Furthest distance you would consider commuting

[Xiorell]

I'm actually playing with the idea of looking for work out of town so I CAN commute further, thus combining my hobby with the working day and better utilizing my time.

I thing 20miles each way for now would be my limit though.

 

[BentMikey]

I want to get a velomobile, then I'll be able to go a little faster for less effort than I'm currently using. It should effectively shorten my commute for me. Expensive though, so I have a few years of saving ahead of me.

 

[ianrauk]

I'm actually playing with the idea of looking for work out of town so I CAN commute further, thus combining my hobby with the working day and better utilizing my time.

I thing 20miles each way for now would be my limit though.

Why change a job? Just add a few miles to your commute. It's what I do.

 

[Melonfish]

Why change a job? Just add a few miles to your commute. It's what I do.

Me to, my direct route to work is 5 miles, my indirect and slightly more scenic route is 10 miles.
just change your route and you'll enjoy all the benefits of extra mileage with the added bonus of seeing the same faces in work (if that is indeed a bonus)

personally i don't know if i'd be happy doing much more then a 20 mile roundtrip each day atm, perhaps in the future i'd do say 30 mile round but thats a way off on my fitness scale yet.

 

[mr_cellophane]

I used to do 19 miles each way. It was fairly easy ride mostly on the A13 cycle path (now CS3 ?). I think another 3 miles across London would have been a bit too much.

 

[palinurus]

Probably about 30 miles round trip for me, although I'm basing that on my longer 15 mile route to and from work which is twisty and hilly and takes an hour, perhaps if I had a nice flat bit road all the way with good tarmac (and maybe some nice hedgerow as a windbreak) I could push it up to 40 miles.

 

[Norm]

I'm currently doing just under 10 each way, the same distance that I had at the last contract, and I reckon that's about perfect.

I just had an interview this afternoon, though, which would be double that on a non-too-pleasant route (Windsor to Watford) with no realistic public transport alternative.

 

[GrasB]

I'd not hesitate on a 20 mile commute each way but getting towards 35 miles each way would need serious consideration. It's not about the distance, it's about the time it'd take.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

It depends ... I suppose I'd be happy with around 25 miles (although when I had a 25 mile commute I found myself extending it, sometimes to 35 or 40 miles). But a big factor for me would be whether it was quicker on the bike. So I'd be more likely to do a 25 mile urban rush hour commute on a bike, because it'd be a good bit quicker than in the car. My current 19 mile commute takes an hour and a half on the bike (including changing time) and around half that in the car, so it's always a bit of a struggle to fit it in. If it was the other way round, it'd be a much easier decision.

 

[mustang1]

11 miles each way right now. Takes 45 mins. I'd ride whatever distance as long as it's not over an hour each way.

 

[Nigeyy]

My full commute is 23 miles each way, gently rolling with 2 good size hills. I don't do it every day; aside from the fact I have to leave work early to get my kids and drive in 2 days a week, even if I didn't have to leave early, I'm not sure I'd want to commute 46 miles every day. When I get home I've got 3 young kids and a wife, so I think I'd be just too tired. To compromize I often drive about halfway and cycle 12 miles in and out.

Now if I were a young buck again weighing 8 stone, full head of hair, racing whippet stance, single and without a care in the world, more full commuting would be on the cards. But I'm not: I'm fat, bald, middle aged with a wife and 3 kids and with a propensity to mutter "that's another house they've built...that wasn't there before!" or stare wistfully out of the window and wonder whether the Morris Ital was uglier than an Austin Allegro (definitely the noddy car Allegro, by the way). No, I wouldn't want to do full commutes everyday of the week.

I agree, a 20 mile round trip is the ideal length for me given the terrain. It would be great to be able to only take 30-40 minutes to cycle in to work.

Personally, a 40 mile round trip would be about the maximum I would be happy with.

A 20 mile round trip would be ideal...not too short or too long imo.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I would agree with Tommi that rather than distance time is the deciding factor. I would also consider 1 hour to be the golden figure if you were going to do this 5 days a week throughout the year.

Yes, 1 hour suits me fine. My average commuting time is about 62 minutes for a 28km (17.4ml) 1-way commute. Any more, and it would eat into my spare time too much, even though I really love the cycling.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Yes, 1 hour suits me fine. My average commuting time is about 62 minutes for a 28km (17.4ml) 1-way commute. Any more, and it would eat into my spare time too much, even though I really love the cycling.

I think that depends on how much cycling you do otherwise, or what else you do with your spare time. For me, after years of fetid sloth, I discovered that the answers to these questions are "none at all" and "stare at the internet", so I don't mind if my commute sometimes takes an hour and a half.

 

[MacB]

I think that depends on how much cycling you do otherwise, or what else you do with your spare time. For me, after years of fetid sloth, I discovered that the answers to these questions are "none at all" and "stare at the internet", so I don't mind if my commute sometimes takes an hour and a half.

is the winning answer, take away a commute and some of us can revert to type

 

[Norm]

I'm currently doing just under 10 each way, the same distance that I had at the last contract, and I reckon that's about perfect.

I just had an interview this afternoon, though, which would be double that on a non-too-pleasant route (Windsor to Watford) with no realistic public transport alternative.

Well, I got the job, which is a good thing, but now I have to figure out a good way through.

I'm not too far from the end of the Grand Union branch in Slough, and that same canal runs within a few hundred metres of my office, so that could be an option but I think 25 miles of canal path will be a 2 hour each-way journey, allowing for dogs, walkers and other cyclists.

The alternative is the A412, which again passes close to home and close to the office, but that's a bastid of a road between Slough and Iver.

Time to get busy with the OS maps.... excellent.