take public transportation (with my bike) on the way home in the evening.
110�+ is a little warm for me to ride 26 miles. I only have 3 miles to
catch the train and another 6 miles when I get off a bus at the other end.
It doesn't affect my commute time much to when I take the train/bus. It
only adds about 10 minutes to my commute. I don't think I do too bad for a
56-year-old.

Regards,
Kelly Bersch

[dell500]

That's really awesome to hear! Congrats on doing that commute.  I'm trying to not make it more than 25mi.  It all depends on where I am looking to live in the next 6 months though.  Good to hear there are people that do long commutes like that.

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Regards,

Bradford Champlin

                                          

"Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue." - Plato

[Chris Lipscombe]

I live in London, Ontario, Canada. Cyclists have no rights here,
drivers are purposely aggressive towards cyclists. I heard on the
news this morning that three cyclists have been killed in the London
area in the last few weeks. It is bad enough that I just purchased a
small clip mounted video recorder to video my ride, just in case I am
in an accident, I will have some proof.

I follow the rules of the road and I don't ride on the sidewalks,
pedestrians aside, I think that is more dangerous than riding on the
roadway because of cars pulling out of driveways or parking lots and a
cyclist coming possible from a fairly blind area for the motor vehicle
driver.

The roads here are fairly crappy and in rough shape, although there
are some bike path lanes on some roads. There are some multi use
pathways in London, but for me, they don't really lead anywhere
useful.

A typical commute from home to work (about 6 km) will involve a
motorist trying to accelerate past me on my left to turn in front of
me on my right, then a little bit later, accelerate past me on my left
to turn right in front of me to get to Tim Hortons. Then I am on side
streets and a marked bike lane for a while until I hit the next major
intersection where I will be in the left turning lane, in line with
traffic and keeping up with the pace of traffic where a motorist will
pass me on my right during my left turn to turn left in front of me.
The next two kilometers is a four lane city road where the drivers
will pass you way too close, not moving at all to the left. I have
been clipped by their passenger side mirrors in the past. The last
few blocks are ok most of the way to work, except for a four way stop
where vehicles will accelerate through a four way stop to prevent you
from taking your turn to turn left through the intersection.

Drivers here will get really irate when they can not pass you on the
left to turn right in front of your, blowing their horn, yelling and
swearing at you. Oh, and if you take the lane due to safety or road
obstructions, they become irate again, even threatening physical
violence.

The one time I reported an incident to the police here is when a car
accelerated past me on the left to turn right in front of me,
resulting in me not being able to stop in time and collided. They
took off, but I got the plate and reported it. The officer refused to
press charges, even when the driver admitted they were the driver of
the motor vehicle and were there because, and this is his quote, "I am
not that kind of police officer". He then told me to ride my bike on
the side walks.

Commuting by bicycle is not all that enjoyable for me, I do love
cycling, but it is a necessity, not a luxury.

On Tue, Jul 19, 2011 at 11:36 AM, Bradford Champlin <del...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[James Getaz]

I commute 2 1/4 miles each way, mostly on city streets. The speed limit is 35 mph for about 1/4 mile. I usually go home for lunch, but take a lunch if it's likely to rain. I walk when the roads are snowy or icy (and take a lunch). My legs and back let me know clearly if I miss my lunch ride. Drivers are polite here, so I rarely have to scoot sharply to the shoulder, and I do the things that Fritz mentions, too. I also point out to other bicyclists that are going the opposite way from me that they are riding against the traffic. They mostly say something like, "That's the way I like it." I've been doing this for 26 years and have all the reasons you mention to like it and no reason to change. And over the years I have collected a better set of winter clothes and equipment. Summer, I just ride in my work clothes (I sit at a desk in an air conditioned office so even on a day like today, I don't need to stay away from everyone else by the afternoon).
Jim Getaz
Winchester, Va.

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Subject: RE: [Bicycle Commuting] How far is your daily commute?
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:44:12 -0400
From: WALK...@airproducts.com
To: bicyclec...@googlegroups.com

[Walker,Fritz]

I use a Magicshine LED system.  It puts out 900 lumens, which is very bright.  It’s also very affordable.  With fresh batteries it has way about 3 times more run time than I need (a half hour) when operated on high.

 

Magicshine got some bad press due to some issues with the Li ion batteries releasing their energy – you can read that as catching on fire.  I investigated this a little, and it turns out that all Li ion batteries pose this hazard, so it’s important that they be recharged in a safe manner (well away from flammables, perhaps in a closed fireproof container).  The suppliers are also switching the battery pack to a different supplier.  So I’m sticking with them for next season, as after 2 winter seasons I need new batteries now anyway.  Not advocating you do the same, as this is obviously a serious situation.  That’s a decision to make for yourself, and you may get other opinions in response to this.

