FLYBYU

I currently drive to work, it is 40km (roughly 25 miles) each way. Most of it is 4 lane divided highway with huge bike lanes. I cycle up and down this highway all the time. The rest is mostly industrial area with a single bike lane going from the highway. I started a new position at work and on alternating weeks I start at 9:30am and work until 6pm. I was thinking of riding those alternating weeks to save gas. It does seem like a long commute daily however. We have showers and change rooms at work, and I work as a heavy duty mechanic, so being clean and smelling nice is not a priority. Anyone else running a commute like this and have some advice to get started? Bike is an old fully rigid mountain bike with sickish 26" tires on it.

Eyes Roll

Try yourself to bike-ride to your work on Friday of the work week and let us know how you are physically feeling over the weekend. It would take about 2 hours, one-way.

Steve B.

When I was 40 and doing some racing, I could handle 2-3 days of a 27 mile one way commute. Many years later as my yearly mileage declined, I had to find alternatives. One was leaving my car at work (as well as shoes), riding home the 27, then return by bike in the AM. I was able to do this once per week and would also do a “park and ride”, where I would drive part way and ride 18, returning in the afternoon. I was typically stashing clothes at work on the days I drove, then road my fast commuter bike, which was essentially a road bike with bigger and more durable tires (32’s). If I needed to carry stuff I used my tourer which could use panniers. My commute was maybe 50% bike lane and bike paths, the rest on street, but I went out of my way to avoid main roads with commuter traffic.

Classtime 

On a new job, I always ride the route on a Saturday first. My commute is only 20 miles each way and I drive on Wednesdays.
A road bike and/or drop bars are best imo.

alcjphil

Until I retired, I commuted to work, 60 km round trip 5 days per week. I also sometimes did a couple of evening rides during the week and a couple of much longer rides every weekend. At times I rode up to 100 days in a row averaging over 500 km per week. My 30 km commuting ride usually took me an average of one hour, depending on wind direction. My 30 km ride home was usually faster than the morning ride to work, because I preferred to arrive without sweating too much since we didn't have showers at work. At the beginning of the season, I would find the ride a bit tiring, but by mid season I would often extend my ride home because I found it bit short

john m flores 

In my early 20s, I'd sometimes ride 19 miles to work. 90 minutes uphill in the morning. 60 downhill in the evening. I only did this once or twice a week at most though.

For the distance you've got, I'd consider an ebike. You'd still get a workout but the motor will really come in handy on those days when you're not at your best or otherwise disinclined to ride that day.

FLYBYU

Very interesting, what type of bike did you use?

sweeks

I've commuted solely by bike a few times over the last 20 years or so, usually on Bike-to-Work Day. The round-trip is just shy of 100 miles, so it's not sustainable.
Most of the times I ride my full-sized road bike, but a couple times I rode my folding bike (once each: Dahon MuXL, Tern Verge S11i)
I normally ride a folding bike, which accounts for about 7 miles of the round-trip; the rest is on Chicago's heavy rail (METRA).

C.I.

Not everyday, 21 ml x 2 (Plano-Dallas-Plano) (49 year old in that time).

Dallas, TX (21 ml x 2)

ScottCommutes

I have a similar bike and have been doing a shorter commute (19m/30Km) every day for about two years. I would suggest doing everything in your power to improve your efficiency on the bike. Get some bolt-on aero bars to battle through wind. Fast tires. Reasonably tight-fitting clothing. Don't carry a lot of stuff - drive all that in. Stay off the brakes and conserve momentum. Look for shortcuts. Keep everything in good repair and carry tools.

By the way, you will obviously save gas, but not necessarily a ton of money. At that mileage, the bike will steadily need tubes and tires and parts and repairs, and you will start to think of each expense in terms of how much gas you could have purchased.

FLYBYU

That is a good point, I have my bike converted to a 1x10spd setup, so parts aren't super cheap. I may try it out on the weekend to get a good idea of what I am up against. You must get in wicked shape cycling that much.

pdlamb

Is it safe to leave a car parked at work overnight? If so, I'd be thinking about driving in with the bike, riding home, then reversing the process the next day.

I used to do a 50 mile rt commute a couple times a week. That included a 10 mile ride to work, followed by a 10 mile ride to pick up a group ride after work and then back home. I was (1) younger then, (2) in better shape than I am now, and (3) frequently tired when I got home after those rides and the next day.

ScottCommutes

I am not in wicked good shape. I'm 49 years old. Ninety minutes of ice skating Friday with my kids had my abs sore for three days, as an example.

The bike commuting is a weird workout. I don't try to exercise or go fast. I focus on safety, durability, and getting to work reliably. I don't stand up. I don't press hard on the cranks. I protect my knees and my body. I'm generally not even breathing hard.

I also don't do any other kind of exercise, so whatever workout I get is far from balanced.

I do burn a lot of calories. Plan on taking some of the gas money you save and sinking it into large packages of whatever it is you plan to eat.

