Commuting - Best part of your commute?

Just wondering what's the best part of your commute?

Mine actually has two parts. At one point, I come up a hill on the bike path after having turned in the woods. This section is in the middle of the woods and in the morning it's always cool and nice. The sun's rays get through the canopy of branches over my head. And the second part, it's the last 1km where it's all down hill before I come up to my building. It's nice to coast in and come in relatively relaxed.

Also wondering, do any of you always meet the same people while commuting? On my commute, I have the feeling that I'm always meeting this same person going the opposite way on the bike path.

hmm...

-6am and some of the streets are all mine, at least for a little while.
-watching the girls crew put their shells in the water as i zip by on the path
-seeing the same people every day.
-hitting my groove on the 3.5 mile 4% uphill drag
-dodging geese in the park.
-counting rabbits (yesterday, i counted over 100 before i quit)
-dropping gearies on the two steep hills

...and that's just the workbound commute

And more...

- Staying with the cars in the 25 MPH speed zone.
- Seeing the same older couple on their daily morning ride together.
- Seeing the guy riding the handcycle.
- Hearing coworkers complain about traffic...

In the morning, it's seeing all the beautiful young women out for jogs on the 5 miles of bike trail I get to ride every morning and evening.

I do see some of the same people. There's 'The Bearded One,' a roady who NEVER waves to other bikers. There's 'Jogging Bandanna Girl' who has been going at it for two months now, but still looks like she's about to pass out by the time she gets to the point where I pass her. (She's CLOCKWORK, though. I can always tell what time I'm going to be at work based on where I pass her.) There's the 'Passer', a guy on a mountain bike that I always pass about halfway to work, and then he humps it to overtake me, only to have me pass him again about a minute later on the only moderate hill on my ride. There's the 'Three Old Geese,' three older women who are always walking down the bike trail and gabbing on their morning walks... I give them all nicknames...

In the evening...well, my evening commute has got to change, because in the evening the bike trail becomes insane, with a bunch of familys and old people not paying ANY attention, which means they're invariably going down the trail on the wrong side of the lane without looking, people stopping to smell the roses in the middle of the lane, etc. I collectively call them 'The Morons.'

Smelling the gardenia bushes at the corner of 3rd Ave and 8th Street is a highlight.

Since I'm as fast as the cars in our small downtown area I take the whole lane and that's pretty fun.

1. Finding my legs on Thursday after thinking they were totally fried.
2. The "Secretaries" every day on the way home and on days when I leave late. The view is always nice from a bicycle ;)
3. The mist and fog over the meadow each morning in the forest preserve. Breaking through the fog as I enter into the forest is wonderful.
4. Cranking into my neighborhood and waving to my neighbors as I come up the block.
5. My 5 yr old son greeting me on his bicycle as I pull up the driveway. He always wants me to ride around the block with him before I get off my bike.

Ah yes, the smell of the small town bakery in Robinnsdale in the morning, sunrise and sunset and the shadows they cast, the peace and quiet along with the sounds of nature, the smells of people making breakfast in the morning in some of the residentual areas that I travel. There is nothing else like it, you're one with nature.

Right now commuting from Indy to a little town south of here, the best part of everything is riding through the cornfields in the sunrise. At one point, the road turns to where the sun is behind me, and I can see my posture on the bike, legs pumping like crazy, muscles defined in the shadow. All I can think when I see that is that last year at this time, I was 340 lbs; now I'm a 165 pound machine!

Going past Curtis Park on the last half mile to my house. At 6pm, the park is full of people enjoying the afternoon: ultimate frisbee, soccer, softball, grass volleyball, hoops, tennis, kids in the playground, runners on the path.

I always try to keep a dollar in my saddlebag so I can buy a fresa y crema from the paletero (a strawberry and cream popsicle from the Mexican ice cream guy). He never corrects my poor Spanish. I can't remember exactly what he always says when I leave, but it translates to "ride well."

Two parts:

1. Passing "parked" cars during the afternoon rush hour. I used to be one of them!
2. Breathing the fresh ocean air as I ride down Dollarton Hwy on my way home.

I don't know why I didn't start doing this sooner.

Like others, I like seeing the same folks (peds and other cyclists) and waving 'hi'

I like hearing this rooster crow in someones backyard near the start of my ride when I pass about 7am, mainly because its a suburban area where one would not expect it (not sure if roosters are legal either)

I've chatted with the postman at stoplights about how long the light wait is.

