Commuting - What is your commute like?

What conditions good road, bad road, something very unusual? Very heavy traffic, or none?

How is it different from other commuters?

Travel 7 miles, 5 miles on an older, asphalt MUP that is mostly sparsely used and another 2 miles on residential roads. No heavy traffic and the MUP features a lot of wildlife, especially early in the morning, and nice trees. The MUP is well protected from most wind. The major downside is that it is not all snow-cleared in the Winter.

My commute is 10 miles one way and it's all suburban roads with dedicated bike lanes on 95% of my ride. About 7 miles is on a major 2 to 3 lane road (each direction) where the speed limit is between 40 and 50mph.

It is quite hilly too. Round trip is over 1500' of climbing.

5 miles one way & the only cross walk is at the end towards the school I work out(no need to even use it). When I leave my house I can go into my back yard where there is a 4 lane highway 50mph There is a 3-way signal and my side doesn't have a signal since there's no road. Just another 40+mph road I must cross. After that the outer road is nice. 8ft shoulder the whole 2.5 miles aprox. I ride. One hill but I can go up it at a constant 18 mph.(there's a speed display parke right on the shoulder up the hill) The traffic isn't heavy when I come to work, but if I go home at 7pm it's not as much fun. I usually work OT until 11pm. That's much easier. That 3-way sign is nice when comming home I can get off the shoulder onto the road and make that light.

About 13.5 miles each way, with a climb out of the valley in each direction -- fortunately the long climb is in the morning when I'm more fresh.

It's all paved roads and trails (mostly good quality pavement). The first three miles are light to moderate traffic (but the heavy traffic is usually backed up waiting to get through a pair of stop signs. The next four miles is a heavy traffic road with a bike lane (and really, the drivers here in Albuquerque are pretty considerate to cyclists), then it's about 2 miles of very light traffic residential areas, and the finish is mostly multi-use path (with a good chunk inside an Air Force base).

25 mile RT. All paved roads in pretty good condition. About 90% of my commute is on residential streets through suburbia with 25 mph speed limits. The remainder is on a couple 5 lane roads with 45 mph speed limits which I have to use to cross a freeway and some train tracks.

Being Detroit, it's dead flat of course. I descend about 120 feet over 12 miles on the way in.

My commute is mostly sidewalks and a long hill its about 10 miles roundtrip :) i only ride on the streets in the morning when there is less traffic and i ride on the streets in residential areas. i don't really travel far yet but when i was smaller i went everywhere which seems weird now.

Pretty good traffic conditions AM commute suburbiaville has nice roads in the PM it is packed with people returning from officing all day Ride the roads in AM PM the ride is about 15 RT

7.5 miles one way.
6.5 miles on a heavily used (even at 5:30am) MUP. They've been repaving it, too, so there's a 3 mile section of it that's all new asphalt. The rest of it is nice, but there's some harsh sections which are paint-marked for repavement or repairs. My apartment complex has a connector path to the MUP, so I don't even have to get on the street at all for these 6.5 miles.
The last mile (first on the way home) is on the mean streets of downtown Woodinville, WA. Uhhhh yeah. There's a bike lane, lots of street lights, and it's a double lane road so most people give me an entire lane of berth when they pass. I've had more problems with discourteous riders or oblivious joggers on the MUP than I have had on the streets in Woodinville or in Redmond while running errands.

First ~mile is suburbia, quiet streets. Then ~5 miles on a 4 lane divided major thoroughfare with pretty heavy traffic, that is not very maintained with debris and has lots of cross-streets and parking lots; 1/3 of that is wide-shouldered but no bike lane; 1/3 has a bike lane; 1/3 has no shoulder or bike lane but on one side a MUP that also functions as sidewalk. I will, depending on the condiiton of the road, either take this part via MUP or on the road. South FL, so very flat. Lots of honks and yells of 'get on the sidewalk' b/c 99% of the locals ride there.

I have two ways to get to and from work, and I can combine them. My street route is about 5 1/2 miles. It's partially along residential streets, but most of it is on a one-way three-lane 35mph road. I love that route because it's fast. I can hit 35 mph for bursts on part of it, and I've even hit 40 mph once on the final hill. I love having three lanes because I can take the right lane, leaving two full lanes for cars to pass me.

