(I actually wrote this entry last Monday, but somehow never posted…so here it is at the other end of the week)

I have the day off from work today so I took the opportunity to get out for a ride on the fixie.

I wanted to test out a new route for commuting to the office that Marcella and I discovered yesterday. It seems that some new construction has connected one neighborhood road through to the next where before it simply ended. The new route allows me to bypass Mackay Road, which I consider to be the most dangerous stretch of road I have to ride going to work. It also shortens the distance I have to ride on Guilford College Road too.

So, the test went well. All in all I think the new route actually trims a tenth of a mile or so off the overall distance to the office. The one thing there seems to be no way around is that it is simply a hilly ride no matter which route I take. It’s been a while since I’ve done the ride over to the office and I was shocked at how demanding I found it. If I start riding that route again regularly, which I really should do, then I’ll get back into shape pretty quickly.

At the end of things the round trip was a little over nine miles and a little over 42 minutes. Divide those numbers in half and you’ve got the one way leg of a commute to work. Not too bad, I think. And of course, with a regular schedule I believe I can trim a little bit of time from the ride, although I’m not necessarily looking to have an intense workout ride on the way into the office in the morning. It would be nice to be able to get there without needing a shower upon arrival.