Longest Feasible Commute

For routing, it can be useful to check Strava's heatmap - for anything around London/M25 etc, it's pretty clear where people are cycling. Not guaranteed to be lovely routes but probably not revolting. 

I ride 22 miles in when the weather isn't too foul. I leave early (6am) because I prefer quieter roads and take the train home, as I'm in by 7:30 I then get the train home before 4pm or after 7pm (cycles aren't allowed on my line (Thameslink) between 4pm and 7pm). Depends on what I've got to do, being self-employed does give me the luxury of some flexibility. 

I have two lights front and back, one each with li ion which get charged at home or work as necessary, and one each that takes regular rechargeables. I also keep a full complement of alkaline batteries in my bag. Belt and braces and three sets of pants.

For routing, I don't think there is one platform that does it all. Komoot probably gets closest. But a combination of that along with Ride with GPS, CycleStreets, Google Streetview/Satellite view to check road classification, and crucially, cross-checking against the Strava Heatmap https://www.strava.com/heatmap#11.44/-0.09951/51.52752/hot/all

With that length of commute, you ought to be able to get a bit of variation with a few different route options to keep things fresh.

Yep as others have said, it's doable and will probably become an enjoyable hour or so bookend to each day. My longest commute was a downhill in, uphill home 18 across Manchester and it both set me up and wound me down mentally for the bit in the middle.

Just take getting into doing it at your own rate and treat it as the fun bit of the day, if it gets to be a chore or if you just fancy a day or two or... off riding then no biggie.

If it's a nice sunny evening & you've nowt pressing then you'll find having 40 odd miles a day in your legs means you can follow your nose for a few hours and have a nice evenings pootle without breaking much sweat.

Perfectly doable, from personal experience always have enough food or money for food for the return journey. Nothing worse that literally running on empty on the way home! The man with the hammer can hit you pretty hard!

Last year I got the wife to run me in to work - 35 miles one way - on  friday during the school holidays and I'd cycle home.

I was looking at train + bike - would be around 15 miles cycle - each way as a doable option (We have showers in the office) outside of the school holidays.

Circumstances beyond my control (an octagenarian Mondeo driver) unfortuately put paid to my plans before I could fully test them out.

I'm nearly 50, and at the time around the 16 stone mark. Was cycling 120 - 150 miles a week on  club rides and wanted to shift weight, get the blood pressure down and spend the time unwinding from work - it would take me about 2 hours 30 mins to do the 35 miles, which I thought was too much. The younger, fitter 20mph average guys would have no problem with it - open roads, a few steep hills, mainly villages to go through; easy cycling compaired to a city.

https://www.redbull.com/ie-en/redshark-water-bike

Gravesend to The City? How about this? And I guarantee you'll not be close-passed once!

[Image result for water bicycle]

My routes have always developed over time.

To start off with it tends to be the most direct, then I will add in scenery and nature and remove nastier bits of roads and juctions.  So often longer and slower but somewhat nicer.

I used to do 13 miles/day which included some of Edinburgh's longest and steepest hills. That was hard work.

For a long time I rode 10 miles in the morning and 10 miles in the evening across London each day. That was ok, particularly in the summer evenings with a gentle pedal across Hyde park.

My current workplace is 17 miles away but unfortunately, there's no good cycling route of that length. The quickest route goes via the A2, which is not the best for cycling (though I do see some guys trundling along the hard shoulder from time to time - not my idea of fun). I'd have to take a big detour, about 20 miles according got the tacho on my motorbike, and that includes two long, steep climbs in the morning. 

I used to do 15 miles each way, 4 times a week, and that was about as far as I would want to commute regularly, more due to the 15 miles back, after a day at w**k was a work up I could do without. I did a 'super commute' twice, because there was a railway strike, and that was 75 miles each way. To be fair, it was only on 2 occasions, and it was hell.

Do it often.

I'm no teacher, I haven't ridden two weeks buti haven't excuse.

I prefer days I ride. Warms well being. Last summer I was near those miles. Although a 7km ride direct, when work days were near or less than 12 hours detour home via a climb and descent would increase mileage with 30-60 km detours.
When younger I often commuted 100km daily but weather might be different. Middle of day gets hot, blows tyres and burns skin. When a postman I'd ride 20-30km to work prior train schedules and catch a couple of trains home during midday.
Best luck man. Bicycle commuting is what I enjoy too.

I'd say it's doable but maybe start off with 2 or 3 days per week and work upwards if that's an option. How different will the roads be in terms of traffic and lumpiness.

I've got a 17 mile (each way) commute; pretty much flat and mainly bike path. I've mixed it up over the years; train in/bike home, all cycle and half drive/half cycle (van makes that easy).  I drive in Fri as the traffic is quieter. I guess for me it's time (incl showering at work and work day) and how tired I get when I may want to ride at the weekend.  Winter always seems like really hard work and longer; winter bike, dark, more kit on, windy etc and the risk of icy paths, so my half drive/half cycle option works well.  I normally ride pretty hard and it's the one time I'd really like a super-light bike; some people I know just stick to a steadier pace that they can maintain day in day out and accept the time penalty.  Got an idea to 'borrow' (if a bike shop agreed to it) a decent e bike for a week and see what the times are like (all cycle); use the e bike for winter, headwind and 'too tired' days, and road bike for days when I want to get some fitness riding in. I'm mid 50s and 85kg; everyone's different as I know people who can maintain a blistering pace every day, just not me!

