Tell me about your commute.
 

Not just the length. What do you do? Where is your mind? Do you listen to the radio? Do you make a stop along the way? Do you carpool, take kids to school, drop off a spouse? Do you pick up hitchhikers? Or hitchhike? Do you walk? Bus? Drive? Take a ferry? Are you thinking about work or football? Do you curse at other commuters? How's the traffic? What landmarks do you see? Do you eat or drink along the way?

I walk to work 95 percent of the time. Occasionally I'll take a bus or drive if I have something going on at work. It's 1.85 miles each way and I walk slow, so it's about 35 minutes. Occasionally I'll listen to my iPod, and sometimes I use the time to call my parents or my sister.

On the way in, I'm thinking a lot about work and how I'll organize my day, and on the way home I'm usually thinking about random things. I walk a generally different route each day because the streets are a grid, so I randomly walk up streets depending on how I hit the stop lights. It's a relatively busy urban area, so I have to keep an eye out for traffic a lot.

I have three phases of my walk. First, there's a residential neighborhood (8 to 15 blocks, depending on route) that tends to be young and safe. It's mostly old circa-1900 houses that have been converted to apartments or 30-unit brick apartments that went up in the 60s or later. It's the most densely populated neighborhood in Colorado. Second, there's a commercial/park area (4 to 15 blocks, depending on route) where you have some low-rent people wandering around looking suspicious, but who are generally harmless unless their drug deal goes bad. Third, there's the downtown area (maybe a dozen blocks) which is a lot of tourists and office workers and is reasonably upscale. The downtown area is pedestrian only on the main drag and has lots of walkers, though cars cross it at each intersection.

I walk by the state capitol every day, often cutting across the parking lot, and I see the big scrolling LED light of the newspaper building that tells me today's news headlines. There's a really big fountain and some really small fountains that I walk by in the summer, all in the downtown part, and the pedestrian area is lined with trees that get lots of Christmas lights this time of year. I also walk by the tallest building in Colorado, which apparently has 56 floors, and sometimes by the main cathedral of Colorado. The cathedral has two spires, one of which got hit by lightning a few years back and fell onto the busy street, miraculously not killing anyone, but if you look close you can now see where one of the spires is a slightly different color of stone.

In good weather there's a beggar guy who hangs out outside the door to my office building and he rattles his cup of change at me. We think he likes our office building because it gets a lot of traffic from the five story health club at the top. I also have to dodge people selling the "homeless newspaper" on at least two corners that I pass, and the occasional mobile panhandler. My office is in the convention part of downtown with the convention center and several massive hotels, so I also see lots of convention-goers with their little name tag necklace thingies.

In the morning, the restaurants are all closed, but in the evening they're open. In good weather several of them have outside seating so I get to see what they're all ordering. I also walk by the Hard Rock Cafe, which pipes classic rock out onto the pedestrian mall.

I never eat or drink on my commute. Maybe once every couple of months I'll buy a bagel on my way in (cranberry, no cream cheese, not sliced, not toasted, just give it to me out of the basket, please) at a bagel shop a couple of blocks from my house.

That's my commute. Tell me about yours.

I'm usually a zombie driving into working; thinking "Man...I can't wait until 4:30"

I have to drive downtown every morning. I drink coffee and smoke a couple of cigarettes on the way, and listen to Mike & Mike in between cussing at other drivers.

1 mile, 4 minutes, 5am, 2 stoplights, maybe 2 other cars I see, dark

Takes me about 10 minutes to drive to work and I listen to sports radio on the way there and back. No stops, no hitchhikers, no coffee, no cigarettes. I take my breakfast to work and eat it at my desk.

Mine is .7 of a mile. :D

Most of my thoughts lately, are about whether the seat belt buzzer will drive me nuts, or should I go ahead and fasten it.

Usually it is not an issue, but my right rotator cuff is torn, so it causes some pain.

