Since we have such a variety of commuters I'd be interested to know what your ride to work is like. I thought I'd start.

This morning I left my house in North Queensferry at 7.05. I have a slight climb to the base of the Forth Road Bridge and stop to climb the hundred or so steps with my bike over my shoulder, up to the bridge carriageway. I cycle over the bridge, giving my wife and dog a wave as I look down at the house and as usual I look up and down the river, seeing the tankers fuelling at Hound Point and sometimes see a cruise liner docked in Rosyth. At present the aircraft carriers "Ark Royal " and "Illustrious " are in dry dock and can be seen from the bridge. Occassionally I cycle with another cyclist over the bridge but today not. The sun is already over the iron cantilevers of the Forth Rail Bridge, and as usual it looks beautiful.

After crossing the bridge on the cycle path, I decide to continue by path rather than go onto the dual carriageway. I cut through Souht Queensferry, through Dalmeny which is an old village. The road is mainly quiet and treelined in parts and in reasonable condition. I glance to my left to see the Forth and both bridges in the sun and cross over the main rail line.

I eventually come to the main South Queensferry road at the opening and driveway to historic Dalmeny House (closed at present as a foot and mouth precaution) and turn right to head down to the cycle path which runs for a short stretch near the A 90 road. Eventually I come down past the cramond Brig Inn at which I have been known to stop for a coffee on weekends, and drop down to Dowies Mill Lane , with the river Almond on my left and later a field with horses on my right.

I then cross to Barnton Avenue West, go past the Burgess Golf Club, the oldest in Edinburgh (which I think still has restrictions on women playing and doesn't allow you to take your jacket off in the clubhouse - even at weddings!) and pass into Davidson Mains, where my wife grew up.

Then it's cycle path to the west end of the city, coming on to Glasgow Road near Donaldsons School for the deaf, a beautiful gothic looking building. In the bus lane past Haymarket station onto Princes Street, with the Castle , Princes Street Gardens and the historic buildings of the Royal Mile high on my right.

Before reaching the Mound and the art galleries there, I turn left up to cross George Street (shops and trendy bars devoid of atmosphere) and come down Hanover Street to turn into our office car park) I chain up the bike at 7.56 and head up to get changed.

This morning was chilly, so necessitated a fleece over my cycling shirt. The forecast is good so I'm looking forward to the ride home. Average speed this a.m 13.3 mph including stops at traffic lights.

I hope you found this interesting, I'd love to hear how our commutes differ!

John

Most of my ride in to university is unusually and painfully flat. Mind you, it's very nice alongside the beach in summer when that breeze is coming off the ocean. Of course, there are other attractions near the beach at that time of year in Surfers Paradise too (hey, I'm still a single spanky). The rest of it's all a little uninspiring. There's a couple of minor hills near my university, but not much to get excited about really.

I got my first magpie of the spring today though!

Chris

Not sure I could cope with distractions from the beach first thing!

I once road into the back of a stationary car while admiring a particularly fine pair of legs topped by a very short Ra Ra skirt (Hey it was the eighties and I was still single)

I leave my house, and turn left at the corner, where the contractors are digging for the new gas main. After cresting the hill, I descend quickly, with a city bus riding my @$$ the whole way. Past the bodega on the corner (where there was a shootout last month), up past the bars, then I turn right at the corner with the homeless shelter and the abandoned hotel. Two more turns, and I'm on the broken-glass covered pedestrian bridge which takes me over the interstate. I ride the wide sidewalk past the parking garages, go back onto pavement, and dodge morning traffic through downtown, until I arrive at my 5-story, mid 20's downtown workplace. I take the bike up the elevator, to the 2nd floor, and lock it in the closet during the day.

Wow, some pretty interesting AM commutes. D*Alex, in what city do you live?

I am afraid my AM commute is rather dull. Like Chris L's it is dead flat. Because I leave quite early, I encounter VERY little traffic. This makes it easy to ride right down the middle of the right lane of a major artery after a couple of blocks in my typical suburban neighborhood. After a couple of miles I turn off on a very quite residential street to make my way under the interstate, along a drainage canal, another residential street to the highest point on my ride - a slightly elevated railroad track. This offers about the only variety on my ride as I sometimes have to wait for a train. Yawn. On through the neighborhood to another primary street which takes me between a country club and one of New Orleans' famous cemeteries. Then right onto world-famous Canal Street for about 3 miles to downtown New Orleans and the REALLY famous part of Canal Street. You know, Mardi Gras!

