How much do you see?

I was thinking about this on my way in this morning....how much do you all see on your commutes? I'm sure it's a little less now that it's so dark, but really...do you see variety? I do.

In my case, I start in a nice residential area. I pass 3 secondary schools and 1 college. I pass through a very wooded park (that is crazy dark!). I pass 3 McDonald's (which is pretty funny, because I live in a small city that probably only has 5 total!), 2 Bank of America's, 6 grocery stores and a few farms. I pass the airport. I drive through areas that are residential, commercial/retail, business park and industrial. I also pass at least one strip club, about 6 motels and a Denny's in a 'truck stop' type area.

All this in less than 15 miles. Amazing!

What types of things do you see on your commute?

When I take the "long way," I see our neighborhood's main street area, a rail yard, the Mississippi River, residential streets, a big dam across the river, and lots of wildlife.

I pass a Perkins in the morning that always tempts me to stop for a muffin and coffee. On the way home, I pass a Dairy Queen, which always sounds good! Then, about five miles from my house, the path goes right by a Tavern that reeks of greasy burgers (mmmmm...). Reminds me of my aunt who used to take me for burgers and Shirley Temples when I was a kid.

I go from the heart of the city to seeing some views of one of our country's greatest rivers...it's fantastic.

If I take the fast way to work, I see some of our state's most run-down, crime riddled neighborhoods that I will absolutely NOT ride through in the afternoon. Did that once and saw a crowd of people watching a fellow discharging a firearm in the middle of the day in the middle of a residential neighborhood. I ride through there only in the wee hours of the morning. Sad.

Neat topic. I see some small-town outskirts and small-town centers, so, not as quite as interesting as GLC1968's ride. At one point though, I do go off-road, through a woods trail, over an active railroad track, and through an abandoned industrial plant that is off-limits, complete with a capped landfill and other hazardous waste.:eek:

But what I get a kick out of on my commute is the smells. If I ride by the Dunkin Donuts at night, I smell fresh donuts, and also, I smell hamburgers and steaks as I go by The 99 at night. Mmm. And there are usually times when a backyard grill is going. I'm usually starving, mouth watering.

They are widening the freeway. I have to go under it to get to and from work. Traffic is majorly backed up. I'm in a hightened sense of awareness becuase trying to keep track of those coming out of driveways, turning, moving over into the bike lane to get a better view. Now that I'm writing about it...it sounds pretty sucky. I do enjoy getting to work faster then all those poor saps in the lines of cars. I'm just not seeing much of anything.

I see road kill; small toy jeep, no wheels, broken cellphone, interesting blue box, a quarter! (no i didn't pick it up and it was gone the next day), phone cards, lots of broken bungees...
I pass two schools complete with school crossing guards one of which recognizes me and says hello, a vegetable market and a minimarket.
I cross over the interstate highway and laugh at the incredible traffic backups
and of course I get to ride my bike in the morning through an empty factory building where they used to build airplanes from 1943-1988.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Voodoo Sally

But what I get a kick out of on my commute is the smells.

---

Oh, yes! On my way to work, I pass a Caribbean restaurant that is preparing some kind of curry, and the smell is out of this world. On the way home, I go by a Mexican bakery that oozes butter and sugar smells. I gain weight just breathing.

Other than that, I just see urban neighborhoods, some apartment buildings, a few street vendors selling sodas and candy bars and hot dogs, a few schools, a library, a pharmacy, Starbucks, a traffic circle, row houses, more apartment buildings, Au Bon Pain, and office buildings.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Voodoo Sally

But what I get a kick out of on my commute is the smells.

---

You wouldn't if you passed a field of cattle!

I ride from a city to another, but Boulder is surrounded by open space so I initially ride through a tiny town and then a country road through beautiful fields. This time of year I usually see dawn and dusk, lots of wildlife active at that time. There are ponds, with frogs and all sorts of beautiful birds. If its near sunrise the sounds are incredible.

Lately I've been seeing the output of some sort of berry-eating but not berry-digesting animal that seems to like to relieve itself on the shoulder of the road. I am curious as to what the animal is. My theory is that it is an old hippie from the aforementioned tiny town. :)

There are cows and birds, coyotes, rabbits, mice, deer, all sorts of animals. I hear roosters at a farm I pass.

