Navek

Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum and to biking in general and had a few questions. I've gone through many of the threads here and got a lot of good information but what I haven't found is how far I should expect to be able to ride right off the bat.

My work is a little over 6 miles one way. There is very little elevation change and I'll be traveling on paved bike trails. I'm 29, about 6'2 235 and about the only exercise I do is golf and occasionally use an elliptical in the winter. So I'm not in great shape. Is 12 miles 2-4 times a week too much at the beginning? It doesn't seem too far to me but I'm afraid of dropping $700-$1,000 on a bike, realizing I've bitten off more than I can chew and then getting discouraged.

I'd appreciate the input of anyone who may have gone through the same thing. Also, I need to have access to my car after work so driving one way and riding back isn't really an option.

Thanks,

Kevan

1nterceptor

Maybe you can rent or borrow a bike for a day or two?
This way you can try out your commute before actually
spending serious money. But even if you can't do your
route 4 times a week in the beginning, eventually you
will

SlimRider

Hey there Kevan!

Most cyclists can ride at about 14-16 miles per hour. That's about 7.5 miles in half an hour. If you can't ride a bike for half an hour, then you need to purchase one, so that you can. Eventually after a little practice, you'll be able to ride for hours.

So have you decided upon the type of bike you're going to commute on?

- Slim

chasm54

No,a twelve mile round trip 4 days per week is not too far. It's flat, even a new cyclist will be able to maintain a comfortable 12mph, that's only a half-hour each way, you'll be fine. If you are very out of shape and find it tiring, start with two or three days per week and build on that.

Don't be discouraged under any circumstances. Choosing to commute by bike will be the best decision you have made in a while. And within about three months you'll get faster, your journey time will fall and you'll be looking for ways to spend more time on the bike.

The Chemist

Six months ago I started with a 45km round trip commute 2 or 3 times a week. It was tiring at first, but now I am up to 4-5 times per week and feeling good. It gets better pretty quick.

tsl

That's hard to predict. It's different for everyone.

Myself, I only had to stop and rest once on my way home from the LBS with my shiny new bike. The total trip was 0.67 miles. Yes, I had to stop and rest after a third of a mile.

At the time I was working at locations, 2 and 3½ miles away. It was about two months before I could get all the way to work without stopping to rest. In those early days, I hoped for red lights, and cursed green ones.

Mine is probably one of the more extreme cases…

That said, in five months I did my first half-century (50 miles), my first metric (100km, 62 miles) came at seven months. But at the time I was essentially stringing together a bunch of 10-mile rides.

These days, I changed my workplace location to one a little further away, 4½ miles, since commuting is about my only exercise in the winter. This way I get in a minimum of about 50 miles a week. Weekends 40-50 milers are my favorite, and I have no trouble at all with double that.

The advice I never had a chance to follow, because it wasn't for a couple of months that I discovered BF, is take a test ride on the weekend or another day off. That'll give you a chance to evaluate both your route and your motor.

yuzu

I'll chime in since our situations are similar; same age, same flat commute and I just started this fall. Before that I've been pretty sedentary since high school. Mine is about 4.5 miles one way, takes me about 30 minutes depending on how many stop lights I hit. 14 to 16 mph average is pretty close, I can hold about 12 mph without over exerting myself and I hope that's something that will increase over time.

They way I figured out if I could do it or not was to ride my route on an off day. I had no problems going 4.5 miles and then turning around and doing the 4.5 miles back so 6 miles really shouldn't be a problem. I did pace myself at a nice steady speed, you can ride longer and farther at a slower speed than trying to sprint your whole way there.

SlimRider

Hi there Yuzu!

That was really great information.

Thank you!

- Slim

Scooby214

I'd venture to guess that you can do it or build yourself up to it. One thing I would suggest is that you make sure your bike fits you properly, meaning the seat is at the right height and setback, the handlebars are in a good position for you, etc.

I started commuting last January. My trial ride was on MLK day, so I didn't have a time deadline. I made the commute successfully, though I had to stop a few times for breaks. My commute is 13.5 miles each way, and I was quite sore by the end of my ride home. I later discovered that some minor adjustments to my bike allowed my legs to be more efficient. The sore leg problems I was having improved, and the commute quickly became easier.

