Please welcome Jim Angelus as our guest commuter this week – if you?d like to share your commuter experiences, contact [email protected].
Everyone has an experience that births the compulsion to begin and end the work day on a bicycle.
Until ’98, my commute was limited to the overcrowded and undersanitized Lexington Avenue line in lower Manhattan. I was born in the city and lived there for 35 years commuting to ad agencies, where I was a creative director. Living in Hopewell 20 years later, a stark contrast – I rise at 6, am out the door at 7.
It wasn’t until taking *mandatory* retirement from my marketing job at Merck that cycling took over. It was 2001. I was out of a job with newly born twin boys; retirement at 45 not an option.
Time to redirect, refocus, narrow down, be practical, and use time wisely. I had been cycling the Sourlands, up through Frenchtown, Holland, and Lebanon townships trying to plan next steps.
Fortunately, logic and sound thinking didn’t reign – however, a self-absorbed plan to cycle cross-country with a close friend in ’02 did. This 3,215 mile/25 day ride from Point Reyes, CA to Keyport, NJ was the perfect gestation cycle that gave birth to the “third wheel” in my marriage.
A decade later in ’12, my German friend joined me once again, as we cycled from Seattle, WA to South Seaside Park, NJ – 3,300 miles/37 days later.
Today, I ride to work in South Brunswick, on Rte 518 into Rocky Hill, up the hill by the quarry to Rte 27. My ride home varies as does my mood. Sometimes a detour up Lindbergh Rd, other times Aunt Mollie Rd serves me well. Decisions! Decisions! My single speed wheels are picky and I must keep them happy.
Whit is planning a Lewis and Clark Trail excursion in ’15. Three’s a charm – I may just ride home…
A version of this post appeared in On the Move, the blog for the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association.
Tags: Adventure Cycling, bicycle commuting, bike commuter journal, Bike Commuting, cross country bike ride, Hopewell bike commuting, lewis and clark trail bike route, mercer county bike commuting, middlesex county bike commuting, south brunswick bike commuting