A sunny week . . .

A bike commute to work leaves one little to complain about. Especially when it's not raining or snowing or excessively windy or trafficky or potholy. This week, will at least prove sunny - a nice respite from last week's consistent downpour. A wet commute is wet. A sunny commute is as pleasurable as it really can get. There's nothing like riding into work knowing that you're not huddled in a cramped train swaying to and fro saying 'excuse me' and 'sorry about that' each time a foot ends up beneath your's.

My commute: Down into the basement I go. I unearth myself through a tiny hole of a door - a half door of sorts - into our paved, but otherwise lovely backyard. Affix my panniers, helmet and defensive attitude. And I'm off. A right down Simpson ave. Left onto Holland. Becomes Elm. Stay straight until a T with Somerville avenue. Ride on that for a while until Union Square. Make left onto some other street that brings you to McGrath highway. Decide each and every day that I'd rather take the bridge's sidewalk than chance a lunchmeat experience with a truck and the concrete barriers. Barrell down the sidewalk until the crosswalk by the McDonalds. Continue on McGrath until the bus depot on right. Then bear left onto some street. Don't get run over at this point. Crucial. Ride on this past the Museum of Science - usually go on the sidewalk or up on the driveway of the museum to escape eventual lunch meat scenario. Cross Memorial Drive and Storrow. Then the final push to the Tip O'Neil building. Wave my ID to the security guard. Go into the bike garage area. Strip my bike of panniers. Hang the bike on the hook; my helmet on my bike seat. And off I go. 6th floor.

All in roughly 20 minutes. This is versus a 45 minute ugly commute on the T.