Originally Posted by
noglider
I suspect [MENTION=571561]ScottCommutes[/MENTION] is asking for commiseration or something. I can offer it. I lived in New Jersey for 26 years. I had to drive to work most of that time, unfortunately. I can relate to the sunrise and sunset problems. But I never wished I lived on Long Island. I developed the ability to see with an excess of sun in my eyes.
I live just below 14 St in Manhattan, and I commute by subway on some days and by bike the other days. No car, yahoo! Riding along the Hudson River, most days, I have a strong headwind in the morning. And very often, the wind shifts in the midday, and I have a mild headwind in the evening. I'm thin, and that means wind challenges me more than hefty riders (higher surface area to mass ratio). I asked a big friend of mine how he deals with strong winds on his commute, and he didn't even know what I was talking about. He complains about hills.
Yep, hills are the killer for us fatties, hehehe.
I'm lucky in that my inbound commute is 1/2 downhill, 1/2 flat. I can almost get here without sweating, most days.
However, for the ride home, I'm usually riding into a wind and then that 1/2 is uphill.
I think you should just count it as training and get yourself some quality sunglasses.
I will also remind you that if you were riding with the sun behind you near sundown, your mirror would be blinding you. My club's Monday evening group ride had me pointing my mirror off-kilter and I had to resort to doing head checks like some kind of savage for the east-bound leg. It's always
something.
As for riding into the wind more often than not, you could get an eBike, which takes the pain out of that. (but also robs you of some exercise!) eBikes are AWESOME for commuting.