The one-way road has relatively new pavement (I have to watch for the pavement seems), which makes it safer. I do have to watch the far right because some of it is a parking lane during non-rush times. Also, it goes through campus and a shrinking not-so-nice part of town, so I have to watch for glass in the gutter (the not-so-nice part is getting squeezed out by gentrification from the South and Ohio State University students from the North).

It's really busy during rush hour, but I frequently ride in the wee hours of the morning, in which case I have the road nearly to myself.

I can also take an MUP (http://recparks.columbus.gov/trails/Trails_3.asp) for 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 miles if I want. Sometimes, I take the MUP part way and get on the streets. The MUP is nice because you can go for miles without having to interact with car traffic. I won't take the MUP on nice afternoons because there are too many idiots. I also can't take the MUP the day after a snowfall. The ruts in the snow freeze, and even my Nokkians can't take rutted ice.

On my way to work I have 0.75k of residential street, then 3.5 k of MUP (fairly heavily used at this time of year - in the winter it is cleared of snow with some icy patches), then climb up a 4 lane 50 km/h road for 1.5 km (my workout for the day!) and then about 2 km through residential streets and a university campus (major ped traffic, road network very difficult to use - stop, go and dodge all the way). On my way home I have 2 choices - the same way back (If I wanted to I could hit 60-70 km/h on the hill - but would probably lose my life on the curve halfway down!) or a 6.5 km ride through residential streets with a very steep hill and passing through some 4 lane commercial streets with lots of shopping. I often take the alternate on the way back so I can run errands - bank, supermarket, etc..

Overall a very pleasant commute.

EDIT: I am spending this year in Calgary, if anyone in TO was trying to figure out my route :) BTW the MUP is along the beautiful banks of the Bow river - the highlight of my day.

6 miles each way. Going in, 0.5 mi residential, .5 mi downhill on a light arterial and 1 mi urban industrial which takes me to a MUP for the final 4 miles. The MUP (Burke-Gilman in Seattle) is decent for the 1st half, but is getting pretty busy on the 2nd half due to student traffic (the University is back in session) and some long-term construction at the half-way point is a real pain. Other than the home stretch, it's all pretty flat though (any alternatives force a steep climb over a ridge and higher traffic volume). Coming back I usually skip the arterial and go the last mile on residential (since I'm going uphill at 10mph rather than downhill at 30!)

3.5 miles beginning in an urban residential neighborhood with low-traffic "bike boulevards". Cross light out of neighborhood onto busy one-way to make left turn onto street with a bike lane. Bike lane heads towards river and connects with bridge across to downtown. On the bridge, it's like an MUP, but there are markings for where peds and bikes should position themselves. Turns back into a bike lane seamlessly, then into a right turn lane to a 3 lane one-way street where I take the lane, make a left onto a similar street, turn into a driveway to get on the sidewalk, and I walk the bike for the remaining half block to the building door.

my route is about 22 miles round trip. on the way there, a mile or two are in a residential area, then i turn onto a relatively busy highway with 2 lanes in each direction. for awhile it's 35mph, then it goes to 55. i ride in the shoulder and stay on the highway for 2.5 miles or so, then cross the highway onto beautiful country roads with no shoulder, which usually have speeds of 45mph. i just realized yesterday how awesome many of the motorists are on those roads, because even though they don't *have* to, many of them pull their cars or SUVs entirely over into the other lane, often a hundred or so yards behind me! they stay in the other lane until they're totally past. (some of the other drivers aren't as nice but we won't talk about that now.)

there are some climbs, most notably on the way home (3 climbs that, depending on my energy level, could involve me stopping or walking for a bit), but i shouldn't complain. they aren't that bad even though i hate them.

at the end of the ride there are a few blocks on a boulevard in the town in work in, and that's where people usually rev their engines or honk or yell at me. in only 2 or 3 blocks! hmph.

the road on the highway is okay, although generally sprinkled with gravel and glass and plates and chairs and tires, but on the country roads the pavement is abysmal. really awful. i hope i never bounce out of a pothole into the path of an oncoming vehicle. the road is ba-aad.

the traffic at 6:45am or so is AWESOME! almost everyone is going in the other direction (to portland and beaverton), so there are only a few cars overtaking me. it takes awhile to cross the highway though.