This last part is kind of nice because I can ride on the bus lanes built on the boulevard area between the traffic lanes. Except the last few blocks where the street car tracks are. Not a problem except that I have fallen a couple of times when the metal tracks were wet and slick as grease and I tried to angle across them with a little too much forward speed. I now know I have to come to a near stop before trying to cross.

TaDaaa! Rainman's morning ride, about 8.75 miles. Now the afternoon ride is more interesting, but that's a tale for another thread.
Regards,
Raymond

I live only a couple of hundred metres from Wynnum Road which pretty much takes me directly to the city. The first bit it fairly uneventful - nice wide lanes with little traffic. Two roundabouts, but only the second one where I turn right gives me the occasional hairy moment when some pillock decides to overtake me in the roundabout but goes straight ahead, effectively cutting me off, but this is rare.

On past Wynnum Plaza, after which the road goes double lane, the speed limit increases to 80km/h and the shoulder vanishes. This is fortunately a reasonably short section and is tolerable because there's rarely a lot of traffic on it. This is also the bit where I got rear-ended recently.

I turn right at the Tingalpa Hotel to continue on Wynnum road past the road works and onto the on-road bikelane, which carries me all the way to Morningside, about 8km away.

After Morningside it gets interesting. The bike lane ends, the lanes get narower and the traffic more often than not increases dramatically. A short climb up Galloways Hill usually is where the tailback begins with all the traffic joining the stream from Hawthorn Road.

This is where the real fun begins. Near stationary traffic, narrow lanes and a seriously shoddy footpath mean the best route is straight down between the lanes (it's two lanes each way - I take the split between the two lanes going in my direction, not into oncoming traffic - not always). It's downhill for the first bit, which is also the narrowest, so I sometimes get a reasonable speed through here - talk about exhilerating

At the bottom of the hill, the lanes widen a bit, but the traffic is still clogged, so the lane split is a little less, erm, exciting.

I continue on as the road becomes Shafston Avenue, which climbs a short hill approaching the Story Bridge. The left lane, which becomes a left turn only lane, is always pretty vacant even though the rest of the lanes are full, so I see a lot of idiots trying to cue jump, and a lot of idiots letting them do it. I'll often ride the leftmost side of the next lane over, just so that users of the leftmost lane can get through - most them are in fact legitimate users turning left up ahead.

At the top of this hill I get a sweet view of the approach to the Story Bridge, which is usually bumper to bumper with traffic. I get a short descent, which gives me a nice run-up to the shallow but frantic climb over the bridge. I take the lane split here again, because even though there's usually room kerbside, I prefer not to be sandwiched between the traffic on Shafston Ave and the traffic merging on the left from Mains Road. This merge squeezes two three lane roads into one three lane (each way) road over the bridge, so it can be interesting getting over to the left most lane across three lanes of traffic. Fortunately the small downhill section gets me up to about the same speed as the traffic or faster, so merging is fairly straightforward.

Then it's a frantic sprint over the bridge. If I push it I can keep up with the traffic, and sometimes pass it, which makes it a whole lot safer as the lanes are pretty narrow.

After the bridge it's a left onto Ann St (watch out for the zebra crossing), left again onto Queen St, right onto Adelaide and into work where they have a nice locked bike cage in the loading bay where I don't even need to lock my bike, and a shower on my floor.

Allister, you are so lucky having a shower on your floor. I have to have a complete strip down and wash (what is colloquially known as a (wh*re's bath I think) and then plenty of anti perspirant! Must think of my fellow workers

It does temper how hard I push myself on the way in, but I can go hell for leather on the way home as I know a hot shower or bath (and cold beer) await.

I don't have a fixed commute. I live 10 blocks from my office but at least once or twice a day I need to go on client visit or something. I stay parallel to the major street so traffic is not too bad. Wheather is often dry and hot in this season. A big chunck of the road always has potholes. Usually I need to go downhill more or less everytime I go somewhere and uphill to come back. Going downtown is a lot of fun (although it is a busy road) because it is really DOWN town. Coming back is another matter.

Here in Aus that's known as a 'pommie bath' (no offence)

<joke>

How do you get a Pom out of the bath?

Fill it with water.