I now do the commute 3-5 times per week with ease and have lost a considerable amount of weight. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, and I save well over a tank of gasoline each month by leaving the car parked at home. Commuting by bike has been one of the best decisions I've made.

vtjim

6.5 mostly-flat miles was how I got started, too. I thought I'd do it a couple of times a week and build up to more days, but after the first day I thought it wasn't so bad, so I just kept doing it. On the first few Fridays I was a bit sore but not bad.

My wife and I moved last month so now I'm only 2 miles to work. I feel like a lazy slob.

alan s 

For the same amount of energy expended, a bike is about 4-5 times faster. Therefore, riding 6 miles on a bike is roughly equivalent to walking a little over 1 mile. If you can walk about a mile each way, you should be able to ride a bike 6 miles without a problem.

Micheal Blue

This thing is so individual that nobody can tell you how you can handle the biking. I would say that the best may be to borrow a bike and try a ride of that length and see how your muscles feel the next day. If they are not too sore, your body may be OK biking several days in a row.
Of course, the danger of borrowing someone else's bike is that it may not fit you properly and it may not be the setup you'd like, so it could
contribute to discouragement. My opinion is that biking is so much fun and is so contageous, that dropping up to a thousand bucks on a bike (which is not that much, btw) is fine even if you're not sure if you'd like it for commuting. I agree that going at a pace that you find relaxed
is very important. Trying to keep up with other bikers or trying to appear "stronger" could ruin the whole thing.

stonefree

Six miles is nothing. Even if you can only average 10mph at first, while you're smelling the roses you can do that in one hour, which is the perfect fitness time for me and I'm an old guy. Buy a used Trek road or hybrid bike and you can't go wrong and won't spend much and you can probably sell it when you want something better and want to go faster. Have some fun when you ride to work.

tarwheel 

That should be a piece of cake. Try riding your route on a weekend, and you'll see. I ride on supported bike tours every year and you would be amazed at the people who ride 40, 50, 60 or more miles a day for a week -- many of whom do very little training and don't regularly ride, and including children, very overweight people and elderly.

bud16415

If you are 6'2" 29 years old and 235 and in ok shape physical shape but out of shape from not doing much and I'm assuming a non smoker. You should be able to get on a modern bike and do 10 miles at 10 MPH without any problem at all on level ground. Your conditioning will improve much faster than you think but don’t count on a lot of weight loss without restricting intake. What I found when getting back into riding at 50 years old was the ride gave me an appetite. These forums are great places to read and feel a part of what others are doing and will keep your interest up in riding. Select gears that let you spin freely and have a moderate ride to work and if you want to push yourself do it on the way home. Most people just want to get to work in the morning and have a time to meet. Return trips you can have several routes to mix it up and depending on how you feel take the one that gives the workout you might want to try. Time returning isn't much of a issue so if you need a rest take it.

You will have no problem doing what you are asking about!

The questions about what kind of bike to buy are very good ones and something to think about. I see quite often LBS lead people down the path of what they want to sell you. Think out what bike and sizing and how its equipped very well, or get a used bike for low cost to get started while you figure out what is right for you.

One other comment for a new rider is (well a few comments) first is wear a helmet $20 walmart is fine get a front light and a rear blinker another $20 at walmart is fine, and if you will be on a multi use path get a $5 bell.

Don’t worry about clip or clip less just get platform peddles for at least a year and get used to riding.

Lastly don’t plan your routes like you were driving your car. Where I live from my house to town is 2 miles on a busy road with a few steep climbs. the roundabout way is about 5 miles and with country roads and slight climb here and there. It never dawned on me to take the long way until I saw a older neighbor coming that way on his bike and we talked about it. It might add a few minutes but the ride is so much safer and fun that way not to mention energy output. And a long downhill coming home is always more fun than a short downhill riding the brakes.