Here's (http://home.mindspring.com/~rhorne/My_commute.html) mine.

Ron,

Nice job of documenting your commute. Do you ever go back through the campus to get luch at Burrito Art? I love that place. Maybe we could do lunch there someday?


Ok...my commute...leave my drive way and turn left (shorter route and smaller hill :)). Go about 3/4 mile and turn right onto a 2 lane road that is way over traveled by cars. Go down a nice hill for abuout 1 mile and pick up speeds in excess of 30 mph. Stop at light and wait for someone to be nice enough to allow a cyclist to turn left in fron of them onto another over used 2 lane road. Now its uphill again, but its probably only 3% gradient. Stay on this road for about 3 miles, going through a stop sign and over one very narrow bridge. Climb 2 more nice little hills and finally turn left onto a divided 4 lane road with speed limits of 45 and average car speed 65 mph. Stay on this road for about 4.5 miles and climb at least 3 more significant hills. Total route is 8.3 miles and approximately 600 ft of climibing.

Usually take the same route home with a detour at the stop sign to go over to a major highway that has a nice bike lane on the right shoulder. I use this to get in a little hammer time. I get about 2.5 miles along this highway, and can run speeds of 27-29 mph on my MTB and 30 - 35 on my road bike. Then I come back to the road I live on...opposite end from where I started the circuit. Going down the nice big hill on this road, I've topped out so far ( on Road bike) at 48 mph and plan on hitting 50 someday.

2 miles downhill in the morning on a nice 5 lane empty road at 5am. Burrrrrrr......
I have this dip between hills that occurs before I have a chance to warm up. The temp literally drops 10 degrees. Then I ride on a trail for 13 miles into denver past sewage treatment plants and other industrial areas. I change trails around REI and ride for another 5-10 miles depending on my route. The remaining 10 to 8 miles are on roads.

My quiet route takes me through nice residential areas on slow moving streets. The only downside is the hills.
The second option I frequently take, winds through high traffic streets but less hills. I take this one to arrive at work faster and strangely enough, to amuse myself. I also think it helps to keep my traffic cycling comfort level alive and well.

A photo essay of my commute (not my photos, strung together from an excellent local website!):

http://ndjedinak.blogspot.com/2006/07/photo-essay-of-commute.html

Yes...and each way 8.2 miles of it.

Well I am only 4 miles out

http://www.mediamax.com/bodybait/Hosted/3.wmv
3rd street route not used alot.

http://www.box.net/public/vth3252ops
I use this route all the time and for good reason.

Not very exciting, 11mb and 8 mb
I have three routes.. The last option as you will see is under construction so I don't use that one.

Pretty hard to complain with this route.I takes me around 40 minutes a day.

mine is 35 miles of mediocre-to-needs-repairing paved roads and highways. Most of it is 45-55mph speed limit and either 5-lane with a paved curb and no shoulder, or 2 lanes with the occasional passing zone and the white line meets grass or guard rail. Nothing but hills.

In a way, I'm kinda glad the Surly turned out to be too small for me...I just got 26x1" slicks for the hardtail mountain bike that has adjustable travel and a lockout on the front fork. :D

Ron,

Nice job of documenting your commute. Do you ever go back through the campus to get luch at Burrito Art? I love that place. Maybe we could do lunch there someday?
I've been by that place a hundred times but never tried it.

If you're going to be down this way send me a PM. It's always nice to meet another BF member. :beer:

Four miles of suburban streets, 2 miles of MUP, 2 miles of back country road, 2 miles in a Senior community, and 2 miles on a state highway, each way. In the AM only the highway is busy. In the PM only the Senior roads and the back road are quiet. There is one little 200 yard patch of hard packed dirt that is nasty only during the rainy season.

5 miles one way. Rual road for a while. Cross a highway on the overpass in the city (very intense). Residential streets until I reach the large multi thoussand employee business park.

7 miles each way. Moderate traffic, sometimes heavy in the evening if I leave work on time. 1/3 urban residential, 1/3 downtown, 1/3 fast four lane road. It's Atlanta so the road surface sucks and/or is covered by a thick slab o' steel.

