West Seattle: On busses and spare rooms
Yesterday was cool and rainy so I limited myself to a couple of tasks around the house after one outside task in the morning. I go back to work next Monday and, without Ivan around, the schedule is going to become tight for me. Now that we live in West Seattle my commute has become much longer - both in distance and time. Although annoying, the long commute itself is not an issue for me. It's how it impacts Sally. I generally work 9 hour days. Add at least 2hours of commute time and that means an anxious dog with her legs crossed by the time I get home.
Before leaving on the trip I rode my recumbent to work for one week but the fastest I've gone is 1.25 hours - one way. I also drove for a week because Ivan and I were carpooling but, even though it's relatively quicker, driving is not a viable option due to gas and parking costs. Plus I hate sitting in traffic. The one thing I'd not tried was travel option #3: King County Metro Bus.
BUSTRATION
Here's the breakdown: I have to be at work by 8:00am, so I need to have enough time to 1) shower and dress, 2) eat breakfast and feed the animals, 3) walk Sally making sure she poo's because she's not having another walk until later in the day, and 4) walk 10 minutes to the bus stop which includes crossing Admiral. Oh, and there is no direct bus to the UW so I have to transfer to another line when I reach downtown.
I figured that I would need to get up at 5:30am, at the latest, in order to catch the 6:41am. So yesterday was my dry run. Other than crossing Admiral, which can be a bitch due to it's unrelenting 4 lanes of traffic and no crosswalk, I did ok. I managed to get to the UW by 7:30 which works out well because that means I can adjust my schedule to leave work a little earlier.
THIS IS NOT MY BUS, DAMMIT
I meant to ride my diamond frame in to work today to see if that would be quicker than my recumbent or the bus, but I slept fitfully last night and woke up late. And then I discovered that I'm still having issues with the front tire so I need to have it looked at as well as picking up some extra tubes for it. If I can resolve those issues today, I'll try biking tomorrow unless the rainy forecast turns heavy.
HUH. IT'S LIKE WE JUST MOVED IN OR SOMETHING.
I spent the rest of the day cleaning up our spare bedroom. We will need to figure out a number of storage issues but I put all non-essential items in the basement, sorted through the remainder of my books putting some aside for trade and shelving the rest, and separated the remaining boxes into 'mine', 'his', 'ours' piles.
NEXT, THE BASEMENT!
It's much tidier now but please don't ask to see the basement.
Update: I got my tire fixed (it appears that the tube was a little too small for the tire) so, if the weather is not too nasty, I'm set for another test commute in the morning.
Before leaving on the trip I rode my recumbent to work for one week but the fastest I've gone is 1.25 hours - one way. I also drove for a week because Ivan and I were carpooling but, even though it's relatively quicker, driving is not a viable option due to gas and parking costs. Plus I hate sitting in traffic. The one thing I'd not tried was travel option #3: King County Metro Bus.
BUSTRATION
Here's the breakdown: I have to be at work by 8:00am, so I need to have enough time to 1) shower and dress, 2) eat breakfast and feed the animals, 3) walk Sally making sure she poo's because she's not having another walk until later in the day, and 4) walk 10 minutes to the bus stop which includes crossing Admiral. Oh, and there is no direct bus to the UW so I have to transfer to another line when I reach downtown.
I figured that I would need to get up at 5:30am, at the latest, in order to catch the 6:41am. So yesterday was my dry run. Other than crossing Admiral, which can be a bitch due to it's unrelenting 4 lanes of traffic and no crosswalk, I did ok. I managed to get to the UW by 7:30 which works out well because that means I can adjust my schedule to leave work a little earlier.
THIS IS NOT MY BUS, DAMMIT
I meant to ride my diamond frame in to work today to see if that would be quicker than my recumbent or the bus, but I slept fitfully last night and woke up late. And then I discovered that I'm still having issues with the front tire so I need to have it looked at as well as picking up some extra tubes for it. If I can resolve those issues today, I'll try biking tomorrow unless the rainy forecast turns heavy.
HUH. IT'S LIKE WE JUST MOVED IN OR SOMETHING.
I spent the rest of the day cleaning up our spare bedroom. We will need to figure out a number of storage issues but I put all non-essential items in the basement, sorted through the remainder of my books putting some aside for trade and shelving the rest, and separated the remaining boxes into 'mine', 'his', 'ours' piles.
NEXT, THE BASEMENT!
It's much tidier now but please don't ask to see the basement.
Update: I got my tire fixed (it appears that the tube was a little too small for the tire) so, if the weather is not too nasty, I'm set for another test commute in the morning.
posted by maryja at
12:30 PM
2 Comments:
I am going to start taking the bus to work, I was thinking about riding a bike but that means coming home at 10 pm on a bike. aaaa no thank you. Dangerous as it is.. that would just add to the danger.
I still plan on doing some bike commuting when the weather permits as my return trip from the UW today took 1 hour and 40 minutes.
But I'm with you regarding dangerous biking conditions especially in the rain, when it's dark, through downtown traffic. It's a recipe for disaster.
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