19 mile commute. I start out in the country, in a quaint little village. Half a mile in, I get to the corn fields. The shoulders on the road are amazing so it's nice and safe, even though trucks plow by at 70mph. After 5 miles the scenery starts turning into the suburbs. A few developments here and there, scattered with some smaller corn fields, but by mile 7 it is full-on suburbia. The shoulder gets smaller but the traffic goes slower; an adequate tradeoff. Around mile 9 it turns into a commercial area as I pass through another village, this time with lots of stoplights. On a good day I can time it right and speed through at an average of 20mph. On a bad day I hit every light and lose precious time.

Mile 10 it turns into another village, this time more industrial, and it stays this way until 12. The margins have disappeared at 11, and I am now full-on vehicular cycling. It's scary at first, but after getting a rear blinkie light, it's much safer. The road goes back up to 55, and there's lots of badly paved sewer grates on the side of the road, forcing me to ride further left than I would like, but it works out ok. My first 2 commutes on this route, I just took the sidewalk, as I was afraid of the road here. Since taking the road full time, however, my speed is greatly improved.

Around mile 14 the sidewalk on the right disappears and turns into train tracks that run parallel to the road. The town turns into an urban wasteland, but luckily most cagers take the thruway to work to avoid this area, so the road is relatively low-density, even though it was designed for much more traffic in the day. The sewer grates become even worse, and so does the local populace. Gangbangers and other neerdowells increase in density until it hits a maximum at around mile 16. Then I turn onto a side street, which is almost entirely deserted, as I pass the Buffalo Grand Central Terminal, an absolutely gorgeous gothic architecture building that is no longer in use. Mile 18 goes down one of the worst streets in Buffalo, Fillmore avenue. This road has not been paved in at least 15 years by my estimation. The shoulders are uncycleable. You have to take the lane or you will kill your wheels.

Finally, the neighborhood gets nice again a half mile before getting into work, as I work in a newly gentrified and reclaimed industrial area converted into a modern commercial center.