About 22 miles round-trip:


About 1 mile through my residential area. I tend to take different one of two routes out, and one of two different routes back home.
Cross the interstate. Here I have one of 3 options, all of which I've tried for a period of time. Two are busy 4-6 lane roads, the third is a residential road with light traffic, which adds an extra mile to my route. If I'm running late or need more time in the AM, I take one of the busy roads to work, but never home. This part is anywhere from 1 to 2 miles.
About 8 miles on two roads that are identified by signs and on the map as a cycling route, but have no bike lanes or other markings. One road is nicely paved with a wide, paved shoulder. I assume this is for cyclists' benefit since it is part of the trail. The second road is potholed concrete, and this is one of those strange Milwaukee roads that I've never seen anywhere else. It is wide enough to be a 4 lane road, but is marked like a 2 lane (double yellow down the middle, no lane markings dividing either side. I consider it a really wide shoulder/parking lane, but most people drive (and pass!!!) on the right. I stay 3 feet from the curb to allow myself room, and usually get it. Traffic here is average, and usually keeps to 40mph or so.

My commute is (was, for now - still off due to wrist healing/physio) 15-18mi. round trip.

I start off on a busy-ish (due to commuter traffic, schools, transit station being close) city street, single lane both ways going briefly into a two-lane uphill going over a railway and then down again on a one lane two way to turn right onto a main artery heading down a nice slope towards downtown - this latter road is a two-way two lane road, with streetcar (tram) tracks on the two centre lanes.
Traffic on this road is pretty smooth going, apart from the occasional back-up at lights, and as it's downhill I can keep in with the traffic itself, making my life a lot easier.

I then take a road west which has a bike lane on the left side of a dedicated parking area (intermittently, anyway) and ride over pretty flat terrain after this point. From this, I go south on another bike lane, then turning onto a 4-lane one way road in the downtown core heading west - fairly busy, and taxi craziness can be high on this route, as can tourist / pedestrian / tour bus, etc. traffic. I then turn down a small low traffic street onto the street I work on, just to cross and head into the gym for a cooldown and shower.

From there it's a 3 minute 'scoot' (not really properly riding, just ambling) from the gym to the office, which I use the sidewalk for, due to the massive inconvenience it'd be to use the roadway at this point (crossing over to get into lane, crossing the major intersection right there, then crossing back over all lanes to get to the office).

The way back I head south almost immediately (dealing momentarily with queuing-for-the-highway traffic) and take the road along the lakefront until I can get further south to one of the beach areas, then I head onto an MUP and ride near the lake there. I often will stop for a relax and some alone-time by the lakeside in Tommy Thompson Park (for those that know it, also called The Leslie Spit) and from there head north slightly to take the MUP across Lakeshore (busy two way two lane road that's fed from itself and a highway offramp) and onto the road again back up the hills. I attack the hills directly, either going right up one less hilly road, further away from home, or a pretty steep but closer hill - traffic is rarely an issue as I have room to work at this point. After the climb from the lake-level area, I'm only a few minutes away, and can do it mostly on very quiet city side streets, which are two way, but small and without markings, etc.

For those local, the morning rundown is:

Main St.-> Kingston Rd. -> Dundas St. E -> Sherbourne -> Richmond -> Duncan or something close -> King St. W -> gym. Gym along King St. W. across Spadina to the office just west.

Hometrip:

King St. W -> Spadina -> Queens Quay -> (at the very east side of QQ there's an MUP, I take that around the corner to Cherry St., this road-MUP crossover is also where I crashed) -> Cherry St. -> Martin Goodman Trail (MUP) -> Unwin St -> Tommy Thompson park -> Leslie -> Lakeshore

Now I decide to take Coxwell north (easier) or Woodbine (great workout). From there I just head a sidestreet north to wind my way back to Main, by this point I'm usually winding down so don't ride too hard or in a specific path, as it's a very short distance from there to home. The norm is to take woodbine, this has greatly sped up my commuting conditioning, especially as it's at the end of the journey for the day unless I'm very very tired or, like when I crashed, I needed to take it very easy.

If I'm running errands, particularly in the beaches area, it gives me the chance to use some VERY steep routes for that extra workout - I have uncanny stubbornness when it comes to not giving up on hills, and I'll only reluctantly drop from top-cog if I absolutely need it :)

Looking forward to catching the tail end of the October challenge, if not then November if my wrist is good (broke my scaphoid bone by hitting it on my handlebars in aforementioned crash).

