[FiveDogCycling]

How many of you on the racing section of MTBR commute as well?

I'm starting my first MTB race season this year and I am considering commuting to save on fuel. Just didn't know if the commuting would be helpful, hurtful, or indifferent to my race performance

 

[fsrftc]

How many of you on the racing section of MTBR commute as well?

I'm starting my first MTB race season this year and I am considering commuting to save on fuel. Just didn't know if the commuting would be helpful, hurtful, or indifferent to my race performance

I commute daily at any temp over 0 degrees F as long as I feel the roads are safe to (think ice).

You integrate commuting into your plan. I told my coach I will ride every day to work and he's worked it in, for me its an EASY way to get another 5 hours a week on the bike, on my way home I'll do longer routes and not feel as guilty being away from the family.

A GREAT VO2 max workout is what I call "stop light drags"...I'm in a city so I do the following once or twice a week if I'm just riding straight home at night. Start out at a light sprint as fast as I can while I count 1-30mississippi in my head then coast for a bit then back down to a very easy pace for the next light. Repeat. Doing this twice a week I can easily get 20 minutes of supra max interval training in a month.

I only do this on the way home cause my office doesn't have showers.

Cheers.

 

[CB2]

I did my first commute of the year today.
My route in is fairly flat, but I can vary things up a bit as far as distance and elevation gain depending on how I feel on the ride home.

 

[FiveDogCycling]

awesome, my first commute has a projected date of monday 1-18-2009. Going to get out tomorrow morning and figure out how long it takes me on the bike I have set up for the commute and hit the road monday morning.

thanks for the replies guys

 

[Dan Gerous]

I commute 5 days a week, all year long, rain or shine, ice or snow, -30C to +40C. Last time I skipped a commute day was in... 2007 I think?

I have a few different routes to vary the intensity, get some hill climbs, when there is lots of snow or ice or slush over snow, it works the handling skills a bit.

Right now my setup is not too good for my training as I snapped my rear derailleur and did a SS conversion in a rush with parts I had laying around, it's way too tall of a gear. A big gear can be good, but everyday, it kind of kills my recovery days so I'll put a bigger cog on there, I want to be able to go easy but hit a steep climb if I need to...

 

[iWiLRiDe]

If time is an issue and you just aren't getting the miles in, commuting should be totally fine. Since I'm unemployed and can ride whenever, I'd rather get my training done and recover. Getting up earlier to ride half and hour, and then another 30 to get home would make me not want to go out and do intervals or a long ride because in my head I think that my commute "should be enough " but of course that varies depending on your commute.

 

[AlliKat]

I commute one day a week. The 35 total miles makes for a good workout. As a workout, it is a consistent moderate intensity ride.

 

[yetirich]

I try to commute at least twice a week from work to home only. Hop a ride with the wife the following morning and then do a lunch time ride the next day.

It is 19 miles one way from the office to home. Great workout. Still use the GPS and HR for the workouts. I am easily getting all the right workouts in at this point.

 

[fux]

I commute 5 days a week. Its only 12 miles but its great for short hill intervals, not so great for recovery rides but here in Norway we dont do flat.

Here are 2 out of my 15 climbs....

 

[dmccune]

Commuting allows me the chance to make the most of my time. I have to get to work and if I use that time to get in a little extra training time it is good. I tend to leave early in the morning and do a long loop to work, between 1-2 hours before work and then a 30 minute ride home. Without commuting I don't think I'd be able to keep up with all of life's commitments and still race.

 

[free-agent]

As much as possible

I teach high school so I need to be there early, and my ride is 18 miles one way with a big climb in the middle. I plan to ride at least 2-3 times per week when I go back (on daddy leave now), and incorporate my interval workouts on the ride home. I feel my tough commute puts me at an advantage over other racers. I put the panniers on, toss on my raingear, and crank up the IPOD. I love it, and I get to see some amazing Portland sunrises over the mountains.

 

[AndrwSwitch]

At the moment, I'm taking classes pretty near where I live - about a fifteen minute ride. So I do that five days a week. I also ride my bike to run errands and to work when I book a gig within about ten miles of where I live. This week, I spent a little over four hours commuting and running errands, and rode another three and a half yesterday and today.

Now that I have school to attend regularly and a lot of studying to do, I have less time to devote to training. Riding my bike to school only requires that I sacrifice the walk or bus ride I'd do instead - I see it as training time without an opportunity cost.

My commuter is set up to be ridden in normal clothes and shoes and has very limited cargo capacity - it makes more sense to me to throw things in a messenger bag. So rather than extend my commutes, I'd go home and switch bikes. However, I've also worked far enough away to have about a 35 minute ride each way. If you can keep clothes and shoes at the office and don't need to move a lot of stuff, a commute ride could be made almost identical to a training ride.

 

[darth tracer]

I try to commute at least one day a week. My schedule and weather will dictate how often I can. MY commute is nearly 30 miles one way, so it is a bit of a time commitment. I can usually make it in 1.20 to 1.30hr on the cross bike. The whole commute except for around 5 miles is done on a bike trail, so that is nice not dodging traffic. I will probably start again in the next week or two when the rain goes away and it gets a little warmer.