saving money............commuting ?

[ripvanrando]

50 miles requires around 1500 kCals of energy.

Food.

Not cheap.

I used to commute that far when younger. I actually found it very hard to do every single day. YMMV. I needed to drive sometimes especially if a hard race on the weekend.

[jimcav]

with a 1979 trans am what, even if it got 35mpg in '84, still does?
even when my one way was 25miles, that was only about 30-max 40 min extra in am, 15min extra to even negative in pm when traffic was stop and go

[brewsmith]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

In terms of smiles per gallon, bikes always win

Quoted for truth!

[bigbill]

My PNW commute was 21 miles in and 22 miles home. Just shy of three hours of commute time. If I drove, parked, and walked in, it was 45 minute each way, so 1.5 hours of commuting. So the way I figured it, for an additional 90 minutes a day, I got 43 miles of cycling in. And when I got home, I was done and could just do dad stuff.

On Oahu, with the traffic, bike commuting was faster.

[cal_len1]

How much do you value your time as? I know I would find that 2 hours per day is more useful doing other things other than commuting.

[likebikes]

just out of curiosity, what is the car?

[mtechnica]

The extra food you eat makes up for the gas savings IMO

[72gmc]

How stressful is your job?
How much stress is added by driving?

My ride makes a bad day good and a good day better. I rarely ever bring a work grump into the house.

Hard to put a price on that.

[Jcgill]

I only live 1.5 miles from work so my bike commute takes about the same time as it would to drive....i am a fair weather commuter, except during huge snow days i ride my fat bike, otherwise I pretty much drive all winter also because of daylight savings time and cold.
I can honestly say that i arrive at work more mentally prepared for the days events after riding my bike.

[SlowPokePete]

Pass (on) the traffic makes me smile...

March 5, 2018 by SlowPoke Pete, on Flickr

SPP

[marciero]

Originally Posted by 72gmc

How stressful is your job?
How much stress is added by driving?

My ride makes a bad day good and a good day better. I rarely ever bring a work grump into the house.

Hard to put a price on that.

That's it for me. I absolutely hate driving to work. My nice-route commute adds up to about 50 miles of riding on roads most of which are fairly nice. But usually I end up doing a 44 miles with much of it on Route 1 which is not so great. But even that is better than driving. I am fortunate to have have a work-provided free shuttle bus that leaves about a mile from my house and goes back and forth between campuses and that;s what I do typically these days because of the time factor. That also gives me the option of riding only one way and leaving my bike at the office. I can also take the bike on the bus, storing it in the luggage undercarriage, which has a nice vinyl liner. I sometimes ride to the bus and simply leave the bike on the bus all day when at work.

[SlowPokePete]

My wife and I work close by each other, so my routine is to drive in together, I ride home, she drives. The most direct route would be 18 miles, but I usually do 25-30 miles instead. Gets her home in time to let the dogs out, I show up around dinner time.

Nicer now that it's light out past 7:00, so usually a quick shower and I can still go out for a walk with those three before dinner.

Now if it would just get a little warmer.

SPP

[commonguy001]

I bike commute year round but have a fairly short commute. From a mental health angle I much prefer pedals to a car seat. My personal vehicle is a 1 ton diesel which isn’t ideal for a short commute but I knew I wouldn’t ever drive it to work when I bought it.
In my case, commuting is more a choice and less about money as it was inexpensive and parking doesn’t cost anything. I’d still do it even if I drove a Prius.

SPP you’re commuter is my dream commuter! Totally cool

[David in Maine]

The real money savings happens if you go all in and get rid of the car altogether. My wife and I made the commitment to be a one car family about 18 years ago. When we moved to Maine we made sure to buy a house close to my work--my commute is only 2.5 miles one way. Studded tires and Alfine gears get me through the Maine winter weather. Sometimes coordinating appointments and such with one car poses challenges but we're always able to work things out. Not having kids helps of course!

David

[Bradford]

Bike commuting doesn't save me any money. If I'm lucky, I break even, but likely lose a little because I keep buying more bike stuff. My bike spending is never a lot at one time, but a lot like the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book. If you give me a commuting bike, I'm gonna want better wheels, so I better call Old Potatoe...

At first, you start commuting with what you have, plus commuting necessaries like locks and lights. Then you start to add better lights, better racks, and cooler bags. Then you say "if I had another ___, I could leave it in the office and not have to carry it in." With that thinking, I just bought another blue tooth headset.

Then you think, I'd love to have a dedicated commuting bike, so you get a touring bike. Wow, that is such a great bike, I can fit the laptop and a day's worth of clothes in the panniers, I'm so happy. With heavier tires, riding in a little snow is even cool. But, when you realize that some days you can leave your laptop in the office, and if you bring in clothes every Monday, I wouldn't need the racks. So, you start thinking about a bike that is fast enough to ride hard, able to carry some stuff but doesn't need racks, is impervious to rain, and not so nice that you can't leave it locked up for the day. So you buy a Ti Fierte on ebay, outfit it with a Revelate Pika, and you are totally set. Well, then you see this cool Ortlieb seat post bag on clearance at REi, and since your dividend just arrived, you think well that's pretty cool for keys, ID, phone, and pump, and its really free since you can cover it with your dividend, so now that's on the back of the bike and it really is the coolest bag you've ever seen. All this, by the way, is completely illustrative and in no way any indication of the hundreds of dollars that my wife doesn't know I spent because I put it on my work credit card and she doesn't see those statements.

So, my advice is, jump right in, buy all the toys, and have a ball. I just started a new project this week and am back to the building with showers and the best bike room in Denver, so as soon as I can get my badge from my client I'm off the train and on the bike again. My commute is 50 miles round trip if I leave from my house and 35 if I park at the train station and I can't freaking wait until I get my damn badge and have access to the showers. There is nothing better than rolling out in the dark, temperature in the 30s, and watching the sun rise over the South Platte River on the way to work. I'm so much better at work after a ride in and a much happier person.

I do, however, find it really hard to commute every day. Meetings, things I need to get back home for, and life get in the way. I shoot for 2-3 days a week and am happy to get it. So make sure you have a back up plan.