the perfect commute
 

i've been on contract six miles away for the past six months. i started commuting to it about four months ago, in many ways just to help me get through to the day that's finally almost here, when i'll be done. you can't even begin to picture the bliss.

so there's this strange new concept of choice in my life, and i have to start thinking about where i want to work next. the job part of the picture is a no-brainer for me, but commuting by bike is also a big part of it. it's number two in my deal-breaker list, tied with dress code and right behind certain fundamentals in the actual work.

and i seem to be numbed by six months of concrete and industrial parks. all i can think is 'not [place where i'm working now]'. i'm trying to get a bit more specific than that, so i want to hear everyone else's brainstorm ideas about the perfect commute.

I have very little bad to say about my commute.

it's a good distance - about 7 miles (takes me about 30 minutes door to door)
great scenery
fairly low-traffic
mostly smooth roads
a few and sometimes many other commuters (safety in numbers)
a few hills for a little extra workout
alternate route options to keep me from getting bored
close to stuff to do in case I don't feel like going home right away
close to bus lines in case I have a really nasty mechanical problem
there's a shop two blocks from my work and one on the way home

Yep. The commute is MUCH better than the job.

my commute is about 15 miles, only 5 of those is on busy streets but the rest rolls through a nice town, and along a multi-use riverpath for a good bit of the distance.

on the way home i roll through about 5-6 miles of crushed gravel road right through the middle of a park (if it is dry). it is beautiful...

my commute is basically downhill in the morning and in the afternoon i got lots of hills i can alternate on if i am feeling good (i have to climb one but if i want i can hit 2 or 3).

it is a great commute. if i could alter it i would take a little more city riding to "get the juices flowing" but i am not complaining.

My perfect commute would be about 5 flat miles along the beach from my beach front house in Hawaii to the beach front surf shop I share with the bikini modelling school. Since you're in Canada, I'm not sure how this helps.

15 miles is a nice easy distance. Safe roads and a nice mix of hills and flat areas would be good. I enjoy climbing hills on the way into work and cruising down them after work. I have more energy in the morning and it helps wake me up.

I think one of the most important things is traffic. As long as you can find a good safe route traffic wise, everything else is gravy.

I have a great 14-mile commute with several routes that I vary with my mood. I go through interesting urban neighborhoods with all sorts of architecture and people (I always get smiles from people on their porches), grand boulevards and monuments (I love to pass in front of the Supreme Court), through thickets of cherry trees in the spring, and down to a bike path that runs along a beautiful river. I end up in a nice historic town with my favorite independent coffee shop right there. And my cool, creative job is in a renovated old church with a bike rack in the lobby and a commuter shower on the second floor.

Oh, and my current project at work "forces" me to ride my bike around and take pictures of parks.

Perfect.

I had an 18 mile commute. The first 10 miles were along a lake, with rolling to steep terrain. The last 8 were in "town" along a busy 4 lane road / highway. I disliked the noise and the scenery upon entering town, but felt safer as the road had essentially an extra lane as the shoulder - and I had it all to myself. The tight, rolling country roads were fun to ride on the way home - but I never quite got comfortable in the pre-dawn darkness.

I think 18 miles was a bit much. I had a 1 1/2 mile climb to get to the house - fun on the way out in the morning - but demoralizing when getting ready to leave the desk at the end of a long day.

Perfect commute - 10 - 15 miles. Rolling terrain. Small towns.

My commute now (when I cycle it) is just over a mile. Not really a commute to get excited about...

Are you hiring?
Sounds great.

The at work shower certainly helps make a commute better.
We installed one after getting 3-4 of us riding in on a regular basis.
Nothing like riding hard on a cold morning, putting the coffee on and starting the oatmeal, and jumping in a nice hot shower... then walk upstairs to work!

My actual commute falls somewhere in between Max a mill's and MarqueeHoneymoon's. For it to be "perfect", I'd tack on 5-7 miles and eliminate the train ride, ease the transition for bike path to city streets (currently that's a choice between :

(A) A 74-step stair climb with bike and pack to the top of a bridge follwed by a sidewalk ride/climb of about 1/2 mile

(B) A ~60 yard dirt-grass climb to a shorter, level sidewalk ride and maybe an added 1/4 mile, and

(C) An added 1/2 mile, a high-speed road crossing ending in a high curb-hop, followed by a mile-long sidewalk/climb over the bridge with the stairs detailed above

...and install a comfortable shower at the work end.