</joke>

Must've lost something in translation from Aussie to English:confused: :confused:

D'oh

Translation: Pom/Pommie = English person. Usually used derogatively in an affectionate sort of way.

Is it originally from P risoner O f H is M ajesty? "POHM"

Not casting asparagus Allister. I lived near Sydney in the mid to late '60s. I was at primary school there

Hi John!

Well, here we go again! Some of the old timers will get bored hearing about my riding, but I love to talk about it, so here goes!

I live in a small town in rural Nebraska, and work in a little larger town 7 miles away. I started riding a bike in April of this year to help get me into shape and loose weight. My first bike was a Fuji Sagres cross trainer. After a little practice, I started riding it to work. The more I rode, the more fun I had, so pretty soon I wanted to start stretching my rides out. This also made me want a road bike, so before long, there was a Fuji Roubaix parked next to the Sagres! With the Roubaix, my commute started to kind of stretch out as I added little detours! First 10 miles, then 13, and now it has grown to 27 miles.

This morning, it was 64 degrees, and there was a breeze out of the east. I topped off the air in the tires, and walked the bike outside to begin my ride. I ride about one half block on a gravel road, then it's all paved after that. Two blocks and I am at the State highway that I commute on. To go straight to work, I would turn right, but on most mornings, I turn left. I try to spin it up pretty good for about a mile, because that will put me at the foot of the shallow side of The Hill. I try to do different things on my rides, like intervals, but today I chose to just keep my cadence up. I went up the hill at 14 mph, and although I was breathing harder than normal, I would have been able to talk had anyone been around. The hill is more or less level for about a mile, then it's down the steep side in the biggest gear I have! Gotta love those downhill sections! I keep spinning in the big gears as long as I can, but eventually, I have to gear down to keep my cadence up. I usually ride on the right shoulder of the roadway, or just inside the fog stripe, depending on traffic. Traffic is usually very light, and I keep moving so I make a harder target! (LOL) At about this point, I will be nearing the farmstead of one of the local Veterinarians. He has three ponds in front of the house, with domestic geese on them, and the occasional few wild ones who stop by. He also has a few horses that are always fun to watch. Grind on for a little ways, and I find myself in Cambridge. I go almost all the way through town to an intersection that is just 10 miles from home, then I turn around. There are a lot of walkers that I see every day, and they have started waving and saying Hi to me. This morning, I enjoyed a tailwind on my way to Cambridge, but as I leave, now it is a headwind, and time to go to work. I find a gear that I can comfortably spin in, and settle down for the 17 miles to work. When I reach the steep (but shorter!) side of "The Hill", I keep gearing down to maintain my cadence, and top it at 11 mph. Now, back up the gears, as it will be downhill again soon. After getting back on the flats, it is back through my hometown, and on to work. I have covered this 7 miles so many times, that I think I know every bump and hazard by heart! But, I always keep an eye open for a new broken beer bottle or other object that might otherwise ruin a perfect day! Besides that, it has been fun this year watching the farmers plant the crops, then watching the little plants start to grow and mature. When I finally arrive in Arapahoe, I first go to the post office to check my mail, then back up the street to my office. This final two blocks is the only riding that I do in what would be considered city traffic. A quick clean up, and I am ready for the day!

The only bad thing about living around here is the lack of paved roads. If I turned south at Cambridge, I could get to work via the Beaver Valley, but this would add another 30 miles to the ride! As the days shorten, I will have to change my routine a bit, which will have a negative impact on the miles that I ride. But, I can work a few more hills that way, so I guess that will be okay!

Well, that is my morning ride. I will save my evening ride for another post!!

