I don't vary really. I do a bike/train commute. The bike portion is right at 5 miles. In the morning I need to get to work on time, in the evening I have to catch the train, the only route that works is a straight line. I have been doing some minor tweaking because that straight line involves running down the entrance to a park district swimming pool facility and then on a bike path from the pool parking lot. In the morning no problem because while the facility is open as I pass by, patronage is quite low at that hour. In the evening it is saturated with giant minivans and SUVs piloted by parents who are yakking on the phone, looking at the kids in the seat behind them, and rushing to make their next offspring pick up/drop off. So I am looking at ways around that area in the evening and may have found a good one. I'd use it morning too but it involves walking my bike across a short stretch of lawn between two townhomes and I don't want to wear my welcome out by using it too much. In the evening no one could tell that I am not a townhome complex resident using the lawn as a shortcut so no one is likely to protest. In the morning I am obviously an interloper.

Since my pedaling commute is so short I would be going through neighborhoods so similar to the ones I pass through now that it would be impossible to get any variety even if I chose a route twice as long. Besides, there is a fair amount of variety as it is. Every day is a little different since the only person on my route who does exactly the same thing at the same time every day is me! The weather is different, the seasons vary, it is a pleasant little ride just as it is. No need to seek any more variety.

Ken