Once or twice a week, I give in to my burrito urges. Grabbing one for lunch adds 3 to 5 miles to my commute, and on a nice, sunny day, is a great excuse to forget some of the stupidity of work.

The guy at the taqueria mentioned that I've always been coming in on a bike lately, and asked why, since I have a new-looking car that probably didn't break down. I'm sure you've all been in a situation where somebody asks why you bike commute, and you have to debate giving them the real (aka long) answer, or the sound byte version that's appropriate for small talk. So, I did the latter: "I got tired of paying for gas..."

My interlocuter's face lit up. "I know! And the price just went up again, too - it sucks!" So I said "Yeah, and now that I'm getting around on this guy, it feels like I got a small raise." I could see the guy's gears turning, so I went on "... of course, I still use the car for heavy groceries and stuff. It's a good thing to have - I just don't use it all the time anymore."

I don't think I convinced anyone to become a bike messenger - I have no idea how far away from work he lives, and the guy's weight says he isn't a fan of exercise. But the conversation made me happy with my choice to commute by bike. Then I took my burrito to a nearby park, eating it under a tree in case it rained, and biked back to work.

How do you folks respond when somebody expresses curiosity over your cyclocommute? Do you ever get a "wow - that's pretty cool!" response? What's your story that reminded you of all the other reasons why biking to and from work is a good idea?