Biking to Work

My office is too far from home to commute by bicycle very often.  However, once a year during National Bike to Work Week is manageable.  I started this tradition for myself two years ago.  This year I expanded my bicycle commuting as part of my RAAM training, riding to and from work once a week for six weeks.  Today was the last time on my training schedule.  Although it’s been a slight pain (getting up even earlier than usual, taking extra food and clothes to the office the day before, etc.), I’m kind of sad that it’s over until next year’s National Bike to Work Week.  So, a commemoration is in order.

I take a different route to work via bicycle than by car to avoid the heaviest traffic.  By bicycle, it’s 36 miles from home to work and 44 miles from work to home.  That’s because I always get lost on the way home.  Ha ha!  No, actually it’s because of River North, a gated community a few miles from my office.  The entrance on my morning commute has a guard gate with no guard, making it easy to ride through the gap at the crossing arm.  Coming home is a different story, however.  The end of River North closer to my office does have a guard on duty, who won’t let cyclists through.  We’re such riffraff, you know.  River North has one of the few bridges across the Ocmulgee River in the vicinity.  Because I can’t go that way on the ride home, I have to take a different route – 8 miles longer – across another bridge while still staying off of the busiest roads.  It’s not that I mind the additional mileage so much; it’s the principle of the thing.  Oh well, a little extra training never hurt.

I have to leave home before sunrise:

My randonneuring gear comes in handy to ride safely in the dark and at twilight: front and rear bicycle lights, reflective vest, and reflective ankle bands.  Soon after I begin riding, the sun comes up.

I’ve come to particularly enjoy my morning bicycle commute.  It’s so peaceful, and the roads have little traffic.  This is my favorite time of year, too.  The morning sunlight through the lush greenery; the songs of various birds; and the scents of honeysuckle, magnolias, mimosas, and gardenias are a feast for the senses.

My morning route also has a little adventure – a two-mile dirt section:

It’s a relatively easy section for a road bike, definitely worth it because the rest of the route is so good.

It takes me slightly over 2 hours to reach my office.  I eat a Clif Bar on the way to keep my energy up, and I drink a bottle of Heed.  Interestingly, I’ve noticed that I have to stop for nature breaks at almost the same points on my route every time.

A few highlights from my morning commutes:

• Making the mobile speed detector in River North flash one time because I was exceeding the speed limit (31 mph in a 30-mph zone)

• Hearing train whistles.  I only got caught by a train one time.

At the end of the work day, I leave as soon as I can after 5:00 because it takes me about 2½ hours to get home, and I want to arrive before sunset.  I have another Clif Bar and bottle of Heed for the ride home.

Although my afternoon route is longer than my morning one, it takes me through the beautiful Piedmont Wildlife Refuge (PWR):

I commonly see songbirds, turkeys, turtles, and deer on my commutes, but I had an especially memorable encounter a couple of weeks ago.  I was pedaling on Round Oak-Juliette Road, the main paved road through the PWR.  A deer began running parallel to me and then crossed the road just a few feet in front of me.  I slowed down, looking for a second one.  Sure enough, here came her friend.  The second deer ran even closer in front of me, her eyes wide as saucers in fear.  She was so scared that as she approached the far side of the pavement, she tripped and tumbled down the embankment!  Fortunately, she was OK and scurried off into the woods.  I had no idea that deer could be klutzes, too.

Other views from the ride home:

Railroad as seen from Highway 11, taken from my nature break hidey hole

Mimosa, Queen Anne's lace, and another wildflower in the fading evening light

A few times Robert (sweet husband) has ridden from our house until he meets me, accompanying me on the rest of my route.  That always makes for an extra good ride.

The sun is sinking as I finish the last few miles.  It’s kind of cool to get to see sunrise and sunset on the same day from my bicycle.