Racing the Leaves to Work

We had a nice NE wind this morning. The first mile of my commute is uphill, today with a headwind.

Then I turned the corner and found myself at 17mph, without pedaling. Nice. The leaves were blowing off trees and all around me; I found myself racing them along the roads.

Riding through Cedar Hills, I saw my very favorite trucks - the water department's leaf sweepers, removing the huge piles of leaves from the road.

It isn't clear if the wind has turned yet. Weather Underground shows it going every which way. A tailwind on the way home is always welcome.

Got to see the full effect of the Park Way hill road remodel (aside from that it has gotten a little narrower) the other night - with the new roadside trees and the new streetlights (to say that it used to be a black-hole-dark stretch of road understates it) the approach looks rather like the entrance to Rivendell.

I'm trying to decide if riding the new, wide sidewalk up the hill would be the safer choice (once the leaves are gone, of course). The road pinches in just before it goes to 2 lanes. Generally I'm fine, until I hear the distinctive Tri-Met bus engine behind me, and then it gets very crowded. There is rarely anyone using the sidewalk at the time I ride home. But would I be giving in? Or abdicating my right to use the road? Does my need for inner serenity override the principle of the thing?