I've done 25 miles each way on an occasional basis in the past (it was 1 or 2 days a week when I'd be working at an alternative site to usual, there wasn't much of a pattern to it). Fortunately it was a really lovely commute on mostly quiet roads with several options inc canal towpaths and woodland trails.

It depends a lot on the route (busy main roads, quiet lanes, hilly, flat etc), what bike you're on (e-bike??), how much stuff you have to carry and (most importantly I'd hazard) the facilities available at the workplace to shower, change, hang kit up, store the bike safely etc.

My current job, I have a very easy straightforward commute but the hassle of locking the bike up (fairly secure but offsite from my workplace) and going up and down flights of steps means that although the ride itself is only 45 mins, I have to add a further 20 mins for locking up, walking, showering, changing, hanging kit up etc.

Ride the route on a weekend, see roughly how long it would take each way (it might be more uphill one way so takes longer and that needs factoring in too). See what options you might have for using off-road (towpath, cyclepath?) and where you're restricted to main roads. Having a choice of route makes a big difference. In summer / dry weather I've got the option of towpath most of the way and that's lovely (slower but nicer) but in winter, wet weather etc it's a horrible ride cos it gets really muddy.

Maybe investigate the possibility of driving half way and riding the rest or driving in/riding home/riding in/driving home or maybe there's a train option (check out weekday / rush hour restrictions on trains in and out of London). Having a train option is great if you ever need to bring a laptop back or you've ridden in and the weather is unexpectedly shit or you had a mechanical. And on the same subject, are there train stations en route that can be used in an emergency?

Kit goes without saying; you need good reliable clothing, lights and components. The bike is going to get loads of wear and tear so full mudguards, bombproof tyres and cheap kit like Tiagra whcih won't cost you loads when it wears out and won't make you cry when it's covered in a winter's worth of road grime is well worth it. Same with clothing -  it's worth considering the trade-off between a cheap jacket that does one or two seasons and can be binned or something that you hope to last years but which costs a fortune. A couple of smaller lights are better than one big one, you need some back-up.

Hope all that is useful.

I'm 23 miles in, then perhaps 25 miles back (depending on specific route). South Cumbria coast to the heart of the Lakes, so not flat by any stretch. I usually manage it three times a week (bottled it this am, howling winds and lashing rain!).

49 y/o (50 next April).

For me it's as much to do with my mood/wellbeing than fitness. I hate driving to work, especially this time of year, there's no public transport between home and the office (imagine that Londoners!) so even if I do get a bit knackered, at least I feel better mentally.

Do it!

A face book friend of mine commutes 27 miles (54 miles round) over the Campsies.

Ive still not done the full commute at my current place, about 42 miles one way (too many things have got in the way) preffering timewise to drive 26miles park up and cycle the last 16 miles.  My commute (unlike the Campsies) is completely flat though.  I did the drive/cycle thing on my previous commute too.

On an older commute I did the train morning (no showers) and cycle back thing.

I'd give the commute a go and look into alternatives and see how you can brake it up (drive/train/cycle) so that on winter days it still an enjoyable alternative.  Good luck

New job = new bike? 

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bikes/electric-bikes/giant-road-e-1-pro-2...

Forget what google maps says - go ride the route of a weekend and see what it's like. 

I do think going straight to 5 days would be too much - so you could aim to phase the rides in.  

I'd want a proper winter bike. Full guards, bombproof tyres and 2 sets of lights front and rear. 

Have fun.  It's probably not that much longer than driving. 

Oh and I built up to this level of fitness over years - can't say really how long it took but it was definitely measured in years rather than weeks or months. Obviously everyone is different and the amount of effort you put in during a commute can make a huge difference to the fatigue generated.

As someone has already said - it's not the mileage more the amount of time it takes that's the real, ultimate limiter.

As for the physical demands - it depends on the the route and whether you can keep your effort down to a sustainable\repeatable level on your ride.

I'm 52 and cycle over 50 miles a day with 2700 feet of climbing. I tend to cycle 4 days a week but have done 5 days a week - but honestly I prefer having a day off, especially since I switched to single speed. The problem with the single speed is that I can't keep my effort levels low on the hills and that has an effect over the week. The reason for switching to single speed? I was tired of all the maintance that my geared bikes tended to generate when covering approx 800-1000 miles a month. My disc braked, single speed is awesome to ride, is quiet and has so little maintance in comparison - I love it 

Perhaps another point to consider; If you have to commute every day then I would seriously look at getting an eBike - the only reason I havent done so myself is I can work from home  when ever I like so I can take a break when I feel I need it. 
 

Sounds like you're already a committed cycle commuter, so do it. Like others have said, perhaps not every day, certainly at the start, and perhaps build up to it, train one way, cycle home. If you can leave your bike at work dry & secure, how abour ride in, train home and back to work, ride home?

I do a fairly regular 13 miles each way pretty much five days a week, but in the summer will sometimes extend the ride in to 17 miles and the ride home up to 25, depends on available time. Strong winds and ice are the biggest enemies, but I still keep going at 63 so must be doing something right. Sometimes cringe at the thought of going out the door in the dark and cold, but miss it loads if I don't.

@stratman - yep, I really miss the thinking time. Used to arrive at work with a bunch of ideas or use it for planning out my day's tasks. And on the way home in the dark (at least where I was riding) it was just me and the bike, great de-pressurisation. Really is awesome for mental health.