I don't.

For distant vacations, like when I go to Colorado or Montana, I use Amtrak. (The same train, the Lakeshore Limited, that goes through Erie, BTW. Costs $20 extra each way for the bike, $15 of which is for their special Amtrak Bike Box.)

When vacationing at the family cottage in Ontario, I put one of my racks on my parents' Buick, and pay for the gas. (Yes, I don't own a car but I own a Yakima Holdup hitch rack, and a Saris Bones 3 trunk rack.)

I also pay for the gas when my ride partner picks me up and we use his truck to go somewhere. (Haven't decided yet where we're going for Veterans Day.) Both my parents and my ride partner tell me I don't have to pay for the gas, and I pay for it anyway. It's my choice.

I don't know what an "emergency day" is. Please define. My employer recently sent us all home early for the hurricane. I rode home, just like I'd ridden to work. Had it genuinely been too windy (I've ridden in the upper 40s sustained, with gusts over 65--substantially more than on Monday) I live and work on a bus line.

If I sprain an ankle, I can't work anyway. Sick time. When I was hit by a car, the doc said I couldn't work for a week. The driver's insurance paid for my lost work.

I too live in a "lake effect" city. No biggie.

My coworkers hate me because they can't use the "too much snow to drive" excuse any more. The guy on his bike gets to work through the snow just fine. I ride clear across town and have to plan an extra 15 minutes or so. Takes them that much extra time just to brush off and warm up the car. I started bike commuting in March 2006, and missed only one day of it, in July 2006.

When you make the same commitment to cycling that most people make to their cars, it's easy.