With a new job comes a new commute.  This new commute is more than double my old one so we were happy that we never got around to selling our old Honda Civic that we bought the summer before we said “I do.”  I wanted to keep riding my bike, but realistically I won’t be able to ride daily.  The distance is the big factor, but really it is the time it takes to traverse that distance! It took me 3-4 weeks but I’ve figured out the fastest driving routes and have it down to between 15-20 minutes driving (which is about the time it took to bike commute to my old job)!  Biking takes much longer.  I was committed to trying and finally got around to it September 18th.  I had actually biked to work earlier, but that was from a car dealership that was about 4 miles away and almost exclusively on trail.

Locally we have a geowiki called Cyclopath that helps you find bike routes.  You can choose the fastest, shortest, or “friendliest.” Friendliest is supposed to be the easiest overall ride factoring in hills and bike lanes, etc.  As a geowiki users can login and update route info or tag sections as friendly or ones to avoid. All of that goes into the outputted route(s).  Google Maps now has a bike feature that can help you find a bike route.  Both are continually improving, with Cyclopath having the most updated info. I didn’t compare their routes turn for turn, but generally speaking they gave the same routes.

But I’m smarter than the computer!! So I didn’t actually follow either maps routes turn for turn and added some of my own flair which in at least one case probably didn’t work out for the best!  I’ve commuted twice now and took a little bit different route on the way home so I’ve got 4 routes to compare so far.  I think I have a winner that I’ll continue to use regularly.

The shortest route was 8.6 miles and the longest was 8.9. The shortest amount of moving time was 39:08 and longest was 40:20. Most importantly, the shortest elapsed or overall time was 39:55 compared to the longest at 45:36.

I’ve put them in reverse order below, so you’ll have to scroll down to see my favorite!
Route #1 was pretty much straight up urban without any scenery except buildings! Way too much stop and go and while it was mostly on bike lanes too much traffic (especially downtown).

Route #2 was still pretty urban with lots of stops. It was a little bit more scenic and this one I think I made some silly choices but that meant I went through the Sculpture Garden at least! This was also probably the hilliest with several rolling hills with too many stop signs at the bottom of a hill!!

Route #3 is mostly on the River Road, but once that ended I stayed on city streets.

Route #4 is pretty much the same as Route #3, except that it rejoined a trail network instead of taking the streets. This was the flattest ride of them all.

For now I’ll plan on using the route #4 knowing there are innumerable ways to extend the ride for a better workout if I want. If you are ever up for a longer ride come up and we can ride home together!

A co-worker recently got a bike and we’ve talked a bit about bike commuting. She actually lives pretty close to me so some of our conversation has been about what route to take. She showed me a new route this week and I Strava-ed it so I could compare it to other routes I’ve tried.

I’ve now tried 5 different routes that probably represent the most direct routes. There are obviously thousands of options out there! The Greenway is our own little freeway and takes in a large chunk of these routes.

My traditional route has 2 variation depending on a stoplight at Lake and Snelling. It isn’t necessarily the friendliest route for biking as it takes in the busy intersection of Hiawatha and Lake, but it mostly on the Greenway and bike lanes on Minnehaha. Once Minnehaha is redone it should be pretty nice.

My other normal route is pretty much all Greenway. I use this a lot when I have to take the kids to daycare as the Greenway is by far the safest place to ride with the trailer. The Sabo bridge isn’t super fun with the kids in tow, but safety first!! I also started using this route more when I realized it wouldn’t hurt to add some mileage and the hill into my commute leading up to Almanzo!

In pursuit of Almanzo glory, I also started making some longer rides on the commute home when it mattered a little less if I was sweaty/smelly! This is by far the longest of the options that could still be a “commute” before stretching it into something more like training. Adding the West River Road definitely makes it more scenic!

For the fun of it I switched things up and took the 24th Street Bridge to LRT trail to the Greenway the other day. It is almost exactly the same distance as the Greenway – but 24th St isn’t as nice. In the fall they posted (and covered) signs for the new bike lane on 24th. They just started painting the lanes. I still think the Greenway will be the better option.

Finally, the new option my co-worker showed me. It isn’t terrible and is surprisingly pretty much the same distance as my traditional commute. I probably won’t use it as I prefer not waiting for long stoplights to make an at grade crossing of Hiawatha. Some of those waits can be stupid long!!

Cyclopath recommends the route I take with the kids.