well, THAT was interesting. I actually tried the busy route on the way in, in two different spots for about a mile each , separated by a stretch on my "easy" route. The first stretch, on Broadway just east of McCLintock, is mostly residential and office, not much retail ... I was riding in the right hand lane in the right tire track area, sometime a little more to the left. no honks, no yells, only one close pass. I noticed that the farther left I was the more room they gave me in passing. Traffic was light, though, after rush hour. then I bailed for a while to my quiet route and came back on to broadway later at about Mill, where it starts to get a little heavier traffic. little bit of a difference.... I got two honks. one from a guy in a toyota who actually STOPPED in the lane next to me. and then cruised on ahead of me. not sure what that was about. scared the bejesus out of me, though, along with a woman who was riding on the sidewalk about ten feet away.. .. I think she actually got ooff her bike... another honk came from the other side of the road. but it was not that scary at all, and it did save a bit of time. Thanks for the advice! I made it in one piece!

I think I will take this route if I want to save time... but I usually am never that crunched for time. It was interesting riding in traffic, not as nerve-wracking as I expected. I also got a better workout because I had the feeling that I had to pedal faster to keep up with the traffic, which of course I could never do.


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