Commuting - Is your ride beautiful or boring?

Okay, I'm really jealous of everyone talking about seeing bunny rabbits and wildflowers and a beautiful view of the mountains on their way to work! I see lots of cars in a line, weeds by the side of the road, fast food restaurants, and a mall! <h'rumph> :mad:

It's true, however, that were I driving a car, I'd still see all the same things, and I'd be driving a car besides! :)

Update: Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: construction.

Awwww, come on, there must be something good to look at on that commute of yours--do the weeds by the side of the road sprout flowers at some point? Are there flocks of seagulls in the parking lot at the mall?

If it makes you feel any better, I'm starting another job in mid/late august, and though the commute will be about as long, I don't think it will be nearly as nice. Sigh. No more bunny rabbits. Or coyotes.

Awwww, come on, there must be something good to look at on that commute of yours--do the weeds by the side of the road sprout flowers at some point? Are there flocks of seagulls in the parking lot at the mall?

If it makes you feel any better, I'm starting another job in mid/late august, and though the commute will be about as long, I don't think it will be nearly as nice. Sigh. No more bunny rabbits. Or coyotes.
Yes, that does make me feel better! :)

Not really. It's too bad your commute will be not as nice. I wouldn't wish that on you.

Yes, the weeds do flower, and there are seagulls in the parking lot. I'm mainly just being humorous.

Not all bunny rabits and wildflowers for me- but for a relatively urban commute, SF Bay Area is right up there. I love it.

Some shots from the past
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=86374

there are seagulls in the parking lot. I'm mainly just being humorous.

Me too :D I've always thought parking lot seagulls were really funny.

A desolate, white stone trail winding through a canopy of trees

Bogs and ponds, reeds and fields. Some of them have kids playing lacrosse, and soccer too.

The river Charles, and the skyline of Boston.

The blue dome of the Harvard Business School rising above the red brick of Cambridge.

Towering 220 foot tall granite obleisk monument guiding me home.

I'd say my commtue is beautiful all right.

Yup I have the mountains and wildlife, but also, corporate campuses and interstate.
Some of each!

Spectacularly unscenic...

depends if I'm trying to get home fast or I go through the residential areas.

The residential areas are quite nice, and while not picturesque, I do find it rather enjoyable.

Now, the speed route is a 6-lane concrete hell, tons of traffic, nothing but office buildings/commericial crap/other crappy things...it sucks...oh and for some reason that road seems to have a headwind both ways...I know it sounds impossible but it just feel that way....maybe it's just because I loathe that road soo much....but I live on that road so I can't avoid it :(

Ooops, misunderstood the question:(
I though by "your ride" it meant my bicycle, so i voted beautiful.
If i had known you were asking about my commute, would have voted it bo-ring.
Not just average boring, mind you, but mind-numbing, entirely featureless, devoid of nature, entirely populated with SUVs boring.
I can state, with confidence, that i have one of the most boring commutes on earth.
So boring, in fact, that i ....... well, you probably get the point.
Still get to ride a bicycle, though.

residential streets--lots of blooming things these days, and cool residential and institutional architecture (the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a pretty interesting and intricate building). Then some urban industrial neat places with a great view of the Capitol building. Then along the Mall, the view just can't be beat; I especially like the National Museum of the American Indian. Across the river and then along the river with ospreys, herons, and ducks. Last year the cicadas were an interesting addition. Sometimes the airplanes are landing right over my head! Then to Old Town, which is very picturesque. Beautiful!

Very scenic now. Virginia has amazing riding. I was on my bike today thinking "wow... trees, flowers, birds...". It ain't Chicago, and I'm not in Kansas anymore either. :D

Koffee

I get to ride through the very scenic Fulton Mall in brooklyn. Those of you in NYC knows what i'm talking about. It's a failed pedestrian mall that now houses cheap and ghetto shops, and it's also a major bus route. So I'm either dodgeing pedestians or sucking down bus fumes.

My commute takes me from one side of a very large suburb to the other. It's not all that picturesque but it's always interesting.

When our radio station moves across the city in the next couple of years I'll have a much prettier commute.