Then I get to Costco. I pass behind it and through another old town surrounded by strip malls. There is an old man that sits on a folding chair outside his house and we greet each other every morning, every afternoon. Two dogs on the left that bark each morning. Lots of foxes in the little neighborhood, usually around a yard-turned-junkyard (full of lots of interesting things)

I turn right and see a big *(#$&(*@ hill. This is roughly when I wake up, which is a good thing because it immediately precedes a quick downhill through a massive subdivision, lots of SUVs, roundabouts, lawn crews, etc., then another hill. I pass a massive gym where the parking lot is packed, then zig zag through a perilous Wal-Mart parking lot where there are bikes for $48.77 outside. Then another killer hill past a golf course where the maintenance guys always greet me with friendly catcalls, we know each other by now. It takes my mind off the increasing grade. As the hill increases I know the detail incredibly. A little felt doll hat. A patch of glass. A shirt that appeared mid-july. Some broken bits of reflector. Then the top, where I hope for cars behind me to trigger the light, and a nice coast downhill to my office.

If I've ridden my mountain bike I like to take dirt roads and a stretch of singletrack home, a beautiful way to end the day. I love that because I always know what is blooming and can watch the seasons transition day to day.

Great thread. I love my commute and I love reading about everyone else's.

Anne

Thru a new subdivision with lots of construction and trucks, a stint towards the lake with a beautiful view, past an orchard, then a vineyard, then a fruit and veggie stand, into another residential area with one small restaurant/grocery store, till I arrive at school - all in three short km's....

My commute starts in a lovely tree lined residential area, after a couple of miles of that I roll into the bike lanes at the university. I pass a farm, some horticulture greenhouses, a few college dorms (lots of dodging sleepy students), some odd art pieces that look like ten foot tall paper wads (painted neon yellow/green/orange), then I rise by the observatory and finally into the bike lot at the main library. A nice 4 mile ride.

This is where I work:
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/bel/grap...iucmainlib.jpg

This where my bike lives during the day:
http://uitours.ncsa.uiuc.edu/libraries/main/67039_l.jpg

That's a great idea! I think I'll take pics of my commute one day.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kelownagirl

Thru a new subdivision with lots of construction and trucks, a stint towards the lake with a beautiful view, past an orchard, then a vineyard, then a fruit and veggie stand, into another residential area with one small restaurant/grocery store, till I arrive at school - all in three short km's....

---

Ooh, KG, this sounds lovely!

My commute starts on a road to a popular beach. The Atlantic is on my left, with some spectacular views of Narragansett Bay and the bridges. After I pass the beach, I have to go through a town with a few chain stores, banks, traffic, that kind of thing. Once through town, I'm bascially on winding country roads. I pass a couple of schools and a few residential devlopements, but I also pass some small farms that sell their produce on tables out front, honor style.

I see lots of wild turkeys and deer. There are farms with horses, cows and chickens.

Wish it weren't raining today! I'm missing my ride now!

Awesome responses! And Queen - good idea on the pictures! :)

I had to drive today (boo), but next week if I get good weather, I'll take some photos on my commute on the way home when it's light (obviously).

Sally, where do you go off road? Are you talking about the Starmet site near the Thoreau Club? I hardly ride my mtb, but I am always looking for new trails.
One of the things I noticed on my old commute was a building with a GIANT clock on it. It's in the front of a shopping center on a main road (RT 2A) on the corner of Pope Rd. I have driven by here zillions of times, but i had never noticed it in 17 years! I would always pass the clock between 5:58 and 6:02, which gave me a sense of being on schedule.
A big part of my commute was on a road I love to ride on. When I first started riding, I would go out and back on this road, for a total of about 6-7 miles. It is one of the few fairly flat roads around here. It was a lot closer to my old house, so I loved being able to ride it on my commute. There are a few little rollers going toward work and at 6:15 in the morning, it was amazing how slow I would be going, compared to when I was just riding for training. It's heavily wooded on both sides, with a good bike lane, but there are a lot of cars at certain times of the day.I noticed a lot about the houses on this street. On the way home, I would fly on this road because it's on a slight downhill that way. At the end of this road is a park, where I would stop, take a long drink and rest, to prepare for the next part of the trip, which had some tricky traffic sections.

