My 10.5mi commute starts in a very rural setting, down a dirt road. I say, "Hello, beef!" to the cows and steers in the fields, very often see other wildlife like deer, and too many squirrels and chipmunks to count. Veers onto US Rt-1, past some outlet malls, perhaps the most unpleasant part of the commute... and it's not even that bad, with less than a mile total of no shoulders, 2-lane road.

I cross the ME/NH border at the Memorial Bridge between Kittery and Portsmouth -- love the fresh ocean smells, the coolness of being that close to the water. The new drawbridge is fast, so even if I'm trying to make time and get caught with the bridge up, it usually doesn't delay for long. Portsmouth is a quaint town and the roads are kind of chewed up, but easy enough to get through and not he biggest part of the commute,

Out the other side, where I cut through some secluded neighborhoods and a wooded path to get to the bus station.

Bus to Newburport MA.

3 mi from the bus station to work on a lockup bike I keep there. Again, fairly rural by most standards and Newburyport is another quaint New England town.

I could complain about parts of the commute, but it would ring shallow, especially compared to the urban route I used to do from Malden, through Cambridge, into the south end of Boston. The only real issue is getting 5 mi from a meeting in Kittery to the bus out of Portsmouth within a half hour window -- if the meeting runs long, and/or I get caught by the bridge, I will be an hour late to work. ...and it's not the kind of job where that's really even an issue as long as it doesn't happen on a regular basis.

I also juggled my work hours to accommodate bike-bus-bike commuting. I'm going to call it mostly Up with very little Down to my commute route. Until we get weather. Snow and ice suck.