(Jeffrey Pogodzinski) wrote:

I am thinking of buying a road bike to commute to work every day.

Excellent idea!

Would 15 miles each way be too far?

No - actually, it's just about perfect. Much under 10 miles and it's
almost not worth the logistics - much over 20 and it starts taking too
much time (for some of us at least).

I am in pretty good shape but new to biking.

Then you want to take it a little easy the first few weeks, so you
don't burn out and get soured on the whole commuting experience. Your
body will adjust, but if you start putting in 150 miles a week from a
low mileage base, you could hit a real "pit" in your fitness.

About how long would it take?

How fast (average speed) can the average beginner go on a road bike?

The last work commute I had was almost exactly 15 miles, and would
normally take 45-55 minutes (normally riding pretty hard since that
constituted my "training" as well as my commute). My personal best
was a bit over 41 minutes (there were a lot of stoplights...).

If you're in good shape it shouldn't take too long to get to the point
where you'd be making it in an hour (barring TOO many hills, lights,
nasty intersections, etc.). From there, it just gets better.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame