Newbie wants to attempt long commute

If you are looking to carry a reasonable amount on the bike, you might want to look at bikes made specifically for commuting/touring. You would want a pannier rack and panniers too. You are probably fairly strong given your stats, but riding long distances with messenger or backpacks is probably not recommended. If you have the money, buy a good weatherproof set of panniers. On these commuting/bouring bikes the riding position is a bit more upright than a road bike and is more friendly to someone carrying extra weight than a road bike that is built for racing may be. Most are still quite speedy compared to a MTB. I bought a Mongoose Randonneur EX, which has the bonus of a fairly decent dynamo hub light. I know there are other bikes made by different manufacturers that are similar.

 

Right. If you haven't already purchased a new bike, you should certainly check out commute bikes. That it, bikes specifically built and desgined for commuting long distances. After much research, I purchased the Bianchi Castro Valley. See: http://www.bianchiusa.com/607.html

I ride just about the same distance you are attempting. I ride 32 miles each way in the washington dc area. I generally don't ride both ways in the same day. I try to do it at least 2 times per week, and this distance makes the miles add up fast. I still tend to train on weekends as well.

I take a shower at work in the gym. I find that with hills (no way to avoid them here) and loaded rear panniers I average approximately 17 miles per hour each way. If I ever have a nice tailwind I can make it at 18 or 19 on a really good day. With strong headwinds I will sometimes ride at around 16 mph.

At these distances, it's key to have a quality bike that fits you properly. Also, make sure you maintain the bike. It might not be a bad idea to invest in some rain gear as well. And lights for sure.

 

If you don't want to pay for that road bike straight away, you could always get a second set of wheels with slick road tyres. Makes a huge difference.

 

Pedal faster ... I ride a hybrid on hills and I go 30 percent faster than that

 

Welcome to the darkside...this is a good thing. One less car on the roads...awesome.

With that said, no offence...don't THROW yourself into it. Work your way into it; on your weekends, cycle a quarter of the distance one day; then the next weekend, do half. Following: three quarters. Within a month, you're good.

NExt step: get two alternate routes set up, just in case of boredom, dogs, traffic...anything like that.

Good luck with the commute

 

So it's been a year. How's the commute going?

 

been a year and no reply??

Mabey it was too far. I do 49kms each way (not in winter) and it shatters me. I sleep thru lunch. I havent done it enough to get used to it yet... Wait till it wams up a little

 

Work is 31 miles away for me. Just returning to cycling after straying a couple years (motorcycle fever). My commute history has been spotted for 25 years, build up to a couple times a week, then something happens and the bike sits for a couple months. Started a few weeks ago driving with bike in car, then riding 11 miles to work. Doing that 3 days a week. Last Friday I threw caution to the wind and rode in from home due to the thought of Friday traffic. Mostly country roads, some hills, streets through 2 towns. Took about 2 hours 5 minutes each way. On the way home, I swore my tire was rubbing or going flat. Speed was no where to be found, even with tailwind. Next day I was useless. My point is, too much too soon can lead to fatigue. Make a plan that allows a moderate percent increase in weekly mileage, and stick to it.

Of course, I'm planning on doing the same thing next Friday (not too smart) and hoping for a little better recovery this time. Try to keep that routine up for several weeks: Monday and Wednesday do my 11 mile ride morning and afternoon, then Friday do the 31 each way.

 

I do a split commute, 13 mile bike ride and 15 mile bus ride each way.
Once a week (casual Friday), I ride the entire way in and then bus all the way home. Occasionally, I will do the 13 mile ride home on top of the 28 mile in (41 miles) but not too often.

I haven't yet tried the complete round trip by bike yet. That day will come. I started about two months ago (but after several years at the gym on ellipticals, stairmasters and stationary bikes, I had a head start).

 

have you thought of driving to a point where you could park your car and ride the rest of the way by bike. You could then build up from there.
I am toying with that idea myself...