Is 15 mile road bike commute too far?

"Fabrizio Mazzoleni" wrote:

Zoot Katz wrote in message ...
And remains quite consistent. I think that's one great advantage of
bicycle commuting.

And looking like a FRED. I think that's one great
disadvantage of bicycle commuting.

Why do you types have to wear crap and ride
junkers?

What makes me angry about you guys is that
the general public sees you every day and gets
the impression all cyclist ride hybrids or other
lamers and wear dorky gear from those general
bike shops.

I'm devoting all my time to putting forward the
image and lifestyle of the euro pro and you
types are ruining that for me.

Far from it, Fab! I always tried to maintain proper kit level when
riding to work. Sure, that meant I had to drive my clothes in every
couple weeks, but I was able to look marvelous on my way to work. And
the best part was I could cruise around the parking lot for a while
when I got there so all the folks who drive to work (the shame!) could
see how it should be done.

I did have to compromise a little and ride MTB shoes and pedals, but
made sure they looked like "real road shoes" so I wouldn't have to
listen to the "tsk, tsk, tsk" from the Real Roadies [tm] I passed.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Erik Freitag wrote:

In article ,
(Claire Petersky) wrote:

Depends on how hilly the ride is, and how many lights and traffic you
have to contend with. My ride is relatively hilly -- only one flat
section -- and is somewhat more downhill in to work and uphill for the
way back.

Oddly enough, my commute (26 mi one-way and a max of 3x week) is uphill
and into the wind in both directions. Or maybe that's just me.

It shouldn't be a problem - after all, your miles are shorter than
ours... oh, and I hear that in the southern hemisphere, the rides are
all downhill and with the wind in both directions. That must make it
hard on those Aussie sprinters in the Tour!

;-)

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

That's a pretty long ride if you're working in the middle of that commute.
A road bike would be best, but be sure to add fenders, lights and a rack.

Vin - Menotomy Vintage Bicycles, Inc.
http://OldRoads.com


Hi,

I am thinking of buying a road bike to commute to work every day.

Would 15 miles each way be too far?

I am in pretty good shape but new to biking.

About how long would it take?

How fast (average speed) can the average beginner go on a road bike?

Thanks, Jeff.

(Jeffrey Pogodzinski) wrote in message . com...
Thank you all for your suggestions!

I will try a test run this weekend. The only thing I do not like is
the lack of bicycle lanes or a shoulder on some parts of my ride that
can not be avoided.

How do you deal with no bike lanes?

I have a mountain bike -- Giant ATX 890 -- it has knobby tires.

Should I buy some smooth tires before I try it?

Jeff.

Hi Jeff,
I commuted for a while on a mountain bike with knobby tires and it was
fine. However once I replaced the tires with slicks I was much happier
- I could go faster with less effort.

You don't need bike lanes to ride on the road. You should ride
vehicularly - the same as you would drive a car, with the exception
that you keep as far to the right as practicable. Which is usually
about 3 feet out from the curb - if you hug the curb you will get the
impression that cars are out to kill you as they whiz by and leave you
minimal room, and its nice not to ride over storm sewers etc. If there
is not sufficient room for a bicycle and a car in the same lane then
ride in the center of the lane so cars need to change lanes in order
to pass, rather than give the impression there might be room.

You may need to try a couple of routes before you find one you like. I
have a different route going to work and coming home because of what
works out best for uphill vs. downhill and also for traffic patterns
at different times of the day.

Here's some ideas for picking routes:
1. residential roads - when you are a beginner these will seem
attractive as they are less trafficked. However those speed bumps and
stop signs designed to slow traffic through the neighbourhoods will
slow you down too, so its a quietness vs. speed tradeoff. They also
may require more turns and not as direct of a straight line.
2. minor arterials - find the road that you would pick if you were a
car and look at what is parallel to it. Often these are good choices
since they go straight through, have traffic lights instead of stop
signs. But they may be less attractive to cars because they have less
lanes slowing down the speed - bad for them, good for you.
3. speed limits and effective speeds - the slower the cars go the more
comfortable it is to share the road with them. So choose roads with
lower speed limits, or roads that are more congested. While picking
busier roads may seem counterintuitive, congestion can slow traffic
down to biking speed - perfect
Generally roads with high speed limits, not so wide lanes, no shoulder
and frequent traffic should be avoided. On low frequency traffic roads
with high speeds (such as country roads) the low traffic makes it easy
for faster traffic to pass.
4. Width of roads - wider lanes make it easier to share bike and cars
in one lane without any conflict. (its like having a bike lane but
without the white stripe) However wider lane roads also tend to move
faster (see point 3)

To get respect from motorists, be assertive (but not aggressive), have
courteousy for cars but don't assume that you have to move for them
either, signal your turns, stop for all traffic lights (even with no
cars coming)

If there are other cyclists in your area, or some kind of local group
with email, they are great resources to ask about route planning. You
may find out shortcuts you never knew existed.

Be sure to have good front and rear lights when riding at night -
visibility is important! You never know when you might have to stay
late at work so even if you don't think you'll be riding after dark
they are good insurance.

As for the distance - If you live somewhere with decent public transit
that you can take your bicycle on, you could try doing a half bike and
half transit if you find the distance to be much. Or if there is
somewhere you can park your car conveniently halfway if you drive you
can do a half drive half bike. It may take a while before your commute
feels easy enough to do every day.

HTH
Tanya

My commute to work is about 14.3 miles so it is similar to yours in
distance. My route dosesn't have any significant climbs, and I spend
all but 4 or 5 of those miles on the bike path so I have no cars to
deal with for the most part. When I'm off of the bike path I take back
streets with the exception of the last road that leads to work. So
probably just under a mile is spent on a busy street.

My shortest time for this commute has been 48 minutes. Obviously I was
haulin' a*s that day and had a tailwind to boot. The longest it has
taken is 65 minutes, when I was either not feeling well or having a
really slow recovery day. Since I vary my rides to work with recovery
days and very hard work days (intervals and time-trial speed runs) I
can be pretty well worn down if things are also tough at work. Like
today for instance is a recovery day, but I'm feeling pretty poorly
given yesterday's workout was so hard, and I've been riding either 5
or 6 days a week for several weeks now. I'm really gonna be going home
slowly today.

The two most important things I've found when commuting like this and
putting in major efforts, is getting enough sleep and eating so you
have energy. Its not as easy as it sounds, beleive me.

Good luck!

On Tue, 5 Aug 2003 19:28:51 -0400, David Kerber
wrote:
Depending on what time I go out, it's easy to get the wind against you
both directions in Narragansett. If I start out going norte around noon
or so, by the time I turn around, the sea breeze has filled in from the
south and I'm riding into it again.

The parts of Narragansett I've been to, while windy,
at least tend to be pretty flat...it's uphill both
ways here in East Greenwich.

--
Rick Onanian

Fabrizio Mazzoleni wrote:

Zoot Katz wrote in message ...
And remains quite consistent. I think that's one great advantage of
bicycle commuting.

And looking like a FRED. I think that's one great
disadvantage of bicycle commuting.

Why do you types have to wear crap and ride
junkers?

What makes me angry about you guys is that
the general public sees you every day and gets
the impression all cyclist ride hybrids or other
lamers and wear dorky gear from those general
bike shops.

I'm devoting all my time to putting forward the
image and lifestyle of the euro pro and you
types are ruining that for me.

A recumbent is even better, since you can dispense with the cycling
clothes and just wear wicking fabric "travel clothes".

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

On 4 Aug 2003 16:22:42 -0700, (Jeffrey Pogodzinski)
wrote:

Thank you all for your suggestions!

I will try a test run this weekend. The only thing I do not like is
the lack of bicycle lanes or a shoulder on some parts of my ride that
can not be avoided.

How do you deal with no bike lanes?


Take the lane, or find another route.


I have a mountain bike -- Giant ATX 890 -- it has knobby tires.

Should I buy some smooth tires before I try it?


Yes! Yes, yes, yes....... Well, if you can't find get tires right
away, don't worry and don't let it stop you. Just realize that losing
the knobbies will make a big difference.

Jeff.

Lots of good things said by others, and I hope that it goes well for
you. One thing that I didn't see mentioned is one-way commutes. Ride
in one morning, get home another way (bus, car pool, etc.).

Or drive the car to work on Sunday and bike home. Then ride the bike
in on Monday.....

The point being that if you are new to commuting, have other options
available, at least until you build up some experience. And if you
find the couple of hours are taking too big a hunk out of your day,
you'll have ways to make the 15 mile trip five times a week.

"Tanya Quinn" wrote in message
om...
(Jeffrey Pogodzinski) wrote in message
. com...
Thank you all for your suggestions!

I will try a test run this weekend. The only thing I do not like is
the lack of bicycle lanes or a shoulder on some parts of my ride that
can not be avoided.

How do you deal with no bike lanes?

I have a mountain bike -- Giant ATX 890 -- it has knobby tires.

Should I buy some smooth tires before I try it?

Jeff.

Hi Jeff,
I commuted for a while on a mountain bike with knobby tires and it was
fine. However once I replaced the tires with slicks I was much happier
- I could go faster with less effort.

Alot faster with alot less effort.


You don't need bike lanes to ride on the road. You should ride
vehicularly - the same as you would drive a car, with the exception
that you keep as far to the right as practicable. Which is usually
about 3 feet out from the curb

That is an off-hand measurement that is both vague and misleading. Lane
widths vary and so do shoulders, as well as the presence or absence of hard
shoulders.

- if you hug the curb you will get the
impression that cars are out to kill you as they whiz by and leave you
minimal room, and its nice not to ride over storm sewers etc.
If there
is not sufficient room for a bicycle and a car in the same lane then
ride in the center of the lane so cars need to change lanes in order
to pass, rather than give the impression there might be room.

Very good.


You may need to try a couple of routes before you find one you like. I
have a different route going to work and coming home because of what
works out best for uphill vs. downhill and also for traffic patterns
at different times of the day.

Here's some ideas for picking routes:
1. residential roads - when you are a beginner these will seem
attractive as they are less trafficked. However those speed bumps and
stop signs designed to slow traffic through the neighbourhoods will
slow you down too, so its a quietness vs. speed tradeoff. They also
may require more turns and not as direct of a straight line.
2. minor arterials - find the road that you would pick if you were a
car and look at what is parallel to it. Often these are good choices
since they go straight through, have traffic lights instead of stop
signs. But they may be less attractive to cars because they have less
lanes slowing down the speed - bad for them, good for you.
3. speed limits and effective speeds - the slower the cars go the more
comfortable it is to share the road with them. So choose roads with
lower speed limits, or roads that are more congested. While picking
busier roads may seem counterintuitive, congestion can slow traffic
down to biking speed - perfect
Generally roads with high speed limits, not so wide lanes, no shoulder
and frequent traffic should be avoided. On low frequency traffic roads
with high speeds (such as country roads) the low traffic makes it easy
for faster traffic to pass.
4. Width of roads - wider lanes make it easier to share bike and cars
in one lane without any conflict. (its like having a bike lane but
without the white stripe) However wider lane roads also tend to move
faster (see point 3)

To get respect from motorists, be assertive (but not aggressive),

Some people don't know the difference. I prefer to be aggressive when
necessary.

have
courteousy for cars

Do not, I repeat, do not have courtesy for cars. This might sound trivial
to you, but the wording is important to the meaning of language. Cars are
operated by people and you do not give courtesy to inanimate objects. And
only respect a motorist if they deserve it.

but don't assume that you have to move for them
either, signal your turns, stop for all traffic lights (even with no
cars coming)

If there are other cyclists in your area, or some kind of local group
with email, they are great resources to ask about route planning. You
may find out shortcuts you never knew existed.

Be sure to have good front and rear lights when riding at night -
visibility is important! You never know when you might have to stay
late at work so even if you don't think you'll be riding after dark
they are good insurance.

Yes, please spend more than a minimal amount of money on the weakest light
you can possibly buy. I'm constantly amazed at the number of idiots who
think their life is worth no more than a $15 or $20 headlight


As for the distance - If you live somewhere with decent public transit
that you can take your bicycle on, you could try doing a half bike and
half transit if you find the distance to be much. Or if there is
somewhere you can park your car conveniently halfway if you drive you
can do a half drive half bike. It may take a while before your commute
feels easy enough to do every day.

HTH
Tanya

Nice post.

Robin Hubert )

In article ,
says...
On Wed, 6 Aug 2003 20:17:21 -0400, David Kerber
wrote:
Yes, most of Narr is pretty flat, but have you ever ridden down the hill
to the water by the URI Bay Campus? That's a workout coming back up.
According to my computer, it runs about 14%. It's short, though.

What computer do you have that measures grade?

My Specialized (don't remember the model) does; it has an altimeter, and
combining that with the odometer with a little math gives you the grade.

--
Dave Kerber
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