New job. New commute.

My 30 mile route takes 1hr 30mins pushing the pace and 1hr 45 taking it easy. I get a motorcycle for Monday and Friday cycle rest of week and prepare to alter cycle days if crap weather forecast.

I motorbike to work on Mondays (shirts & lunches in) and Fridays (dirty clothes & tupperware back out again) and cycle Tuesday through Thursday.

The cycling is easier if you don't have a full backpack every day.

At this time of year, cycling might appear a great option if a little far, but consider what it would be like in November when you're mashing the pedals into driving rain on a dark Thursday evening. Grim!

Best suggestion is above - try it on a weekend or day off, and see how long it actually takes. But I'd recommend a motorbike anyway - they're awesome.

I'm with mrmo on this one. Time rather than distance is perhaps more of a factor. By the time I've gone about my pre-wrok morning routine, I only have 40-45mins or so to ride to the office if I'm to arrive on time, so I drive then park about 20km away and ride from there.

For what it's worth, I recommend mixing up the route you take each day as much as you can. Keeps things from becoming monotonous.

I think you'd find doing that 5 times a week too much of a strain. You'd not be great by the end of the week and 2 days rest would not suffice.....without doping or having plenty of time to sleep.

2-3 times and week, and you are in business.....which leaves the other 2-3 days. So do both and see how you go.

why not cycle 2 days a week and motorbike the rest?

My commute is perfect, 5 miles, 4 of which is traffic free along the thames path and kennet and avon canal. In the summertime I can believe my luck.

Pretty much the distance my commute was, but leaving the house at 4am for a 6am start took a bit of motivation. Realistically you'd probably only want to do it 2 or 3 times a week because I guess you've got a life as well

MY opinion, 1 hour. distance doesn't matter too much, as long as it takes no more than an 1hour on a normal day. imagine 1 hour in the dark/headwind/rain/etc could you motivate yourself?

I do know someone who commutes occasionally 45miles each way over two says (drive out, cycle home, cycle out, drive home)

At 27miles, can you drive part way? use a train for one direction and cycle the other?

Sounds a long journey on a pushrod...perhaps a small motorbike would be better as you say. Assuming normal office hours, do you fancy 3+ hours of commuting in the dark, rain, etc. If you've flexi time and showers at work it could be feasible, if not an employer will get fed up if you arrive late, dirty, sweaty etc which is not good for ongoing employment prospects. As a few have said, ride it on a day off, but make sure this at the same time of day as your commute. My local (rural) backroads are rat runs during peak times,

I ride 16.5 miles each way and try (largely succeed) to do it most days. When the weather is against you it can be a tough week.

The other thing is you say the A roads are quiet. have you tried them at commute time, as the traffic pattern can change quite dramatically. Sometimes the quiet roads can be worse for tossers in vehicles.

Lucky about 75% of my commute is now traffic free, the big difference it made was less stress. On a road my spidey senses are always on alert & on a long commute that can be more tiring than the actual cycling

Hard to say based purely on distance, though 27 miles in and 27 miles back seems just a touch far for commuting in my mind, certainly beyond a casual 'hop on and ride' distance, especially if the weather throws up any challenges and you need to be somewhere for a given hour. Is it mostly flat or is there some climbing along the way?

I'd do a test run on a day off, I think that's the best way to understand the nuances of a route and get an idea how long it takes.

Oh and that 11 miles each way I can do anywhere between 34 and 45 minutes usually, on a cyclecross bike, but its pretty flat. I do it four days per week.

In terms of distance, rather than time, I found my 26-mile each way commute just about enough to arrive at work refreshed, but not too pooped, to spend 8hrs doing it. My route was hillier nearer home, and flattened out nearer work, and took about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hrs. I had the advantage of being able to jump on a train home if the weather was too grim or I couldn't be bothered to rush-hour-ride it home. No matter how much you love cycling I'd imagine a soaking wet 27.5 miles home wouldn't always be attractive...

Thats quite a trek! You could always do part car, part cycle. e.g. find somewhere maybe 8-14 miles away from work and drive the car to there, take the bike out of the boot and carry on the way to work by bike. I live 19 miles from my work, but drive the first 8 miles, and cycle the last 11 miles to work.

Google maps tells me my commute that I usually do in 12-15mins should take me 27mins, so I'd ignore their suggestions. Why not give it a ride on a weekend to see what it takes you?