Mine is zero. I work out of the house. My favorite though was when I lived in DC and commuted to VA. Every day I saw the Capitol, the Lincoln Monument, drive in front of the Watergate, past Georgetown, in front of Arlington and by the Pentagon. Every angle you would look at would be scenic.
Then I lived like 2 blocks from the National Cathedral and could see it as I walked to my building.

A lot of hippies and sister-wives. They all wear jean-dresses and southwest print shirts.

We like kool-aid and peyote.

Oh wait, I thought it said "Commune" not "Commute."
Sorry.

6 miles to work takes 10 minutes. One stoplight to contend with. I don't drink coffee or smoke so I just listen to Bob and Tom laughing most of the way to work.

I once had to commute from Lawrence to KC for about 2 months, was the worst.

you smoke on top of the massive amounts of alcohol you drink? :eek:

55 miles, exactly an hour, have to leave at 5:45 am. I work in the middle of a railyard, though, so the last 1000 feet of my commute can take up to half an hour waiting for trains to clear the crossings. I just listen to the radio the entire way.

I did that for like a year. You get used to it and it's not like K10 has heavy traffic. The way to KC in the morning was a good way to get yourself mentally ready for work. The way back kind of sucked because you just wanted to get home already. I smoked back then, so I would have 2 cigarettes on the way there (one as soon as I got into my car and the 2nd when I rolled into KC), kind of gross thinking back upon it.

I'm more comvocal
Doesn't work any better as a verbal joke either

I try to walk into work, which is about 25 minute walk. It's residential though, and there really aren't many different possible routes. One way is on the super busy road, the other way is quite a bit longer and alot more up-and-down.

Walk into work is some of my most productive work time.

Walk home.. I just want to get home to kick off my shoes and pop a cool one.

drive 20 to work. all is either county rock, or state blacktop. traffic is mostly deer, quail, phesant and amish buggy. driving home from work is often longer, because i like to take more county rock roads to look for wildlife and kind of unwind.

in the morning, i stop once every couple days to pick up a can of chew. in the evening i stop every once every couple days to pick up some beer to take home. both ways, i start listening to sports talk radio(kc or stl) until i get pissed, then plug in a cd.

going to work, i think about how much crap i'll have to deal w/that day. going home, i think about how much crap i had to deal w/that day.

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I leave for work at around 4:45 am so it's dark half the year. I only have 13 miles one way, so there isn't much time to do anything but listen to a couple of songs on the iPod as I scan for deer.

If I end up running late, I get caught up in the 6AM morons, which can be entertaining and frustrating.

I drop my son off at daycare in the mornings. Before kids, I liked to get into work at 7 to give me an hour of productive time before the phone started ringing. Unfortunately, his daycare doesn't open until 7, so I'm typically there in the drive waiting when they unlock the doors. They love that.

I listen to the Border Patrol in the morning. Fescoe is an asshat, so if the BP goes to commercial, I'll switch over to my iPod. Due to the programming, I tend to think a lot about sports on the drive. My mind only drifts to work if I have an important meeting or obligation that day.

The whole process takes me about 30 minutes to go 10 miles (including the drop off). Not terrible and I don't have to deal with the highways. My entire drive is a vista of suburban Johnson County. Neighborhoods, strip malls and the like. The route I take frequently has runners on it, which can lead to some early morning ogling of runner chicks.

About once a month in the summer time, I'll drive my car to the daycare, and then take my bike the rest of the way into work (~9 miles). I'd love to do it more often, but I'm in construction, so I'm constantly having to go places in the middle of the day. I have to wait for days when I don't have meetings, and those tend to be pretty few and far between.

About once a week I'll stop at Starbucks or Latteland for coffee. It's a habit I'd like to break. I get pretty foo-foo stuff, and it's hard on the waistline and the wallet.

Since my daughter was born (September) I've also been in charge of the afternoon pick-up at daycare. Very similar to the morning drive in length and duration. I typically listen to Nick Wright, switching to KK when Wright breaks. If they both are on break (happens a lot) I go to the iPod.

It's a 7-10 minute drive by highway or ~12 minutes otherwise. I decide on which one each morning I drive over the highway and look at the traffic. Either way, I spend those minutes listening to music and yelling at people to speed up or get out of the freakin' fast lane.

Before that, my commute was 0.5 mile, which was wonderful, and before that I telecommuted for about a year. I don't know how people drive 30+ minutes each way, unless there's no traffic... I drive across town quite a bit, but I don't have the patience for a commute like OP to downtown, especially in bad weather (and bad weather to KC drivers can mean sprinkles, snow flurries, a wet road 3 days after it snowed, dark clouds in the area...).

a block and a half, no stops. takes about a minute. if im driving slow.

hell i dont even scrape off my windshield i just hang my head out of the window.

LMAO Nice, that sounds like an enjoyable drive. What kind of chew? I tried that once and it triggered my gag reflex.

Word. 1/4" of snow this week and cars were sliding around like curling stones. We don't live in Arizona people. It does this every year.

cope long cut...nasty habit. you're lucky.
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30 Minutes, early in the morning, off early afternoon. If I'm lucky, smoking a j on the way home makes everything just right..................
Don't even get pissed at other drivers

Takes 20-25 minutes to get across town especially since they've had construction on my route the last two years and its still not done. I usually listen to the radio but we only have three music stations worth a crap that is down to two right now because the other plays Christmas music all November and December. I'll also listen to the ESPN network here in town but not on the ride home because they usually have hs sports or ISU. I used to have to walk four blocks from my parking garage but have one now that is only a block away. I didn't mind when the weather was better, but when its gets below 20 with high winds and snow...

You drive a block and a half? Is there some sort of cheetah preserve between you and work?

he probably pays himself mileage.
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20 minute walk through downtown. Take different routes, try different coffee shops. Highlight of workday.

Work is 41 miles one way. 3 miles gravel, 3 miles blacktop, 35 miles interstate. Then about 1/4 mile to the parking lot.

On the way down in the morning I listen to one specific old rock radio station. Mainly because the two DJ's are funny.

Everyday on the way home I crack the window and smoke a Blackstone Cherry cigar and listen to my mp3 that's loaded with a conglomerate of songs I've liked over the years.

Been doing that drive for 15 years. Don't mind it a bit except for bad weather in the winter.

10-15 minutes each way depending on traffic.

I usually leave while it's still dark outside. I open the garage door and the deer scatter this time of year. They love my red oak's acorns.

The first couple of miles are pleasant since it's semi-rural with a golf course along the way. Sometimes I'll stop at what has to be the cleanest gas station ever. It's run by an Indian gentleman and has fresh donuts from the neighboring donut shop and a killer coffee bar. They also sell 32 ounce fountain drinks for 49 cents. Did I mention he keeps the place spotless?

Once I hit the highway I listen to sports talk radio. The only other interesting thing (since my exit is an industrial area) is seeing what beer trucks are at the beer distributorship. Some of the small breweries have cool artwork on their trucks.

The drive home is just that. Trying to get home unless I have errands to run.

How much gas have you saved and how many calories have you burned over the years, Rain Man?

I can make it from my front door to my office chair in 1-2 minutes.


I drive because it would be inconvenient for business reasons to be on foot and I do travel.

70 miles round trip.
Takes anywhere from 45 to 60 mins each way.
Some days I spend two hours driving back and forth to work.
Suck
O
Rama.

It takes three minutes by car.
/I need to get a bike

C to the L

6-7 miles about 3 blocks thru the neighborhood the rest city streets and 4 stoplights. Pass the refinery, underneath the railroad bridge then thru a commercial district past the dump, then turn at industrial gas station. Listening to the local morning show on the classic rock station.

Depends on which office Bob Dole is going to first. Old office, it's 6-7 minutes, unless they park a train across the road. New office, it's 25-30 minutes, unless Bob Dole goes in at 7am, in which case it's more like 12.

Drive primarily consists of dodging and cussing idiot drivers.

