A Different Bike Commute.

Sorry the posts have been a bit lite this week.  There has been a lot of activity with NAB meetings (Neighborhood association board) with bicycle based themes and it's been tying up my spare time.  Today its all in the past and I decided it was time for something new, so I picked a commute route I rarely ride.

It started with riding the wrong way (as in away from my destination) so I could take a detour through Rancho San Rafael Park.  In all honesty, it's only about a 1/4 mile detour from my house.  How do you say no to a road with no traffic, grape vines, and gorgeous sunshine!

From here I empty out on to Sierra St.  Recently the recipient of multiple blinky cross walks for pedestrians and awaiting a October remake as a complete street (road diet).  And boy oh boy does it need it.  This is not a safe street to ride (which is amazing since it's serves as a primary road for UNR). 

Yes, this one is from yesterday when I did a little recon drive.

The next few are via my ride this morning.

As you can see any extra room is pretty much used for parking.  The current lane dimensions don't allow for cars to move over very far to pass a cyclist.  And lord knows they aren't going to hit the brakes to wait and pass safely!

After a nice 38 mph coast down the hill I hung a left onto 2nd street / East Glendale and took it all the way out to Rock Blvd.  There's no designated bicycle facilities on this route but it's fairly wide and not too uncomfortable to ride.  The worst part is all the traffic lights.  I've ridden and driven this section before and there is no way to time the lights on a bike or in a car.  Fortunately, this does keep the traffic count light!  Here's a few pics along the way.

Comm Row climbing wall....totally cool!

In one of the little hotel type parking lots someone has a pretty cool urban garden.

The cursed lights that make this a no optimal commute route!

It really does make it more interesting to change up your route.  So if you have a little extra time try exploring a new path and see where it takes you!