NationStates Jolt Archive

I've decided to try bicycling to work/school. I've pretty much sold myself on the health benefits and savings, and I've reconciled myself with the risks of getting clipped in traffic.

The real problem is, its 16 miles one way EDIT (sorry): (around 25 km). Is there anybody here who bikes to work/school on a regular basis, and if so, is this a realistic commute?

I know it depends mostly on me, but I'm wondering if any veteran peddlers out there have any insight. I'd be doing it at least 2 days a week.

When I was in Japan, I walked everywhere, at least 2 or 3 hours a day, and I lost like 40 pounds (like 18 kg). As soon as I got back to America, I was back to driving everywhere, and it came right back. I'd really like to get back down, and I think biking might be the trick. Thoughts?

Meh, I dont' commute by bicycle, I walk, however, I've biked 10 km in half an hour.

It really depends on the weather conditions in your area and how presentable you have to be upon arrival. If it's too hot or too cold most of the year, you might want to consider the bus.

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Jaws was never my scene
And I don't like Star Wars
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All I wanna do is

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The real problem is, its 16 miles one way (around 10 km).


As far as I know one (imperial) mile is 1.6 km. So 16 miles would be about 25 km.

Go for it man! Btw 10km is 6.2 mile which is nothing really. 16miles may be daunting at first but it pretty easy to keep a steady pace of 15 mph+ over long dinstance (and not too many steep hills). The health benifits will be enourmous, and you don't necessarilly need to do it every day. Try doing it once a week, then up the ante. I myself sometimes cycle to and fro to work, and every Wednessday I run home: 10 miles.
Beware of bussess though, the drivers are jerks mostly (in my experience).

Meh, I dont' commute by bicycle, I walk, however, I've biked 10 km in half an hour.

It really depends on the weather conditions in your area and how presentable you have to be upon arrival. If it's too hot or too cold most of the year, you might want to consider the bus.

10 km in half an hour, is that "sprinting", like gunning it, or a moderate pace? I'm prepared to block off over an hour if I need to. I'm in the U.S. Southwest, so its pretty warm in general.

As far as I know one (imperial) mile is 1.6 km. So 16 miles would be about 25 km.

thanks, I think you're right

sorry, I must've reversed the conversion, my bad

10 km in half an hour, is that "sprinting", like gunning it, or a moderate pace? I'm prepared to block off over an hour if I need to. I'm in the U.S. Southwest, so its pretty warm in general.
This was going along a park path at a rather casual pace, there were more hills and the like than if I were to take the main streets so I think that might have slowed me down a bit.

Try the commute on one of your days off to see how you feel about it. I would reccomend taking bike/pedestrian paths instead of the road too, no traffic to deal with.

And if it's regularly really warm, you might not want to do this, as you'll be all sweaty by the time you get to work.

Try the commute on one of your days off to see how you feel about it. I would reccomend taking bike/pedestrian paths instead of the road too, no traffic to deal with.

And if it's regularly really warm, you might not want to do this, as you'll be all sweaty by the time you get to work.

Trying it out first is a good idea. Unfortunately, my town doesn't go much for bike/pedestrians paths, but I'm trying to map out a route with a bike lanes on the roads, there are a few.

Yeah, sweat's a fact. I remember when I'd show up at work in Japan, I looked like somebody had dumped a bucket over me. At first I couldn't figure out why there was some kind of white grainy substance building up on my belt and pants. Then I figured out that after the sweat dried, it was leaving deposits of salt...

I have regularly cycled up to 12 km to commute to work. Not sure I would be prepared to cycle 25 km. Not because I can't - I regularly make rides much longer than that - but because of the time involved and how early I'd have to get up in the morning. 12 k takes me half an hour, 25 k would take me an hour. I know there are people who take well over an hour to commute to work by car, but frankly, I'm not getting up before 7 am for either reason.

Oh, and I'm one of those lucky people with shower facilities at work.

I've decided to try bicycling to work/school. I've pretty much sold myself on the health benefits and savings, and I've reconciled myself with the risks of getting clipped in traffic.

The real problem is, its 16 miles one way EDIT (sorry): (around 25 km). Is there anybody here who bikes to work/school on a regular basis, and if so, is this a realistic commute?

I commute every weekend to work, but that's only about 2km away. Sometimes I cycle to college (5km away), but I usually take the bus. 25km sounds like a hell of a long cycle each day. I suggest public transport.

I bike where I can, if my bike is working (a pedal has fallen off ATM, t3h suxx0r). You can keep up a good clip if there isn't a bad hill to break the rythm. Biking in the heat is worse but as long as you take a platypus (water carrier 'bag', wonderful thing) or smething like it you should be OK.

I commute every weekend to work, but that's only about 2km away. Sometimes I cycle to college (5km away), but I usually take the bus. 25km sounds like a hell of a long cycle each day. I suggest public transport.

According to my wife, the busses here in town have bike racks on the front, so I might be able to mix the biking with bussing. At least in the beginning, I'm guessing I might have to have lots of bussing with some biking, but then I'm losing some of the health benefit. Still, if I find that I really can't hack riding over an hour each way, I might not have a hoice.

