I finally sucked it up and did it.

[Melalvai]

*drivers in the morning are more patient- or just more sleepy and don't want to mess with me as much.

That has been my experience too. The traffic is lighter and the drivers are respectful in the morning. I assumed that pattern is because I work at a university and morning drivers are employees while evening drivers and employees + students.

[Tri Girl]

Thanks for the encouragement, ladies.
NO- I won't be doing that everyday. Too long. When it's spring and lighter and warmer, I'll do it twice a week. For now I hope to do it once a week.

I think morning drivers haven't had a bad day yet, so they're nicer. At the end of the day, they've put up with more crap, so they don't have patience for a biker getting in their way.

Thanks for the eating tip, Road Raven. I can't eat because I teach, so my only lunch is at 12, and school is out at 3:45. I don't have a plan period in the afternoon, so I'll just plan on a bigger than normal lunch that day. I appreciate your tips!!!! And you're right about dawn- knowing that the daylight is coming. That does bring hope.

V- my students think it's cool. They were in awe when I told them how far I rode to work. Most of them ride their bikes, and they were like "5 minutes is a long way for me- I could never ride that far." I want to start a bike club (5th grade) and take them out for longer rides. District policy says I can't do that (liability), so I'm working on trying to figure something out. Hmmmm...

[Veronica]

What time do you guys start out there? Our student day is 8:15 - 2:45. Teacher time is 8:00 - 3:05.

Unless I have meetings, I bail out at 3, bringing my work home rather than staying at school to do it.

V.

[RoadRaven]

Thanks for the eating tip, Road Raven. I can't eat because I teach, so my only lunch is at 12, and school is out at 3:45. I don't have a plan period in the afternoon, so I'll just plan on a bigger than normal lunch that day.

I think the bigger lunch is the way to go - just make sure it is "solid" in terms of carbs and fibre - not cakey things as they are "empty" and don't make me feel full of oomph.

If you eat about 12:30, thats pretty much ideal. I teachtoo - but adults at a teriary institution. So if teaching, I can have a top up around 2:30 - the classes are 3 hours long with a 20 minute break in the middle. And if not teaching that day - I can eat when I want to.

[Geonz]

I'd also invest in or investigate something like Power Bars for something you can fuel up with on the way out the door. And if caffeine is your drug of choice, time its intake to get you rolling in the afternoon.
My commute (7miles) is short enough so that by the afternoon I can't *wait* to get out there (like now), tho' often I"ll extend the trip home to 13 or 23 or if it's Friday and I'm really adventurous, the Seymour-St. BOniface 32. Your commute is awesome
I tutor & sometimes get purty good ideas on the rides... which I better go and execute now (our classes aren't back yet but I'm preparing a presentation on making math 'more accessible to diverse learners' - as in all those folks who think they can't do math...)

[GLC1968]

Congrats!!

I feel the same way about dark in the morning vs the evening and for the same reasons! If you don't want to do all that riding in one day, do you have the option of driving to work with your bike, biking home and then biking back the next morning? I do that often in the winter when my commute 'feels' longer. It also keeps me from having a SUPER long day (I work 8-6...so with the commute both ways, it's very long).

I always figure that drivers were more impatient in the evening because they were on the way home and wanted to get there in a hurry. On the way into work in the morning, no one wants to get there any faster!

[kjay]

Tri Girl, you're AWESOME! Hope to see you again in August!

[kjay]

Okay, I goofed. You're awesome but you're not the gal I thought you were. Mixed you up with someone else. Sorry!