My Commutes

I feel extremely fortunate that I live close enough to my workplace that I'm able to bike to work in about 20 minutes (only 5-10 minutes more than by car when parking time is factored in). Not only that, most of the way, the view looks like this picture. I follow the WIOUWASH trail, which is an abandoned railroad track, so there are no hills and the trail goes alongside a lake and river the entire way. I routinely see half a dozen rabbits, squirrels, and one morning I almost ran over a daredevil chipmunk! There are also plenty of butterflies and birds.

Have you considered biking to work? It's a great workout, and may not take much longer than taking the car. Even if you just do it once a week, you're still getting a good workout and will use less fossil fuel.





As much as I like to bike, some mornings my commute looks like this:


Those are the days I telecommute. This is particularly nice to do on rainy or snowy days. Your employer may very well let you telecommute a few days per week. If you frequently get interrupted at the office, you may find that telecommuting is more productive than going in to the office.