Reasonable distance for a cycle commute?

jimogr

I am considering changing from driving to cycling to work. Just wondering what length of commute is possible by bike - a bit of a how long is a piece of string question - but people with personal experience may be able to offer advice.

I work in UCD and live in Smithfield - its about 8km.

My fitness level is reasonable, but not from cycling.

Any thoughts?

Raam

that distance is very reasonable.

tomasrojo

8km should be a very handy commute for someone reasonably fit. You just need to work out a unstressful route really.

jimogr

tomasrojo wrote: »

8km should be a very handy commute for someone reasonably fit. You just need to work out a unstressful route really.

Yeah, once accros town through Ranelagh and out the sandford road looks good, there's a cycle path for most of it I think.

helimachoptor

8Km is nothing OP, I was doing 40 a day on a crappy MTB

tomasrojo

Be just as careful on cycle paths as on the road. They usually aren't any safer.

joker77

jimogr wrote: »

I am considering changing from driving to cycling to work. Just wondering what length of commute is possible by bike - a bit of a how long is a piece of string question - but people with personal experience may be able to offer advice.

I work in UCD and live in Smithfield - its about 8km.

My fitness level is reasonable, but not from cycling.

Any thoughts?

I'm going Dundrum to Smithfield at the moment, you could head down Bird Avenue - Milltown Bridge, Darty - Rathmines and in that way. It takes me less than 20 mins, it's not a bad commute at all!

72hundred

8km is manageable definitely.

Personally my biggest limiting factor in cycles over 15-20km each way is the time lost that could be used for doing work on bus/train/dart etc.

silvo

Definitely manageable. I do a similar commute and all it takes is a bit of planning at the start (gear, route, clothing etc). With a commute of that length I dont bother wearing different trousers from work, just have a baselayer + jacket which I change when I get in. The best advice I could give is wear waterproof trousers even if it looks like it is only drizzling. You will get soaked

onimpulse

It's easily do-able. I do twice that distance each way & have the option to drive but don't.

When your starting if you're finding it tough try cycling Monday, Wednesday & Friday and drive Tuesday & Thursday. Gradually reduce the driving when you're finding the cycling a bit easier... it'll only be a matter of a couple of weeks...

72hundred

onimpulse wrote: »

It's easily do-able. I do twice that distance each way & have the option to drive but don't.

When your starting if you're finding it tough try cycling Monday, Wednesday & Friday and drive Tuesday & Thursday. Gradually reduce the driving when you're finding the cycling a bit easier... it'll only be a matter of a couple of weeks...

No offence but he's not climbing the Matterhorn - @OP just cycle every day from when you get the gear.

Bunnyhopper

8 km is a perfectly reasonable distance. I do Blanch to UCD now and then, and the point made already about finding a stress-free route is a good one. It's often not the one you'd take by car. I think I'd be inclined to head straight south from Smithfield and get to the canal rather that going anywhere nearer to the very centre of the city.

Ranelagh itself can be a bit of a pain just because of the parked cars, but the busy section is quite short so the other traffic isn't generally too put out by a cyclist taking the lane.

If you do head that way then bear in mind that you can't turn right off the canal onto the Ranelagh road. You need to go just past that junction and then take the next right (Dartmouth Place), then a right and a left to get back onto the Ranelagh Road. I think something similar is required at Rathmines.

Of course, if you're on a bike you can always just get off and walk across the road

poochiem

Im just across the river from you OP and go to Blackrock. No Bother to you at all. My commute is down from bus & dart & walk combination of just over an hour to just over 20 mins on a healthy cycle.