Deciding on a new, longer route
 

I've been riding roughly 10 miles a day on a relatively flat MUP for a while now. My SO is ready to throw me into the deep end now- as in ASAP. Problem is, we are kind of at an impasse. She would me rather ride home after work. I'm leaning towards starting extremely early and riding towards work.

If I cater to her wishes, then that virtually eliminates the possibility of being late for work. But it also places me in rush hour traffic in the afternoon- both the school and work rushes.

If I take the early ride in, there is a chance I'll be late. But there would be very little traffic on the roads at the time I would have to start out at.

To complicate things a bit, I've also got to figure out which route to take. One would be 12 miles on a divided 4 lane with some gently rolling hills. They just finished resurfacing this road (even part of the shoulders) and the lines have been freshly painted. Sight lines are pretty good, low traffic in the mornings, heavier in the afternoon.

The other route would be along Rt. 66. Two lanes, no shoulder, less elevation change, but more curves and the sight lines aren't near as good. Traffic volume is not as high at any given time. But the locals are used to seeing cyclists on this road on the weekends and some afternoons, as this is a favorite training ground for one of the local clubs.

I'd try both routes a few times to see what works best for you. Same for time of day. After a week or two you should get a good idea of what feels right.

Get your kicks on Rt 66!

Maybe you should have a long chat with the missus. Explain just as you did above. Why would she want you riding through heavy traffic?

Use the longer route on a routine basis and use the shorter route if you are running late. This lowers your chances of being late to work.

Rt 66 would be used for homeward bound trips only. SH 97 could be used in either direction.

Her logic is that I should ride home so that I won't be late to work, that it will be light out for a fair portion of the ride and that since I'll be riding South, the wind should be at my back during the winter time.

The longest route would be RT 66. To do that, I would have to ride all the way from my house into downtown Tulsa to catch the 0627 (denotes time, not route) bus that takes me to work.

SH 97 option inbound would mean I'd have to make it to that bus stop by 0515 in order to make the connecting at 0627.

Why not set a time that you need to leave by in order to not be late. If you get up late or out the door late & won't be able to make it to work on time, then you ride the short route & ride the longer route after work. If her concern is you being late to work, eliminate that variable. The lighting will work itself out with a headlamp/tail light combo & if she's right about the headwind, you may revert to her solution after a few days/weeks anyways.

You have a contract with your wife, you have certain things you do jointly; you have a bond there.
And there are other things, and those things are yours. And you needn't feel ashamed. You needn't feel untrue or she would abandon you if she knew. This is your life.
Yes?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3ASc...eature=related