Wish I was riding through trees and bunnies (not sure if we have bunnies in hawaii), but I live close to the university, so it's all just the suburban blight of pavement, close packed ticky-tacky houses and automobiles.

I guess it all balances out, my rides in Boulder, Denver and especially Amherst were all purty.

Beautiful South Central Los Angeles, cars, cars, and more cars, then a short bit through the USC campus and all of the cute co-eds on their beach cruisers, then more cars.

Visually, the best part of my commute would be seeing a cute girl while at a stop light. Besides that it's a view of a concrete jungle with 3 ton metal monsters charging across the land, spewing out loud noise and black clouds : (

I'm considering changing my commute route to include a section of a rather nice residential neighborhood : )

Most of my commute takes me through suburbia. There are a few parks and fields on the way filled with annuals and wildflowers, but mostly what I see are cars. Fortunately I have a nice wide improved shoulder that makes a pefectly wide bike lane for most of my trip. Today on the way home I was passing hundreds of cars stuck in traffic doing 35mph on the downhills. Now that's a beautiful sight.

First I get to travel through my own neighborhood, which has so many bunnies I've contemplated giving up vegetarianism for all the free rabbit meat I could get. Then through the intersection of two of the most commercial streets in town and around the back of a strip mall. Then into another neighborhood, an older suburb that's probably around the minimum density figure listed in "CarFree Cities". The homes and lots are smaller with character and lots of mature trees. Then it's on to the campus where I work. The architecture is fairly pleasing with quite a bit if greenspace. There are other nice things to look at on the campus too. ;)

Some of each, leaning more toward beautiful.

I live in Hobart, a city with an imposing mountain, Mt Wellington, as a backdrop. It can be seen from most parts of the city. It is mostly behind me for the first part of my ride up the river, and when I cross the bridge, but I often stop at the top and look over my shoulder in the morning. On the way down the river for the second half of my morning trip I am often looking at it and its effect on the clouds.

But in the afternoon it is in my face, and I love it :)

a

Very Boring, I live on one side of a bay of, usually, crystal clear water and coral reefs with work on the other side. I spearfish these reefs and rocks, so I know what they look like underwater, and all the little tropical fish and sea life. Everyday, to get there from here, I have to ride up the side of the bay through 4 very small towns (the middle two of which have well groomed flower gardens bordering both sides of the road) and a lot of open road. At the right time of year, which has just passed, when the weather's decent, I can watch the sun come up over the hills to my left front while watching the full moon set over the bay, back over my right shoulder. In winter I'm cycling under the moon and stars on the dark stretches. <yawn>

Oh, and it never freezes here. Once in a while during the winter it will drop into the 40's.

About half of my ride is awesome. The other half I have to ride in through a rougher area. I've never really had any issues other than feeling a little un-easy. My route is 14mi one way. I like it.

I said a little of both. Most of it is just going through some old industrial area of town. There is a part that goes by a real nice cemetary, and in the morning you can smell the grass and here the birds chirping. But the rest is just cars and stop lights going through town. Nothing exciting there.

This is my ride. One of two bridges.
Today I caught the sunrise.
If I'm lucky, I'll ride this evening and catch the sunset as well.

I live in Hobart, a city with an imposing mountain, Mt Wellington, as a backdrop. It can be seen from most parts of the city. It is mostly behind me for the first part of my ride up the river, and when I cross the bridge, but I often stop at the top and look over my shoulder in the morning. On the way down the river for the second half of my morning trip I am often looking at it and its effect on the clouds.

But in the afternoon it is in my face, and I love it :)

a

Hehehehe. I get it all in reverse! Awesome mountain in the morning. River and eastern shore hills in the afternoon or evening. And there is nothing quite like a flat calm river with the old Tasman Bridge lights reflected in it. I must get a picture one night.

In the meantime, a daylight shot of the mountain, with the city in the foreground -- a view on my way to work, and azesty's way home.

All urban. I guess I like it so much because it changes every day.

Hey, that graffiti wasn't there yesterday...looks like jokerloco got capped...