I like crossing over the canal and seeing birds, etc by the water.
Al

not getting chewed up

not getting run over

not getting shot or harmed in some way

I have a rural commute with lots of trees and few pedestrians. My favorite parts are the hills I call the NINA, PINTA and SANTA MARIA. They are long steady climbs followed by very long decents.

The agony and the ecstasy....

All I can think when I see that is that last year at this time, I was 340 lbs; now I'm a 165 pound machine!

That's AWESOME! Congratulations!

My current commute is nowhere near as nice as my old one, but here are a few nominations.

1. Slicing straight through the evening gridlock on the Sundale Bridge without batting an eyelid -- especially all those red sports cars around here that are driven by morons.

2. Getting blasted by the wind between the skyscrapers in Main Beach when it's in from the South East.

3. The view from Narrowneck toward the South of an afternoon/evening (depending on the time of year).

4. The occasional smell of ocean spray when we get a decent sea breeze. Although it doesn't seem to be as strong here as in other coastal areas I've visited.

5. Plenty of "scenery" on offer for a single male. Although, when you've been single as long as I have, it becomes more depressing than exciting sometimes. :(

Deer & fox, geese & eagles. All the regulars coming & going. Winter before last, there was "Peugeout" guy. A young kid who would come shooting out between two buildings & merge into the bike lane next to you, say "mornin" then accelerate away. Never got used to it, always startled me. No lights, vest or even light clothing but the bike was white. Didn't see him at all last winter. Guess he moved away.

My morning ride in with my 11 year old son. Somewhere he will turn to me and say "thanks for taking me for a ride, Dad!" I don't think it gets much better than that...

The long shallow 3/4 mile-ish hill that lets me coast into work in the morning and get
some exersize on the way back at night. It also has a view up the lower Hamakua coast,
and of both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa if you're into that sort of thing.

bkr

My reward on my ride home: After about 30 miles, with the last 4 a series of hills, I cruise across the Potomac River into Washington DC. I ride right by the Jefferson Memorial enroute to the Mall. The road next to the Mall is 15 mph, but the lights are timed to somewhere between 20 and 21 mph. Cruising under the trees, looking at the Smithsonian, before riding right up to the Capital. It was so nice of L'Efant to plan such a convenient and traffic-free end to my ride.

I see a couple of the same guys every day. That, and the water fountains I say hello to. Sadly, the little toy lizard sitting on the shoulder of a "city highway" finally disappeared. He was there for more than two months, and I would always tell myself, I'll pick him up tomorrow. But when tomorrow came, I couldn't justify stopping for a plastic toy. Now, it's too late.

[QUOTE=techBiker1]Just wondering what's the best part of your commute? QUOTE]

Like techBiker1 I have two best parts, one on the Route in to Work and the other home.

On the way to work (16mi) I have a well travelled section of highway where the semi's cruise @ 70mph right next to me on a pseudo-bike lane (wide shoulder). This creates a consistant tailwind and I love to crank on the Big Ring!

Homeward bound (14 mi) would have to be the expressway overpass. Now that my legs are coming back (750mi since 5/1/04) the climb is as much fun as the downhill where I can maintain 30mph+ for 1/4 mile while the slowly merging traffic gets SMOKED!

_theophan

Ride through the park, the top of the hills, deer, just looking at the scenery both in the city and the fields and woods.

The first 9k from home. Vineyards and fruit trees.

My favorite part of my commute is leaving the house.

My least favorite part is when I arrive at work.

FYI...I only have a 2 mile commute, not quite far enough.

The last stretch to uni (or the first stretch home) along a flat bike path beside the Swan River when its flat and reflecting the sky...seen dolphins a few times and I'm always assured of a pelican or 2. Bloody great.

The best part of my ride is in the morning when I meet the paper boy and we have to race a couple of blocks.

Another funny part is I see this guy on a bike every almost morning and he always has a cigarette in his mouth. Figure that out.

In the evening...well, my evening commute has got to change, because in the evening the bike trail becomes insane, with a bunch of familys and old people not paying ANY attention, which means they're invariably going down the trail on the wrong side of the lane without looking, people stopping to smell the roses in the middle of the lane, etc. I collectively call them 'The Morons.'