5 miles each way. all residential. the speed limit is 25-35 on my entire route. i turn left twice (total) and i have to merge with traffic once. all in all a VERY simple ride. come to think of it, most of it is a one-way street too... i guess i need to look for some new (longer) routes... :lol:

5 miles each way. all residential. the speed limit is 25-35 on my entire route. i turn left twice (total) and i have to merge with traffic once. all in all a VERY simple ride. come to think of it, most of it is a one-way street too... i guess i need to look for some new (longer) routes... :lol:

Or just do a hard, right-handed u-turn at your destination.
I'll bet you have killer traction on the right side of your tires! :D

Most days, my commute is roughly 23 miles round trip, all on the same road. I live off of a rural hwy, and work off of the same hwy. The shoulders are nice and wide, and the ride is flat. If I want hills, I can head west slightly and pick up some paved climbs. If I'm feeling ambitious and have time, I go off road. Riding to and from work off road is between 36 and 42 miles, depending on route.

More on the off road route HERE (http://acidinmylegs.blogspot.com/2006/08/my-commute-rocks.html).

Very short - 4.2km/2.6 miles, which is very useful in the mornings because I'm perpertually late and often head in in civvies. This evening I put on my biking gear and came home via a long route through a large local park, that was pretty cool. If I had decent (HID) lights I'd have stayed out even longer, I couldn't see the trail under the trees in the dusk.

.6 mile r/t to/from kindergarten at 2-5mph (often a steady 2mph all the way there). Then ~ 2miles on road to MUP, 3 miles on MUP, then 2 more miles on roads, depending on mood a straight shot on stripmallroad or a bucolic getaway through college campus.

My ride is six miles each way: 1 mile on a residential street with wide bike lane --> bike path (very well maintained here in Boulder) --> .25 mile on the road to work. There are three lights/intersections to cross and a three small easy climbs. You can ride it without sweating or race the local roadies.

Mine's about 6 miles to work and 7 on the way home. It's a mixed platter of residential streets, MUP, and bike lane with a small corner of downtown thrown in. The route there is hillier than the way back. I take Dexter in the morning which is probably the most commuter-traveled street in the city.

I take a longer way home because the Fremont bridge construction has made getting across it northbound a total pain. It's much more pleasant to go a little out of my way. I usually haul @ss in the morning and take it easier on the way home.

My new commute is different from the old, but still has two variations...the whole enchilada or drive-park-ride.

The whole enchilida is about 25 miles each way, country roads with traffic at 40-50+, no shoulder, couple of major highways to cross, rolling with at least three challenging climbs each way. Even though it's much shorter than the old 45 mile full monty, time is still an issue, so I do this route during the better weather when I don't have other things compteting for my time.

The easy route is a 15 mile drive and a 13 mile ride each way. I could ride the O&E Towpath for the entire distance, but I usually jump on Riverview road for at least 5 miles of it, more if I feel like stretching my climbing legs.

My new office overlooks the O&E towpath and my LBS is right next door. Sweet. :)

Going in is leaving at 6:23 am to ride 3 miles of upscale residential streets, then 5 miles of paved riverside bike and running path, then 2 miles of pretty calm city streets to the heavy commuter rail station. There, I board the train for a 30 minute ride, have some coffee or water and read. At this time of year, sunrise occurs while I'm on the train. At my stop, I pedal a scant mile to the office, arriving ~20 minutes before my coworkers, to clean up and change.

I go to change into riding clothes again at 4:40 to reverse the procedure. I get off the train at 5:37 and the city streets are pretty clear where I ride. I roll back down the river, then the neighborhood, arriving home around 6:10 pm.

Morning ride starts at 7 sharp. Half mile steep descent down to a suburban 4 lane (2 each way) that gets me to work, eight miles one way.
Evening ride is longer, a nice loop of 2 lane twisting around a (dry) reservior with some nice steep but short climbs. Next onto about 4 miles of fast 4 lane with a bike lane.
Two miles of residental streets then a climb back up the hill I live on. Twenty one miles total.

