Commutation

1. an act or process of commuting
2. a change of a penalty or punishment to a lesser one

Last year I used to laugh at Pocket of Bolts because he seemed so extremely obsessed with the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority): it's vagaries and subtleties, most particularly its failings. Well, now I understand. The CTA owns my life for about two hours a day, including the particularly vulnerable hour of the afternoon when I am tired and hungry and just want to get home. Well for that matter, and the other vulnerable hour in the morning when I'm half asleep, stressing out about class, and just wishing I were still in bed. When things aren't going smoothly with the CTA, it's like kicking a girl when she's down already.

Well, sometimes they do a fine job. It's well to avoid rush hour, and fortunate that we live near the end of a decently frequent direct bus-line. Going in to work, at least, we usually get a seat.

Still, it was a wake-up call when, the other night, we stayed at work really late and didn't get on the homeward bus until 8 PM. Given, the driver was hauling ass and there weren't all that many people getting on and off. But--really? Our 45 minute to an hour commute could actually be less than 25 minutes. That makes those hour and a half days, when we accidentally edge into rush hour, that much more painful.

It's not actually very far between work and home. Last Friday I tried riding my bike. It was going to be a race between me on my bike and Pocket of Bolts on the bus. He's just missed a bus, so I got a bit of a head start. Turns out I didn't even need it! I not only caught up with the bus he'd missed, but the bus ahead of that one as well. Averaging five minute miles, I made it to work in under half an hour, leaving him and his bus in the dust! (Yes, I wore my helmet.) Downside was, of course, I was sweaty and tired, and then had to ride home in the afternoon too. I wasn't looking forward to that, because I was already pretty tired. However, once I got that first bus in my sights, it was actually quite thrilling. I caught and passed THREE buses, one of which was PoB's (he had the head start this time). And felt energized when I got home.

No doubt about it, the bike commute is awesome. But only as long as the weather holds...