Well, I have all the more incentive to bike commute since my office moved downtown last week. Although the distance is farther, I actually cycled to work in less time this morning (55 minutes) than it took me to drive home (1 hour) from work yesterday. I plan to cycle most days but signed up for a parking space because I usually have to drive at least once a week to run errands, go to appointments or avoid foul weather. Yesterday was only the second time I've driven since moving to the new office last Monday, and I was surprised at how long it took compared to cycling. I can ride my bike right up to my building and the bike rack is right by the entrance. However, the parking deck is a block away and my space is on the 9th floor, so it takes at least 10 minutes to drive up (or down) the deck and walk to my building. Leaving in the afternoon is even worse due to traffic backing up at the parking deck exit.

I am tempted to give up my parking space (which costs $15/month) if I can find a free spot to park within walking distance of my office. There are free spaces available downtown, but they disappear fast in the mornings. This morning, the closest block of free parking spaces (about 2 blocks from my office) was all filled up at 7:15 am except for one space. Not sure if I can rely on that.