The best and worst part of your commute

[GLC1968]

My commute is just shy of 14 miles from one side of Greensboro to the other.

The best parts:

• The early morning quiet
• The ability to blow off steam at the end of a long day
• Friendly Ave (three HUGE rolling hills)
• Hobbs Road (tons of huge gorgeous houses and more huge rolling hills)
• The stretch down Old Battleground where I ride through Guilford Courthouse Military Park... it's always so shady and cool in there!

The worst parts (you'll see some repeats!):

• Friendly Ave in the morning - the traffic sucks and people are not kind to bikes
• The stretch of Old Battleground where I ride through Guilford Courthouse Military Park when there is traffic - very narrow road with no shoulder at all
• Getting held up at lights waiting for cars to show up to trigger them!
• No bike paths or bike lanes to use

[CorsairMac]

hmmmm - what an interesting thread:

Best Part: every day I ride!!

Worst Part: drivers that turn right without using a turn signal! lol

[Deanna]

Worst Part: drivers that turn right without using a turn signal! lol

That goes on my list too! I sometimes think turn signals are now an optional feature in cars.

[withm]

hmmmm - what an interesting thread:

Best Part: every day I ride!!

Worst Part: drivers that turn right without using a turn signal! lol

Sigh. Imagine having a $40,000 automobile that doesn't have turn signals. LOL.

[bikerHen]

WORST:
The "big long hill" only 1.5 miles into my ride.

Not long enough. It's 3 miles straight up the highway, or a 6 mile loop, or a twelve mile wandering path through good and bad neighborhoods and really busy streets.

The road I have to ride on my twelve mile loop has good wide shoulders but they are filled with all kinds of sand and gravel, sharp things, and stuff that fell from passing traffic. It's a very busy road with lots of big fast trucks.

Road Construction! Seriously disrupting my route right now.

Having to cross four lanes of 60+ mph traffic to get home, w/o a light.

BEST: Nothing very pretty to look at, but I'm riding my bike to work and for errands. And it feels great! bikerHen

[tulip]

Sigh. Imagine having a $40,000 automobile that doesn't have turn signals. LOL.

Ah, the Budget Model Lexus...I know them well!

[Geonz]

Best: the little sprints on smooth roads, the friendly people in cars and on bikes.

Worst: the hostile souls and the road construction, and the left turn across (student!) traffic to get across campus.

[HappyAnika]

Worst:
- Squeezing between big trucks and the median curb at an intersection on a 65 mph hwy (I approach slowly hoping I'll catch the red light).
- Afternoon thunderstorms
- The big hill I have to go up to get home toward the end of my ride when I'm exhausted
- Erratic prairie dogs who wait until just the right moment to run out into the path/shoulder

Best:
- The view on the way into work, the next best thing to being in the mountains is looking at them while riding my bike!
- Getting in 37 - 42 miles a day, saving gas and time by combining my workout with my commute
- A long list of possible routes (most of which are very nice)

[spokewench]

The best part of my ride to work is the fact that I am riding my bike instead of driving my car. I feel envigorated when I get to work. My commute is very short but it has a very nice trail along the busiest road that a couple of years ago was not there that makes my commute much better. The worst part was being hit by a young driver a few years ago on the way home riding in the bike lane (car turned right in front of me) ! Luckily i was not hurt seriously.

[dingster1]

Mine is the same for both best and worst. Very short commute. About a mile.

[Jenerator]

Bests:
Getting to work 5 minutes faster than if I drove, taking the shortest route.
Getting to work a little late because a long ride on empty streets under a full moon was too much fun.
Getting home an hour slower than if I drove, taking the long route.

Worst:
Being on call and having to drive the take-home-car.
Being too sick to ride, but not sick enough to call in sick.

[CorsairMac]

Mine is the same for both best and worst. Very short commute. About a mile.

can you pick some other routes that will give you some more miles?

[Trek420]

My ride to work is not scenic, there are a couple of stretches, going around Lake Merrit is one. But the traffic and incomplete bike lane keeps my sole focus on the road even there:

worst part:
where do I begin? there are a lot of obstacles.

best part:
any time I get a smile and act of courtesy or kindness from a driver, ped, another rider.

That makes my day.

[spokewench]

Hi Trek 420:

Lake Merritt in Oakland? Yuck I worked in one of those buildings by Lake Merritt for 9 years! I sure wouldn't have wanted to ride my bike around there.

One time, I rode my bike from San Leandro thru Oakland to the area around the Oakland Airport where they used to have Tuesday crits. Let me tell you that Ride is not recommended!

[uforgot]

Best part: I live in a small town and it is absolutely required that I wave to everyone, whether I know them or not, as everyone waves and smiles at me! We have a 4-way stop, and 99% of the time any car that hits the intersection when I do, waits and wants me to go through first. Everyone is considerate, friendly and most of all protective to me. I teach, so I can just put my bike in my classroom. My students think its "cool" I ride, as you don't see many adults riding bikes around here. People here don't know biking laws and there are no "Share the Road" signs, but courtesy and friendliness keep me safe.

Worst part: When my co-workers hum the song from the Wizard of Oz. The one where the "witch" is riding her bike with Toto in the basket. Everyone thinks they're a comedian...