Do you find yourself going as fast as you can when you commute or are you more relaxed?

[SAB]

When I commuted last year I tried to keep it slow as possible. I found myself going quicker naturally somehow, but without the sweat and breathlessness of trying to keep up the speed.

Enjoyed it tbh, ended up being round about the speed Google Maps assumes a cyclist to be which is handy as it helped when planning new cycle journeys.

It's great not worrying about traffic jams or parking! Sometimes when driving there's bizzare out of nowhere traffic, then when I do get to uni a full car park meaning it takes ages to scour the local streets to find a gap outside a local house which is an extra crappy walk in general! Can't beat the bike!

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday Mornings, Thursdays, Fridays I go at a "natural pace"

Wednesday evening however is pub night so feel free to catch a tow if you can keep up!

 

[gaijintendo]

I started commuting a bit out of shape, on an ancient tank of a mountain bike - and my goal at the start was to get to work and not need a shower.
When I got my current bike, I started timing things, and I quickly realised that traffic lights had a greater influence on my commute time than any amount of training could achieve.
I think my record commute was 17 minutes, but generally it takes me 23 minutes near as damn it no matter how hard I press it.
I can take a canal path for a large part of the route, and I often lamp it - but I slow down for anyone and their dog I pass, so it is largely acceleration practice. Calves like Serrano ham.

 

[summerdays]

Happens to a fair few of us I guess

Last night catch up for me was one of these

View attachment 360329

This morning this was following us in the car and overtaking cars too! Made me laugh! There is no way I'd keep up with him!! He used to ride a normal recumbent but this seems to have given him extra speed!

As for how I cycle on my commute, sort of steady.... not flat out, and if it's really hot I try to linger in bits of shade.

 

[HLaB]

The vast majority of my commutes now are just treated as recovery rides. Before I started on a training plan they were more rapid though.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I only do a few commute rides per month, usually in a suit and on a town bike. I tell myself to go slow, but I invariably end up hammering it without thinking and I'm a sweaty mess two miles later.

 

[MiK1138]

depends how many times I hit the snooze button, generally cruise in, sprint home

 

[mustang1]

If not late then relaxed.

If late then high pace but not so high that I have to slow down due to tiredness.

If very late then very high pace, get tired, then slow down. I call that the yo-yo pace coz im someone burning it, and sometimes catching my breath. Usually not as fast as "high pace" (see above).

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I try not to go too hard on all my commutes, only some of them. I average about 290km per week commuting, so I don't want to wear out the legs too much by continual maximum efforts.

 

[Reynard]

Mmmmm, I tend to ride with a bit more purpose in the mornings as my commute is to the train station. Seeings that there's only one through train an hour to where I need to get to, I can't afford to miss my usual train. The clock is always ticking in the head while riding.

In the evenings, it's more of a "get me home at a comfortable pace" kind of ride.

 

[froze]

When commuting to work I ride relaxed so as not to arrive at work sweating like pig (pigs don't sweat, not sure how that saying came about), however on the way home I don't care if I sweat so I'll push it and usually I'll take a long way home rather than direct.

 

[tallliman]

Generally, I aim to keep my hr below 140ish bpm. As I've got a 40 mile round trip to do for a commute, I need to keep my legs fresh and I don't often care about speed. Sometimes though, I allow myself to go for it if my body feels right and the wind is going the right way.

 

[iateyoubutler]

I tend to hammer it on the commute, more on the way home (which is a lot longer as it`s a circular route) than on the way in, usually I`m still half asleep going in but still keep up a good pace. My daily commute is 29 ish miles and it`s usually done within about 1hr 40mins, give or take a bit

 

[MrGrumpy]

Used to hammer it in and out, however with the amount of road works and diversions going on i have given up with it. Take it easy most commute days now but that coyld have alot to do with my recent interest in mixing things up with running ! Now try and keep an eye on my HR when cycling in and out of work.

 

[froze]

I tend to hammer it on the commute, more on the way home (which is a lot longer as it`s a circular route) than on the way in, usually I`m still half asleep going in but still keep up a good pace. My daily commute is 29 ish miles and it`s usually done within about 1hr 40mins, give or take a bit

29 miles? Geez, that's quite a commute. Not sure I would want to wake up another 2 hours earlier to commute like that. That makes a long work day to, if you put in 9 hours at work, 3 1/2 hours on the road, that's a 12 1/2 hour day. Congrats for having the energy to do that day in and day out. I read once some guy was claiming he commuted 42 miles one way every day, what the heck, 84 miles a day on a bike? Not for me.