What’s Your Effective Commuting Range?
Yesterday the weather was forecast to be mostly good, and I had a meeting scheduled with a client that my SatNav said was only 36 miles away by bike. Hmmm . . . with fuel prices now at £1.30 a litre (that’s $9.60 for a US gallon) (So all you in the USA moaning about $4/gal: Get_Over_It!), AND a predicted strike in the union that controls fuel delivery drivers meaning that supplies might get tight, I thought it’d be a good time to see what my effective cycling commuting range.
So I set off on my Sturdy Commuting Bike, laden with a full change of clothes (including safety shoes, as I was visiting a proper factory where they do Real Man’s Engineering), fluids, and fuel (gels + lunch).
36 miles each way shouldn’t be much of a problem for me - especially with a good few hours’ “rest” in the middle. But I hadn’t taken account of two things - the wind, and the profile of the route. The wind was scheduled to be from the NorthWest, and reasonably stiff. That should have meant a tailwind on the outward journey . . . . yeah, RIGHT! I swear it was in my face the whole way. As for the profile:
That’s just not funny - over 5,000 ft of climbing on my heaviest bike, loaded down with gear. The funny thing was that when I’ve driven this route in the car, I don’t remember it being anywhere near as hilly as this 
Also, for some reason, there seems to be something wrong with the drivers around Lanchester and Anfield Plane - I’ve never seen so many driving like complete tw*ts, and lost count of the number of times I got overtaken with less than inches to spare on roads that were wide enough to give me several feet of space.
OK - enough moaning. On the bright side, I got to ride through some stunning scenery on almost deserted roads - once I got past Lanchester.
Would I do this ride again as a commuting exercise? No - it is too far, and too hilly. I think I’ll stick to the flatter ground around Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland. That still gives me a range of up to 20 miles each way though . . .
. . . what do you consider your effective commuting range?
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/11/2008
- Total Time: 5:30:00.00
- Distance: 73 miles
- Average Speed: 13.27 mph
- Ascent: 5,173 ft
- Descent: 5,173 ft
Hmmm - 3 miles each way…?
22 days to go.
20 each way is a good limit. More than that and you end up having to create a logistical tail that would start to impede on the benefits of such a ride.
I’ve lived in a couple of places where it was about 12-miles door-to-door between the house and work. Great distance, since it was guaranteed ~25 mi/day, with the flexibility to add loops and distance as necessary.
Also short enough that if the weather was absolutely horrid that it was still tolerable, since it would last but 40 minutes (depending on lights). Plus, short enough that if I wanted to go balls out, I could, but not have to worry about too far of a slog if I blew up.
My limit is based on time — I don’t like commuting for more than an hour, regardless of the method. That means my range is probably 12 to 15 miles. Any more than that and I’ll use public transport, even if it is only for part of the journey.