This quote is a good summary of some of my feelings for the magic around being an urban cyclist. When I'm going anywhere at all the most frustrating thing is to be stuck where I am and unable to make progress. I care less about getting there quickly than I care about having a change of scenery along the way and feeling in control of my destiny. And of course the penalty in speed that I often (not always) pay for going by bicycle is offset by the pleasure of the ride and the self-sustaining feelings I get from being a cyclist.

From Bike Snob by Bill Strickland

When you're stuck in your car on the highway because an accident or construction has suddenly transformed a twenty-five-minute jaunt into a three-hour nightmare, or you've been sitting in a stopped subway train in a tunnel for half an hour after a particularly miserable day at work, you feel impotent - and nothing is more frustrating than impotence. These are the times when you attempt to bargain with the universe: "If you make this train move now, I swear I'll be a better person". Then you try to think of people worse off than you. "Well, at least I'm not in prison". But really, you are in prison, and even worse, you don't deserve it. Eventually you might try the stuck-in-transit last resort: meditating until you attain enlightenment and transcend the material plane altogether. Unfortunately, it's the very rare traveler who can pull this one off.

But you'll almost never feel that maddening impotence on a bike (unless your saddle as adjusted improperly, causing crotchal numbness).