I just purchased a bike & now I plan to ride it home from work every day. Take the bus to work & ride the bike home. It's a 5.3 mile ride, so I'm just looking for support or feedback as to if this may be too much to start with? I am a 5ft 4 tall female & I weigh 245 pounds. I get out of breath climbing the stairs so I'm hoping riding a bike will help me lose weight. Anyways I bought a beach cruiser and it was difficult to go up hills, so I rode around my neighborhood on a flat surface for 2.3 miles and felt really good. I assume that doubling this will be ok but has anyone else rode a bike 5 miles a day starting out? Is it feasible or recommended? The new bike I've bought is a 21 speed and meant for the road. Much easier to go up hills than the beach cruiser single speed. Also I only work 4 days a week, 2 days at a time (Monday & Tuesday, Friday & Saturday). I'm off the other 3 days a week. Suggestions?

I think it's a great idea! If you are unsure of your ability to make the entire trip, you can build up to it biking on your off days to gradually build your stamina. Don't give up! If you can't do it at first - you will be able to do it if you just stick with it. Forgive the cliche but a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.

Best of luck to you and don't forget your helmet.

The distance should not be a problem since you can take your time, but you have to really scope out the traffic situation. I used to be a bike commuter and used to ride 20 miles every morning in addition to about 5 miles to and from work, but too many close calls with drivers and I hung it up. And that was before cell phones came out.

I've never biked but 5 miles sounds like a lot to me. In the long term I think riding your bike home from work is an awesome idea! In the short term you might considering using days off to make sure you are comfortable riding such a long distance before you get started.