Since I work at a Big 10 school I was able to find those pics on the web, I'll try to remember my camera for a few more shots of the commute.

yeah Queen we want to see the paper wads

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Robyn Maislin

Sally, where do you go off road? Are you talking about the Starmet site near the Thoreau Club?

---

Nope, the former W.R. Grace site at the end of Independence Rd. in Acton. If I'm heading to Concord, I go through there, cross the Commuter Rail tracks, and follow a dirt trail east along the tracks, which becomes a narrow dirt road through woods, which comes out where Hillside Ave. becomes Old Stow Rd. in Concord. Then I get on Main St. The dirt road area contains some pretty paths going off of it, but it's not a very big area. I see people in there occasionally, walking dogs or whatever.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mimitabby

yeah Queen we want to see the paper wads

---

I'll definitely take pics of the "art". :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GLC1968

What types of things do you see on your commute?

---

You know, I never really thought about it, because it's just - ho hum - my commute to (and from) work.

Fortunately, about 80% of it is residential. I see kids walking to school at this time of year. I see home decorations changing with the holidays. One neighborhood is mostly an older orthodox Jewish neighborhood, and they recently took their Sukkahs down. It's always strange to see them set up in suburban driveways and side yards! I also cut through a shopping plaza parking lot to get on a MUT for a short while. A big international chain grocery store is leaving, to be replaced with a smaller locally-owned chain (Magruders for Giant, for the local gals).

Once in the city, I pass a gym, a few banks, a few parking garages, the county courthouse, and the Metro entrance with its bus depot. The only smell there is usually diesel and urine. Blech.

And there it is. 7 miles from 'burbs to city.

Awwww geee - I've been thinking I should take pix of my commute since much of it is really nice but now that it's dark so early I'm not riding to work anymore. Could do it tomorrow but riding 13 miles one way with 20-30 mile headwinds is not very enticing. And then there's the matter of it being hard to photograph "the wind." The forecast is 4-6' waves on the ocean but if the wind goes west, the ocean will look seemingly flat when I cross over the inlet bridge. Maybe I can commute to work on Sunday if the wind dies a bit and take some pix. The gardens on the return leg are really beautiful.... OK, I've talked myself into it - I'll try to do it on Sunday.

Martha

I rode part of my commute route yesterday and took some photos. They are on-the-bike photos with my point and shoot, so not the best composition/quality shots I've taken! :)

http://blog.annedirkse.com/blogs/gal...c73a7ef7d8ff2b

This sign is just a few feet from my house. :)

http://blog.annedirkse.com/blogs/gal...c73a7ef7d8ff2b

Tiny country road. It dead-ends onto a bike path so traffic is about 90% bikes, 5% runners, 5% cars. That's my sister up ahead.

http://blog.annedirkse.com/blogs/gal...c73a7ef7d8ff2b

Mountains to the right

http://blog.annedirkse.com/blogs/gal...c73a7ef7d8ff2b

The town of Marshall

http://blog.annedirkse.com/blogs/gal...c73a7ef7d8ff2b

Heading east. The hill to the right has MTB trails that I like to ride on the way home. :)

http://blog.annedirkse.com/blogs/gal...c73a7ef7d8ff2b

http://blog.annedirkse.com/blogs/gal...c73a7ef7d8ff2b

Not a bad way to get to work!

More images here (with different seasons & different parts of the route including a couple of extended detours for fun :))

Anne

WOW, Anne, too cool! Gorgeous scenery. You must be very relaxed at work. :)

I was going to wimp out and take the light rail to work today, but now I'll have to ride in to enjoy the sights and smells. Actually, the light rail station has the more dangerous smells: it's almost directly across from one of Sacramento's best high-class bakeries, and one of Sacramento's best low-class donut stands. I swear they purposely blow the smells over to the folks waiting for the train.
:p
What I see on the bike commute: the beautiful old school turned into a community center near my house, a great crepe shoppe (uh-oh, more food), a busy slightly run down area near the freeway, quiet tree-lined residential streets with lovely c. 1900 homes and a few run-down ones, a house that looks c. 1905-15 that's getting completely rebuilt (all outside up, jacked up--it will be interesting to see if they restore it or destroy it with modernization), lots of piles of leaves this time of year in the bike lane-waiting for the yard waste recycle pickup, trash and recycling cans in the bike lane waiting for garbage day, parked cars to watch the doors on, the same older lady almost every day walking the neighborhood looking for aluminum cans to sell, busy cross streets, a little view of a corner of the state capitol, the business buildings of downtown, the Archive Plaza light rail station, and then the big ugly green 1964 monolith that's home for the next 9 hours.

