Monday morning I commuted from North Bend into work with the truck. 30 miles and it took 1 hour. Seeing the fall colors was the only pleasurable thing about the trip. Stop and go, bumper to bumper traffic all the way from Issaquah to Bellevue.
Monday evenings drive from Bellevue to Shilshole was shorter, but it still took 50 minutes. And during rush hour, that's actually one of the faster commutes.
The morning commute also took an hour, hatch to cube. But there was a difference. I took the bike.
The walk down the dock was pleasant and instead of being in a car, I made the inaugural ride on the purple monster. I seemed to be going much faster, although I think I need to set up some way of seeing just how fast I’m going. It would be easier to plan if I could see my average time.
Riding through Ballard isn’t that much fun, but in the early morning, it’s not bad. Once you click into the Burke Gilman, it gets fun.
The bike trail parallels the ship canal and on this morning the shells are out with the coxswains chattering with their crews. There were a few eights and some sculls, but it was difficult to see in the predawn gloom. Between the shells and the coach launch’s there were quite a few sets of running lights.
About 30 minutes of pedaling bought me to the UW where I put the bike on a bus. The bus drops me off less than half a block from work.
Here’s the map of the morning 6.3 mile bike commute to get on the bus.
The bike ride home was different. About 20 miles. If you haven’t ridden that far in a while (and I haven’t), it’s a real beast. It’s an interesting commute: floating bridges, riding into the sunset, and great neighborhoods. At times, really nice views. But it’s 20 miles.
Longer ride
It took me just over 2 hours, which is a dismal time. To be fair, I had stopped a couple of times to make calls so it wasn’t non stop, but I found the first attempt after not riding for several months very difficult.
Getting on the bike Wednesday morning was tough, but a again took the 6.3 mile route in the morning. That 30 minute ride truly is fun.
Coming home I tried a different route.
It's about an hour, but 9 miles of riding gets the blood pumping after work.
Here is the bike that would cut down the commute time!
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