Good advice, but it is totally opposite to the way I ride, which is far right.

I used to ride far right always, but discovered vastly better passing behavior from motorists by moving farther left, at least centered in the right lane.

That's a huge up IMHO that you have that multi-modal option for times when you just don't feel up to the whole thing. I can only dream of living in a place with transit mode options like that.

I'm usually on a nice wide shoulder. Cars from behind are a non-issue. I hate to move left to be more visible at cross streets only to have a flyer from behind not see my bike and run over me like a speed bump.

+1

Actually I have a couple of slight variations I can make from day to day, but changing it too much makes it longer and it's already about 22 miles each way

10 miles each way:
Ups: Fairly easy route, not too hilly, great view of downtown on the way into work, and a good coffee shop on the way in. Couple nice bars on the way home if I want to stop in for a pint. Nice protected bike lane on the Heart of America bridge is usually pretty clean.

Downs: Stoplights. Lots of them. I'm on a fairly busy 4-lane divided non-interstate with wide shoulders for about 1/2 mile, and it sucks. Sometimes the bike lane on the bridge has a lot of broken glass, usually for a day or so before the city cleans it up.

KCMO: Nicer than you think.

Right now, most of my ups and downs are Cedar Hill Rd. In the morning, the bus drops me off 4 blocks from the top of it and I ride down. In the afternoon, I ride up to catch the bus. It's a very curvy road with a 17% grade at the bottom. Going down, I can take the lane because no car can keep up with me around the corners. Climbing back up is a much more measured ride.

On Sunday, the buses don't run, so I have to do the entire 8 miles. That ride is hills all the way, but I ride a different route to minimize them in the morning.

I just moved so that I could become a bike commuter. So far, it's been every other day or so, just to keep myself fresh.

Ups: Two distinctly different ways into work give me some variation, short 8-ish mile ride with significant lengths of bike lanes and good roads, excellent work facilities for showering and changing, and storing my clothes. Plus, no longer having a 1+ hour driving commute has improved my quality of life.

Downs: Staying organized enough to be a bike commuter takes work! Seeing my bikes as transportation rather than as recreation is...robbing me of the former joy of simply riding for fun. Is this possible? Also, my wife doesn't feel sorry for me when I get home anymore, I've noticed. She thinks that it's all gumdrops and lollypops. New neighbors already know that I'm weird.

Ups and Downs: Lots of them. It's a fairly hilly area, and very little of it is flat on grade. Generally, it's downhill to work and uphill home. Two significant climbs on the way home that demand some exertion.

I ride mostly for transportation and occasionally for recreation. I do admit that having a 31 mile round trip commute does make me less likely to want to do a recreational weekend ride. But sometimes I do it anyway, and usually try to work in some destination as a part of it. I rarely ride just to ride, I want to ride to actually get somewhere, especially if I needed to go there anyway and can replace the car trip at the same time.

I've cut my car's fuel costs by $700 per year!

Downs: Parts can be scary at times during the winter
Ups: The rest of year

It's simply a matter of assessing which is the greater threat.
Vehicle on a cross road and no one closing from behind, move left.
Vehicle closing from behind and no cross traffic, keep right.
Vehicle closing from behind and cross traffic, hold line and adjust speed to leave yourself an out.

Only a foolish person counters possible or imagined conflicts with clear and present conflicts.

Cars from behind are absolutely NOT a non-issue when on the shoulder. Many cyclists have been killed by motorists drifting over the line, either from not paying attention or being drowsy (car tends to drift right) or by becoming target-fixated and drifting towards you. When on a shoulder you have to be keenly aware of what passing motorists are doing using preferably a mirror up by your eye, at all times.

I have ridden the shoulder of a 55 MPH 5-lane arterial/state highway a couple of times (try to avoid it if at all possible) and I always have to keep a sharp watch to make sure motorists aren't about to cross the line, and also that anyone at side streets or driveways doesn't pull out on me. At major intersections I will look for a break and move off the shoulder into the right thru-lane until passing the intersection.

Corrected for accuracy.

Cars from behind are absolutely NOT a non-issue when on the road. Cyclists have been killed by motorists drifting, either from not paying attention or being drowsy, or by becoming target-fixated and drifting towards you. When on the road you have to be keenly aware of what passing motorists are doing using preferably a mirror up by your eye, at all times.

Well yeah, I'm always aware of what passing motorists are doing at any point on any road. But I was saying you have to be more like hyper-aware when using a shoulder, because of the threat of cars drifting over the line. I'm not worried as much about motorists seeing me when I'm in the lane.

Well its totally ludicrous to put the hazards of the shoulder/bike lane ahead of being in the lane. Being off to the side it takes a chain of events for a distracted driver to hit a cyclist, where as being directly in front of a distracted it would take a chain of events for that distracted driver to not hit a cyclist.

ups: it's fun
downs: it's over too fast. i need a 10 mile commute.

I have two options, straight down the road (12.5 miles) or down a really crappy cycle path (13.5 miles, but puts 1/2 my journey on the cycle path).

Road: More dangerous but much quicker, 10-15 minutes quicker than the cycle path on average.
Cycle Path: More relaxed ride, takes much longer and puncture risk is high.

I only have a road bike with skinny tyres so I'm considering buying a hybrid next time I buy a bike, would suit my riding a bit more and allow me to go off road a bit (tracks/trails that is) when needed and the thicker tyres will help in the winter and on the cycle tracks/paths. Bit more room for pannier racks hopefully.

Whatever man, this ain't A&S.

Yes it's fun. My down is sometimes I'm tired and a 30-mile ride home is daunting.

Today is one of those days. Right now, I wish I drove. Hopefully I perk up when I actually get on the bike.

Don't plan your route so well.

As soon as I get out of the house, I ride through the woods and eventually get light town traffic. Then past a large pond and back through the woods.

Once out of the woods, shortly the traffic starts but having my own bike/bus/taxi lane makes it OK. Eventually reach a bike path and then through the park and back through road traffic. Another park and a shared bike/footway thent through a charming high Street with cake shops, pubs, cafes, and a bike shop. Over the bridge which goes over a canal and then into the main city traffic of the financial district which becomes a minefield of tipper trucks and other reconstruction lorries, noose, and pollution. Takes 15 mins to travel just one mile..

I guess this post would have been better with a time lapse video. Anyway, that's just one if my routes into work.

That post reminds me of my favorite and at the same time the worst part of my commute home. It's a beautiful stretch through the forest, my last 10 miles. Absolutely perfect...but it's all uphill.

You are the poster who brought up the A&S worthy Take the Lane for Safety! dogma in this thread and keep on beating that VC drum.

Ups: Describing your bike route
Down: Take the Lane! proselytizing