Very Boring, I live on one side of a bay of, usually, crystal clear water and coral reefs with work on the other side. I spearfish these reefs and rocks, so I know what they look like underwater, and all the little tropical fish and sea life. Everyday, to get there from here, I have to ride up the side of the bay through 4 very small towns (the middle two of which have well groomed flower gardens bordering both sides of the road) and a lot of open road. At the right time of year, which has just passed, when the weather's decent, I can watch the sun come up over the hills to my left front while watching the full moon set over the bay, back over my right shoulder. In winter I'm cycling under the moon and stars on the dark stretches. <yawn>

Oh, and it never freezes here. Once in a while during the winter it will drop into the 40's.
I hate you. ;)

:D ;)

Yeah I'm more in the boring category, although I voted "some of both" because right next to my neighborhood is the tiniest county park in existance, but riding through it is nice and avoids a bunch of intersections. I've seen a rabbit, a couple of birds, and there's some small tree or large bush that is blooming, smells a lot like honeysuckle but isn't. There's no vehicle access (except a gravel road for firetrucks, it's closed off with a gate) so there's usually almost no one there, sometimes in the afternoons there are a bunch of guys playing soccer in the grassy spot.

The rest of my commute though is urban sprawl... There are some grassy/wildflowery fields right now but they are just building lots that are not developed yet. Most of them have driveways already put in just waiting for some business to build a building. In another year or maybe two they'll be gone. Northern VA (DC-area, if you can consider a 70-mile radius still part of the same area) is doing it's best to get the #1 urban sprawl title... I think it was in like 3rd or 4th place last time I saw a list.

Mostly boring. Starts very nicely along the river, then some residential with good tree cover, then it gets ugly, uglier, ugly again and the last part is mildly ugly but the ride is nice.

You can see some here (the residential area is missing): http://borealphoto.com/plein-air/velo/commuting/commuting_images.htm

My surprise this morning was a family of Gambel's quail dashing across the road, one parent in front, followed by a dozen tiny little dots that turned out to be chicks (very newly hatched, I'm guessing) followed by the other parent. Very cute.

I get sunrises behind a desert mountain, with a locally famous geographic feature, the Praying Monk, as well as canal life and desert animals. I also get long stretches of suburban homes and lawns, and some very ordinary roads. That said, if I find myself bored, something comes along to surprise or interest me, or I take the time to work out some thought or problem. Today, it was the quail and a roadie that I pursued, and some post-grad school planning - the miles flew by.

Because I live on an island, I have to cross two bridges to get to the mainland. Anytime I can look at the ocean I consider it a beautiful ride.

I voted for beautiful, because it's mostly very lovely, but there are a couple of spots that aren't so nice. The majority of my commute of my commute is along the Norwottuck Rail Trail in Amherst/Hadley/Northampton, which is a lovely six or seven miles through the woods, by farm fields and over the Connecticutt River. Very pretty, though occasionally a bit smelly. Mmmm, manure! But to get there, I need to ride a mile or so down a sidewalk MUP on the less-than-lovely University drive. Ick! The last three miles or so is also (off the bike path) pretty icky. But then, to get to the bus stop for my ride home, I get to take a nice little bike path from Bridge Rd. down to King St, and then go into the center of Northampton, which has a lovely downtown area.

Things will change in the winter, however - the bike trail isn't plowed, so I'll need to ride in on Route 9, which is bo-ring! But for the spring and fall (I'm away for the summer) I have a very lovely route.

On balance, a very nice commute.

Because I live on an island, I have to cross two bridges to get to the mainland. Anytime I can look at the ocean I consider it a beautiful ride.

funny how we posted a pic of the same bridge...it is a lovely ride.

I've got some of everything on my 32 miler.... semi-quiet back road with alternating 1700's houses and McMansions. Valley Forge Park with rolling meadows and stone monuments. A bridge over the river. Quiet bike path along the river through wooded sections, small river communities, two industrial towns, past a steel mill, more woods. Thru a 'funky arty neighborhood' main street with sidewalk cafes and lots of shops and people enjoying their evening out. Heavily-used multi-use path by the river, sometimes with teams of crew boats rowing on the river, finally past the Boathouse Row and the Philadelphia Art Museum, into downtown and my own quiet neighborhoood.