 

     Fritz

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[dell500]

Awesome words of wisdom.  I've acquired all the same necessary gear for winter/summer riding.  I'm hoping to get some more here in the winter time (summer clothing that is).  I'll be riding no matter what as long as I don't get rocked by a car.

[dell500]

Nice, I was looking at that same setup as well.  I chose to just a hunting flashlight from Fenix instead with a, pardon my french, shit Fenix bike mount holder.  I'm planning on getting a generator hub and a headlight for the bike instead.  Whole process is gonna be a few hundred, but severely worth the money for a rechargeable light system for night riding.  Just my take on it at least.  I'll probably keep a few battery lights just a backup or friendly sharing.

[Sauerwald Mark]

My current commute is 8 miles, all urban, and flat.   Lots of lights and stop/go traffic.  I gave up my car, so I commute every day.

My primary reason for bike commuting is health  - I had a heart attack 8 years ago, and by integrating exercise into my daily routine I feel that I am far healthier today than I was 8 years ago.

There have been replies which talk about equipment:  I commute on a steel frame bike with fenders and drop bars.   It has a generator hub which powers an always on headlight and taillight.   In the winter when the commute is in the dark, I add a Dinotte headlight and taillight which are on blinking mode.  I figure that if I have to share the road with distracted drivers, then I want to be the distraction.

Mark

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From: Bradford Champlin <del...@gmail.com>
To: bicyclec...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 8:36 AM
Subject: [Bicycle Commuting] How far is your daily commute?

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[Sauerwald Mark]

I have the Schmidt dynohub with a supernova headlight on my primary commuter bike - it gives me more than enough light to commute by on urban roads.   I have another bike with a Shimano Dynohub and a B&M halogen headlight - not nearly as much light and more resistance.   I know, I'm comparing apples to halibuts, but I am sold on the Schmidt/Supernova combination.   I leave it on all the time, and never worry about it.

---

From: Bradford Champlin <del...@gmail.com>
To: bicyclec...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 8:59 AM
Subject: Re: RE: [Bicycle Commuting] How far is your daily commute?

Ya, I do the same.  I use all applicable hand signals, but I feel most motorists have no idea what a left turn signal looks like on a bicycle.  They might have learned it when they got their permit/license, but most people don't know.  Along with that, I do plan to get a bright green/reflective vest for riding around from now on.  I notice that motorists probably dont' see me all too well with dark clothing, black panniers, and an olive green LHT.  But at night, I light the road up!

What do you use for lighting on your rig?  I was planning on getting a Schmidt Son28 from Peter White for front hub generator/headlight.

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[Gordy]

I formerly commuted 32 miles round trip in all seasons. I wasn't an every day cycle commuter, but did a decade of 100+ cycle commutes a year. Now I've moved by intent to less than 20 miles round trip and a bus bailout. Now I might drive once a week or less for doctor appointments or something.

Gordy

[dell500]

Ya, the Schmidt hubs are where it's at.  I've read a bit on the shimano vs schmidt deal, and I definitely think the resistance is less on the schmidt hubs from what people say.

[dell500]

I'm hoping my commute is less than 25.  Seems probably gonna take me 1.5-2 hrs to commute that far with these hills in MO.

[nj_diver]

My normal commute is 5.0 miles for the ride in to work and a little
over 7 miles for the ride home. I sometimes do this commute twice a
day.....depending on my schedule.

Weather this summer has been terrific but over the last couple of days
the heat and humidity have climbed to almost unbearable conditions.
(NJ)

So I've been using a Camelbak backpack loaded with ice to keep me
cool......which is nice for the ride home when it is 90+ degrees with
humidity so thick that it makes it difficult to breathe at times.

When the mornings start getting dark again I use a NiteRider headlight
and a couple of LARGE blinking lights on the back + I wear a high
visibility vest.

I ride all year round as long as the roads are clear of ice and snow.

[rod]

12 miles each way. Three quarters are on a bike path (at least, when
it's clear of snow), but the 2 miles closest to the office are a bit
like the Running of the Bulls...Carry a computer and work clothes in
an Arkel Commuter pannier, mounted on the rear rack of a Surly LHT.
Lights used as needed (Planet Bike 2W Blazer and Beamer 5 combo up
front, Turboflash in the rear),

rod

On Jul 20, 3:02 pm, nj_diver <njvideodi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> My normal commute is 5.0 miles for the ride in to work and atle