Let's just cut to the chase: I am a cranky commuter.
I fidget waiting for lights to change, I get frustrated poking along on the freeway, I get impatient behind slow drivers but also don't like being tailgated by faster drivers...so I know the problem is with me!
Which is why yesterday was the perfect commute.
In my dream world, I would time every light perfectly, enjoying a continuous, uninterrupted journey, flowing smoothly and calmly from start to finish.
On Monday, that's exactly what happened.
Even better, I did the whole trip on my bike.
I have been biking this particular route to work, weather permitting, a couple days a week for more than a year. It's ten miles from start to finish and there are literally dozens of lights along the way, mostly along Barbur Blvd from downtown to Tigard.
But on Monday, there was magic in the air. I never had to put my foot down the entire ride (and yes, I do always stop for red lights, when they are red!)
EVERY light was green, green, green. Toward the end of the ride, I felt like one of those pitchers in the late innings of a no-hitter, in unfamiliar territory, counting down wondering if the magical ride could continue...two lights to go...only one more light...it's green now, will it stay green until I reach it...? And then I rolled on through, the last traffic light between me and my house and I was home free!
Add in the 80-plus degree sunny weather, the pleasure of endorphins versus the stress of being boxed in a hurtling hunk of metal, and it was truly the best commute ever.
I'd like to think it was a reward for joining KGW's Green Team for the September bike Commute Challenge!