NyoGoat

I ride a Raleigh Mojave 8.0 mountain bike with road slicks and a rear rack for commuting. My job was 5.5 - 6 miles on the way in and 7 miles home. It was an easy ride, generally taking between 20 and 30 minutes depending on various conditions. I've recently relocated to another city and I have found myself positioned 12 miles from work. I have not yet ridden to work here because of the time commitment. I have four small children at home (ages 6, 4, 1, 1) and I feel bad taking the extra time during day hours and leaving them to my wife alone. I have considered getting an electric motor add-on to speed me up a bit, but I don't know if I want to go that way or not. I hope to at least be able to once a week if not twice a week bike commuting in.

So I guess I’m mostly looking for a "go get 'em tiger! we do it all the time!". How many miles do you consider too long to commute regularly?

On a kind of related note, I’ve been trying to save up for a road bike (kids sure cost a lot of money!) to get into triathlons. I'm sure a good road bike would make the commute faster, but a race bike makes it harder to put a rear rack on. Getting the bag off my back did a whole lot for my sweaty appearance at work. I'm wondering if I just want to look for a great commuter road bike and push off tri's anyway because It can be even more of a time commitment than the daily commute. Then I would enjoy more frequent riding until I can step into racing in a few years when I have more time (I currently am an avid runner and I run a few half’s and maybe a full marathon every year)

Thoughts?

Crawford53

Back a couple years ago, I was doing an 18mi commute each way about three times a week. It was worth the time for me, but then again I didn't have kids. My partner understood the need I had to ride, and was happy with the decrease in car-related costs. I'd say it depends on what you think is worth it. Additionally, you could always drive in one day, ride home then ride in the next day and drive home to save some time.

rumrunn6

go get 'm tiger, but get a road bike

they'l be there when you get home. you can't take care of anyone until you take care of yourself

buy term life insurance though, $100K per person plus per house so 4 kids, wife and house that's $600K
:-) :-)

Leebo

My commute is 18 miles one way. One kid in college, the other out. How long would it take you to drive? My good weather bike commute takes me 15 minutes longer by bike than by car. Kids in school yet? Bike them there. Good bonding time. Get a good dedicated commuter, a race bike would be set up differently. What is the price of good health and a smile post ride? How much time are you not in a gym because you pedal? I'm past the little kids time management crunch, but you still need some me time. I usually do 2-6 trips per week. 1,800 miles this year, how much gas it that? What about a multi modal commute? Take the car/bus/train part of the way,pedal the rest. Good luck. And she loves my sculpted legs too. And my 110/ 70 bp.

alan s 

I ride 30 miles rt each day, plus 20 miles rt driving, so it's doable. You'd still be exercising, right? That takes time.

Torker

Can't speak to the family situation, but as for triathlons prepare to invest money and time. Of course this depends on who you are and what length races your looking to do. Not trying to dissuade you from getting into the sport, it is very rewarding for many folks. Many train every day, sometimes multiple times per day which can eat up a lot of time. Purchasing gear, race fees, pool membership etc. can get expensive.

noglider 

Look at it this way. You need to exercise somehow. You could drive to work and then go to a gym at some other time of day. Some rough number guesses:

30 minutes to drive to work
60 minutes to cycle to work
15 minutes to drive to gym
60 minute workout required at gym

If you cycle to work, the time cost is 30 minutes, but you get a 60 minute workout. You're saving time!

You don't have to cycle to work every day to take advantage of this. Cycling to work only on some days is fine. As it is now, I cycle to work only one day a week, and I'm hoping to increase that. In fact, tomorrow may be my second day of cycling this week.

Darth Lefty 

My commuting took a dive. Right now I'm looking at two days a week, tops. I think I'm more likely now and in the future to take the car home and ride with the family.

My recent experience with a road bike was that gearing up ate all the time conferred by the speed advantage. I did enjoy it more, though.

jralbert

I ride 13mi (21km) each way. It's less than an hour of ride time - which in my city is competitive with driving times during rush hour - plus a bit of overhead at each end of the ride for securing the bike, changing, etc. After a couple of weeks of riding that route every day, it didn't even feel like a hardship, just a normal thing to do. I get two hours of exercise a day while others stew in traffic; I'm happier, more energetic, I have a resting heart rate my doctor is envious of - what's not to like? Go for it.

joeyduck

I used to do a 15 miles one way commute with a newborn (at home) three or four days a week. I started commuting before the kid with a hybrid and then switched to a 30+ pound tourer (exhibit B). I found no appreciable time difference between the two. I now only commute 7-11 miles each way every day with a daycare run most days.

I also recently got a race bike (18-19 pounds, exhibit A) and I would say my commute times have improved at most 10%, so six minutes in a hour. That is following most traffic rules (using Idaho stops at stop signs) and regular city traffic; as a parent I am a huge proponent of self-preservation and take extra care. According to strava my average speeds are: on the daycare run is 22 km/h, normal without kid and seat is 24 km/h and on the race bike barely 26km/h.

So to me it is not worth the extra money for a race bike, it was a great craigslist find and birthday present from my wife to get me into racing. I like that with my LHT I can go on group rides with it and keep up with the B group without big long climbs. If I wanted to race it I need about eight minutes to remove my racks and fenders (probably 15 to reinstall). I would feel completely comfortable doing my initial triathlons on it. But I would scour craigslist for a nice bike to start triathlons on; take your time and a good deal will pop up.

I found that the cycling was crucial for my family. It takes me nearly the same amount of time to ride as it does to drive. Riding makes me happy and I have energy when I get home. Driving makes me sloth-like and grumpy when I get home. Last thing you want to be is grumpy when you get home. So cycling was crucial for mental health, physical health and family cohesion. If I didn’t ride I would have to take an extra hour to go to the pool or out for a run. So a double family time loss.

