Reasons to love my bike commute

Rowing On The Willamette
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

I've been tweeting recently about reasons I love my bike commute.

My ride to work is just shy of five miles, with 3.5 to 4 miles (depending upon my route) of it on dedicated bike and pedestrian paths - The Springwater Corridor and the Eastbank Esplanade.

This morning, on my ride to work, I watched an Osprey dive down to the pond at Oaks Bottom and pluck a hapless fish from the muddy waters. It then flew right over my head with the fish grasped tightly in it's talons.

Yesterday I watched a Bald Eagle fight off some crows over the pond.

Another sight I see frequently is crew boats on the Willamette. Most of the time it's one or two-person sculls, but there are also the 8-person boats (as well as the twenty-something-person Dragon Boats, kayaks, canoes, jet skis, wakeboarders, stand-up paddle surfers and tug boats).

I like to race them down the river. You'd think 8 against 1 would be a bit unfair, but I totally kick their collective ass.