I voted congestion but that is just part of the reason why I started to commute by bike. I noticed a while back that I was always upset, stressed out, and angry. I then noticed that I am more so when I drive because of the traffic and the countless clueless drivers. I’m already stressed out by work and some personal problems. Then the drive to work and home doesn’t help any because now I am in control of a killing machine and I can’t really use it. The best you can do in a car while stressed out is speed up, curse at others, and maybe honk your horn. But because of congestion, speeding up is not a great option and yelling and honking just makes it worse.

I used to play a lot of basketball and spend a lot of time with the heavy bag to decrease my stress levels. But because of the family, time constraints, bad back and lack of a heavy bag there is just no more outlet for me. Then I started to bike in to work and I noticed that I am much calmer and more at peace with my self. All that pent up energy and stress can be transferred to the pedals. I get the benefit of going as fast as I could and burning up excess energy. So I guess the primary reason is really exercise and stress relief from the everyday mess.