3.5 miles to work...listen to NFL radio for that 10 minutes. On the way home in the winter I lament the fact that I don't get heat until I'm almost home. Two days a week I work from home and much prefer that commute.

I work evenings, so traffic is pretty much a non issue either way.

Well Rainman ol Pal...

I usually head out about 745pm in my 1994 Mazda B2300 with 198k on the speedometer. Have about 4 different routes to take that vary from 21 miles to 28 miles one way. The long way is the fastest way and is all highway.

On my way to work I can't listen to the radio because it is a base model truck and has nothing on it basically but a heater, a radio has never been installed. When i stop at lights, I usually update the gasbuddy app on my phone. Sometimes I talk to friends on the way.

I took an easier job on my last bid so I only work about 4.5 hours a night but I could work more at anytime if I wanted but I usually pass that work off on the newbies.

I usually get back in that truck about 130 am and take the short route back home because there is no traffic... Come in the house about 2, dog meets me yawning at the door for his treat every night... Switch out of the uniform, put on a pair of gym shorts, kiss the wife and listen to the rest of Phil Hendrie on the radio. Then about 4 am I am off to bed and I usually sleep 6-7 hours.

That's my boring commute and life.

My drive is a little over 3 miles and about 10-15 minutes. Sometimes I drop off my son at school on the way. I usually listen to sports talk radio or a national news show on the way there.

On the way home, it is a bit longer commute on the days I have to pick up my daughter from grandma and grandpa's house. Some days, however, they drop her off at home before I get off work. Most days I listen to sports talk or Hannity. If there's nothing interesting going on in those 2 worlds, I listen to my Zune.

Traffic is not terrible, but it isn't pleasant either. I find that even leaving the house 5 minutes earlier in the morning means lighter traffic. I do find myself cussing at other drivers occasionally. What can I say? Too many people are crappy drivers.

Oh, and in the spring, summer, and fall I typically don't drop off any kids before work or pick up any on the way home because I like to ride the motorcycle.

You have made it part of your life. My neighbor lady did that.

She took the train downtown every day for 30+ years.

I tried to hire her here a few years ago, but she had made it part of her life and did not want to give it up. She had a circle of friends on there, plus it was her reading time etc. It gave me the hives just thinking about it, but she loved it.

About a 30 mile drive, that takes right at 40 minutes. Listen to XM7 (70s music), most of the time. Takes a little longer to get home, because there's more traffic.

I live in a small town, barely 5 miles from one side to the other, so my commute is short.
Only hiccup in the routine is on the days like today when MiniRadar doesn’t have school and I have to drive him to the in-laws farm which is about 7 miles south of town.

I drive to the next town to work but I never remember any of it. Occasionally I wake up enough to notice a cow or a chicken near the road. Sometimes a human body. I don't know. It's pretty dark. I try not to think about it.

You know, this thread is pretty damn insensitive to the feelings of those of us who have been laid off. I'm offended!

My commute can be divided into three parts, which vary slightly depending on what bus I catch:

1. Leave home and drive about 2.5 miles to the Park n Ride. It's your typical drive through suburbia, and takes 7-10 minutes depending on whether school's in session. I typically listen to NPR or try and catch the news on my normal music station if the timing's right.
2. Hop on a bus to downtown. I pretty much zone out to the world on the bus and either read a book, catch up on blogs on my phone, or check in with the happenings on ChiefsPlanet. Bus ride's about 15 minutes.
3. Get from the bus to the office. Depending on which bus I catch, I then either take the shuttle on the 16th Street Mall down to the office, or I walk about 3 blocks. Either way, it takes about 5 minutes. If I'm on the shuttle, whatever activity I started on the bus typically continues. If I'm walking, I usually think about whatever will be waiting for me once I hit the office.

That's about it. If I catch the buses right, it's about a 30 minute commute, but I only drive 10 minutes of it, so it's a pretty pleasant commute most of the time.

My commute takes roughly about an hour.