I've got the same problem. I'm not sure what the solution is, although I talked it over with a bike cop the other day and he said that if I'm on one of the marked bike paths and if I correctly signal my presence (with the bell, not the air horn) and say "On your left" in a loud voice and the still manage to step in front of me or in the case of little kids *dart* in front of me, I'm not going to be in trouble, despite the fact that 35lbs of bike and 220lbs (and shrinking) of human aren't going to do nice things at 20km/h when impacting a person at 0km/h.

:\

Blazing through miles of gridlock traffic, of course.

So, true! Its difficult to stop and backtrack esp with traffic. But it is somehow reassuring to see these temporary effluvia while they last and sad to see them go. I did stop though for the rack net and google I saw one morning.




Sadly, the little toy lizard sitting on the shoulder of a "city highway" finally disappeared. He was there for more than two months, and I would always tell myself, I'll pick him up tomorrow. But when tomorrow came, I couldn't justify stopping for a plastic toy. Now, it's too late.

I already posted in this thread, but I realized another one this morning. I love that, at the end of my 20-mile commute when I get to town early, I get to climb every hill in the town before work. I also LOVE (and I know this sounds cocky) when I see other people up the road who are out on early-morning fitness rides. They become targets. All I can think is "I'm going to blow by you if it kills me!" and I always do :) It's amazing the kinds of things that get you all pumped and excited when your job is as boring as being an urban planner.

I love the fact that riding as much as I do seems to help my allergy/asthma symptoms a lot. I also love getting in good enough shape to feel like I can take the uphills really quickly. Unfortunately, my vacation took that away, and it'll be a while before I feel fast on the uphills again.

...I correctly signal my presence (with the bell, not the air horn) and say "On your left" in a loud voice and the still manage to step in front of me or in the case of little kids *dart* in front of me, I'm not going to be in trouble, despite the fact that 35lbs of bike and 220lbs (and shrinking) of human aren't going to do nice things at 20km/h when impacting a person at 0km/h.



Yeah. I'm not convinced that's the solution, though. I mean, I expect that hitting a person, even a kid, will probably knock my front wheel out of true, and who wants to spend the time and effort to retrue it?!

Blazing through miles of gridlock traffic, of course.

Ra! Isn't it wonderful passing cars designed to go really really fast, and they're totally stuck. What I really find hilarious is when you get some moron prepared to risk causing a major multi-car pile-up in a deliberate but futile attempt to block you, and you just shoot straight past them anyway. Ha ha ha. Morons exist only to be laughed at.

So, true! Its difficult to stop and backtrack esp with traffic. But it is somehow reassuring to see these temporary effluvia while they last and sad to see them go. I did stop though for the rack net and google I saw one morning.

I agree (concerning the toy lizard and stopping). One of the great advantages of cycling is you *can* stop but I'm unlikely to do so. Thinking about it I feel I should make an effort to "see" a little more should something interesting come up.

The best part of my commute is going through the university. With a little bit of effort, whole cities could look like a university campus-- perhaps the only built spaces in America where the car is not king. I like waving to other commuters; my favorite is a stranger who always rides without hands. In two years I've NEVER seen her hands on the handlebars. I imagine it's some kind of daily challenge. She's always smiling too. (And for the strange amongst the group, YES, she has hands-- and arms as well!)

Chuckie

It only hapens occasionally, but I enjoy stopping for lemonaide, at kids' lemonaide stands. The kids that set them up tend to be outgoing, and like to talk with me as I sip their swill.

The best part of my commute is going through the university. With a little bit of effort, whole cities could look like a university campus-- perhaps the only built spaces in America where the car is not king.

(cue "all-American" white bread steak-eating flag-waving accent)
"Now that there sounds like some kind of commie pinko frenchie stuff to me, boy. We don't like no pinkos around here, see?"

bkr,
who misses living in nice, sensible college towns...

I agree (concerning the toy lizard and stopping). One of the great advantages of cycling is you *can* stop but I'm unlikely to do so. Thinking about it I feel I should make an effort to "see" a little more should something interesting come up.

Chuckie

Couldn't agree more. I get great scenery while commuting. I always think I should pack my digital camera and stop on the way to take pictures. But I'm always in a rush to go to work and back.

5. Plenty of "scenery" on offer for a single male. Although, when you've been single as long as I have, it becomes more depressing than exciting sometimes.

