30 Days of Biking Day 27: Work Smarter, Not Harder

This morning marked a milestone of sorts. For the first time since I can remember, I commuted via bicycle TWO days in a row:

And unlike yesterday morning, I actually made it to the bus stop on time! Having accomplished this commute with and without the bus multiple times, I've found that the morning commute is much better with the bus, for several reasons.

The ride into Columbus requires me to ride a short distance in a lane of traffic that eventually turns into an on-ramp for I-270 (known around here as the Outerbelt). There's no shoulder on this stretch, so there's no choice but to ride in the lane. No matter what I do, there's always someone who refuses to pass me even if I pull as far to the right as possible. Usually when I run out of space and have to signal that I'm cutting left, they then honk at me and give me the finger. Taking the bus helps me avoid this stretch. Not to mention, it shaves about 2.5 miles off my actual riding distance (the timing works out about equal though). I'm usually all about riding as many miles as possible, but conserving energy is important too. Work smarter, not harder, right?

Additionally, the morning bus schedule is far more predictable, because it hasn't had to compete with downtown traffic to get to my stop. The afternoon bus is almost never on time. As such, I've recently started riding the whole ride home, about 7 miles or so. The on-ramp issue I mentioned above isn't a problem on the way back, and the roads I travel have either a very wide berm or a multi-use path for most of my route. That, or they're just very sparsely traveled:

This may seem counterintuitive, but I find that I actually have more energy throughout my day when I commute via bicycle, and now that I've done it two days in a row, I'm reminded of why I enjoy it so much even on the toughest of days. Here's hoping I can make it three in a row tomorrow, and four on Friday. Only three more days left in 30 Days of Biking!