I always strive for the perfect commute/ride. For me, it's a combination of knowing the route and multiple other options, checking for accidents/delays before riding, having good intuition about driver behavior -- and putting it all together for a seamless, fun, perfect ride. (I almost never achieve it perfectly, but it keeps me paying attention to my ride...)
In order to achieve the perfect ride, you must (caveat: your rules may vary based on your time and priorities in life)
:Know and execute the best route, for example:
- know the safest/fastest route for the time of day;
- know to take 2 rights up ahead, instead of this left here to avoid the wait at that really long light;
- know not to go that way, because that intersection is just death waiting to happen;
- know this route is 2 minutes longer, but has a gorgeous high point view of the mountains that's totally worth it;
- know if I go this way, I avoid that horrible windy bridge; and
- execute without getting stuck in unexpected traffic, on a route with closed lane, behind a wreck, etc.
- always be in the fastest lane -- don't get stuck behind the slow poke -- whether a heavy truck, scared driver, or people backed up for an upcoming turn lane; (This one can vary every ride, because of the nature of drivers -- you have to just magically know that that BMW who pulled in this lane is actually an OCD driver who is going to go 5 mph under the speed limit, or that dump truck is going to go faster than that Cadillac on the left here, and merge to the better lane before you're stuck... etc);
- be in the correct lane for where you want to go -- before you're stuck in the wrong lane or have difficulty merging over (know the coming forced turn lanes, splitting roads, etc.);
- avoid pot holes; seamlessly change lanes before they're even in view or move left/right in your lane, knowing when and where each pothole is coming;
- move left/right in your lane to be most visible to those who might turn in front of you, pull into your lane, etc.
- know what other drivers are going to do before they do it -- and move out of the way accordingly.
- boots, jeans, leather or cordura jacket, riding gloves, FF helmet (your rules may vary -- if I choose to ride in shorts or sandals for a quick trip or forget anything -- for me, that's a non start for a perfect ride);
- have the perfect number of layers if it's cold;
- wear mesh jacket if it's hot;
- preemptively have on rain pants and jacket if starts raining at any point in the ride;
- if it starts snowing, be home before it's collecting on the pavement;
- if the streets are wet and it's cold, be home before they ice up;
- don't ride in dangerous winds, take routes that are better in windy weather...
- Be safe: no taking stupid chances to achieve any of the above
- Be courteous: let people in, wave people through, wave back at kids, wave or nod at other riders
- Don't be a jerk: no cutting people off, no tailgating, no aggressive/rude maneuvers (even if they feel perfectly safe...)
- Don't lose your cool: be emotionally stable, calm, and collected -- from start to finish -- no matter what happens.
