Commuting - What kind of roads do you commute on?

I made a thread a while back asking everyone to show their worst potholes! Now I am back with a new thread asking people to show us the kind of roads they commute on.

Here is a selection of mine:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cable+Street,+Poplar&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=17.885114,46.538086&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cable+St,+Poplar,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.509731,-0.056949&spn=0.01835,0.045447&z=15&layer=c&cbll=51.510008,-0.046632&panoid=0Vy8YZjM2s7roXXmNb2FKQ&cbp=12,60.12,,0,8.99

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Tower+Bridge,+Camberwell&sll=51.510008,-0.046632&sspn=0.018456,0.045447&g=Cable+Street,+Poplar&ie=UTF8&hq=Tower+Bridge&hnear=Tower+Bridge,+Gainsford+St,+Camberwell,+Greater+London+SE1+2,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.502812,-0.07493&spn=0,0.045447&z=15&layer=c&cbll=51.505387,-0.075488&panoid=33yRFK6eGCIt3oUadIPqfw&cbp=12,4.76,,0,3.3

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=streatham+high+road&sll=51.505387,-0.075488&sspn=0.018458,0.045447&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Streatham+High+Rd,+London+SW16,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.425544,-0.130806&spn=0.036767,0.090895&z=14&layer=c&cbll=51.447186,-0.124285&panoid=XZk6q0pp4uzz_C7mMu86hg&cbp=12,349.09,,0,17.15

All fairly busy with quite a few lorries - my excuse to purchase a Dinotte! It is a nice enough ride though, can be quiet at times :)

So lets see your roads.

Daven

I have no idea how you got a URL for a Google Map to work, at any rate, long & lat for mine: 39.045024,-76.877671

I used google street view and in the top right there is a link called "link", which gives you the link to where you are :)

Yours is: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=39.045024,-76.877671&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=17.885114,46.538086&ie=UTF8&z=16&layer=c&cbll=39.044826,-76.877888&panoid=R9Wa-GAbzfmVUZgC0m1f2Q&cbp=12,36.15,,0,3.73

and I'm already jealous of your commuting road!

Work from my shop at home and there are no potholes on the sidewalk or take the highway out to the frame shop... have 10km of urban riding on newly paved streets and the highway section (45km) is pretty nice save for all the gravel and debris on the shoulders.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/uo8commute1.JPG

Not all of my commute is quite that picturesque, this is what it looks as I get closer to work.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=39.045024,-76.877671&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=17.885114,46.538086&ie=UTF8&layer=c&cbll=39.034833,-76.907421&panoid=-w5bdKb4zRWhncGT7qMAXQ&cbp=12,242.69,,0,5&ll=39.035253,-76.905949&spn=0.004267,0.009645&z=17

My old commute used to look like this...

http://ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/Ewok07/ewoklow2.jpg

http://ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/Ewok07/ewoklow3.jpg

http://ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/Ewok07/millcreek2.jpg

http://ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/Ewok07/millcreek8.jpg

http://ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/Ewok07/millcreek10.jpg

I ride about 2 miles of my commute on this street in Chicago, which even got a little article in New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/us/21devon.html)

Keep in mind that when I ride this road, I am by far the fastest vehicle on the street :D

Mostly just one way streets:

Single lane:
http://www.mikeshoup.com/media/misc/Downing%20St.jpg

Two lane one way, this does actually now have sharrows painted in the right lane. These are by far, my favorite road configuration to ride a bicycle on:
http://www.mikeshoup.com/media/misc/LoganSt.jpg

A rather fun intersection to navigate by bicycle. Have to have a very aggressive lane position, otherwise cars will try and squeeze you out through the S-Curveish thing:
http://www.mikeshoup.com/media/misc/18th.jpg

Only bike lane on my commute. I actually kinda preferred it before the bike lane...
http://www.mikeshoup.com/media/misc/18th-2.jpg

Here's some of the roads on my commute. These pics were taken back in March with my cell phone camera.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/Chalupa102/Photo165.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/Chalupa102/Photo166.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/Chalupa102/Photo167.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/Chalupa102/Photo168.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/Chalupa102/Photo175.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/Chalupa102/Photo177.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/Chalupa102/Photo178.jpg

Typical boring city road until the person is honking at me to cross the intersection for emergency vehicle when I am stuck (car on my right and pedastrian in front blocking). See my video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3ucFCusVHE&feature=youtube_gdata

My old commute used to look like this...
A commute through all that beautiful wilderness would be fun!