Currently 2.5 miles each way. Home and work are within 20 feet of the same altitude, but the road goes up and down 200 feet inbetween. Half of the ride is on suburban if hilly streets, the other half is on hilly commercial streets. My commuting time varies. I may be going either way at any given hour. Traffic fluctuates between heavy and none.

It's different than any other commute I've had and I've had many.

My old commute was pretty bad. Very hilly, 15 miles one way, which I would not really mind so much, except 12 miles of that was a high traffic, highway. It was good because of the hills, I was able to push myself, but bad in that I had no alt. route that was any better. Hence, it got boring, and very dangerous (I had a city bus wing me at about 60 mph... literally blew me off the road), Friday's were the worst as far as driver in fractions.

I have a new job now, and was concerned with riding here as well. Mapped out and drove a couple of routes just to see how they were (Google earth is an awesome utility for finding bike routes, shortcuts, etc..., I used that extensively), and even though it's a farther commute (23 miles one way), it's an awesome ride. Two lane road, moderate traffic, some semi traffic, but much less than I'm used too. Also get a nice morning ride through the Georgia Tech campus, which I can safely say, has some very, very attractive women attending ;) It's also awesome, because of the options open to me on commuting. I don't care if it's farther really, if it's a better, more pleasing ride. And I've got 3-4 ways to get here via bike that will work pretty well, and I haven't even really started looking yet.

The roads are ok, I guess. I mean, I am used to bad roads, so these aren't horrible, but they are very dirty (truck traffic, a long part is a ride through a warehouse district), so I am waiting to see how flats arise. Not any real climbs to speak of; I mean, like all of Georgia it's hilly, but nothing out of the seat steep. This is good, because on days where I need to rest, I can, and just spin. Days where I want to work in intervals, I can do that too. And there's a very hilly route with a few steep climbs, which is shorter, at about 19 miles. I've not gone that route yet though, as it seems pretty narrow, and traffic is still pretty high.

edit: I should have said, I leave my house around 8:30am, and get to work around 10am. I get off at 9pm, so lights are a good thing to have on the trip home.

Just a hair over 10 miles one way.
Fairly quiet residential streets for the first 5 miles or so, and then another 5 miles of silky smooth, traffic-less bike path, that takes me to within 2 blocks of my office.

Short and sweet, under 4 miles each way. It's on the downtown grid so there's lots of alternate routes. I finish by going through residential streets, an alley and our parking lots. I ride to work in the mid-afternoon and home around midnight. There's a lot of gritty street life on the way home, but more entertaining than troublesome so far. The traffic is easy to deal with. The only thing I don't like is all the stop signs and lights. They're mostly irrelevant at midnight so I often hammer home.

First .75 miles is up and down a pretty gnarly hill (Fairgrounds Rd. to 303) with a narrow gravel shoulder, then 303 (4-lane divided hwy, 30-40MPH limit, depending on where) for about 5 miles. Not bad pavement on 303, but not much sidewalk except for about a 1 mile stretch with some strip malls. After that it's about .75 miles up and half down another nasty hill, ending with a left turn on a 5 lane onto the Navy base. From there it's about another .5 miles to the rack to lock up. The worst section of road is on the base, I don't think they even know what road maintenance is, but the rest isn't bad.

6 mile one way, asphalt rural road, 5 am, pitch black unless there's a moon, little to no traffic, begins at a lake and climbs fairly substantially to the half way point and drops back down to the lake. I need to make noise to make sure the wild life (especially bear) leave me alone. So far, so good. I'm addicted to it.

Coming home, a lot more traffic including plenty of semi's with pup trailers and there is no shoulder. That's not quite as enjoyable as the morning.

I'm lucky though. My wife and I work at the same place and end at the same time. I just start earlier so frequently I'll cheat and the bike and I ride home with her. That will probably be the regular thing when the snow flies. I won't mind riding in any weather on a traffic free road in the morning (and the bear will be hibernating) but forget it in the afternoon.

My commute is bout 4 miles each way. There's one 5% hill about 1Km long on residential streets, then split the rest between bike path and 4 lane road @ 45 mph with crummy shoulder.

One stoplight going to work, none coming home (merge).

Takes me about 12 minutes most days... ~20 MPH avg. I have to get real excercise out of a 4 mile commuts, so "On your left, slow poke!"

