My ride to work is very short, from West Tennyson (Chabot
College area) to South Hayward Bart then get off at Lake Merrit
and ride into downtown Oakland. I could make it longer, say get
off at MacArthur and ride in or on the other end, ride to Castro
Valley or Hayward Bart....hmmmm more bike schwag.
I ride to work about 1/3 of the time and take BART (our rapid transit) every day. I don't get to see the wildlife you do unless you count homeless and wine'os ;-) The route is very urban but it's a great way to get miles in and has its own kind of beauty.