rumrunn6

I remember the 1st time I rode from "Metro-West" to West Newton. past the corn fields and apples orchards and farmland into "the city". it was pretty awesome. the next big thing was riding to Fenway Park, and past to Castle Island through Dorchester. it's pretty cozmic mentally to go from such extremes. one thing I observed was a big change in cycling attire. as an over-50 suburb dood I dress one way - but "in town" I felt odd cuz of all the city slickers in their "urban" commuting gear. by time I got home I was close to 60 miles of saddle time. now that's a lot of fun!

WestMass

Yeah out here it's a little different - my commute goes from south hadley (suburban/residential), into Holyoke (urban/industrial), into Chicopee (suburban), into Springfield (a residential area of a large(ish) city [155k people]).

When I go for joyrides though it's almost always into the hilltowns. Long steep hills (some pushing 20%+ grades), farms, dirt roads, raging rivers, screaming fast descents. I don't know if I would have ever gotten into cycling if it wasn't for the beauty of Montgomery, Westfield/Wyben, Huntington, Chester, Westhampton, etc. When I don't feel like crossing the river I can always do the rolling hills of 47, Mt Tom, Skinner Mtn, the Notch, etc.

Jim from Boston

+1 rr6. I really enjoy the progression on the ride as I go from downtown to residential urban, near then far suburbia, and into exurbia and rural. That's one of the joys of Boston that one can get out of the city in such a short amount of time. Going in the outbound direction gives me also a sense of history to note how the city grew.

I'm not sure about differences in dress, though I suppose that on weekends I see proportionately more full-kits outside of the Rte 128 perimeter.

When I first started working in Norwood but lived in Boston, I recall a colleague saying that going to Newton Center meant "going into the city" for him.

WestMass

Yeah, you're definitely going in the opposite direction of the heavy traffic both ways, huh?

Jim from Boston

In the outbound direction on weekday mornings, traffic is light til about 6:00 AM, but afterwards still lighter than in the inbound direction. On weekends traffic is light til about 8:00 AM. Afterwards on weekends, there is no specific directionality, but is heavy as people attend to various errands.

I take the Commuter Rail back inbound to Boston on weekdays. Traffic is light after about 7:00 PM in that direction. I used to commute home by bike on weekdays, but was hit from behind on a Friday night about 9:00 PM:

In any case I ride and let my destination choose the time and

rumrunn6

@Jim Re: "I'm not sure about differences in dress, though I suppose that on weekends I see proportionately more full-kits outside of the Rte 128 perimeter"

oh sorry what I meant was. I don't wear a "kit" I wear hi-vis (goofy old-man lime-green & strobes) and a lot of urban bikers don't. you know, the youngins ... which is ironic cuz the more traffic you're in the more you want to be seen. I guess cool out trumps safety. I have alterted my colors since then though so I'm still standing out, just not like a green thumb!

DVC45

A puny 1 mile door to door.
North of Chicago.

Jim from Boston

On my outbound weekday early morning commute, I'd say that most cyclists, from Kenmore to Norwood are wearing fluorescent lime green (though I wear lemon yellow). I'd say the youngins (especially ninjas and hipsters) don't come out until evening.

"Suits" are out on mid-days during the week.

Gudeman

8 miles one way, Indianapolis Indiana

Jim from Boston

I was just curious about the regions. I frequently ask people where they live, because I invariably have ridden in their vicinity, and it starts a nice conversation. I’ve ridden a lot in Metrowest between Maynard and West Newton, and Natick, but I can remember only a couple rides anywhere near Tewksbury, both more close to Lowell.

Congratulations!! You qualify to join us on the Fifty-Plus Forum Sixth Annual Ride, scheduled for July 26 starting in North Acton. It’s a reprise of the Fifth Annual Ride last year.

rumrunn6

thanks I'll look into that ride

nothing good about riding through Tewksbury. it's an armpit. the route involves some Rt 62 which is so versatile through Concord to Bedford, and also some RT4. it took a while to put together the shortest/safest bike route from Maynard to Tewksbury. I drive it home in my car South then West most days so it's burned in my memory. I can't car drive that same route East & North in the morning due to prohibitive car traffic ... LOL talk about filtering to the front, I'd be doing a lot of that!

WonderMonkey

Dayton, Ohio area. Right now my shortest commute route is 14.5 miles though for safety I go to 15 miles. In two months we are moving facilities and the shortest route according to Google is 19.1 miles. I may have to lengthen that out to avoid a bad stretch but hopefully I can start finding a few shortcuts to shave off a mile here and there.

mr.slick

3.9 mi // La Mirada, CA

Zap Hassellhoff

9.8 // Sacramento, CA.

TweedleDee

6.5 each way + 30 mile bus ride, Hillsboro, OR

HvPnyrs

16-18 miles one way commute. L. A. Civic Center.

arsprod 

11 miles one way, Indianapolis

Bug Shield

16 miles. Rural Arizona.

Rudz

11 miles, Fontana/Ontario California

mcculver5

11.5 in rural Eastern Colorado.

lanahk

6 miles each way, Jefferson City, MO.

jimbalaya

3 or 5 or 10 miles each way. I mix it up based on the weather and how early I get out the door. Chesapeake / Virginia Beach, VA.

scootaloo

4 miles one way in Chicago. I time myself at an average of 15 minutes for the morning ride (this is 7:30-8:00 am, rush hour traffic), which is way better than the 30-45 minutes it takes me when I take public transportation.

mgw4jc

12 miles one way - north of Charlotte, NC from one outskirt town to another via a less busy highway and through neighborhoods. I just started this commute about 3 weeks ago after a move. The previous 3 years I rode about 6 miles one way.

cessanfrancisco

According to Google Maps, and depending on which route, approximately 6.9 miles one way. I live in San Francisco, CA.