I'm not complaining - it beats driving all to hell and gone.

Here are my thoughts in no particular order:

1) Optimum distance: 6 - 10 miles. At an average 4 minutes/mile pace this gives you the recommended 45 - 90 minutes of daily aerobic exercise (up from 30 minutes recommended years ago).

Secondly - these distances are short enough to be competitive with other modes of travel.

2) Route should consist of safe roads/neighborhoods. A real plus if the route is scenic! Nice if you have the option to vary the route to avoid "route burn-out".

3) Places where you need to do daily errands are along your route. Think grocery store, video store, library, etc. You don't want to have to ride home then get the car out to take care of things.

4) Secure covered/indoor parking for your bike.
5) Shower & Locker room facilities.
6) An alternative means of getting home should weather or work take a turn for the worse.

Over the years I've had commutes of 23 miles, 17 miles, 16 miles and now 10 miles. For me - getting the distance down to 10 miles was key in being able to commute daily (and go car-free :)) rather than commuting sporadically.

:D what a strange picture you poor, fact-deprived murkins have of canada. you could probably do that somewhere around here, if you cared to. but you'd be complaining pretty fast about grit in drivetrain/sunblock in eyes/smell of seaweed/salt damage to bike/monotonous scenery.

thanks for all the replies. they've been very helpful, giving me things to mark with a check or a cross on my own priority list. i think i've narrowed down the two really unpleasant things about my current ride, namely 'it bears no relation to my real life' and 'it's all downhill in the mornings, and all uphill on the way home'. i think it's having to start a second shift every day just to keep milk in the house that's the real soul-killer. good thing, since nobody's going to do anything about all the hills.

Locker room and shower would be nice.

Lately I have been dreaming up of the "bad day at work" path. It would be an alternate path used when I need to let out some aggresion. Its something like a bmx course, but on steroids. Despite the fact I ride my road bike to work, of course the proper bike for this trail would always be at the office at the end of each day.

i'm extremely happy with mine as well. been doing the exact same route for 3 years, not sure why i didn't start 6 years ago when i started.

mine's a 9 miles each way "bowl" commute, but higher (more hills) going TO work, so in the morning when i sweat it's cooler, and afternoon (in summertime heat), i'm going faster downhill.

i have good bus routes near my ride in case of bad WX, and plenty of retail on the way home - groceries, library, gym, and three bike shops, (all of which i've used for tires)

goes through all sorts of neighborhoods and businesses. actually my OLD commute went the length of washington park, a long beautiful park with two lakes, always active with people, dogs, odd looking bikes, (even busy in the winter at 6am), but now i moved a bit further east so don't take that route.

here's my pics from the summer http://tinyurl.com/8fefe

That's interesting because my old 12 mile commute was mostly downhill in the morning. I thought was an advantage, since I could sleep in a little later, and then save the longer harder ride for the way home.

i'm of the school of thought that doesn't trust itself. i like to get the hard stuff over with right away, before i have time to think about it. i'd also much rather have the harder ride in the morning, when my total obligation list is basically to get my kid out the door heading in the general direction of school, and myself into work with my shoes on the right feet. having to do it in the evenings, when i also have to do all that domestic-drudgery stuff that goes into life, is just making me bitter and twisted.

I like my commute, because I can make small changes and go on or off road. It is a tad long at 10 miles to 14 miles, depending on route. I am getting so good at this commute that I might have to soon look for employment farther out.

I go through my share of industrial wastelands, but also over and along rivers, past the Monongahela Incline and city scapes. One route takes me about 1.5 miles through the early 20th century Schenley Park . Also go past Homewood Cemetery and through, (on a city park road), a golf course . I've nearly got pinged by golfballs twice in the past 15 years. I always tell of the golfer when this happens, what ever happend to yelling "FOUR!"? I think that it is important to find alternate routes that lead you off the roads. Best part of my commute is in the summer when I jump into the Buccus foutain and do a few circles. That's why I commute in sandals. Worst part of my commute is the West End Circle. It is a 4 lane, 4 light traffic circle that you must enter and exit on 45 mph+ roads.