People are too overly concerned with what is socially acceptable. It's socially acceptable to buy a brand new car every 4 years and be continuously up to your ears in debt, pay ridiculously insurance premiums, spend $200 a month on gas and drive a much bigger vehicle than you'll ever possibly need (e.g. an SUV). However, saving tons of money by commuting via bicycle and getting your exercise in one fell swoop is NOT as socially acceptable because I guess you're not pouring money back into the economy for things you don't even need. By bicycle commuting, not only are you saving automobile related expenses, you're saving on doctor bills, diet expenses, health club memberships, home exercise equipment costs and other stupid stuff that we're convinced that we need because we're such a lazy and obese population in general. Oh, I left one more thing out.. tanning salons. We're "supposed" to be trim, muscular, and tan so instead of actually getting out and riding, corporate america wants us to spend our money on exercise equipment, health club memberships, weight watchers, and tanning salon visits while still using our cars for everything and spending even more money. Cycling accomplishes all those with considerably less money.