New Long Commute to Work
Based on the average commute for the family, our move to the center of town is a major improvement. However, if I look at it selfishly and strictly based on commute distance, I lose. I’ve gone from a short and easy 3 miles (and that’s stretching it) to either 9 miles (by car on the highway) or over 11 (by bike).
This new bike commute has required a few changes in my routine. I used to just put on my “work clothes”, and bring a swap of shoes and my laptop in a backpack and ride to work, no problem. 11 miles is too long for me to ride in jeans or khakis comfortably and quickly, so I have a whole new routine.
- Pack a full change of clothes, computer, towel and soap into my Ortleib panniers (which I love, by the way)
- Load it all up on the rear rack of the bike getting my bike weight over the 45lb mark.
- Get into my superman outfit (spandex, baby!) and take off for work at exactly 7:30 AM.
- Follow this route:
As you can see from the elevation profile, it’s not a flat ride. By no means is it a trip up Alpe d’Huez but it is through some hilly sections on a single speed - and I believe I mentioned earlier this over-loaded, steel bike is now 45 pounds (that’s over 20kg! Hmm, not sure which way sounds heavier, so take your pick). But honestly, I don’t mind the hills at all. They’re not long and not that steep and it’s good for me anyway.
The part that I dread is the Shoal Creek/183/Burnet Rd intersection. There is no good way to cross this intersection. I need to get on to the 183 frontage road heading west, cross 4-5 lanes of traffic, make a u-turn heading the opposite way, and cross another 4-5 lanes on the other side of 183 heading west.
I am pretty confident and comfortable riding in traffic since I do it enough, but here, I don’t mess with it. I usually pull over and wait for a big wide gap to make the first cross across the highway frontage road. Once I get to the U-turn near Burnet Rd, things calm down and I’m OK, but it kills the ‘zen’ of my morning ride. I’ve tried some major detours to the West that are nice, but long. There is probably a way to the east of Burnet that I’ll have to try when I some time on my next ride in.
Once at work, I hop in and out of the dark, slightly scary work showers and am on my way, sitting at my desk, ready to take a nap take on the day by 8:45. 1 hr 15 minutes from driveway to reading emails, not too bad.
Tags: bicycle, commute, route, singlespeed, surly crosscheck