I hauled Little Pony out of the basement about 6:50 this morning. Down the street to the first intersection in this quiet residential neighborhood. A right turn takes me past an elementary school,then right again & 2 blocks to the first traffic signal. Once across the intersection there is a short climb &then a nice downhill stretch that bottoms out at a Little League baseball field. Then a relatively flat stretch with a slight uphill to the next traffic signal. Across that intersection and through an industrial area. Over the railroad tracks that run at a 30 degree angle across the street. Now up the first real hill, about 0.2 miles to another busy intersection without signals. That's the one I've been "clipped" on once and near-missed once. The last .1 mi of the hill goes past a landscaper, then a short downhill and under the pipe (that carries I don't want to know what)between 2sections of the asphalt shingle plant. Slightly uphill again past a cemetary to a 4-way stop. Yup, I got hit here too. A block more & left onto a road that borders a park. Left again onto a quiet residential street with rolling little hills & potholes. Stop at the traffic signals for the 4 lane highway, cross, go past the day-care center, shopping mall and a Bayer plant. The road steadily rises to the interstate overpass, then it narrows. Another block and right onto a state highway lined with houses. The pavement is crumbling here, but the shoulders are washed out to make up for that. This road is rising more steadily, say 5%. At the crest of the rise I turn left onto Moosehill Rd. This is where the fun really begins. From the highway to the crest of Moosehill is about .6 miles, with the grade varying between 3 and 10%. It is wooded on both sides of the road, with ponds lying about 200 yards off to one side. Many flattened toads and treefrogs today, a dead opposum last week, squashed turtles in the spring. Deer occasionally crossing the road. Strangest find was a road-kill Luna Moth. Past the high-tension lines and up the steepest part of the hill to the crest with the estate of a Noble laurate at the top. In the pasture across from his home I usually see wild turkeys and as many as 10 deer at a time. , Now down the hill, with curves, back into residential, left into clinic, park in basement. Hose my head off in the dog tub & change into scrubs.

I leave at 6:15 for a 12.5 mile ride to work. I start out with a few blocks through my subdivision, then I have a 2 mile stretch of rural roads. Despite being rural this section has been under construction for 3 of the last 4 years - it never ends!
Then its a little suburbia riding before I hit the four lane. Quite a bit of traffic, no shoulders and all on a gradual uphill. My daily hell. I duck off the 4 lane just in time to go by the industrial dry cleaner plant where the fumes put me into a five minute asthema attack.
After the attack I have a few more miles of city side streets. The last half mile is along a major road and I take the sidewalk (I know!). After that its into the empty bike rack then off to the private handicapper bathroom to wash off. Then I get the life sucked out of me for 10 hours and reverse the trip to get back home!

Before I start my morning commute I ride to the local bakery and pick up fresh bread for my childrens' lunches.Back home at 5.35am- a good 5 minute spin to start the heart beating.
My morning commute varies from summer to winter- both the same distance but slightly different. The Winter route is through the 'burbs for 10km, so I ride around the local lake.
The Lake ride is very relaxed and with the moon shining across the water it is sooo peaceful! There is a cycleway close to the road and I am able to say hello to the regulars- amazing that at every hour there is someone out walking in all weather! I don't use the cycleway unless it is raining. Then there is a small but long bridge across the lakes' entrance near the sea, another tranquil spot with fisho's dangling their lines and the ocean waves either crashing in or just breaking. Thru more 'burbs and into heavy industrial areas- this is where it gets exciting! 3 lanes of medium traffic at 80km, brushing past the elbow! It pays to ride at the same time and drivers get to know you and your riding habits- I've been riding this route for 13 years now.
Then back through the 'burbs and through the slowly waking centre of town, past the early morning methadone users making their way to the clinic- had to dodge a user throwing up in front of me once! Wow, sure made me swerve and the heart was pounding!
There are a few small hills along the way but my body doesn't like pounding along in the early morning so I usually spin at 95-105 in 39x16, and save my energy for the traffic jammin' in the arvo.

The other morning variation is 2km of back streets then 2km of fast traffic leading onto a freeway. About 2 months ago we cyclists were able to ride the freeway legally again, after a 5yr ban- a driver hit and ran down a cyclist deliberatly(sic) and CYCLISTS were banned- can you work out the logic in that, because I can't? Then after 10km of freeway its back into the 'burbs and lots of friendly walkers to say hello to.
I only ride this route in summer because about 8/10 years ago there was a sub division being built just off the freeway and for many months large trucks were carrying rock/coalwash fill into the site. The shoulders of the road were covered in rocks and in the dark it was impossible to see them. This period of time also was the time I had 24 punctures in 12 weeks. My bike was nearly thrown out onto the middle of the freeway one morning- 3 different punctures in half an hour. I always carry a spare tube and puncture kit, so I repaired the tube again, turned for home and had the day off!
Yes I did pump the tyres up hard but there were so many rocks pinch flats were unavoidable.
The best thing to come out of this time was that I made a very bright headlamp from a miners headlamp- which I still use to this day, it is fitted to the bike.
Back in those days the only high quality lighting systems available in Australia were $400! too much for a tight @$$ cyclist to buy. The miners lamp cost me $10 in chocolate bars, I have a friend with a very sweet tooth
regardless of route they are both 25km or about 15 miles( I think)

I still enjoy the ride, but on dark rainy days I usually take the car. The older I get the less I enjoy that feeling of seeing expensive bike drivetrain parts being coated in sandy roadgrime.