Okay, time to get dressed and go see it!

I see lots of things on my commute. I live in Alexandria, VA, so my commute takes me north along the Potomac River with a view of all the monuments across the river in DC. The best is when it's either dark and all the monuments are lit up, or the sun is just rising behind the monuments.

I then cross into Georgetown and ride down one of the main streets - M street - which is usually packed with people and cars, but not at 6am! It's wonderful to have the entire street to myself (mostly). Then I hop on another trail heading towards Bethesda, MD where I see deer almost every morning, sometimes foxes, blue herons, and sometimes homeless people sleeping alongside the trail. I pass through on old railroad tunnel before getting off the trail.

Once off the trail, I'm on a pretty busy road the last 6 miles of my commute into work. I pass Glen Echo park Glen Echo Park, a gas station that seems to always have the most expensive gas in the area- which is always fun to look at, a few markets and delis where I'll stop in to buy a lottery ticket if it's a big jackpot week, and finally I ride underneath the DC beltway before entering the gates into my work.

my DH, Raleighdon was thinking of taking a bunch of pictures of his winter commute, but you wouldn't see anything, it's dark both ways! :eek: :eek:

Right now it's been too rainy and dark to make my part-bike portion commute practical.

But in fall, spring and summer, when I regularily incorporated bike commuting as part of my long, complicated work (via also commuter train, bike drop-off, then bus and walk to workplace from bus stop), on my way home from bike pickup point, my route has been deliberately plotted where 1/2 of it, is on bike paths that squiggle through some wooded parks (3 different parks), residential roads, 2 backalley laneways, past 3 different schools, 2 different skateboard park locations....and by the sea inland,..can go through a neighbourhood that is abit low...but I don't feel threatened on bike.

I am cutting through some funky artsy areas with cafes...which I do stop when we feel like it. It is getting into the downtown area which by the time I get home, traffic has died down drastically.

And throughout the trip, I see local mountains in different glimpses/directions at least half of the trip or more.

This commute is a great cure for any after-work stress. About 50 min. or less

[QUOTE=Queen;255057]My commute starts in a lovely tree lined residential area, after a couple of miles of that I roll into the bike lanes at the university. I pass a farm, some horticulture greenhouses, a few college dorms (lots of dodging sleepy students), some odd art pieces that look like ten foot tall paper wads (painted neon yellow/green/orange), then I rise by the observatory and finally into the bike lot at the main library. A nice 4 mile ride.


I was just scrolling down and thought "That's just like...!" and then thought "of course it is..." and looked to see it was your post .
Of course, the art pieces would have been a *dead* giveaway :)

I see what she sees for a little bit... then I go four more miles west through the treelined residential stuff on the *other* end of town, past my bike shop if I go that way, and out to the college, where I'll ride around and around if I have time.
I *don't* ride on the bike path where it goes through the bus stop near that library :eek: but I like those bike lanes on the road behind it (which they promise they will resurface soon).

I wish it were lighter on my commute these days, because the valley is soooo pretty! I live on the east side of a valley running north-east of Oslo, and on my normal commute I cross the valley to get to a bike path running fairly high up on the west side. It's cold here now, around 10F, so looking east I see trees covered in hoarfrost against a beautiful blue-black sky, that lightens to the softest bluish gray. The hoarfrost is from the fog that forms above the river at night, so while most of the valleyside is outlined in white, the trees on the horizon make this lovely contrast line in black.

Have to see if I can snap some photos today, I'm taking the day off.

I posted a few photos over on the "shooting for 7500"-thread, of my commute in this morning. Figured since I already have a looky-me-thread I might as well fill er up ;)