A commute through all that beautiful wilderness would be fun!

All found within the city limits... our park system is massive and can make you forget you are surrounded by a million people.

My roads are all paved, but within that general category I have all kinds, because it is 30 miles one way:

1) two lanes narrow, residential, and bounded with curbs
2) four lanes undivided bounded with curbs
3) four lanes divided with a 3 foot shoulder
4) 3.5 mile long bridge with a 10 foot wide emergency lane to ride in where the wind is unbelievable in the afternoon.
5) two lanes, rural, nice grass shoulder
6) MUP - but only a half mile
7) Beach Drive in Downtown St Pete - speed limit is 15, I bike it at 18, and cars still try to pass me. Why? Because I'm on a bike. Most time they start to pass me then realize how fast they're going and they abort the pass. It's hilarious.
9) Then there's the drawbridge with the metal grate. There's always that irrational fear of getting a flat just as you're humming across that nasty looking metal grate.

near home is nice quiet side roads.
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Burnaby,+British+Columbia&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=17.284145,36.650391&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&ll=49.211129,-122.944488&spn=0,0.000534&t=h&z=21&layer=c&cbll=49.211048,-122.944514&panoid=9CtpUPbFZ1VnzXS6pQCFUA&cbp=12,224.58,,0,6.47

Eventually passing between a Filming studio and their storage properties.
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Burnaby,+British+Columbia&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=17.284145,36.650391&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&ll=49.21669,-122.974761&spn=0,0.00427&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=49.216017,-122.974488&panoid=1FMQYkzdpFTT60iEyG1GIQ&cbp=12,314.64,,0,3.76

Eventually I get off the main bike route and get on a busier road to make up time and avoid some annoying hills. Lucky the parking lane is just full enough to keep moving vehicles out.
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Burnaby,+British+Columbia&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=17.284145,36.650391&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&ll=49.233215,-123.024538&spn=0,0.00854&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=49.232236,-123.024304&panoid=iqAy2ElRUNd6YeMjlu3ljw&cbp=12,280.58,,0,6.92

I live in L.A.,so nothing special.Typical concrete jungle with lots of cars.

Here's a part of my commute that i like.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2725/4415141184_f30e675038.jpg

Here are some pics to show you what my commute can look like. I tend to vary my route a bit, and to run errands on the way home. Right now, though, the sun rises around 5 am and sets a little after 9 pm, so my ride in and home don't actually look like this right now. In December, though, the sun rises around 8 or 9 am, and sets around 3:30 pm, so for much of the year, my commute does in fact mean "night" riding.

Quiet residential neighborhoods are generally better than main arterials:

http://forrestcroce.com/Images/QueenAnne.jpg

The roads are bad in some of the hillier areas. Also, there are almost always clouds:

http://forrestcroce.com/Images/Tilted-in-Queen-Anne.jpg

Sometimes I go downtown before returning home:

http://forrestcroce.com/Images/SeattleFromThePier.jpg

And I often "stop to smell the roses," except that sometimes this means stopping to enjoy a view of the water:

http://forrestcroce.com/Images/OlympicNightfall.jpg

awesome pictures :)

Multi lane urban arterials with/without bike lanes, Highways, rural roads with shoulders/bike lanes, rural roads without shoulders, paved/unpaved Bike paths....Yeah depending on my route just about all the major "types" of roads, excluding, off the top of my head, residential suburban streets.

Here's some of the roads on my commute. These pics were taken back in March with my cell phone camera.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/Chalupa102/Photo175.jpg


Are those shoulders wide enough?