Commuting - Leave late(r) - still get on time?

Has anyone noticed that once you get the routine down, once you reach a point where you know exactly which route to take every morning, when to leave, what shortcuts to make, what time you have to leave your home, how long it takes you to get to work, etc. - it no longer matters when you leave and what time you wake up, you will always get to work on time, no matter what?

I've noticed this before i moved to my new place, and after. It seems that right about the time you think you know exactly how long it takes you to get to work and what's the point of "no return", the time-space continuum stretches indefinitely, and allows you to leave at whatever time you please (within reasonable limits, of course) and still get to work on time.

Has anyone else noticed this? Or are the diesel fumes finally getting to me?

I have noticed this. Knowing I'm gonna be late forces me to pedal harder and miraculously I'm there on time. Unless the evil headwind makes itself felt. Then I'm worn out and late.

My 'normal' time to arrive at work is a good hour or more before everyone else gets in...so being late isn't something I worry about.

I get there an hour or so early as well, never worry about being late but I totally understand what you are saying. I know I have to leave at 6:20 exactly. That way I miss the pedestrians getting off the train, I make almost all the lights (and you know exactly when to hit them, I always hit one on yellow), and I miss the trash truck. 2-3 minutes earlier or later, and I am either dodging pedestrians, waiting at lights, or sucking up trash truck fumes!! Now, when that evil headwind is going good the timing does get blown all to.......

It's the opposite for me. I'm prettymuch late regardless.

I can somehow get out of bed at 8:00 one day and 6:30 the next and arrive at work within 20 minutes of each other.

I'm constrained by walking my daughter to the school bus stop. That means that I always start riding at the time the bus pulls away.

Paul

I don't have an on time or late. A lovely benefit of being salaried at a lenient company.
So, I tend to not hurry unless I have a meeting.
My only issue is running late when I need to pick up my son. Since it is mainly downhill I can haul arse .....depending upon the wind.

My 'normal' time to arrive at work is a good hour or more before everyone else gets in...so being late isn't something I worry about.
My normal time is I'll get there when I get there. It's nice to be vested and past retirement age with full pension benefits available.

My normal time is I'll get there when I get there. It's nice to be vested and past retirement age with full pension benefits available.

Why do you hate freedom? :p

I'm almost the opposite of the OP.

I have no shortcuts - I ride the shortest (and also fastest) route every time (unless a street happens to be blocked, but that happens very rarely).

And going faster between all the stops and slowdowns (red lights, cross traffic, traffic) shaves very little time from my commute. Taking it really slow vs sprinting full out only makes 2-3 minutes difference over 25-30 minutes. Not worth it.

Because traffic and wind can screw things up, I always try to aim for an arrival 10-15 minutes before I need to be there. But then, I'm in school, so it's not that big a deal if I'm a bit late. That said - I rarely am.

My 'normal' time to arrive at work is a good hour or more before everyone else gets in...so being late isn't something I worry about.
Same here.
I take the exact route every morning and I know it will take nearly exactly 25min door to door, however my range has been 23-28min and for the extremes I know which end it will fall within the first mile of the ride. But if I do my usual, no pushing, no slacking, its 25min, even with varied traffic lights. I know which ones I will get/make depending on my speed and if I leave a bit later than the usual 6:30a traffic patterns vary. At 6:45 I start to get a line at the first light, 7:00 its long enough that I may or may not make it on one cycle. After 7:15 its a two cycle light. Other lights in route also have similar patterns depending on departure time. After 7:20 I'll be at my desk after 8am.

Al

Extreme flex-time is our only real benefit at work. So late is not possible.

My last job in California however had a very strict policy. Arriving at 7:10 was cause for dismissal as was punching in late 3 times. My answer there was to plan to arrive 15 minutes early. That left enough time to patch a tire enroute, and usually to get cooled down and washed up. One time my bottom bracket bearing cup broke and I had to kick the bike along like a scooter to get to work, but I made it.

But no, it never seemed to happen magically.

I don't have an on time or late. A lovely benefit of being salaried at a lenient company.
So, I tend to not hurry unless I have a meeting.
My only issue is running late when I need to pick up my son. Since it is mainly downhill I can haul arse .....depending upon the wind.

Boy, if i didn't have an on time or a late time, i'd come in at noon everyday, not knowing how the hell that could happen, when i woke up at 7:30. Must have time frames to get anything done.

I am a morning person and still need to at least put in 8 hrs. Plus, I am a creature of habit. More often than not I arrive within the same 15 minutes everyday.
A few of my coworkers start around 10 or 11 am. Ugh! I fall asleep around 9 pm.
Time frames are nice but in my case they are self imposed. It also helps to work the same hrs as my coworkers for the incessant meetings.

I was pedaling uphill to my new job. My last one was mostly flat, this one has a couple hundred feet of climbing. I thought I was going to be late, despite the extra time I allowed myself.

I ws 30 minutes early...which was PERFECT!

Yeah, it's cool.

I'm a time nazi. I hate it but it's true.
I leave at 7:00 am and get to work within 25 to 29 minutes depending on lights and wind.
I leave at 5:00, like a swiss train.

I'm a founder and part owner of the company, none of this is neccessary.

I couldn't say. Have never been running really late. I always allow myself at least 15-20 mins before start to lock up bike, cool down, fix a flat if one happens en route etc. So if I'm out the door panicking and screaming "I'm late, I'm late!" it probably just means I'll arrive with 10 minutes to spare instead of 20. :)

I'm a time nazi. I hate it but it's true.
I leave at 7:00 am and get to work within 25 to 29 minutes depending on lights and wind.
I leave at 5:00, like a swiss train.

I'm a founder and part owner of the company, none of this is neccessary.

It is quite neccessary....being punctual might explain WHY your the founder/owner!

I leave at the same time. Except once: It was foggy, and I was second-guessing my ride in. So, I waited and left 20 mins later. I didn't stop and laid the hammer down. And since I have a long commute, I made the time up. I was dressed and sipping on hot, black coffee before anyone else showed.

My 'normal' time to arrive at work is a good hour or more before everyone else gets in...so being late isn't something I worry about.

Same here. One of the advantages of going in early is if I fell like taking a LONGER route I have the time to do it.
I have not been late for work in over 20 years.

I'm quite consistent in the time the ride takes me. Unfortunately lately I keep drifting later in my departure time. I can only ride so hard/fast to get to work (sorry, boss if you're reading this), so it usually results in me being a little late.

I have been trying really hard to break myself of the habit of leaving at the last possible moment (or slightly after) but it's rough. I'm a night owl, and when it's chilly and rainy out and my job is kind of bumming me out (as it is now) it's really hard to get motivated to get out of bed early enough to have a relaxed ride in.