Re-Routing

You guys, I just fixed almost everything that frustrated me about my work commute by changing my route just a little bit.

1. It's a full half-mile shorter, because it's more direct (less meandering). 
2. There's a bike lane for part of my ride now! A real, on-street, clean-and-smooth bike lane!
3. I LOVE REAL BIKE LANES.
4. Not as fond of sharrows.
5. Especially when the sharrows are in the door zone.
6. Or worse, in the parking lane.
7. We need more bike lanes.
8. Though it is FAR from perfect, the .6 miles of sidewalk on the busiest street is preferable to having cars zip around me at 35+ mph. 
9.  And by far from perfect, I mean:
• The sidewalk is about two feet wide.
• There are pedestrians, including pedestrians with dogs on the sidewalk.
• They (pedestrians) are going both directions.
• On this tiny sidewalk.
• Because I'm polite and practical, I dismount and let them pass.
• When there aren't pedestrians, there are telephone poles. 
• Telephone poles smack dab in the middle of the two-foot-wide sidewalk.
• And a street sign for work that isn't being done.
• Blocking. the. entire. friggin'. sidewalk.
10. My new route has much fewer crazy hills. 
11. This is life-changing.
12. For the first time since I have started biking to work (I've biked to work about 7-8 times now? Not enough, because it was too easy to talk myself out of a commute I wasn't enjoying), I'm ecstatic, have full-on "bikey face", and can't wait to ride to work more often. 

I consider this a MAJOR coup.

In bike event news, the Arch Women's last brown-bag luncheon for 2013 is next Wednesday, October 16, 2013 from 12-1pm at the Railway Exchange Building on the 12th floor in the lobby. Topic: bike laws! No luncheons in November and December in anticipation of the crazy holiday season. For specifics, click here!

Scenes from my ride in this morning:

Bike Lane! Yay!

Quiet side-streets.

Bike Path.

Sharrow!

Streets of downtown Clayton, MO.

Totally sweaty and gross, right? Nah.