The Commute

So I accomplished something very special this week. I biked to work and back an entire work week! 19 miles both ways puts me at 38 miles a day in approximately 2hrs 15min, unless I take a deviation on my way home. I did the math on the gas savings and it comes out 27 dollars a week with gas at $4.15 a gallon. Woohoo! That buys me and Mitch a celebration dinner tonight! In a way, it almost feels like I’m getting paid to ride my bike.
It’s a great route too. It’s mostly all rail trails. I start out bright and early at 6AM as our neighborhood connects right to the Polly-Anne trail for the first couple miles. From there I take back roads down to Lake Orion where I pick up the Paint Creek trail which takes me on a scenic route all the way to Rochester. There’s a nice little connector trail which leads behind the library and over to the Clinton River trail. I head West for another few miles and the trail drops me off just a few hundred yards from my work front door.
I’ve discovered there’s a whole sub-culture of bike commuters around here and I’ve run into a few old friends. Just this morning I ran into a friend that I used to work with when I was at Chrysler.
With no showers, baby wipes and Right Guard have become very useful, and I’m sure everyone here at the office appreciates it too. Every minute of the commute is worth it though. I highly recommend bike commuting for anyone looking to save time, or money on gas. It’s a very rewarding experience.