Cycle commuters - what's your commute like?

Mine's quite great. It's only a few miles, and is on a designated bike route. It takes me about 20 minutes in the morning and 15 going home. I ride or walk almost every day, unless the weather is absolutely horrible.

I have a great little commuter bike with built in headlight and tail light. Panniers and a rack.

2005 Specialized Allez Sport. I have made the ride from work to home on occasion my car is broke. 13.4 mile ride. I usually get it done in about 40 minutes.

Mine's about 6 miles, mostly bike paths. But it's not just one path -- about 4 of them with some cutting into roads to get from path to path. It gets hairy at two intersections during rush hour and I can often find myself waiting 5 minutes before I can pass. I ride a hybrid and have waterproof saddle bags and rain gear if needed, but do not ride in the winter much.

I ride a mile and a half each way, mostly it's a bike lane on a medium-busy city street. There's one hill each way, I don't have to shift for it but I do definitely feel it. Usually if it's raining I'll walk instead of ride. I rode this morning because it was gorgeous, despite a 90% chance of rain when I head home.

I like to bike because parking downtown where I work is about $6/day. Also -- it takes me about 12 minutes to bike to work. I think it would take longer than that to drive, park somewhere, and then walk from there...

I don't commute most days yet, but I'm trying to work up to where I do so and don't get scared off by some rain and predicted thunderstorms, like today. One of my problems is that I often leave work late and while this isn't a big deal in the summer, in spring and fall (and especially winter) it means risking a ride home in the dark, which I'm not yet prepared for. (Winter has other issues, but I'm not worrying about that yet.)

Anyway, my commute offers a choice of about 6 miles in the bike lane along traffic most of the way, with a small bit at the end in a car lane, or about 8 miles, most of which is in a dedicated bike path along Lake Michigan. I prefer the latter. To the bike path is a short (1.5 m) ride in low-traffic neighborhood streets, and from the path is a ride along a busy downtown street, but with a bike lane. The ride to work is a delight when the weather is nice, and my office building makes it easy by having a gym where one can change and freshen up. The ride back isn't quite as nice, as there's no bike lane on the street I take to the path (but that's pretty short) and the path tends to be much more crowded, but it's still more pleasure ride than commute when the weather cooperates.

Right now going the longer way takes me about 45 mins, although I'm trying to work on the speed. That's what taking public transportation takes also.

I'm 7 miles from my job if I take the short route, 9-ish if I take the scenic route along the river. Both routes are mainly along dedicated bike paths, except for the last mile when I get into the downtown area. My building has an indoor bike garage and a nice little locker room, so I don't have to worry if I get all sweaty and icky on my ride in.

I commute when: (a) there's no snow or ice on the ground and (b) when it's not raining. I got a few days in in March, and then 15 days in in April. Sadly, this week is all forecasted to be be rain and/or snow, so I'm getting a bit antsy.

My bike is an old Schwinn mountain bike, from before they were bought by Pacific Cycle. Not the greatest bike, but it's served me well thus far. I have it "tricked" out for commuting with added fenders and a rack. My sister keeps telling me how wonderful her dedicated commuter bike is, but for now, I'm liking my current bike for dealing with potholes and the like. If I do get a new bike, I may chose to go for one that's better for longer rides rather than a commuting one. My longest ride thus far has been 55 miles, and if I want to do a century or a multi day thing, I think I'll need something sleeker. If I had an endless supply of money, I'd probably get a city bike and a touring bike. And, because I'm from Minneapolis, I'd like a fat bike, just in case I ever decided I'd want to do winter riding.

I work from home, so sadly I don't get to ride to work.

If I did, I'd be pretty happy if my commute was as good as my mate Clive's (even with the occasional homicidal driver)

http://www.kinomap.com/watch/yer9kf

2.7 miles to work on a regular bike. I live in Holland so the bike paths are really good.

Mind you, I used to take my car to work when I used to be so freaking LAZY and blame it on the weather. Now, come rain or shine, snow or sunny - I GO BY MY BIKE!!!

the bike I ride



the best commuting bike i've ever had, strong enough to be a complete of roader (have taken it out lots over weekends) but also folds so i can get on trains.

worth every penny

My commute is 11 miles give or take. The first 3 miles are town based and busy, then it's out in to the country for about 5 miles, then another 3ish busy town based. It is along the A38 which connects the two towns of Bridgwater and Taunton, and even out in the countryside it's busy, especially at the times of day I travel. Generally traffic wise the majority of people give me good space, but there is the occasional **** head that tries to scare me. I ride Monday - Friday come rain or shine so I'm pretty immune to it now, and the same goes for the weather!

I love my commute; it's increased my fitness, made me faster and definitely mentally tougher! :happy:

Oh I ride a Dave Hinde road frame built up with my own fair hand; I use it for everything from TT's to my commutes! You could say it's my work horse! :laugh: