Is 15 mile road bike commute too far?

Take the lane, when appropriate. Not necessarily all the time.

True. My bad.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
in.edu__________

(Jeffrey Pogodzinski) wrote in message om...
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.

My commute used to 15 miles one way (it is longer now). If you are in
good shape it shouldn't take much more than an hour, unless the hills
are terrible. If it helps, once I got into it, I would go a couple of
months without ever driving my car to work.

You may try riding on a weekend to check out the best (safest) route.
The safest route is not always the shortest. Also, if you live in a
major city, you may find some streets with wide bike lanes are not
always too safe if they cross a freeway. At rush hour the traffic
getting on and off can make even a marked bike lane dangerous.

The best way to stay alive while riding in traffic is **be more alert
than the motorists**.

But don't let this discourage you. Enjoy.

Tom

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.

Jeffrey Pogodzinski wrote:
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?

No bike lane and no shoulder--take the lane.
Narrow shoulder (less than 3 feet)--take the lane.
Wide paved shoulder (5 feet or more)--ride the shoulder; it's practically a bike lane.
3-5 foot shoulder--Use your judgment.

Luckily for me, I seldomly have to deal with this. Most roads
where I ride either have bike lanes or very wide right lanes. I
don't much like taking the lane but I do it when it makes sense;
even if it does infuriate some drivers.

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

Should I buy some smooth tires before I try it?

I highly recomend them; especially given the distance. They will make
you faster. It's very noticable.

Cheap ones he

http://www.nashbar.com/results.cfm?c...toreid=&init=y
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...22&Sub_ID=5430

I would tend to go with this one:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...e.cfm?SKU=2314
It's cheap, kevlar and handles high pressure for an ATB tire (45-90psi).
Higher pressure means lower rolling resistance which means you go faster.
It also means a harsher ride but given the distance you're covering, I'd
think you'd welcome any reduction in the commute time.

--Bill Davidson
--
Please remove ".nospam" from my address for email replies.

I'm a 17 year veteran of usenet -- you'd think I'd be over it by now

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.

It's actually worse than that, Mayonnaise. Some of those nimrods
are roadies that have started buying their gear from Chinese surplus
shops and so forth. Oh, the shame.

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.

Well, we have to get to work and so forth.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
in.edu__________

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.

In article ,
"Eric S. Sande" writes:

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.

Well, we have to get to work and so forth.

Not to mention getting to the bowling alleys, bingo halls,
beer stores, thrift shops, walk-in clinics, employment
centers, and those "general" bike shops.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

(Thomas Reynolds) wrote:

You may try riding on a weekend to check out the best (safest) route.
The safest route is not always the shortest.

this is some of the best advice I have read on this NG in a long time. I would
say that the safest route is rarely the shortest. And the most enjoyable route
is rarely the shortest. And the route of your bike commute is likely to be
quite different from the route of your car commute.

Note to OP: all this advice about "taking the lane," popular though it may be
to repeat, needs to be taken with a serious grain of salt. The road you have
described (50mph no shoulder) is one of the worst types of roads for cycling.
Attempting to "take the lane" here could very well cause more problems than it
solves. Things could get very nasty depending on how busy the road is in both
directions, what time of day it is, what the culture of traffic is in your
area, what drivers are used to in terms of the traditional use of the road over
the years, etc. If this road is anything like some of the roads I have had to
ride at certain unlucky periods in my life (I imagine a very narrow busy 2-lane
road w/ zero shoulder) I would say avoid it if at all possible. There is no
good way to deal with such a road. Taking a lane is no magic cure-all. The
rider is left with only bad choices and unsavory trade-offs.

Be careful out there. Don't forget to watch for cars coming at you in the wrong
lane. Also, some people find eyeglass mirrors to be very helpful on this type
of road.

Robert

(Jeffrey Pogodzinski) wrote:

Thank you all for your suggestions!

I would reiterate that you'd be happier w/ inverted tread (like a car)
tires vs. knobbies. I have some kenda 1.9" tires i run at 80 pounds,
muuch faster than any knobbies!

Make sure you have the ability to fix a flat should you have one on the
way. I carry an inflator, spare tube and a patch kit and levers.

I will try a test run this weekend.

Excellent idea!

Sometimes adding a mile or three to your ride can be worth it if it
keeps you off of the Indy 500 amateur practice track. Think (no
gagging) outside of the box -- i greatly simplified my commute after
discovering an abandoned railroad bridge that crosses the interstate,
I-88, just west of the Fox River in Illinois. Sometimes cutting through
a parking lot can simplify things, too.

Take your time on the ride, if you're feeling time pressure, just leave
earlier. It's a lot easier and safer.

..max
enjoy!

--
the part of
was played by maxwell monningh 8-p

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?

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

Should I buy some smooth tires before I try it?

As others have stated, you should "take the lane" and invest in some
road tires for your MTB.

Being more assertive as a bicycle road vehicle takes a little getting
used to, but sometimes the worst thing you can do is shyly pedal along
a busy road with no shoulder a mere pedals length away from the curb.
Get out at least a couple feet or more from the curb. Some drivers
might not like it but tough luck.

No need to run yourself into a storm drain with the cover on the "wrong
way", or pothole or piece of muffler or nails or glass...or clipped by
some driver with poor depth perception, just so some impatient motorist
won't lose 5 seconds waiting for an opportunity to pass you safely!

One other consideration: Design your route as *a bicyclist* rather than
a motorist.

You might be surprised to find that alternate, possibly longer or less
direct routes by bicycle don't have the time penalties they would in a
car.


SMH