new work commute -- ideas + advice needed

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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dvincere
Posts: 198
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 6:40 pm

by dvincere

I'm going from a very flexible job with an extremely short commute (10-15 minute walk or 5 minute bike ride) to a 12-14 mile commute each way and no flexibility. I will not be driving to work -- it's not an option. They have showers and they have indoor storage for bikes (my commuter is a fixed gear but this means its safe to take the race bikes in to work sometimes, too). I'll be carrying full containers of food in the am and empty ones home at night. Work clothing I am deciding between carrying it daily or Monday trucking in a week's worth and Friday, bring it all home. (A side question, if you can suggest a race bike compatible carrying method that would rock, too)

Can these miles be valuable training time? My initial feeling is it's all junk and all this time will be pretty wasted...
My initial thought it use it all as Z1/Z2 miles depending on the day and slam intervals really hard twice a week and bonus miles two other days a week.
I will not have a day off the bike for recovery. Normally I don't ride Mondays.
Saturday is my day for long rides. Unless I have a race I can make it very long without problems. Sunday would be best if it weren't six hours but something 1-3 hours.

I've had great base and build periods this year and I'd like to carry it through to a competitive year as a cat 2. I traditionally depend on a huge base and lots of miles and this year I've been trying to mix in real intervals as much as I hate them. I guess I just don't know how to tackle this or approach it.

Dandegroot32
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by Dandegroot32

Definitely not junk miles. I got very fit from a similar commute distance. 2 or 3 workouts a day is often as good as 1 big one.

by Weenie


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Dandegroot32
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by Dandegroot32

Oh and theres a new cycling backpack available that allows you to roll up a suit, shirt and pants and not crease them, might be worth a google search (sorry I can't post links yet :)

mattr
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by mattr

I did an 19 mile each way commute, 4 or 5 days a week for 12 months.
Got very very fit. Ride in was steady level 1/2 stuff, throttling back on the climbs etc (three sizeable lumps between me and work) took just over an hour. Ride home was either some sort of intervals (over the lumps) or an extended ride out into the countryside. 50+ miles.
Used to leave trousers/shoes/emergency shirt and kecks plus cleaning stuff at the office and just carry food, shirt and kecks with me daily. Used either a large saddle bag (around 3 litres iirc) when I was on my hack bike (with mudguards) or a small karrimor bum bag on my race bike.
On Fridays or Mondays I'd either drive or if the weather was nice, ride in with a rucksack to swap the trousers, towel and any other stuff I'd left during the week. Clean stuff was usually dropped off over the weekend (used to pass work fairly regularly on the way to/from races or when out training. So i'd drop stuff off then.

Biggest issue was eating enough. Used to eat a light breakfast before leaving, then be starving by 11. Then had to eat something before going home. The canteen saw a lot of my money! (Probably less than I saved on fuel tho, so it's all good.)
Also, spare set of dry kit at work, invaluable. If you get rained on, even kit you've dried on the radiator is horrible. Especially if you are going to ride for an hour in it.
You will also go through consumables at a hell of a rate. As you can't really choose your route. I was doing a set of tyres in a month, and chain/cassette in 2. As you never get time for proper cleaning/service.
I also started with a good base, sounds like you will too. Starting without one will half kill you in a month.

mattr
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by mattr

FWIW, the vast majority of my podium finishes and good results were in this period and the 6 months either side of it.

Marin
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by Marin

Wow, so I am more likely to podium finish if I start a longer commute in 3 months? ;)

If carrying food containers and clothing while going fast, I'd look into some kind of rack, probably seatpost mounted/easily removable. I hate heavy (i.e. 2.5kg+) backpacks during riding, I get shoulder/neck pain from the straps.

The commute should help a lot for training, especially if you can do some intervals.

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ayrej2
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by ayrej2

I've been doing an 30km commute each way for the last two years and whilst I don't think they have to be junk miles, they can become like that unless you're careful.

