was running a bit late this morning so did the Comm Ave route into work instead of the bike path. Made excellent time and got right out there with the flow of traffic for big portions of it. The traffic moves at around 20-25 mph on most of Comm Ave in the early morning commute and the avenue has a slight slope down into the city or is flat and runs east/west with a general prevailing westerly wind so a cyclist can make decent speed on a good day- and thus avoid the hundreds of parked cars per mile and swinging car doors.

The ride home was on the bike path and the air was either dead calm or with an offshore breeze that made the ride home just fantastic. But the best part of the day was getting my newly registered spot in my college's new bike room! I have my own reserved space in a room that is a former storefront so the door opens right onto the pedestrian alleyway it is on, it is well lit, safe, easily accessible (you swipe your ID card and the door swings open on it's own), the room is under video surveillance, available 24 hours a day and I can occasionally leave my bike there overnight if the weather stinks so bad that I have to take the bus home- all this for $5/year.

Now that's civilized! And that's progress!!