The first 15-20 minutes is spent driving from my house to the daycare facility. I then spend another 10-15 minutes dropping my kids off and getting them situated. Then another 15-20 minutes driving to work.

I hop in my yellow Ford F-150 usually by 8:30. I'm not a morning person, but I don't like to arrive after 9:00. I eat my Dark Chocolate and Almonds Fiber Plus Antioxidants bar during the first 4 minutes which are on hilly, windy suburban roads, except the last 40 seconds which are on a boulevard. By then I'm at the convenience store, where I stop and fill my insulated mug for $0.97 including tax. I try to pay with $1.02 when possible so I get a nickel in change. I glance at the headlines in the news paper out the door.

The next 3 minutes are another boulevard in a mad dash to get to the interstate. Once on the interstate I work to get into the far left lane. I don't have a radio in my truck, and tend to focus heavily on driving. 12 minutes later I'm pulling off the interstate. From the interstate it is another 5 minute drive either through or on the edge of an old urban neighborhood to my parking spot, then another 4-7 minute walk to one of my two offices.

Going home is usually between 6:30 and 8:00, after the traffic has died down. Again, no radio, and obsessing over the details of the drive home. Often will stop at the grocery store on the way home.

Five minutes to the train station. 45 minute train ride to Union Station. Bus or walk to the office. Adds up to about an hour and 25 minutes.

WTF kind of truck has no radio in it?

Loss leader.

Ugly yellow w ruby red vynil interior.
No ac
Manual trans
no carpet
I had to add my own cup holder.

Did they have to pay you to drive it off the lot?

37 miles around 40 minutes with a stop to get coffee at quiktrip every night

Typically between 20 and 30 minutes.

I'll listen either to a number of 5by5 podcasts off my phone via Instacast (one of my favorite iOS apps) or will rock one of my smart playlists. The best for the commute is called Power Hour which is made up of songs rated 3 stars or above; that haven't been fully played in the last 3 weeks; that haven't been skipped in the last 2 weeks. The playlist is limited to one hour selected at random. Every night when I plug my phone in to listen to some George Noory it refreshes all the play counts and grabs new tunes.

My commute takes 5-10 minutes depending on how many of the three lights between here and there I hit red. My office is on the same street that the cul de sac I live on is off of. I drive past a hospital, and a few other medical office buildings.

On the way home, there is a point just past the hospital (between two stop lights) where the road goes from two lanes one way to one. People will get in the lane that ends with the expectation that they will be able to cut in front of someone before they reach the next light where that lane ends (that lane becomes a right turn lane). I don't people in front of me, even if they signal. I hope they end up having to stop and wait to get back into the correct lane. More times than not, whoever I am behind does not feel the same way, so that other driver is usually able to cut them off. Irritates the crap out of me, and I have no clue why.

Anyway, I usually get to listen to about two whole songs on the radio each way, as long as I catch a spot where they don't go to commercial. In the summer, I was going to ride my bike to work, but I never know when my attorney might have me running errands, so I drive.

I hate you.
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Walk out the backdoor at 7:50, smile at the cute gal working the bank drive-thru, walk into the grocery store for a Powerade, say hello to the cute deli girl, walk across the street, enter my office door at 7:55.

Walk. Takes seconds. Listen to classical music. I think about everything and nothing. Drink coffee and chat with the dogs.

Why even go to work the other 95% of the time? :hmmm:

LMAO
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My commute is out the back door to my shop and then to my client's house. This year all my clients have been within 5-10 minutes of my shop. It has been amazing.

On a beautiful clear day like the last few we've had I leave the house and head down the hill I get to gaze out at the ocean in the distance. If I am working nights there is usually a pretty good sunset. The ride home on clear days during the winter I view snow covered mountain peaks.

I am currently 10 miles from work. It used to be 40 miles. I usually stop for coffee before going in. Drive past the Auto Park and look at all the new cars. As I get close to work I begin smelling the Brewing Process at the local Brewery.