Seeyou on the road in the morning, the best time to ride.

Ah, that'd be the ol' It's For Your Own Safety argument. Gods spare me from people resticting me for my own safety.

To quote David Byrne - "Beware of good intentions"

Having just moved and about to start a new job, I tried my commute today. Well, I come from Cambridge, which is in the fens. That is, completely flat apart from the odd bridge. Bournemouth isn't quite like that. I have a 10% climb to deal with, having never cycled a hill in my life!

Still, I get to cycle past a cricket pitch, and a boating lake, and along a quay-side. The hills will just make me a stronger person, right?!

Ellie

Chris L seriously argues that hills will definitely make you a stronger person. There was a time when Chris L feared hills and couldn't climb to save himself. He now rides mountains for fun. Chris L thinks it could be this way for you too.

Chris

Ellie, the thing to remember is that hills will increase your strength and make you fitter. For every climb there is a descent.

We just finished a tour in Holland and people always say "It must be great for cycling as it's so flat". That's true but if you climb a hill you get a downhill on the way back or on the other side. In Holland, you can get headwinds for 40 -50 miles or more!

John

My commute is exactly 4 miles long (one way), and it starts off down hill through a (usually) quiet residential street, past an elementary school and through a neighborhood grocery store parking lot onto a nice, flat, bike path. Follow that for a mile, turn past the zoo & cross 4 busy lanes of traffic where someone has usually blocked the crosswalk-grrr (I use the sidewalk in front of the zoo because it's 99.99% of the time empty-service entrance side). Next I follow rolling residential streets to a major intersection, cross it and pick up another residential street that runs me pretty straight to campus. When I have time, I'll pick up another bike path that crosses my path & follow that for a couple extra miles workout. I tend to stay off the more "major" roads since the one I parallel with on the residentials is in poor condition with little room for cyclists, although there is a center turn lane cars can use to pass cyclists. I have yet to have any real bad encounters, except one car coming through an intersection from my right who clearly wasn't planning on stopping at his stop sign. He saw me at the last second & put on the brakes. phew! I did have a dachsund bark up a storm at me yesterday morning though!

OK, here's mine. I live in the San Joaquin Valley of California, and it's _real_ flat here. The only "hills" are freeway overpasses!. There are other alternatives, but this is the shortest, most direct
route door-to-door that I'm willing to ride:

Clip in and head out to the end of our street, turn right and ride out of the subdivision to Walnut Ave. Turn right on Walnut, then left (west) on Christofferson Parkway to get around the Junior High School.

There's a new subdivision on the left just past the JHS, but on the right are open fields where you never know what's going to show up. At least once I've seen a coyote patrolling for rodents. Keep going past the construction site for the new High School on the right, then past some "ranchettes" 'til the road ends. Turn right (northwest) on Golden State Blvd.

Golden State Blvd. used to be State Highway 99 before they put the freeway in, so it's a major 4-lane divided road. It's got a good wide shoulder, so it's easy to co-exist with cars here. A side-benefit is that each car that passes gives you a bit of a "tow".

Most of the car traffic turns left at the Taylor Road traffic light to catch the freeway, so Golden State narrows back down to a two-lane at this point and becomes the freeway's frontage road. The
freeway's on the left, with more fields and ranchettes on the right. Golden State now turns gently away from the freeway, and there's another traffic light at Keyes Road. (approx. distance: 5km/3mi) Shortly past Keyes Road there's a stop sign, and Golden State ends at this point.

We're now entering the small town of Keyes. I turn left here, ride one block, and turn right again on Seventh Street. Seventh is Keyes' main street, such as it is, and there are three stop signs along this street before the end of town. I've now ridden somewhere around 15 minutes, and the high school students are out alongside the street waiting for the school bus.

After the third stop sign, Seventh Street becomes Rohde Road, and I'm again riding alongside the freeway on the frontage road. Rohde Road is uninterrupted by stop signs and traffic lights, and has very few intersecting streets until it ends, ~2.5km (1.5 mi) away. It's time to get down in the drops, rev up the cadence, and cruise!

