How far is your daily commute?
Thread Starter
It's my pot and I'll stir it if I want to. If you're not careful, I'll stir your's as well!
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,257
Likes: 207
From: Central Mexico.
How far is your daily commute?
Just read the following story and then started to wonder how long the daily commute is for some of you DTR'ers. How about telling us how far you commute daily, anything unusual about your daily trip etc.
Your commute is bad? Try 186 miles each way
By Gary Richards
Knight Ridder Newspapers
SAN JOSE, Calif. — If you're howling about paying a lot more to fill up these days, thank your lucky nozzle you're not David Givens of California.
Every weekday, Givens drives 372 miles commuting from Mariposa to his job at Cisco Systems in San Jose.
Last week, as prices skyrocketed and Exxon Mobil reported a historic first-quarter profit of $8.4 billion, Givens talked with resignation of doling out $40 a day, $200 a week, $800 a month in gas money.
For his daily round-trip journey, Givens won the "America's Longest Commute" contest conducted by Midas Muffler, which received nearly 3,000 entries from New York to the Golden State as part of a 50th-anniversary celebration.
Considering the average one-way commute nationally is 25.5 minutes, you can call Givens a runaway winner.
"I was surprised to win," said Givens, who won $10,000 along with maintenance services and products. Nominated by a co-worker, he said, "I thought for sure someone else would have a longer commute."
That would be hard for most to fathom. For the past two years, with kids grown and a desire to get home to his wife and their 7 ½-acre ranch, the 46-year-old electrical engineer has commuted every workday, from the Sierra through the Central Valley to the Bay Area alternating over Pacheco Pass or the Altamont Pass, depending on traffic.
That's 3 ½ hours one way: a decent trade-off, insists Givens, for living the outdoor lifestyle he and his wife relish in the pristine mountains of Mariposa County.
"It's actually exhilarating," Givens said of his journey, likening it to TV commercials "driving a fancy car down Highway 1 with the top down. I enjoy taking the curves. It feels like I'm a professional driver going down a closed course."
Because this road warrior finds that gas along the major highways tends to be more expensive, he gets his at Pacific Pride Commercial fueling stations off the beaten path back home. And mileage counts: He gets 30 mpg in his 2005 Accord.
Givens began the mega-commute in 1989, spending a couple of nights a week overnight in the South Bay. But that was when he was a project manager and working 15 hours a day. Now he's an eight-hour-a-day guy, and instead of spending the extra time at the office, he's inside the confines of his Accord tracking traffic reports, listening to talk radio or cowboy novels on tape.
Handlebar mustache trimmed and boots on, Givens is out the door heading down Highway 140 about 4:30 each morning. He stops at Starbucks in Chowchilla "to do the coffee thing." Then he heads across Highway 152 to 101 to Great America Parkway and Tasman Drive, changing radio stations constantly, listening for every traffic report possible.
By 7:45 a.m., he's in his Ciscoland cubicle — fresh, believe it or not.
"When I get in, I'm pumped up, ready to go," Givens said. "Everybody else is dragging in looking for the coffeepot. I just drove 200 miles, dodging rain, fog, deer, elk and everything else. No problem."
At 5 p.m. he's out the door, back in the car and heading home with slightly more than a half a tank of gas to reach Mariposa. Typically, he arrives home about 8:30 p.m., often well past sunset.
This is certainly not for everyone, even the most dedicated long-distance commuters.
But Garry Reese, another long-distance commuter — 75 miles each way from Patterson to San Jose, a one-hour, 40-minute trip — can understand.
"A 186-mile commute each way wouldn't be welcomed," said Reese, a 53-year-old construction management consultant who used to sleep under his desk, getting up early to wash and shampoo in the restroom sink, appearing to just be in early to arriving co-workers. "But I wouldn't automatically refuse to do it."
The one major plus, he said: "The ability to own a house, which I couldn't do living in the Bay Area."
And about that lifestyle Givens relishes:
He and his wife, Connie, raise horses, and she trains search dogs. He's on a local search-and-rescue team. By the time he gets home, he and his wife have a few hours each night for each other — good, quality hours, he maintains.
"I could not have the lifestyle I want in the Bay Area or even Gilroy," Givens said. "To own 7 ½ acres over here would break the bank. But there I have enough land."
How long can he continue a commute that many would describe as unthinkable? The $10,000 check will cover gas for another year.
"I've got another five or 10 years in me," Givens said. "I don't see any end in sight.
"Unless gas prices get too high."
Your commute is bad? Try 186 miles each way
By Gary Richards
Knight Ridder Newspapers
SAN JOSE, Calif. — If you're howling about paying a lot more to fill up these days, thank your lucky nozzle you're not David Givens of California.
Every weekday, Givens drives 372 miles commuting from Mariposa to his job at Cisco Systems in San Jose.
Last week, as prices skyrocketed and Exxon Mobil reported a historic first-quarter profit of $8.4 billion, Givens talked with resignation of doling out $40 a day, $200 a week, $800 a month in gas money.
For his daily round-trip journey, Givens won the "America's Longest Commute" contest conducted by Midas Muffler, which received nearly 3,000 entries from New York to the Golden State as part of a 50th-anniversary celebration.
Considering the average one-way commute nationally is 25.5 minutes, you can call Givens a runaway winner.
"I was surprised to win," said Givens, who won $10,000 along with maintenance services and products. Nominated by a co-worker, he said, "I thought for sure someone else would have a longer commute."
That would be hard for most to fathom. For the past two years, with kids grown and a desire to get home to his wife and their 7 ½-acre ranch, the 46-year-old electrical engineer has commuted every workday, from the Sierra through the Central Valley to the Bay Area alternating over Pacheco Pass or the Altamont Pass, depending on traffic.
That's 3 ½ hours one way: a decent trade-off, insists Givens, for living the outdoor lifestyle he and his wife relish in the pristine mountains of Mariposa County.
"It's actually exhilarating," Givens said of his journey, likening it to TV commercials "driving a fancy car down Highway 1 with the top down. I enjoy taking the curves. It feels like I'm a professional driver going down a closed course."
Because this road warrior finds that gas along the major highways tends to be more expensive, he gets his at Pacific Pride Commercial fueling stations off the beaten path back home. And mileage counts: He gets 30 mpg in his 2005 Accord.
Givens began the mega-commute in 1989, spending a couple of nights a week overnight in the South Bay. But that was when he was a project manager and working 15 hours a day. Now he's an eight-hour-a-day guy, and instead of spending the extra time at the office, he's inside the confines of his Accord tracking traffic reports, listening to talk radio or cowboy novels on tape.
Handlebar mustache trimmed and boots on, Givens is out the door heading down Highway 140 about 4:30 each morning. He stops at Starbucks in Chowchilla "to do the coffee thing." Then he heads across Highway 152 to 101 to Great America Parkway and Tasman Drive, changing radio stations constantly, listening for every traffic report possible.
By 7:45 a.m., he's in his Ciscoland cubicle — fresh, believe it or not.
"When I get in, I'm pumped up, ready to go," Givens said. "Everybody else is dragging in looking for the coffeepot. I just drove 200 miles, dodging rain, fog, deer, elk and everything else. No problem."
At 5 p.m. he's out the door, back in the car and heading home with slightly more than a half a tank of gas to reach Mariposa. Typically, he arrives home about 8:30 p.m., often well past sunset.
This is certainly not for everyone, even the most dedicated long-distance commuters.
But Garry Reese, another long-distance commuter — 75 miles each way from Patterson to San Jose, a one-hour, 40-minute trip — can understand.
"A 186-mile commute each way wouldn't be welcomed," said Reese, a 53-year-old construction management consultant who used to sleep under his desk, getting up early to wash and shampoo in the restroom sink, appearing to just be in early to arriving co-workers. "But I wouldn't automatically refuse to do it."
The one major plus, he said: "The ability to own a house, which I couldn't do living in the Bay Area."
And about that lifestyle Givens relishes:
He and his wife, Connie, raise horses, and she trains search dogs. He's on a local search-and-rescue team. By the time he gets home, he and his wife have a few hours each night for each other — good, quality hours, he maintains.
"I could not have the lifestyle I want in the Bay Area or even Gilroy," Givens said. "To own 7 ½ acres over here would break the bank. But there I have enough land."
How long can he continue a commute that many would describe as unthinkable? The $10,000 check will cover gas for another year.
"I've got another five or 10 years in me," Givens said. "I don't see any end in sight.