To annoy people.

speeders, tailgaters, lack of turn signals and self-absorbed, self-appointed fast lane road sheriffs..

Procedure
8 blocks to the highway.
4 miles on highway.
2.5 miles on county roads.

Traffic
Virtually none. Unless there are deer. Deer suck shit.

What I'm thinking about
Depends on the day. In the summer, it is usually balls ass early and I'm thinking about what needs done. This time of year, it is not so early. And I'm usually thinking about how MFing cold it is. I usually try to do some drive-by agrinomics, which basically is only seeing major issues.

When I head home it is usually what the wife has going for me for the evening. Or if I've been really busy, it is just kind of sleeping with my eyes open.

If you have any specific questions, you could ask DaFace. He made it one time.

Leave at 615am, 32 miles, about 40 minutes on rural highways. Listen to radio and smoke. Usually stop and get beer on the way home. Massive amounts of deer and I'm always wondering how many I didn't see.

Usually out of the house by 6:55 AM. 45-60 minute commute depending on traffic. I'll usually stop at Dunkin' Donuts and get an onion bagel with chive cream cheese. I'll already have a cup of coffee, generally a medium roast Sumatran or Tanzanian peaberry. I usually listen to audiobooks (sci-fi/fantasy, or non-fiction motivational) or podcasts (motivational or technical) on the way to work.

probably under 5 miles, 5-8 minute drive, no highway, 4 turns
I barely have time to listen to a full song. I'm usually thinking "crap I'm going to be late, I should have left 30 seconds earlier."

like the person above, about 4 turns. 5-6 minutes probably. very little traffic. just enough time to listen to fescoe sound like a complete moron.

If I hit all green lights it takes me approx 6 minutes to get to work.
My kids are already on the bus wifes already at work.
I usually have mike & mike on in the radio because most of the time the ESPN guys are horrendous to listen to. Yes this is the only two sport channels that are on here and they have their own channel slot for whatever reason.aside from mike & mike that channel goes to the fox sports guys after.

On Fridays my mind drifts to the fact that I have two 14 hour shifts back to back.
And I dream for 7:00 sat eve to arrive.

My most interesting commutes are when I have to drop my truck off for maintenance overnight and take the bus.

The morning starts off an hour and a half earlier than normal at which time I throw my usual business casual into a backpack and strap on sneakers and a running suit and begin the 2.5 mile trek to the closest bus stop in the city. I can't ride my bike because there's no where to safe to store it for the day and it's a fairly high end mountain bike that I really don't want to get stolen. I have to cross rail road tracks where surprisingly often my schedule and trains collide. It was blocking my pathway at a standstill one day for so long I climbed up in the car and jumped down on the other side so I wouldn't be late. The reactions among the drivers waiting varied from envy to outrage.

Then I cross a really, really long bridge which luckily there's a very safe & secure walkway from traffic integrated the design where I listed to music and enjoy the view of the river and occasionally look down to see if I get lucky and see any fish. Once on the other side I hit the city where I'll stop for a cup of coffee and wait for the bus. The array of people a bus stop attracts is quiet amazing; from the homeless, to hipsters, college kids and regular boring business people like me. It's actually really fun to observe.

Bus comes, takes me to work while I listen to music, maybe chat it up and continue to people watch. The ride is quiet relaxing actually.

At the end of the work day when you just want to go home is when public transportation truly begins to suck. "Just Get Me Home!!!". But the fun part is that you get dropped off downtown and get to peek inside the pubs where I almost always see a friend, consultant I worked with in the past or former associate in some manner and stop in to have a beer at which point my chances of working out for the day are shot. Usually stay way too long catching up and playing 'remember when' and wind up taking a taxi across the very long bridge to my front door. I actually met the small business owner I do wireless networking on the side for using this pit stop.

The 99.9% of the time I do have my vehicle it's an uneventful 12 minute drive over a bypass and down a highway to an industrial park. Despite my best efforts I can't find a way to make it there with my bike without a very good chance of becoming crow chum via a tractor trailer.