At the end of Rohde Road, I turn right onto Mitchell Road, and immediately start checking over my shoulder for a gap in traffic. I want to make an immediate left turn here onto Service Road. If
there's just no available gap, I'll turn right on Service Road, then make an immediate U-turn and ride straight through the traffic light here. Just before Service Road goes over the freeway, I turn right on El Camino Avenue which again parallels the freeway. (approx. distance: 10km/6mi) I've now entered the city of Ceres, and will be riding in a mostly urban environment from here until I reach my office.

Three intersections with stop signs bring me to a freeway on-ramp where cross traffic is usually a bit heavy, so I wait my turn here and go when it's clear. The road has changed names: it's now Herndnon Avenue. There's more to concentrate on here, as things are more built up -- businesses along the road, and several intersections. (ride time: approx. 30 min) I turn right (due north) onto Richland Avenue and head up to the intersection with Hatch Road (approx. distance: 15km/9mi) . On the northwest corner of this intersection is a supermarket which has a corner that becomes the "Sunrise Cafe" in the mornings, open before the main store. It's a good place to stop and grab a bagel and something to drink, if I'm so inclined.

Back on the road, continue north on Richland Avenue to River Road and turn left. River Road is appropriately named, as it runs alongside the Tuolumne (Too-OLL-um-nee) River. However, you mostly see trees and houses; there's only an occasional glimpse of water. Through a stop sign and up a slight rise, and I come to the only part of the route that goes through a less-than- desirable area. It's not long, and it's never been a problem in over a year of commuting. We're now approaching Ninth Street, where there's a bridge over the Tuolumne into the city of Modesto.

The Ninth Street Bridge is the only place on my commute where I don't ride on the street. This is a four-lane curving bridge with no shoulder whatsoever. The posted speed limit is 40MPH (~65km/h), but most autos travel at somewhere up to 50MPH (80km/h). I feel safer sharing the sidewalk that runs along one side of the bridge with other cyclists and pedestrians. Even this is narrow enough that I ride quite slowly here so I can deal with oncoming foot and cycle traffic.

Off the bridge and back onto the street, I'm now approaching Modesto's CBD. Modesto was founded as a railroad town, and the streets in the CBD are laid out in a grid oriented to the railroad tracks that are immediately to my left. Streets running parallel to the tracks have numbers (i.e. Ninth Street), streets that cross the tracks use letters. There's a traffic light at B Street for which I usually have to stop, and another at D Street which is sometimes green to ride through.

Now it's time for the final push! From here on, if I can reach a speed of 40km/h (25MPH), I can catch green on the three traffic lights (at G, H, and I Streets) between here and the turnoff to my office. The light at J Street always turns red by the time I arrive, but I want to turn right on J Street, and California allows a right turn on a red light (after a stop).

I ride one block on J Street and turn left on Tenth Street. This block of Tenth Street is closed to motor vehicles. At the end of the block I turn right on K Street, and immediately right again into the parking structure next to my building. Down to the basement level, and the bike goes into a bike locker (available at no charge to employees). I then head across the parking structure, through the basement entrance into the building and straight to the showers, which I use before going upstairs to my office. Total distance: 20km/12mi; ride time: approx. 40 min

The return trip in the afternoon is almost identical, except that I use Eleventh Street to ride through the CBD, and cross back to Ninth Street just before the bridge.

I'm going to describe my ride home eventually, but I've got about three different ones that I use from time to time. I discovered a new hill the other day!

Chris

As stated under average length of cummute, under another post, my commute is 26 miles. I live in rural Southern California. My home town is sort of agricultural/ cummuter type town. Terrain here is rolling, with some significant hills. My 26 miles starts here gong through avocado,citrus, macadamian groves.
The commute takes you through a pass where you enter into another California "microclimate." This a little more desert, after the pass. But then you enter a more urban area. Lots of city traffic. This town has a very old west(American) look about it. Thanks to irrigation it is one of Southern California's wine areas. Love the smell of citrus and grapes in the spring. As head east, away from ocean- the area becomes drier, more desert like. Then I am at work- which abuts a fresh water reservoir. Lots of fishing going on here.
That all in 26 miles. The two hills I pass, going through the passes,probably about a 800 ft climb each. Mabye 1 mile long.
Then shower and its on the job.
My favorite part. Passing through the vineyards. If I stop it is at one of their deli's. They do seel their wine by the glass. oh yes. At the Macadamian growers,they do sell their Macadamians with a chocolate layering.