My commute to work is short but there's enough variety to keep it interesting. I'm also on the road early enough to call the roads my own. The first part takes me behind an industrial stretch of road which luckily is lined with trees. I saw a rabbit this morning on that road. From there I start to pass through some residential area, not the nicest neighborhood but I don't feel threatened.

Once I get closer to work, I get a pretty unique perspective. You see, I pass a minimum security prison and I can feel the weight of their stares. Nothing menacing, I figure it's envy of my freedom. Who knows? They rarely yell or anything. Only once did I hear one of them say "Go Bicycle Man!". So I did. It makes me wonder if they've been trying to eat 50 boiled eggs or something. They just sit still and watch me pass.

Since I'm up early, I find the sky to be the highlight of my ride. It's usually pretty awesome.

Boring and filled with dense traffic on an arterial boulevard... sucks. And has a couple big hills. Probably why I am not doing it right now.

I am however just riding this great path for the fun of riding... lots of rabbits and absolutely no cars. Part of it is a MUP, but most of it is high speed bike path... I mean open it up and crank -- "freeway."

Once I get closer to work, I get a pretty unique perspective. You see, I pass a minimum security prison and I can feel the weight of their stares. Nothing menacing, I figure it's envy of my freedom. Who knows?
Wow, a case where "they hate us for our freedom" might actually be true. ;)

The beginning part on Rte 1 SUCKS, the middle part on the Paint Branch trail is beautiful, and the end part on campus depends...

Today I saw a family of geese slowly crossing the trail. Four fluffy goslings and two adult geese. They moved very slowly and didn't seem afraid at all. However, one of the adults turned to me and honked menacingly when I got closer for a good look. The babies looked like gigantic chicks, very cute though.

My 8-mile commute starts near a greenway through the "art park" at our state art museum, over the beltline on a new pedestrian bridge and around a small college campus. Then several miles of city streets through older "gentrified" residential neighborhoods (a block over from the main drag) including the Raleigh Rose Garden park and into the state government complex in the middle of downtown. I don't think I could improve on that. And the wild roses and honeysuckle were blooming this morning.

I ride along the beach in Santa Barbara, where people pay hundereds of dollars to come and spend the night, and maybe rent a bicycle during the day.

10 miles from the one horse town to the plant in the swamp. Along the way I skirt a State College campus, roll along open farm land, pass a couple bucolic dairy farms and journey across a state wetlands.

http://img150.echo.cx/img150/5758/journey9kt.th.jpg (http://img150.echo.cx/my.php?image=journey9kt.jpg)

Alls I can say is this:

Alls I can say is this:

That is nice. You didn't do any photoshop on that? Where do you live?

Koffee

Oh schnap. I just saw you're from the same city as me. I didn't see that sunset. Where in Arlington do I go for that?

Koffee

Alls I can say is this:
I saw that same pink sunset a few days ago in Maryland. 'Twas gorgeous :)

Where do you go to see these pink sunsets? Are there some hills or something overlooking some water? I'd love to ride up with my camera and capture some city shots.

Koffee

Seattle has some great views, when it's not raining. I take longer routes to ride (1) by Lake Washington and look out at the Cascades and Rainier, (2) by Elliot Bay (the sound) with Olympic views and water and ocean commerce, or (3) through the arboretum. At the tops of most hills, you can get views of the Olympics and the Cascades, which are especially good at dawn or dusk.

Spring here is incredible (my first spring here). We've had a rotation of flowers for 3 months now. And it really hasn't rained that much.

On rainy rides, I prefer going in the dark. Downtown is pretty sexy, with old buildings and new, and cloudy rain gives it character. In thick fog it can be pretty wicked.

In short, I dig it.

My commute is flat and boring diagonally across Silicon Valley. About half is residential; the other half a mix of light industrial, strip malls, and business parks. Traffic isn't too bad during the AM commute (0700-0745) but the traffic and the people aren't quite as mellow during the PM. Beats being in the car, though.

Mine varies between just plain boring and semi-beautiful. Both ends of my commute are pretty much urban with some greenway and neighborhoods in between. I have various ways I can go, some more scenic than others. I live in an older section of town so if I veer off the main road I can go through a really nice historical area with old plantation-style victorian homes lining the streets. HUGE houses that I'd love to live in but hate to maintain.