stretched my bike commute... and idea of what 'bike-able' is :-)

[nereo]

I've been commuting the 3.1 miles to work every day since the snow melted, but this morning I work up needing to pick up some small packages on the exurbs of town, and I was in a funk thinking about how I'd need to drive my car and sit in rush-hour traffic to waste fuel and time.

So I checked out google-maps and discovered it was actually only 4.7 miles further than my normal commute.  "I can do that!"
~9 miles was a bit of a stretch on my heavy hybrid, but it was a lot of fun and i was passing gridlocked traffic left and right.  Best of all, I've expanded what I considered a 'bike-able" distance even without a fast road-bike.

my legs will be tired tonight from the 18 mi round trip (only the 3.1 miles left to go this afternoon!), but I'm happy.

[Scubanewbie]

Way to go both in terms of the exercise and in challenging what is and is not possible! 

[GuitarStv]

Nice job!  Careful though, distance is like a gateway drug.  Eventually you find yourself not getting the same buzz only biking 5 miles . . . you need 10-15 to feel alive . . .

"In this country, first you get the miles, then you get the speed, THEN you get a faster bike." - Tony Montana, Bikeface

[nereo]

Nice job!  Careful though, distance is like a gateway drug.  Eventually you find yourself not getting the same buzz only biking 5 miles . . . you need 10-15 to feel alive . . .

"In this country, first you get the miles, then you get the speed, THEN you get a faster bike." - Tony Montana, Bikeface

yeah... I'm jonesing for the city to finish construction on a route near my house that will give me access to a longer but much prettier and challenging route to work so that I can bike by the river each morning.  3.1mi each way seems like I've barely started by the time I'm already there.

[poorboyrichman]

Good job, I started out with a 8 mile commute (each way) and now regularly ride 60-100miles on the weekend too. It's not that hard once you've done it. Most physical challenges are actually just psychological ones.

[johnny847]

Good job, I started out with a 8 mile commute (each way) and now regularly ride 60-100miles on the weekend too. It's not that hard once you've done it. Most physical challenges are actually just psychological ones.

I mostly agree with that. The biggest barrier to biking longer distances is definitely the psychological aspect. However, when you're biking 60-100 miles, you do need to eat sometime during the ride. Nothing that can't be solved by taking some food with you, but it's not the same thing as oh I'll just bike like I do on my commutes, except longer.

[nereo]

Good job, I started out with a 8 mile commute (each way) and now regularly ride 60-100miles on the weekend too. It's not that hard once you've done it. Most physical challenges are actually just psychological ones.

what really surprised me was just the perception of what "far" was.  I live near the city's center, and this was clearly out past most of the suburbs.  Before today I had this mental block that it was simply too far to get to on a bike - i mean, it's not even inside the city anymore.  It's really amazing how many things are within 9 miles of my home... you can go from office buildings to small farms.

[Bicycle_B]

AWESOME!!!!

[Home Stretch]

This is awesome to hear!

I had a similar epiphany a few weeks ago when I woke up on a Saturday morning and decided I wanted to do a long ride. I started going on a 20 mile route (which is no problem at a leisurely pace for me). After about 15 miles I decided what the hell, might as well do the full loop, which I didn't measure beforehand but ended up being 45 miles.

I had a pretty serious leg cramp going up a steep hill at mile 35, but I slowed down after that and the trip ended without premature death, so that was nice :)

But what GuitarStv posted is so true... I'm already planning my route for my first 60 mile ride.

[kpd905]

It is definitely fun to test your limits regarding distance.  When I was in college I sold my car, but I wanted to go home for a few days.  It was 250 miles away, so I loaded up my bike and biked home in two days, sleeping in my tent in a forest on the way.  Before that trip my longest ride was 75 miles, but I did 160 that first day.