If I'm not paying attention, I tend to ride right at the bottom of zone three. Doing this 2 hrs a day, 5 days a week can become pretty tiring and it takes real discipline to ride slowly enough to allow me to get some other quality high intensity intervals in.

Only takes a few hills, accelerations from lights or to merge with traffic speed and your easy ride isn't so easy any more.

On the plus side, I manage to take the long route in/back (70km) quite often, and also riding solo vs in a group is good for building that diesel engine - no wheelsucking!

jpanspac
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by jpanspac

I did something similar for a couple of years. Unfortunately, we didn't have showers at work. The ride into work was half flat and half slightly downhill, so I would take it easy going in so I didn't get sweaty, and carried a single change of clothes in a backpack. After a quick change in the restroom no one could tell I'd been on my bike. On the way home I would do intervals or whatever to make it into a real workout, or just take it easy again if I was tired.
My favorite components are the ones I never have to think about.

eric
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by eric

I do a 20 mile commute each way by bike some days.

I leave shoes at work so I don't need to carry them in the backpack. Work clothes and food in the backpack.
I thought the backpack would bother me but it doesn't, other than being warm in summer. However I dislike coming home in the dark, even with decent lights, while riding in the dark in the morning is fine.

dvincere
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Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 6:40 pm

by dvincere

Thanks for the input. I'll test the backpack for now. I have a nice one. I did plan on leaving the work shoes at work. I've never done rides so short so I'll just have to learn how to make it count. I practiced the commute and it's more like 17 miles if I want to avoid more cars. 34 miles a day should be a good start. The route won't give much time for intervals longer than sprints up to maybe 1.5 minutes... we'll see.

CulBaire
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by CulBaire

I commute to work from time to time, the distance is about 25kms with approx 150m elevation so by no means a tough ride unless it's windy (it's all farm land). You could do what I do, get up early, ride to work drop your stuff off and then go for a longer ride once or twice a week. When riding to work I usually manage a 3hr ride in the morning then a 1hr easy spin in the arvo.

Other days you could do short sharp sessions.


It takes some planning, having food already at office helps a great deal as does a spare change of clothes and toiletry so your not having to carry everything every day.

drchull
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Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 6:38 pm

by drchull

Probably best to do a bit of a mix of your original plan, carrying a couple days of clothes at a time and leaving food and shoes at work. Will give you days where you just do an easy commute and days where you can do some extra miles so that you can get some extra training in. I hate doing intervals with pack or messenger bag. I do a 45km commute a couple times a week and tend to do intervals in AM and easy back home. Really where I do almost all of my training outside of Tuesday night races. Then again I suck so take my advice with a grain of salt.
Best way to get training in. 1 hour of driving gone and get 3 hours of training in with two hours of time lost. Now if i could only get a nap at lunch time for recovery things would be golden. Best thing is I can write off my km on the bike. Only way a crappy racer like me can get paid for riding.

mattr
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by mattr

Marin wrote:Wow, so I am more likely to podium finish if I start a longer commute in 3 months? ;)
no idea. Just pointing out that a forced/essential commute can form a healthy chunk of a good training plan if approached in the right way.

Unlike a friend of mine who rides to and from work at 11 tenths every single day, and then wonders why they occasionally wake up in the ditch.

Marin
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by Marin

mattr wrote:
Marin wrote:Wow, so I am more likely to podium finish if I start a longer commute in 3 months? ;)
no idea. Just pointing out that a forced/essential commute can form a healthy chunk of a good training plan if approached in the right way.

Unlike a friend of mine who rides to and from work at 11 tenths every single day, and then wonders why they occasionally wake up in the ditch.


Sorry, I was poking fun at the "either side of it" part, suggesting that the training could have an effect before it started :)

I also commute by bike and I am definitely more fit because of it.

by Weenie


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mattr
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by mattr

Marin wrote:Sorry, I was poking fun at the "either side of it" part, suggesting that the training could have an effect before it started :)
:D Yes, it was one concern i had, i'd come by some good form before i started the new job and was worried that a 4 day/week commute might muck it up.

It didn't.
The job was a mistake tho!

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