Back in my car and finally starting to enjoy the commute. It has been almost two months and I think I have found the most efficient way to Waltham from Somerville. Of course I am not going to disclose my secret route, because it won’t be long before word spreads to the rest of the Waltham commuters and it will be back to the drawing board. At first I took the obvious path to Route 2, but it was just driving me crazy. So I hopped on Google Maps and began experimenting with different back roads. The key is to find as few stoplights and more importantly try to find stoplights where you will rarely have to sit through more than one light. My final route might be a little longer, but I don’t end up sitting through three or four lights. It’s all about average speed, for the three lights your average speed is zero, but if you drive an extra mile at 30 MPH you are doing much better. The average speed also comes into consideration when driving on 95 North. The traffic on highways can be very deceiving, it looks like it is going much slower than it really is. I can now consistently get to and from work in 20 minutes, that is down from up to 45 minutes in my trial phase.

One thing about my commute that does kill me is the voluntary “toll” near Alewife station. Most of you probably don’t know about this “toll”, but I have to deal with it everyday. The “toll” comes in the form of three beggars who pace back and forth and pester people for money. They make me crazy every time I drive to work. They are making a killing, so I guess I can’t blame them for doing it, heck they make a couple bucks on each red light. One guy in particular is always carrying a huge wad of bills, but to his credit he has perfected his limp.

Okay enough ranting and raving. Good night all. Sleep well!!!

Keeg