R3dAll3z

Navek, just like any exercise, its hard when you begin, and as you go, it gets easier. To me, the most important thing is comfort. If you are not comfortable, you wont be able to enjoy the ride and struggle. I suggest you visit your local bike shop, get fitted (figure out what size bike you need) and ride a few bikes in your price range. Focus on comfort, not brand names and shiny colors. Most common complaint is the seat/saddle discomfort. Your butt is going to feel uncomfortable at first, even if you have a Brooks (leather saddles are my favorite) saddle, but with time, you will get used to it. Your commute isn't very long, you will be OK. Extra gel seats are useless. I recommend padded shorts or pants for colder days. Second problem could be some pain in your hands. A good handlebar tape and maybe some padded gloves will work great. I recommend cork tape or leather (synthetic tape does not absorb moisture makes things worse on longer rides). Last but not least is the pedals. Ride a bike with platform pedals and then try toe clips. See how they feel. I got used to toe clips but ended up getting clip-less pedals for speed and longer rides. Comfort is the key. There are a lot of helpful people at local bike shops that will be happy to help you with your questions and might suggest something you might not be advised on here. Everyone is different, what works for me might not work for you.
Your commute is not very long if its 12 miles round trip. It wont be easy when you begin, but trust me, more you ride, easier it will get. Just not the first five to ten minutes while you warm up

MNBikeCommuter

No problem. Just do it. :-)

RaleighSport

Well.. I'm 30 and in fairly good shape.. but I am a smoker! But yeah, when I hopped back on the bike for the first time since 16.. or that ballpark first thing I did was 15 miles on a 50lb raleigh, not the greatest experience but hey I made it back still riding the bike! I'm betting you'll be fine, especially since you get to "Rest" at work till the next 7...

pdlamb

I started with a 5.5 mile commute. Honestly, I didn't even try for a few years, although I was in my 40s when I re-started cycling. But 5 miles was a good trip to take my girls down to a bookstore (with coffee shop) or ice cream store. After a summer or two of that, I started branching out.

I'd suggest you start slow. Aim for 2-3 times a week (TT or MWF, maybe?). Give yourself permission ahead of time to drive in or take transit if you don't feel like it. I'd guess you'll start feeling like it a lot more after a couple of months.

Make sure you get slicks (tires without tread) if you start on a mountain bike. You should be able to get a decent MTB for $300 or so at your Local Bike Shop (LBS). Slicks cut the rolling friction a lot, which means you can ride faster with less effort. It's why many of us end up on road bikes of some description (touring, 'cross, racing, etc.), because knobbies slow you down.

pallen

Just about anyone should be able to handle 6mi with 8hrs to recover for another 6mi. You might not set any speed records, but you'll definitely get there.

muu

i started my ~9mi round trip commute around april of this year. last 4 months or so I've pretty much not missed a commute unless I knew I had to be at a jobsite after I got in the office. When I first started I felt like 15mph was 'really fast!' and 12-13 was pretty normal. 6mi at that speed would be ~1/2 hr. You'll still feel like you're hot stuff -- looking at the way kids on their bike go to school, we were probably going 10 or so back in the days, and the jump in speed will be noticeably different.

You'll definitely get faster over time, and the more you understand road hazards the more you'll feel safe about being on the bike as well. Definitely reward yourself with a snack or something when you do the commute, and give it a try for a while. Pretty soon you'll be wanting longer commutes, making up 3-4 patterns for different length routes before and after work.

sm1960

If you can walk a golf course you can bike the 6 miles. If you carry your bag you can bike 12 easy.

sauerwald

You can do it, but I disagree with the advice to borrow a bike to try it out. One of the biggest factors in how you will feel is the bike fit, if you were proposing walking to work, you wouldn't borrow someone else's shoes to try it out, you would look for a pair of shoes that fit you well.

I would go to a local bike shop, and tell them what you want to do. Don't let them sell you some road bike designed for racing, or a full suspension mountain bike, I would start out with a commuter or hybrid bike, but make sure that it fits you well. After riding for a while, you will have a better idea of what bike is really right for you, and if things work out, you will be going back with much more specific ideas of exactly what kind of bike you need/want.

For what it's worth, I am 53, and have an 8 mile commute each way. I ride it slowly and easily enough to not work up so much of a sweat that I have to change clothes when I get to work, and riding that way, the commute takes me 40-45 minutes. If want to push harder, I can do it in half that time.

gecho

So long as you don't over-exert yourself in the beggining the distance shouldn't be a problem. For me there has always been a temptation to ride fast, and a few times when I first started it lead to exhaustion. Particularly when going into a headwind, you just need to accept that it will be slower.

As other suggested, a used decent quality mountain bike is an inexpensive way to start. If you rush out now and buy a new hybrid, you may find by next year that you wish you had bought a drop bar road / cross / touring bike instead.

Navek

I appreciate all the replies. I'll be checking out a few local bike shops this weekend and if all goes well be riding into work on Monday. Thanks again all, a lot of good information in here.