So in summation: Go get ‘em tiger!


Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:

MikeRides

12 miles is nothing. A 40 minute max ride if you're in decent shape. Depending on the pop. size of the city and time of day, to drive 12 miles can take just as long.

caloso

I started bike commuting *because* I was training for a triathlon. One day it occurred to me that if I had my bike with me at the end of the day, it would be a lot harder for me to blow off training rides.

Butchchr

You can do it!

When the weather cooperates I commute 3 days a week. The ride 14 miles takes about 45depending on how I'm feeling that day. I ride a road bike and carry a backpack, getting a dedicated commuter is somewhere on my to do list. I will say I'm spoiled and there is a bike shower at work so that's far down the list.

As far as needing a Tri Bike, I did my first several on that same road bike. I finally started to build a proper tri bike this winter to be ready for next season.

treadtread

If it is hard to allocate that much time for commuting, maybe you could reach a compromise. Can you leave your car and cycle at work? If yes, you could drive to work, cycle back, cycle to work, drive back etc.

Bike Gremlin

Hybrid frame will have room for fenders and rack, with still more racy geometry. You can do what I did: put drop bars on a hybrid, road groupset etc.

8 hours a day, 5 days a week is too much already. In my country they are pressing for a 6 day work week - with just one day for the weekend. I'm expecting the next thing will be 12 hour work days. I could tell you to sell all you got, buy a farm and spend your whole day growing crops, cattle, along with your family - whole day together.


My coleague's husband works whole week, coming home just for weekends. They have 3 kids. Doing fine (his pay is huge though).

My good friend's father was a sea ship captain - coming home after a month or so, regularly - both their children have become really exquisite people, and his wife seems happy.


So no rule of thumb here. One life, your choice, do your best!

Buffalo Buff

Can't say I understand the people thinking biking can replace gym time. Maybe if all you do in the gym is cardio, but if you do strength training of any sort then the two are not interchangeable. Commuting to work doesn't do to the body what squatting, bench pressing, deadlifting etc. do.

That being said how about starting slow and seeing what happens? How about picking 1 day a week that is most convenient for you and your family for you to bike to work? I'd imagine that would only add an hour to your time spent commuting per week, which isn't a huge change.

FBinNY 

4 kids including 1 year old twins means some trade offs. In your shoes, I'd put off the tris for a while whether I got a road bike or not. Triathlon isn't a cheap sport either in $$$ or time commitment, and your family should come first. OTOH the commuting, while it can take time, also serves other purposes, such as saving dough on fuel, and the 2nd car.

You can also think out of the box a bit and, for example see if you can find a car pool for the ride in, then enjoy a nicer ride home daily. Or ride the bike to work some days, and drive/mass transit on others. Or you might spring for a nice road bike, and trade some of the commutes for an early AM Sunday ride.

However you work it, be sure to consider your wife's needs. The last thing you want is to foster resentment about time or bicycling. Remember the adage ---- Happy wife, happy life.

KenshiBiker

+1 on all the responses that point out the bicycling commuting time needs to be deducted from overall workout time + vehicular commuting time.

My commute is about 14.5 miles each way, 2 to 3 times per week. To me it's just about a perfect distance. I get about an hour's ride each way (though sometimes I'll extend it in the evenings, especially once the weather is nice and the days are longer), which is long enough to make it worth getting dressed, but not substantially longer than if I was driving (especially if there's an accident or some other gridlock on the road). The added benefit is on commute days, I get about 2 hours of exercise (depending on how I'm feeling, it can be fairly strenuous, or a "mellow spin").

Matt144

I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but talk to your wife about it. Ask her if she minds the extra time (assuming your not spending extra gym time). If she's cool with it, than absolutely start riding. It's also a great way to learn your new area better.

As for doing triathlons, realize training for that will be way more time consuming than just commuting to work. However, I would absolutely recommend a road bike, or something hybrid-esque, for a 12 mile commute.

mgw4jc

+1. Most responses here are about the benefits of bike commuting in general - savings on automobile costs; exercise; etc. But it really comes down to what works for you and your family. I vote that you try it a couple of times per week. And is it any surprise that people here are voting to go for it?

I ride a little more than 12 miles one way. Most days are about 45 minutes of ride time. My wife stays at home with our three kids and is home schooling them also. Because of that she already has the brunt end of raising the kids. The extra 30 - 45 minutes (round trip) it takes me to bike vs drive is not that big of a deal.

joeyduck

@Buffalo Buff

Yes it doesn't give an upper body or core workout. But a set of pushups, crunches and planks can be done in a few minutes. I do mine while the kettle boils or right before my son wakes up.

And that is usually sufficient for normal people.

Cycle commuting providse a chance for many with young families and busy lives who might not otherwise have or take an opportunity to exercise. Plus it sets a great example for kids for life long physical fitness.

So to many of us cycle commuting is more than enough.

Booger1

Go get em tiger......What does the boss say?...

likebike23

I don't believe anyone suggested getting a nice used road bike. A sport touring bike with dropout and fork end eyelets would allow for rack/fenders. A really nice bike can be had for ~$300 in my area.

a1penguin

I changed jobs and my commute went from 9 miles to 16 each way, but it's flat except for a couple of overpasses. I took about 8 months off the bike due to personal issues between jobs. I now ride to work 2 or 3 times a week, both directions. I can ride my bike faster than the public transportation. I commute on a road bike. And there are showers at work. I sweat a lot and after a 12 mile ride, you are going to need cleaning up.

You can do it! Just start out with every other day or cycling one direction. Start with something you can do easily and work your way up to back to back days, then more days per week.

You can do it!

Bike Gremlin

Before asking the wife, do get a MANSLATOR: