I finally started timing my walk to the train by the bakery smell, and it saved me 6 minutes
Last month I started leaving my apartment 6 minutes later because I noticed the smell of bread from the bakery on 5th hits the corner right as the 7:42 pulls in, so if I time it right I walk straight on instead of standing there. Before that I was getting to the platform at 7:31 and watching two full trains roll past, packed shoulder to shoulder, just waiting in the cold. I tracked it for 11 days on my notes app and only missed the connection twice, both times because of a garbage truck blocking the crosswalk. Turns out the trick is watching for the delivery van, not the clock. Does anyone else use a landmark instead of a schedule, or am I the only one doing this?
The delivery van thing is interesting because that's a signal most people would never catch. How early does the van usually show up before the bread smell hits? I'm asking because I do something similar with my commute, except mine is the coffee roaster on 8th, and I've learned the smell only carries when the wind is coming off the river. On still days it's useless and I'm back to guessing. So is the van parked there every morning, or does it depend on the day?