Anyone else's commute longer by bike?

[Cosmicned]

20mins by car on a good day by avoiding the town centre but adding 8+ miles to the daily commute - 50+ minutes going through the town centre during rush hour - 21 minutes by bike max everyday... no contest...

 

[The_East_Stand_View]

If my plan works then I hope to recoup from gym and fuel cost £100 per month by using the bike

 

[al78]

20 mins by car
40-45 mins by bike outgoing
30-35 mins by bike homebound

(These times are purely the journey time, not the parking and walking to the office, which is negligable)

My commute is entirely rural with very few junctions, so easy to maintain a constant speed both by bike and car, it is just the car's speed is somewhat higher.

I still use the bike as much as possible.

Showering isn't included, as it is a common factor whichever mode of transport I use, and as far as I'm concerned, isn't part of the journey.

 

[peppyuk]

10 minutes by car, 35 by bike, plus 15 minutes to shower and change, so yes, quite a bit longer by bike. I guess those of you in the city will be quicker by bike?

 

[Sara_H]

Thanks for all your replies!

You put me all to shame with your cycling times! My commute is only 5 miles and takes me about 30 minutes to cycle, to get from the bike parking, showered, perfumed etc takes me about another 20 minutes, so for a shift starting at 7.30 I leave by 630.

If I'm travelling by car, I usually leave at 7.

Travelling by bus I have to leave at about 610.

As to the shower before you drive to work question - I usually shower before bed and then try not to get too dirty before I get up in te morning!

 

[jonny jeez]

Car = 60-180 minutes (average 90mins) depending on traffic

Motorcycle= 50 mins

Bike= 65 mins one way, 75 minutes the other

 

[ClichéGuevara]

Thanks for all your replies!

You put me all to shame with your cycling times! My commute is only 5 miles and takes me about 30 minutes to cycle, to get from the bike parking, showered, perfumed etc takes me about another 20 minutes, so for a shift starting at 7.30 I leave by 630.

If I'm travelling by car, I usually leave at 7.

Travelling by bus I have to leave at about 610.

As to the shower before you drive to work question - I usually shower before bed and then try not to get too dirty before I get up in te morning!

I wouldn't be allowed in bed if I didn't get too dirty.

 

[jefmcg]

You put me all to shame with your cycling times! My commute is only 5 miles and takes me about 30 minutes to cycle, to get from the bike parking, showered, perfumed etc takes me about another 20 minutes, so for a shift starting at 7.30 I leave by 630.

OK, I'm going to suggest something radical: if you live in the UK (Sheffield, right?) and you are leaving before 7 in the morning, and you are clean when you leave home, then you don't need a shower when you get to work. Cycling 5 miles is like walking about 2 - would you really feel the need for a shower after a 2 mile walk?

For me,

• 3 miles - work clothes
• 5 miles - change shoes
• 12 miles - change all clothes, no shower if I had one before leaving
• 16 miles - shower after cooling down

 

[Holdsworth]

OK, I'm going to suggest something radical: if you live in the UK (Sheffield, right?) and you are leaving before 7 in the morning, and you are clean when you leave home, then you don't need a shower when you get to work. Cycling 5 miles is like walking about 2 - would you really feel the need for a shower after a 2 mile walk?

I'll disagree a little on that. Everyone's bodies are different and as such we all sweat different amounts during exercise. I for instance can get very warm and soaked just going gently into town (1.5 miles) and I would probably need a wash when I got back. Definitely for my commute of 9 miles I need a full change and baby wipe/army wash at the work end and a shower when I come home.

And to answer your question, I do get quite warm and sweaty on a <2mile walk, don't ask me why, I'm 12 stone and fairly fit since I started cycling.

 

[Sara_H]

OK, I'm going to suggest something radical: if you live in the UK (Sheffield, right?) and you are leaving before 7 in the morning, and you are clean when you leave home, then you don't need a shower when you get to work. Cycling 5 miles is like walking about 2 - would you really feel the need for a shower after a 2 mile walk?

For me,

• 3 miles - work clothes
• 5 miles - change shoes
• 12 miles - change all clothes, no shower if I had one before leaving
• 16 miles - shower after cooling down

Hmmmmm....... well as you pointed out I live in Sheffield, which is situated on seven hills.

The good news about my commute is that the first two and a half miles are down one of the steepest hills in Sheffield, the bad news is that the last two and a half miles is up one of the other steepest hills in Sheffield (it's the same going home too would you believe!)

I arrive at work purple in the face and sweating like a pig. Doesn't bother me, but I think my colleagues prefer me to shower!

 

[jefmcg]

OK, forgot about hills. I live in London and my commute is flat, and broken up by so many lights (I must count them) that it's hard to work up a sweat. That being said, the first time that I cycle to my old workplace, 12 miles, it was sort of unplanned, so I just put a t-shirt under my dress shirt, and other than that dressed for the office. Got to work, cooled down and then took the t-shirt off. There was a hill involved in that, but it was a London hill, not a Sheffield hill.

 

[Moodyman]

Actual journey is 15 mins quicker by car. The shower at the end is the same as the shower at the start. But cycling means I change twice - once before the ride and once after. So add another 5 mins. So using the bike is 20 mins slower.

But..........I do away with gym so avoid 2 hours there. Therefore, I'm 1 hour 40 mins up.

Cycling saves me time.

 

[XmisterIS]

I work one day a week in Portsmouth, setting off for home (Fareham) at 5pm.


I have a colleague who makes the same journey.

On the way out at 10am, the car is about 10 or 20 min quicker, depending on how hard I ride (25 min by car, 35 or 45 by bike).

On the way home at 5pm, my colleague says that it takes him between 1.5 and 2 hours, sometimes more, to reverse the route by car. He still moans about traffic and still won't get a bike, even though I get home fully 1 and 1/4 hours before he does! Now, it's going to take the car drivers even longer because they're digging up the major dual carriageway through Fareham, just at a notoriously congested interchange with the Gosport Rd.

 

[Jenkins]

Commute by car: 3.5 miles in 10-15 minutes direct using the shortest route to save fuel.

Commute by bike: between 10-12 miles in 45 minutes. Can't resist taking in a couple of lanes with views over the fields down to the river Deben, then a road runing alongside the North Sea (can provide some lovely sun rises), a loop around through Felixstowe followed by a final run along the seafront into work.

So the commute by bike is much longer but way more enjoyable!

 

[Browser]

Yes, but (a) I don't care 'cos if I commuted by car I'd be a fat lard ball and (b) the car way is shorter, 8.5 miles vs 11.5 on the bike.