I haven't discovered alternative routes that I would consider "safe" for me. What options are exercised are increased mileage. Typically, going to work, the route is straight or may include a detour of an additional 4 miles. My motivation for increasing miles is not the boredom but rather my milage goal. I wanted to hit 3000 this year. Looks like I will miss it by about 100 miles with one day left!

So with the detour mentioned, my route can be 11 miles one way or 15. I would like to get into good enough condition to do a century next summer so I found another route that adds an additional 10 miles. This I save for the ride home. So my round trips are typically 22 miles, 27 miles, 30 miles all the way up to 40 miles. I track average speed etc and have improved over time with the additional hills on the 10 mile addition. At this point in time I am only 40 miles from 2900 this year. I plan on hitting it.

The weather plays a big part. I am still learning how to dress for the temperature ranges too. I find that this impacts how much effort I put into the ride. If I think I am going to overheat, I will slow down in general.