I've been commuting to a new job since late 2010, so it's high time I update my commuting route and associated travails. I now bike from my house in Tenleytown to one of several northbound red-line Metro stops. That's the short leg of the commute. Then I bike from Shady Grove Metro to my office, just about dead-on 5 miles. That's the lovely* bike lane shown above. My wife, upon seeing it for the first time when she drove me to work one day, was duly impressed with my obvious safety, the white line surely a clear demarcation point for out-of-control texting motorists.
Nonetheless I have pretty much adventureless commutes on this section, except when the DOT decides to put those orange barricade thingies directly in the bike lane, and I have to ride around them, which entails riding left, as there is no curb, and into a traffic lane.
Once the bike lane summarily ends (a common feature of bike lanes) I have the option of continuing on the road (after hopping into traffic/dodging right turning cars, since the bike lane was continued, up to its terminus, to the RIGHT of a right-turn bay), or hopping onto a sidepath. I do often take the sidepath as there are never more than 2 bikes on it (including me) and no more than one arm-swinging morning walker. It's actually a bit of a pastoral section of road, with some sort of county-run (?) orchard, so there is the rare greenspace, complete with the occasional buzzard overhead, and dead, decaying goose on the path itself (preceded by enough goose-poop to fertilize said orchard).
Then it's into the industrial park itself, complete with moving van companies, and soon-to-be second tattoo parlor. It's an interesting place to work as there is an airfield nearby, so I get three parts flat-bed trucks and one part Corvettes and other super cars owned by those who can afford planes.
So that's my commute!
*Inasmuch as any bike lane can be considered lovely.
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