With a new job comes a new commute. \u00a0This 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.” \u00a0I wanted to keep riding my bike, but realistically I won’t be able to ride daily. \u00a0The 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)! \u00a0Biking takes much longer. \u00a0I was committed to trying and finally got around to it September 18th. \u00a0I had actually biked to work earlier, but that was from a car dealership that was about 4 miles away and almost exclusively on trail.<\/p>\n
Locally we have a geowiki called Cyclopath <\/a>that helps you find bike routes. \u00a0You can choose the fastest, shortest, or “friendliest.” Friendliest is supposed to be the easiest overall ride factoring in hills and bike lanes, etc. \u00a0As 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). \u00a0Google Maps<\/a> now has a bike feature that can help you find a bike route. \u00a0Both 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.<\/p>\n 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! \u00a0I’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. \u00a0I think I have a winner that I’ll continue to use regularly.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n I’ve put them in reverse order below, so you’ll have to scroll down to see my favorite!
\nRoute #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).<\/p>\n