A "New" Route to Work!

Weather: Partly Cloudy, 45°F, 68% Humidity, Wind: SSW @ 9 mph; feels like 40°F.
To School: 15.9 miles in 1:09:42 min. @ 5:45 a.m.
Pace: 4:23 min/mi
Course: A combination of city streets, canal trail and very busy "suburban" roads.

My stepson has his final regular season home modified track and field meet today after school, which means it will be starting at roughly 4:00 p.m. In order for me to attend and ride my bicycle to work, I need to take a more round-a-bout course, first going South, in order to pick up the Erie Canal Trail, then North west, in the direction of my job. This was actually the original course I had considered when desiring to ride my bicycle to work, but I found that the more direct route, straight through the city, was not only easier, but also much shorter (11 miles compared to nearly 16).

I had previously ridden or run a significant portion of this course at one time or another, so while it was not an entirely new experience, it was a unique one for me to put them all together. The "mileage/time-travelled" break down goes something like this:

From home to the Clinton Ave. access trail for the Erie Canal Trailway: 2.7 miles (14 min.)

The Erie Canal Trailway from Clinton Ave. to the Long Pond Rd. access: 8.6 miles (36 min.)

The Long Pond Rd. exit of the Erie Canal Trail to school: 4.6 miles (19 min.)

TOTAL Miles (one way): 15.9 miles (WHEW!)

I may be off-base, but the portion of the ride which was on the canal seemed primarily uphill, while the segment from the canal to work was mainly downhill, and travelled mostly on the sidewalks. Traffic on this section of the course will be MUCH heavier for the ride home as this is one of the main traffic veins in the area... so, it's a good thing I was able to get a sense of both the sidewalks and the potential high(er) traffic areas.

For the first time ever, I also locked my bicycle outside on the student bike rack. I have been bringing it up to my classroom via the elevator the past few times, but in the interest of time, I took a chance and hope to avoid a punctured tire or worse. Many of the bicycles on the rack were nicer and more desirable than mine, but you never know when some knucklehead with a pen or nail will try something silly, I suppose... but I'm relatively sure everything will be "okay."

Weather: Sunny, 73°F, 54% Humidity, Wind: NW @ 5 mph; feels like 73°F.
To School: 15.9 miles in 1:10:31 min. @ 2:50 p.m.
Pace: 4:17 min/mi

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!