dalmore

15 miles of good ole American suburban sprawl ... It's pretty easy traffic wise. Three really busy streets to cross wth lights. One so-so busy street again with a light. And a climb and descent on a 45 mph 4 or 6 laner where everyone goes 60+ which is suprisingly uneventful. Perhaps because visibility is great there. In a few spots I have to worry about cars pulling out of parking lots. Those are the areas that scare me.

rando

my commute is pretty trouble-free, 5-6 miles each way and all residential streets, except for one section along a busy 6-lane 45 mph arterial where I use the wide and deserted sidewalk for about a half a mile. OR if I want I ride the sidewalks almost all the way along that arterial, I rarely encounter any pedestrians, and it's a little faster. either way, very little traffic.

I-Like-To-Bike

24 miles R/T; 10 months of the year the morning ride is total darkness except for headlights. !2 miles in town -easy. 12 miles on a 4 lane 55 mph road with 10' wide lanes and no rideable shoulder. Traffic is always present and is never slowed down by the two intersections. There is no alternate route.

My current cycling environment very much affects my commuting style as far as additional lighting; otherwise my bike commuting style remains the same as it has been since 1971 from several homes in the East, Midwest and Western U.S. as well as two different locations in Germany.

slvoid

Eboo

w00t! I'm going to be trying that when I visit my friends next month. Curious...do you also brave that in the winter?

rajman

All urban - my last commute was 7.5 km (about 5 mi). Lotsa cars, a few trucks. Most of the way the streets are 40 kph (about 25 mph) with one lane of traffic each way and a more or less solid line of parked cars. On parts there is a bike lane, and on parts there is not.

The biggest problem is potholes, debris, and trucks buzzing me.

chephy

Right now it's all urban, 9 km one way. The amount of traffic varies depending on the routes I take.

I take lots of routes to and from my workplace (all about equal length): at least 4 major variations and a lot more minor ones. One of those variations is pretty long but almost completely on bike paths, some on residential streets and very little on pretty manageable arterials. Another variation takes me through some busy multilane roads (although none of them have too high a speed limit: after all it's all pretty much downtown). Yet another route takes me through some major but bike-laned streets. Hence the amount of traffic I have to deal with varies depending on which way I decide to go, and that depends on whether I want speed or some peace 'n quiet, and whether I have any errands to run or places to go on the bike.

In general, traffic is not so bad. It is much more pleasant than my commute of the past to the Toronto 'burbs: there was basically one route there unless I really wanted some extra distance, and there were a couple of fairly stressful stretches. Heck, if I want, I can make my present commute virtually traffic-free, although that would make it rather long (due to a bit of extra distance and unpaved trail surfaces).

And what is the style?

Artkansas 

2.5 miles, half residential streets, half narrow heavy traffic streets. But my hours are irregular, so sometimes there is no traffic at all.

slvoid

Sure, why not?

ft_critical

My commute is 15km each way on MUP. Traffic is peds, other bikers, joggers and the possum I ran over two weeks ago. I have seen a few “passing” accidents; bikes passing bikes and causing head-on accidents. For my part I have, as I said, run over a possum - it had two choices run left to certain freedom or right to certain..., well maiming. Who knows what Possums think, but it was unavoidable at 37kph. I hit a mother and daughter around a blind corner. It was more a brushing contact than a bruising contact. Scared them and me witless. I do have a bit of an issue with the Ninja joggers who use the MUP. We have to be lit up like Christmas but joggers, dogs and peds – running in the shadows and dressing in black with black ski masks is de rigueur. I nearly hit two joggers who ran straight out of the bushes on a steep downhill section without looking and then took up both lanes by running side by side. My discs were wet and I couldn’t pull up. I screamed at them and they finally got out of the way at the last minute. They gave me some abuse, so I stopped and we had a non-heated exchange on the etiquette of the MUP. The funny part was that the doppier of the two joggers tripped over my bike as they set off again and fell flat on his face.

I kind of trivialise it; but actually because of the dim lighting, bush land verges, the speeds achievable on a bike, congestion during “commuter rush-hour” and lax laws on lighting non-bikers, it is actually pretty dangerous. More dangerous than the roads I venture. I guess I will probably get some contra-opinion on the last remark though….

FYI – recently 2000 commuters a day (summer sampling) using this MUP during the morning rush.

enginerd

My commute is about 8 miles one way and has 3 sections to it. The first 3 miles or so are residential. The next 3 miles or so are on a 2-lane, 35mph section with dedicated bike lane parts of the way and shared lane part of the way. The last stretch is off onto the shoulder of a 45 mph 2-lane where trucks and buses are often passing at much faster than that.

