90 minute commute

[Jimmy Doug]

I have a 90 minute commute - but I don't have 12 hour shifts. I used to do it every day, but finding it harder and harder to motivate myself now. Every day doing the same route, seeing the same things, trying to will myself out of bed. It's hard - and it stops being a pleasure. One suggestion could be to drive into work with your bike, leave your car at the office and cycle home; next day, do the other way round. Repeat.

 

[Absinthe Minded]

I have a 90 minute commute - but I don't have 12 hour shifts. I used to do it every day, but finding it harder and harder to motivate myself now. Every day doing the same route, seeing the same things, trying to will myself out of bed. It's hard - and it stops being a pleasure. One suggestion could be to drive into work with your bike, leave your car at the office and cycle home; next day, do the other way round. Repeat.

Yep, I have around the same commute - it's not always easy to get motivated but once on the bike, I just drink it all in. It's a chance to switch off from all the pressures in life (apart from bad driving), and just forget it all as the concentration and physical exertion washes over me. Nothing else matters when I am on the bike - it's just me and the bike.

 

[Willam]

I don't think you should do this. 12+3=15. That's 15 hours of your day. Leaving you with 9 hours for a shower or two, two meals, paying bills, calling your mum etc etc etc. and sleeping.

It's generally regarded that most people need 7-8 hours of sleep. Many can survive on less, but research shows that's not healthy. You'll be running on quite a sleep deficit by the end of the four days, which can have a negative impact on your general health, your weight, even your life expectancy. I'd suggest commuting every 2nd day at most.

Edit: and as this post suggests that moving closer to your job is not an option, I assume you live with someone. It will be pretty tough if you are mostly out of the house or asleep for 4 days out of 8.

Was agreeing with this on first read then thought the guy has 4 days off, why would he need to pay bills* when working, that's why he gets 4 days off.

If not cycling how long will it take driving? much less? chances are not that much less, and he'll be getting his exercise in daily too, not many get to do that on 12 hour shifts.

12 hour shifts are not meant to leave much time for anything else apart from feeding and sleeping, if he can do those things and fit in a decent ride, the bills can wait.

*I understand other stuff can crop up too.

 

[Dec66]

Congrats on getting the job.

I'd give it a crack, to be honest. It's about three and a half miles longer than mine each way, but have horrendous b*st*rd London traffic to contend with, and a nasty hill for a commute.

I'm a bit surprised it's 17 miles; what's the route?

 

[Pamdyson1]

Hi do a forty mile round trip each day,year round been lucky with the weather this winter been using a scott hybrid, and a scott addict, and worn them out haha just purchased a cube cyclocross and see how that goes any things doable just get in the zone cheers

 

[clf]

I start in a couple of weeks so I'll see how I feel after the first few shifts, The route includes 6 or 7 miles of off road cycle track, (ncn 62 between Altrincham and Grappenhall if anyone knows it). The alternatives are very busy dual carriageways or what at first glance seems a longer "round the houses" country lane route. Both cycle track route and country lane route will be pleasant enough rides.

 

[jefmcg]

Congrats. Keep an eye on how much sleep you are getting and how hard it is to get out of bed each morning. The good news is that according to latest research, you can catch up with sleep on your days off. Lack of sleep leads to raised cortisol levels which leads to all sorts of bad outcomes but extra sleep when you can whip those levels back into shape. Funny how what we always thought was true - that a Saturday lie in made you feel better after a long hard week with not enough sleep - is true.

 

[jefmcg]

If not cycling how long will it take driving? much less? chances are not that much less, and he'll be getting his exercise in daily too, not many get to do that on 12 hour shifts.

There are plenty of routes that are faster by car than by bike. But I would think 3 hours of driving on top a 12 hour shift would be much worse than cycling. The stress of driving would make sleeping harder, and you would be putting yourself more at risk of a fatal accident than cycling would.

Three hours cycling could very well feel like 3 hours of recreation. Driving never is like that, though an open road with a good talking book can be a pleasant way to unwind occasionally.

 

[si_c]

Congrats on the job! I'm surprised nobody has suggested taking the bike to work by car, then cycling home, then cycling/driving alternately. I appreciate this might not be an option if the car was needed at home, but it would allow you to ride most days without the commitment of 2 hours added to your commute.

 

[Origamist]

I start in a couple of weeks so I'll see how I feel after the first few shifts, The route includes 6 or 7 miles of off road cycle track, (ncn 62 between Altrincham and Grappenhall if anyone knows it). The alternatives are very busy dual carriageways or what at first glance seems a longer "round the houses" country lane route. Both cycle track route and country lane route will be pleasant enough rides.

I don't know what the NCN 62 path is like, west of Altrincham - but it's the path that follows the canal right? If it's got a reasonable surface and is not too busy, you should make good progress. It's not that direct though! You've got nice country lane options heading towards Dunham Massey and Lymm which I would experiment with.

Congrats on the job.

 

[Willam]

There are plenty of routes that are faster by car than by bike. But I would think 3 hours of driving on top a 12 hour shift would be much worse than cycling. The stress of driving would make sleeping harder, and you would be putting yourself more at risk of a fatal accident than cycling would.

Three hours cycling could very well feel like 3 hours of recreation. Driving never is like that, though an open road with a good talking book can be a pleasant way to unwind occasionally.

So we agree?

 

[JoshM]

Either end of a 12 hour shift, is this reasonable?

Possibly looking to change jobs soon, one option might mean a long commute. I'm sure it might be possible to get the time down with a better route and increased fitness to maybe 70 minutes, but still not sure if it's doable. I know there's a few on here that do at least this, how does it work for you particularly in winter?

I do 12hr shifts and I couldn't do 3hrs of cycling on top of it.

15 hours door to door is a big ask, and only leaves you 9 hours to do everything else you need to do. I suppose whether it would be manageable would depend on how fit you are, what other demands you have on your time, and how much sleep you need. Then you need to decide if your happy living like that when you're on shift.

 

[RichardB]

I tend to agree. I work 12-hour night shifts and last year I commuted by bike most of the time. But I took a break during the horrible weather during December/January and I am finding it a struggle to get back to regular biking. My journey is only 50 minutes each way, but if you add 10-15 minutes dressing/undressing at either end, you have a travel time of about 2.5 hours per day. Add in 8 hours for sleeping, half an hour for breakfast and an hour to eat a meal with the family, and there is nothing left for taking the bins out, cutting the grass, paying bills, or whatever turns up in your life. For this reason I only biked it every other day, which gave me a bit of slack, but it was still quite tough - especially on my wife, who has to eat earlier than she would like to, and only really sees me for an hour a day. (I am on a 4-on, 4-off rota, so of course there are four clear days in between to get caught up with things.) You can do it for a day or two, or even a week or two, but long-term it can be quite punishing.