Classtime 

I commute 5000 miles per year. In that time, if I ride only one bike, I’ll need to replace one tire — rotate the front to the back and put a new one on the front. I use nice tires so that one tire will cost me about 70 bucks. I patch my tubes. With a clean chain, I won’t need another one for 2+ years. If I need a new cassette, that is about two tanks of gas for two years of commuting.

noglider 

Going from driving to bike commuting, my food expenses went up, so it didn't seem like I was saving money on fuel. Of course, that's not the whole picture at all.

Smaug1

↑ This, for the win.

I did a similar commute once. It was 27 miles one way. I was a technician at that time, on my feet all day for work. When I got to work I was energized from the commute, and after the endorphins wore off, I was just exhausted. I was not a "cyclist" at that time, though I was in my 20s and in overall good shape. If I had kept doing it, it would've gotten easier as I got fitter, but at the end of the day, I would still have zero energy left.

I decided on a multi-modal commute. Like another poster, it was in the outlying Chicago suburbs and I found a commuter rail train that would do the bulk of it, leaving me with a 1.5 mile commute on the home end and a 1 mile commute on the work end. It worked out swimmingly. I even got to take a nap on the train on the way home on the Quiet Car.

If you don't have an option for a multi-modal commute, eBike is The Way to Go. Don't be afraid to spend real money; remember that this will largely replace a car and even an expensive one will quickly pay for itself in not only gas savings, but also wear & tear. Something like an Aventon Level 2 with full fenders, lights and a rack for a trunk bag or panniers. Or something with a belt drive and internal geared hub will even remove chain & derailleur maintenance. Get something with big enough tires to accommodate FlatOut so you're not dealing with flats all the time. Not fat tires though, unless you plan to ride in significant snow; they don't roll efficiently enough.

Even in Canada's winters*, you will find the commute is doable much of the time. With flat pedals, you can wear regular winter clothes; just don't wear too much jacket. You'll start to sweat quicker than you might think. Boots & mittens will be most important, along with overpants. A 50 mile commute will require you to be careful with the power or charge at work. I'd recommend the latter and just use the battery between the 20-80% state of charge, for maximum battery life.

* depending on where in Canada, of course. I'm in SE Wisconsin, which is similar to a Toronto climate.

ScottCommutes

People give away free food/calories all the time in different ways. Less so with free gasoline.

Currently enjoying a clearance brownie at 75% off.

ScottCommutes

I don't know what to make of posts like this. In the two years I've been bike commuting, I've replaced all of that, plus dozens of other things, from shoes to clothing to pedals to a bottom bracket, a crank arm, brake pads, cables, derailleur pulleys, lube, touch up paint, a seat and a seatpost, spokes, nipples, rim tape, grips, lights, chains, quick links, snow tires.....

Also, I don't have a car to get to work, so for me two bikes is really a minimum.

Classtime 

urbanknight

21 miles each way with a fair amount of elevation gain, but I would only do it twice a week and drive clothes and supplies in between so I didn't have to carry much more than my keys with me. It also allowed me to bundle up at 5am and leave the layers behind when heading home at 4pm.

noglider 

@ScottCommutes and @Classtime: The difference in your climates can explain the difference in wear on your bikes. Riding a bike in the rain introduces a lot of abrasive grit. Last night, I cleaned my chain. Today, I bike-commuted to work and back, and I had the time to clean my bike. I got a lot of grit off, and I had to clean and lube my chain again.

I read that a gallon of gas has 31,000 calories. Given that it costs less than a loaf of bread, I can see all the subsidies going into that commodity. Being a fossil fuel, we are borrowing from our ancestors and our descendants to get such a low price. Of course, the car needs more calories per mile than a cyclist does, but it’s interesting how expensive it is to fuel us.

I recently heard the claim that an e-bike is more energy efficient than an “acoustic bike,” and now I might believe it. It’s not really more efficient, but it could be more cost-efficient when accounting for only fuel.

ScottCommutes

I rode to work in the rain today and I broke my front derailleur cable. I changed all the cables and housings eight months ago. I do ride every day in every kind of weather.

noglider 

How do you suppose that happened? Were you able to use gears that are high enough?

I don't ride that much in the rain. I rarely head out to work if it's raining, though I take a chance on a rainy PM commute. This morning, I thought it would be a gentle mist. Oops. But I was OK. And the rain had abated well before I got there, so I looked presentable.

ScottCommutes

I was lucky. The break happened only about three miles from my house on the ride home, and of course I still had a working rear derailleur. Not a big deal. It broke right at the pinch bolt. I suppose road salt from the winter did it in? I replaced it at home. Now I'm thinking about carrying a derailleur cable, or at least leaving on at work.

It would have been a bigger deal if I had a modern bike with only the rear derailleur. Fewer things to break, but if it goes, you're stuck in your highest gear.

rumrunn6

try it on a quiet Sunday morning & see how you like it. you might arrange for your car w/ a bike rack to be waiting for you so you can drive home afterwards