Friday's were the worst as far as driver in fractions. LOL, some of those drivers should indeed be "in fractions"! I wouldn't mind quartering some of them, for example... although halfing would do the job too. :D :D :D

My commute is 15-20 miles round trip depending on the route I take. The streets are more or less a grid here, so I have numerous routes I could take. I maily try to stick to the wider streets for obvious reasons. Most of the roads are nice, but some are in desperate need of attention. The way into work is mainly up hill. It's false flats, so no major climbing. In I'll average 16-18 mph. The way home is obviously more down hill. I tend to average 18-21 mph. My return commute is almost always late morning in and night coming home. Traffic is generally light at these times and drivers tend to be respectful with a few bad apples here and there. Most of the streets I ride are main streets in the city. I pass through areas of open fields, residential, commercial, a couple parks, and a military base. I hardly ever see other commuters, but I always look for them. I like to ride hard both ways and it has really helped with my fun rides of 30+ miles.

Short and sweet, under 4 miles each way. It's on the downtown grid so there's lots of alternate routes. I finish by going through residential streets, an alley and our parking lots. I ride to work in the mid-afternoon and home around midnight. There's a lot of gritty street life on the way home, but more entertaining than troublesome so far. The traffic is easy to deal with. The only thing I don't like is all the stop signs and lights. They're mostly irrelevant at midnight so I often hammer home.

One of my favorite things about riding at midnight or later is that I have all the roads almost to myself.
I can ride anywhere in any lane and can hear a car comng a mile away. It's great.

Well now I moved and it is 13 miles in and 11 miles home.

It stinks not for the milage but route home.
To get over the I10 I need to take a busy road or bridge.

I come home druing rush hour, I ruled out the bridge for many reasons getting there, hill, Lane on the bridge, rush hour bad bike lane for my route after the bridge.
I ruled unviserty due to no route to the underpass and traffic at I10.
I ruled out Broadway due to traffic around what is called the Broadway Curve. I don't mind taking the lane , but there is some crazy driving going on here.

So now with out making my trip longer which I am not doing. I have Suothern and Baseline.
Both have good routes to the acess points of I10, Southern has a nice WCL lane under the I10 but is completely clogged around the corner as you can see in the video.

Baseline is better until just reaching the I10. I am choosing Baseline until it becomes clogged like Southern.
here is the google map move north to all the options I listed below. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=5000+Arizona+Mills+Circle,+Tempe,+AZ&sll=33.414722,-111.908611&sspn=0.11119,0.21698&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=14&ll=33.387808,-111.96888&spn=0.027806,0.082397&om=1

The ideal situation would be head south on 48th street and take Gaudelupe Rd. However as mentioned above I don't want to extend my commute, that and 48th street isn't very friendly either.


On Southern there is some really rough bike lane so I need to use 48th street south to head east on Southern.
Baseline I can enter at 40th street which has a bike lane. I don't mind taking a wide lane on Baseline to II0.
Just so you know I take a frontage road off 48th street. So the video starts there. The Frontage road as you can see is dangerous, so I am not sure if I should split the lane at the begining or take the Frontage road.
So this is what I have to do now. Every day I go down southern. Baseline is similar in the traffic jam.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FtGXj76v0s

~5 miles each way. Besides the 200 yards within my own neighborhood and 1/2 mile of the bike-laned roads near my building, it's all pretty sucky cycling roads.

About a mile of rolling hills on a 2-lane, NOL road, then I turn left onto a 4-lane (plus a center turn), 45-mph+ road with solid curbs (I take the entire lane for this portion; South Miami Blvd. for those familiar with RTP). That lasts about .5 miles, then I turn right onto a similar road (Alexander Drive, but it's 55+ mph) for the next 3 miles or so. Then a left onto Cornwallis Road, which is 2-plus-a-center turn, but it has bike lanes. That takes me about .5 miles until I turn into my building's driveway.

Alexander Drive is the worst part of my ride. It's fast (55+), and crosses a highway so it has RTOL lanes and such. It's also a major commute road for people working in the park, which means drivers on it are usually pi$$ed off, impatient, and rude. It has an MUP, but the MUP changes from one side of the road to the other, then back, then disappears, then reappears on the other side. Not to mention that it has a blind crossing of a RTOL. When drivers tell me to use it, I usually say, "What, are you f***ing crazy?"