Almost exactly one year ago, I started bicycling to work thanks to VanCity and its Bike Share program. Now I bicycle to work 3-5 times a week rain or shine and am a small 'e' bicycling enthusiast. Really if you are reasonably fit and live and work within in the city of Vancouver there's no reason NOT to cycle to work.
More reflections later, but here's my bicycle route that I took today to go to the BEST Pancake Breakfast.
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So here's part of my East Van to Gastown commute from yesterday (I would have done the whole thing but I accidentally forgot to turn the recording on).
You know how people exaggerate the olden days by saying they had to walk to school uphill both ways? Well my biking commute is almost like that: on the way to work it's downhill most of the way save for an uphill climb at Lakewood Drive, where on the way back it's uphill approaching Commercial, then downhill after Renfrew and then back uphill, then, saving the worst for last, a steep uphill climb at Boundary and Union in Burnaby. Like Roland, I drew my bike route on Google Maps, but I drew both my to and from work routes. (To work is in red, from work is in blue.) According to Google Calculator, my commute to work is 10.8 KM, and 8.5 KM back home. (I typed in "6.71 miles in kilometers" and "5.31 miles in kilometers" and rounded off the answers.) Because there are more hills on the shorter route, both directions take about the same time, from 45 minutes to an hour each. Two Google maps after the break.