"Unless gas prices get too high."
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 4,767
Likes: 5
From: port crane, NY
Cool stories! If all goes well and my house is at least dried-in by October, I'll be looking at a 70 mile round trip, give or take. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my property and I can't wait to have my home there. I've lived in downtown areas for several years, and while the proximity (sp?) is nice, I never feel like I ''got home'' after work...I just drove around the block. Plus, all the vices that make me fat and slow are right at my fingertips in the city--bars, fast food, expensive returaunts etc. etc. The $$ I save avoiding those places every day would likely fuel a fleet of vehicles to run my commute. There are tradeoffs, I suppose. It's mostly about what's of value to YOU at the end of the day. Fuel costs make you sick? Live in the city and/or close to work. I'm willing to give up certain things in order to have my home where I've dreamed it would be.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,787
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From: Central VT
I telecommute about 2600 miles to Phoenix AZ, there at 9am on the dot every day by then I have gotten up, had coffee, made my fiance lunch, had breakfast, gone for a 35 mile bike ride, worked on my truck and had lunch. 
Worst part is having such a difference in time between my job and my significant other's and getting off at 8 or 8:30pm and trying to go to bed at 10.
This guy is a perfect candidate for a VW TDI but probably can't even get one in California. Wonder if he knows he could be saving himself $300 a month.
Worst part is having such a difference in time between my job and my significant other's and getting off at 8 or 8:30pm and trying to go to bed at 10.This guy is a perfect candidate for a VW TDI but probably can't even get one in California. Wonder if he knows he could be saving himself $300 a month.
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 116
Likes: 0
From: Englewood, CO
Originally Posted by Patrick Campbell
I telecommute about 2600 miles to Phoenix AZ, there at 9am on the dot every day by then I have gotten up, had coffee, made my fiance lunch, had breakfast, gone for a 35 mile bike ride, worked on my truck and had lunch. Worst part is having such a difference in time between my job and my significant other's and getting off at 8 or 8:30pm and trying to go to bed at 10.
This guy is a perfect candidate for a VW TDI but probably can't even get one in California. Wonder if he knows he could be saving himself $300 a month.
Worst part is having such a difference in time between my job and my significant other's and getting off at 8 or 8:30pm and trying to go to bed at 10.This guy is a perfect candidate for a VW TDI but probably can't even get one in California. Wonder if he knows he could be saving himself $300 a month.
By my switching from a Cummins to a TDi I am saving myself (even with monthly car payments going up by 148) 47 bucks a month. Plus all the repairs on my daily transportation I dont have lined up anymore by not having the truck.
I miss that beast every day though.
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 0
Likes: 2
From: Port Deposit, MD
48 Feet one way. 
From my bedroom, past the cofee pot, into the office.
In all honesty, I still put about 400 miles a week on my beater rolling around for inspections and taxiing the little one back and forth to the Bus.
Middle school next year, bus picks him up 100 yards from the house, no more mandatory trips 5 days a week.
Life is good. Hate me if you must.
From my bedroom, past the cofee pot, into the office.
In all honesty, I still put about 400 miles a week on my beater rolling around for inspections and taxiing the little one back and forth to the Bus.
Middle school next year, bus picks him up 100 yards from the house, no more mandatory trips 5 days a week.
Life is good. Hate me if you must.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,385
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, Kansas
don't you get to a point of diminishing returns.... with that kind of "commute" you spend as much time in front of a desk as you do at the wheel. 186 miles one way gets me to the south end of Kansas City....
I guess that's why it's great to live in Kansas. I live 10 miles from my desk job and am within 2 miles of the "country".
I guess that's why it's great to live in Kansas. I live 10 miles from my desk job and am within 2 miles of the "country".
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 944
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From: Myrtle Creek Oregon
1.2 miles from my house to the job. I could ride a bike, but at 1:30 am with full thermos & full cup a coffee I'm not that talented. I don't bother fireing up the ctd but drive a 2wd tacoma that gets 24mpg hwy which I fill up once a month.
Of course the 400 to 500 miles a day I put in my tanker makes up for my short commute. Glad I'm not paying that fuel bill.
Of course the 400 to 500 miles a day I put in my tanker makes up for my short commute. Glad I'm not paying that fuel bill.
