I enjoy the simple fun of screwing the system. The marginal cost of riding my bike to work is zero. No parking fees, no fuel (other than what I'd be eating anyway). No tolls. Institutional transportation tries to find a way to "collect rents" from everybody, from gasoline/carbon taxes to parking fees to congestion fees. On a bicycle, you are invisible. You slip past "the Man" with his hand outstretched, shaking you down for some coin! You don't have to pay into the institutionalized transportation establishment.

Or at the very least, you are getting your money's worth from the hidden taxes you pay to subsidize those who still insist on driving their cars everywhere. If drivers (and only drivers) actually paid what it truly cost to build roadways and bridges, they would not be able to afford to drive. It's funny that in the same way that the internet was an outgrowth of the ARPAnet, a defense initiative to link scientists working on national defense, the whole US Interstate System was initially a defense initiative to ensure tanks & troops got to where they needed to be back in the late 40's. Otherwise, we'd never have been able to afford all those lanes of asphalt, paid for by everybody, not just drivers.

Anyway, I try not to worry about stuff like that. I just like the feel of a nice, springy, steel frame vibrating underneath as the road winds on. Riding over toll bridges and not having to pay. A real pleasure for a true cheapskate such as me!

Luis