25 km one way is a little too much to just immediately start cycling twice a day. But there was a time when I cycled 20km to and from work...for a 12 hour shift in a foundry, no less.

10k in a half-hour? Thats pretty easy actually...seeing as I can average 30km/h on any given day. Thats with bike paths and through parks mind you...contending with traffic can really slow you down at times.

Sweat is a big problem, as some have mentioned. If you want to be presentable once you reach your destination, I would suggest public transit or a car.

I've decided to try bicycling to work/school. I've pretty much sold myself on the health benefits and savings, and I've reconciled myself with the risks of getting clipped in traffic.

The real problem is, its 16 miles one way EDIT (sorry): (around 25 km). Is there anybody here who bikes to work/school on a regular basis, and if so, is this a realistic commute?

I know it depends mostly on me, but I'm wondering if any veteran peddlers out there have any insight. I'd be doing it at least 2 days a week.

When I was in Japan, I walked everywhere, at least 2 or 3 hours a day, and I lost like 40 pounds (like 18 kg). As soon as I got back to America, I was back to driving everywhere, and it came right back. I'd really like to get back down, and I think biking might be the trick. Thoughts?

Its a great idea. bicycling is a lot of fun and its a great way to lose pounds. If your job is in the city however watch out for nut drivers.

I do this daily, but I live in the Netherlands where there are seperate roads for cyclists, next to the car and pedestrian ones. My country is also quite flat, with no noticeble elevations in altitude. If the terrain near you is hillrich, definately do not start with 2x 25 km a day - and expect to take more time.

Why not try the route out ?

I do this daily, but I live in the Netherlands where there are seperate roads for cyclists, next to the car and pedestrian ones. My country is also quite flat, with no noticeble elevations in altitude. If the terrain near you is hillrich, definately do not start with 2x 25 km a day - and expect to take more time.

Why not try the route out ?

I've got time to run fractions of it through before I implement this idea, so I think its a good idea to have a few weeks of weekend test runs. Vegas is pretty flat, but I guess I'll find out if its flat enough for a fat guy on a bicycle...

I've decided to try bicycling to work/school. I've pretty much sold myself on the health benefits and savings, and I've reconciled myself with the risks of getting clipped in traffic.

The real problem is, its 16 miles one way EDIT (sorry): (around 25 km). Is there anybody here who bikes to work/school on a regular basis, and if so, is this a realistic commute?

I know it depends mostly on me, but I'm wondering if any veteran peddlers out there have any insight. I'd be doing it at least 2 days a week.

When I was in Japan, I walked everywhere, at least 2 or 3 hours a day, and I lost like 40 pounds (like 18 kg). As soon as I got back to America, I was back to driving everywhere, and it came right back. I'd really like to get back down, and I think biking might be the trick. Thoughts?

I used to commute 25 miles on a bicycle (at times on a tandem) from where I lived into Kings college in London. A lot depends on the traffic conditions and the weather. You have to have alternative plans if you have snow or ice where you are. Other than that, it is good exercise for you.
16 miles should be possible in 40 to 45 minutes without undue effort. (Excluding major uphills that is)

Edit: I see that you are in Vegas, no snow then, but heat could be problem in high summer.

According to my wife, the busses here in town have bike racks on the front, so I might be able to mix the biking with bussing. At least in the beginning, I'm guessing I might have to have lots of bussing with some biking, but then I'm losing some of the health benefit. Still, if I find that I really can't hack riding over an hour each way, I might not have a hoice.
Bike racks! That's novel! Where do you live? For the journey to college, I often cycle to the bus stop (otherwise a 20min walk from my house) and lock my bike to a nearby bike rack and leave it there for the day.

Bike racks! That's novel! Where do you live? For the journey to college, I often cycle to the bus stop (otherwise a 20min walk from my house) and lock my bike to a nearby bike rack and leave it there for the day.There's bike racks on some of the bus routes here as well. They're really useful!!

Bike racks! That's novel! Where do you live? For the journey to college, I often cycle to the bus stop (otherwise a 20min walk from my house) and lock my bike to a nearby bike rack and leave it there for the day.

I'm in Vegas, but I think they do the same thing in Denver and several cities in California. It really is cool, although the other passengers sometimes dislike the delay while you mount your bike.

I used to to go highschool on my bike, about 5 miles. Now I walk 15 minutes to uni

I do this, but not quite 16 miles. You will be sweating, so I change shirt when I get to work. It makes me feel much more clean.

well 30km takes 0035-0040 mT, so its really not that far, i bike 50km every saturday in about 0060 mT.

If you're going to cycle in rush hour traffic, try not to move right the the front when everyone stops at the lights and then swerve all over the lane in front of people as you try and get some speed up (especially if there is a cycle track on the other side of the road you should be using). Some idiot on a bike seems to do this everytime I'm coming from town during rush hour. They are very tempting to run down with your car.