I wanted to mix things up a little this morning so on my morning commute I detoured down a couple of roads.

It added just a few kilometres to the journey but made a huge difference.

It took me past the Swan River where I enjoyed spectacular scenery. I also watched a bunch of people on a ferry heading off on a wine cruise.

It only added a few extra minutes to the journey but was so much nicer than dealing with morning traffic. It's nice to be able to 'escape' on your way to work.

Does anyone else have the occasional detour to take them off into a different world on the way to work?

Hmmm, Perth. i haven't been there since I was about 2 but I hear that its a really nice place to ride. I wonder if you have read the article at the end of the last issue of ride, about the bunch rides in perth. Sounds great. Do you do any of those bunch rides that I read about?

I don't actually ride to work (work night shifts - ride home at night through dodgy neighbourhood) but whenever I am out and about, provided I am not in a bunch I never go the same way twice. Those detours are exactly what the freedom of riding is all about.

I haven't read the article but I do ride with a bunch every Saturday morning and, whenever I can, a few times during the week.

I'll have to grab a copy at the local newsagents.

It certainly is a wonderful place to ride. If you're ever over this way get in touch and I'll connect you with a bunch ride or two.

I rarely tke the most direct route, actually I rarely take exactly the same route twice in a week. The longest I've managed is turning my 12-14 inward commute into a 19 mile ride. I'm aiming to try every remotely feasible route eventually. At the moment my favourite homeward diversion takes me along the Chartham Downs - it's a bit of a climb, but the views from the top are worth it.

Richard

Varying one's routine promotes mental and emotional health.

Quick Richard, explain something to an American. Are "downs" mostly hills? We don't have downs here (except horserace tracks) so that is one that I've always guessed at. Are downs good hill training or are they flat straightaways?

Jean - I don't know about the use of the term 'Downs' nationally, but the South East has two long ridges of chalk hills. Sussex has the South Downs, Kent has the North Downs. The North Downs stretch pretty much from London, through the Canterbury area and down to Dover, forming ecologically important chalk grassland. They're not particularly high but generally have a short steep side up to a raised area and a slightly smoother descent down. Locally sections of the North Downs are known by the villages they pass through - I couldn't find a picture of Chartham Downs but this shows Wye Downs only a few miles along the ridge:

https://www.english-nature.org.uk/spe...&X=&NNR_ID=173

They do add interest to cycling locally, but they do slow my commute up a little bit

Along the Downs are national trails, which unfortunately aren't fully open to cyclists (but good stretches are):


https://www.nationaltrails.gov.uk/northdownsframeset.htm

Richard

I think it's called focusing on the positive. Calling them 'Ups' would be much more intimidating!!

Ellie

In the North of England, the equivelent of Downs are Fells. That really is pessimistic.

Err, actually no.. I'm the type of person who leaves late all the time.
I settle for a particular route and then stick to it.. sometimes I should have taken a different route.
Eg. for 2,5 years I worked in the town where I live and always took the same boring short route with a couple of traffic lights..
How much better things could have been had I take a slight detour! I would have cycled at the outskirts of the town and thrown in a hill as well.. at the time, hills were things to be avoided though.

Later I spent a lot of time cycling to the railway station.. always a struggle to get there on time.. after a few small changes I stuck to the same deviating routes all the time.. today I have just visited a health service at the other side of the station and took a different route, one I've started to take a few weeks ago... again, what a difference: no more urban streets with poor and inadequate bike paths but for most of the time very pleasant cycling.. the route was perhaps 1K longer, but oh so pleasant.

The same is true for a 3rd route to another railwaystation where I discovered yet another route through the forest without noisy traffic and inferior bike paths.. actually the bike path is even worse, but there's no other road to compare to..

But I only discovered them when I was no longer pressed for time...

Ivana