What, you? I don't get it. Those lovely apey looks, you're in Oz, land of sun and beautiful women, you cycle tons so must be pretty fit. What gives? You got a squirrel growing out of your eyeball or something? If you can't get a woman there's no hope for any of us! :(


Another funny part is I see this guy on a bike every almost morning and he always has a cigarette in his mouth. Figure that out.
Must be french. :rolleyes:


Blazing through miles of gridlock traffic, of course.
I'll second that one. :D

Plus another for my situation: racing the scooters. Paris is great for that.

What, you? I don't get it. Those lovely apey looks, you're in Oz, land of sun and beautiful women, you cycle tons so must be pretty fit. What gives? You got a squirrel growing out of your eyeball or something? If you can't get a woman there's no hope for any of us! :(

Here on the Gold Coast where hype generally overwhelms reality, it's basically impossible for a guy like me (i.e. possessing neither looks nor a large bank balance) to interest women. Consequently, I've basically given up on the whole scene.

Here on the Gold Coast where hype generally overwhelms reality, it's basically impossible for a guy like me (i.e. possessing neither looks nor a large bank balance) to interest women. Consequently, I've basically given up on the whole scene.

Well, from the pic you posted in the other thread, at least you have sun. I have neither sun nor woman, so you're one up on me. Enjoy

Maybe you just spend too much time cycling :D

Maybe you just spend too much time cycling :D

That I do.

Morning is best, with the sun rising over the city as I roll along the bike path that parallels the Ottawa River. There is nothing better than the silence you can actually feel, shunting against your face and arms - the smell of daylight that is the equal and duplicate of everything.

The ride home is tougher, heading into the wind, noisy, busier, dustier, but beats the hell out of baking like a chicken on the bus.

Same guys out there with me every day. Same guys out there for the past 5 years.

I like impromptu races. Last week I got passed by this guy with a much nicer, more efficient bike than mine. I paced him for a while, then once we hit the hill, he slowed down, and I beat him up the hill on my heavy single-speed...then went up an extra block out of my way for my "favorite" hill (a hill that feels too steep for me to ride DOWN, but I climb it a couple times a week, just for the fun of it. He followed me up, and even though I was barely moving at the top of the hill, I beat him. It made my day.

Oh, Chris L., we've seen your photo and you're not at all bad looking! There must be some nice bike-geek girls in your neck of the woods!




Here on the Gold Coast where hype generally overwhelms reality, it's basically impossible for a guy like me (i.e. possessing neither looks nor a large bank balance) to interest women. Consequently, I've basically given up on the whole scene.

When anyone driving a car or motorcycle tells me, "That looks like hard work," and I reply, "That's the point."

[QUOTE=techBiker1]Just wondering what's the best part of your commute?

For me, the ride into work along the canal is the most pleasant part of the day. Yes-there are regulars out there--who Always pass me! And a regular commute crowd who are coming the other way. As well, even the various birds on the waterway each have their own little territory. I have gotten used to each section and where the wind will plague me. But yes, it really is a very nice relaxed ride into work each morning.

Just wondering what's the best part of your commute?

For me, the ride into work along the canal is the most pleasant part of the day. Yes-there are regulars out there--who Always pass me! And a regular commute crowd who are coming the other way. As well, even the various birds on the waterway each have their own little territory. I have gotten used to each section and where the wind will plague me. But yes, it really is a very nice relaxed ride into work each morning.

Riding along the canal must be pretty nice! Thanks for sharing.

Reaching 43mph on a spectacular downhill section

....Breaking 8mph at the same point on the way home

Great views of the countryside

Nice woodland sections

Not paying for petrol, insurance, road tax, MOT, parking


Best bit? all of it :)

jeez. Thanks for helping me realize how utterly bland and uninspiring my route is.
I've got no countryside, no ocean views, no lakes, no wild animals, no bike trails and no traffic jams to whiz through.
I do have:
cats
dogs
(garden) birds
SUVs (it seems like I've got a variety like few other places have)
8-foot residential walls topped by electric and/or razor wire.

There is a small veld area I can use as an alternate route, but it sucks... dirty, thorny, rather barren area, with a sh!tty little stream flowing through it that has enough "Health hazard" warning signs plastered around it that you'd think twice before wading through it in a rad suit.

On the upside, I don't have any of the heckling abuse some of you have to put up with...