A new way home
I’ve lived in the same neighborhood for almost 10 years and have been working on the same campus for 12 years.I thought I had explored all of the good options for my bike commute home.
On Tuesday I was heading towards the intersection of 140th and 40th where I always turn right and thought “let’s see if the dead end street ahead is really a dead end”. I climbed a short but steep hill and saw a sign telling me that there were no options forward but three driveways. I kept going and found a little side path between two houses and out to 134th.
It was a nice way home for a muddy day when my favorite route is a bit slick. I won’t ride it every day, but I’ll probably ride it a couple of times a month.
Having lots of options keeps my daily commute fresh. My mixed-modal commute gives me lots of options, from taking the bus the whole way to a 25 mile ride over I90 or the Burke Gilman Trail. This new route is another variation on my favorite — roughly7 miles of riding followed by a 10 minute bus ride and another 3 miles of riding. I tried to count my commute routes yesterday, but realized that there are dozens or hundreds of variations that I take depending on my mood, the weather, traffic, and the season. Lots of bus, no bus, or some bus. Lots of dirt, no dirt, or just a short dirt cut through like this one. Going home via shopping to pick up groceries for dinner or riding home through old residential neighborhoods and enjoying the well landscaped yards. Every day is new.
How do you keep your commute fresh?
So that’’s heading west on NE 40th? Hunh, who knew? Is it doable on 23mm road tires?
(–Maarten the BBTC webgrump)
Yup, it should be okay on 23s. If it isn”t the dirt/mud part is only about 200” long and would talk almost no time to walk. There is nothing technical about it.
I”m kind of a sucker for the direct-est route. Between Crown Hill (home) and 1st ave south (work) I usually shoot down 15th/Ballard bridge/dravus/Elliot bay trail/Alaskan way/Spokane/first ave.
But, going home (uphill) it’’s nice to cut through the neighborhoods, and I have a fascination with alleys and the stuff people keep in their backyars (lots of cool project cars, an airplane, etc). On a casual day, crossing the locks is lots of fun, and there’’s a great ice-cream shop up on 32nd NW and something like 75th.
Last weekend Emily and I rode to Edmonds and back for crepes, and there were a bunch of “no outlet” type roads that I need to go back and investigate.
I like wandering the alleys too. I started doing it more last year when I was trying to find free scrap metal for practice brazing. There is a lot of useful “trash” out there just waiting to be found.
One of my Rollo bikes came from a trash pile in an alley!
I have a variety of routes depending on the weather or my mood, etc. It is a great way to keep things fresh!
We”re blessed with a lot of great alleys…for me, it is a good place to “liberate” plants for my various landscaping projects. I figure if such plants have grown past someone’’s property line and into the alley, they”re fair game. I”ve gotten bamboo, a number of different bromeliads, succulents and cacti and a couple flowering wandering lilies this way.
I”ve never found a decent bike, though — seems like everyone has a good “found bike” story but me!
Ghostrider,
Stop looking, and the bike will find you.