Why mow the long way? This round cutter clears a strip two units wide. Between lanes, it makes a U-turn past the edge. Four long lanes cover the whole lawn. Now turn the stripes the short way. Same lawn, same forty-eight units of lanes. But six short lanes need five U-turns, not three. A U-turn adds travel but cuts little new grass. So the long way is about six units shorter. Fewer, longer lanes mean fewer turns. Try it yourself at Explainer Tools dot com.