That being said, this commute is quite comfortable on a road bike. One weekend, I tried doing my wife's commute into the city on my road bike and the road conditions kinda suck for a lot of it so her moutain bike w/road slicks seems well suited to her commute.

chephy

Tsk, tsk, tsk! But seriously - it's crazy to go fast around blind corners.

I don't know if it's more dangerous per se, but probably a lot more unpleasant than a lot of roads.

Holy *&!%#, man! I'd drive before using that MUP!

capejohn

Mine is documented with photos HERE

capejohn

That building looks like a flat iron. Does it have a name?

SaabFan

It is "the" Flatiron building (aka the Fuller building). Designed by Daniel H. Burnham. At the intersections of 5th Ave, Broadway, and 22nd. Probably the oldest remaining skyscraper in the city.

SaabFan

John, that's a very nice photo essay of your commute. My firm has an office on the cape - it's hard for us to retain new recruits there, since a lot of them try to live down by Boston (for the social aspect) and drive out every day which is, of course, a pain.

Eboo

I suppose it's safer, in a way. In case you inadvertently bump a ped, they'll be all nice and bundled up because of the snow/cold. Not that I'm suggesting you hit peds...I'll stop digging my hole now.

I want to try to commute in the snow this winter in Buffalo, but I think I might need to get some chains for my tires and strap a bag of sand to my rack

SaabFan

Considering I have a hard time making it to work in an AWD vehicle at least a couple times a month once the snow flies, I'm going to hang my bike up for most of the winter.

MKO117

5 miles each way, urban. I stay off the main roads and use side streets. Makes my commute a little longer this way, but much safer.

cooperwx

5.5 miles: 2.5 on a 2-lane, 45 mph US route; 2 on a 4-lane, 35mph arterial; and 1 25 mph 2-lane residential with street-side parking.

Not busy in the morning (~7am), but the 45 mph 2-laner sucks in the afternoon (~4pm) as cars filter past me (no shoulders). Often I add 1.5 miles and a few hills by going through a neighborhood instead. Not the fastest way but I feel safer.

tsl

Mine starts curb-to-curb, bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go for a few blocks, then I dive left down a street that's mostly retail and restaurants. Turn right for more heavy traffic across an expressway junction, left through a park, then right and uphill on a nice suburban thoroughfare with a bike line (that disppears for turning lanes at intersections). Ending up next to a high school with new drivers showing-off, and SUV moms, (on the phone, with a latte) dropping off the kiddies so their $200 sneakers don't get dirty.

Five miles, four turns, 19 stoplights or stop signs, 14.5 avg mph on the cyclometer.

I've learned where I can safely filter, and where I shouldn't, and where to be assertive in taking the lane. I've learned the worst drivers as far as sharing the lane are school buses. Interestingly, the best are city transit buses.

In 4.5 months: Two honks, two finger salutes, and one "Get on the sidewalk." Too numerous to count are those who wait and wave me through a left, or wait to let me pass before they join the fray.

indianatrails

Just a handful of cars for 30 miles in between 2x3 miles of light urban traffic. Lots of critters on the AM ride but mostly just corn, beans, chip n seal & big sky.

Yep, 72 miles RT -- but 'til my kids are bored with me, I'm doing a carAM-bikePM-bikeAM-carPM pattern...

jyossarian

CigTech

I have a 34 mile a day commute. it's 17 miles of non stop 50 to 60 mph traffic on 4 roads. I do use drop bars for speed. and most of the time the cars give me right of way.

mortytheclown

I ride 14 miles to work and my route takes me through 4 towns. First is 5 miles down the main drag, but traffic is light and it feels like I'm in some post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick where most of the population has vanshed. This is my favorite part =). Then 3 miles along a frontage road through a planned community. Traffic is light, but the freeway is 20ft away and folks like to stand on the gas pedal. Last bit is through a small (really small) town and onto an old 2- lane highway that drivers fly through (50-60mph). This part's fun too but I'm afraid if I concentrate on speed, I'll be a bug on a windshield in no time; I take it easy. I come into the business park where I work, and everyone is rushing to get to their cubes, so I'm extra careful. I get the feeling they'd plow right over me without a thought, just as long as they're not late.

There are other routes that feature less stops, but this is most direct, and I have either a dedicated lane or a path to ride on. Not to mention almost totally flat, where the other routes are along foothills the entire way.