I carry my bike up the stairs, through the kitchen. I make certain my rack trunk is well fastened - I've had a problem with this 2 or 3 times. I put my lunch and jeans in the trunk, my water in the holder, my messenger bag over my shoulder, helmet on, etc.

At 7.12, this morning, I rode down my drive and onto Floyd St in Overland Park. I turn right and head down the slight hill, then up the .6 mile hill toward 71st St. I stop, then turn left onto 71st St and wait a minute at the Metcalf light one very short block down.

Note: 71st St is residential all the way from where it terminates at Antioch in Overland Park, KS to Swope Park in Kansas City, MO. It is 90% residential from the east side of Swope Park through its eastern terminus at Raytown Rd in Raytown, MO. I only ride 2 miles of this road - all residential - in Overland Park and Prairie Village, KS.

I ride down 71st past the Church of the Holy Rosary School, cruising at the speed limit of 25 mph. They are resurfacing this street, so it's covered with little pills of asphalt. At least, it's not torn up. 1/4 mile down, I hit the next uphill, then down a little as I pass Santa Fe Trail School at 71st and Lamar. The Lamar Ave light is fairly nice to me this morning, and I only have to trackstand for 10 seconds or so.

From Lamar Ave to Nall Ave on 71st St is pretty flat with a very slight downhill, followed by a slight uphill. Then, it goes sharply down the last 100 ft before the light at Nall. In the afternoon, this is the hottest, least treed portion of my ride.

At Nall Ave, I cross into Prairie Village, KS. From Nall Ave to Roe Ave, the road is well covered by high pin oaks, birch, and maple trees. The road has some strange buckles in it, but nothing too bad. Lately, workers have been doing something to the water mains here. They don't seem to be working on it yet, this morning.

From Roe to Tomahawk, I don't see any cars this morning - none moving, anyway. I don't have to wait at the light at Tomahawk, so I'm happy. This is the only light on 71st St that heavily favors 71st St, instead of the north/south street. So, this is fairly common for me. From Tomahawk, it's just a few hundred yards to Mission Rd.

To my left, from Tomahawk to Mission Rd, is the Prairie Village Shopping Center ("The Village"). It is an enigma here. It is the only small, neighborhood shopping center in the metro, that I know of, that still has a regional department store (Jones Store), and lots of foot traffic. It also has a B. Dalton, a Gap, a Hen House (grocer), video store, two gas stations (Texaco and Amoco), pizza, a small hardware store (another last of its kind, thanks to Home Depot and Lowe's), a shoe store, and twenty or more other little shops. We miss living near "The Village", being able to walk to shopping.

After Mission Rd, about a block down, 71st St has a Y. I go right/southeast, taking Cherokee Ln. This is a diagonal that is not heavily travelled. I ride up the hill, slowly peeling off the gear ratios (bizarre metaphor, I know) as it steepens toward 75th St. Before the last, very steep portion, I turn right onto Chadwick St. From Chadwick, I can turn left onto busy 75th St farther away from the light at Belinder.

At 75th St, I find no traffic. This is more common before 7.30 AM. If I leave too late - after 7.15 - I will usually have to wait at least a minute or so here for the traffic to clear - not today. I turn left and head up the hill toward the Belinder light. This light, is nice to me, and I am able to trackstand 10 seconds or so, until it turns green.

A block or so east, I hit Booth. Booth is one-way from 75th Street, with a "high speed peeloff". I veer onto Booth which drops off gently, becoming a fair downhill for a little over 1/4 mile. I don't usually encounter autos on Booth. Occasionally, there are cars wanting to cross from one of the other side streets, but not this morning. There are still houses on both sides of me, until I reach 78th St, or so. There is a HyVee (grocer), and some other small shops on the left. From 71st St to Somerset (approx. 79th St), this is the only part of Prairie Village that reaches the Missouri state line. Booth becomes Cambridge at 79th St, then merges to become Somerset. At this point, I turn left onto Somerset, heading east. This little spur of Somerset is only a block long. When it crosses the state line, it becomes 79th St, in Kansas City. I, however, turn right onto State Line Rd.

Today, on State Line, strangely, I have no traffic to worry about. It is usually moderately busy. I signal and get in the left lane. I turn onto 81st St, then right onto the driveway for my building.

Jonathan