Ice coffee for those hot days!

^^ Correct, but it is a reason to seek out a good handlebar coffee cup holder. :-)

For myself, best part of commuting and my own commute is how energetic and mentally alert I feel once I get to work--seems to carry me through the day and is lacking on days when I drive.

It's about 50/50 for me, too. I love riding my bike. When I drive, I always feel like such a drone- stuck at the light, fiddling with my phone, the radio, or sipping my coffee. Just like the people in the 5 cars in front of me, and the 5 behind. I feel more like myself when I ride my bike.

My favorite part of my commute is going down my hill. Almost no traffic and some decently bright headlights = flying!

No way! The best reason to drink coffee--coming in from a long ride out in the cold, nothing warms me up like a big, hot cup of coffee.

I save enough on not paying for gas that Coffee Bucks is not a pinch but a simple pleasure. I have met people I would not have otherwise at work and away that have become friends. I am trying to make it better for everyone even people with bumper love. I like riding in the dark its exhilarating!

Other than coffee, the best part of my commute is getting slayed by my training partners 3 days a week; the other 2 days it's the sky and the air and the smells of autumn.

Speaking of coffee, can anyone recommend a good handlebar holder coffee mug combo with a mug that won't leak?

^^^ Oh yeah, this too.

I love my coffee (dark roast, black) but see no reason to carry it on the bike. I have a cup at home before I leave, and another 50 minutes later when I get to work.

I like getting my exercise done during the work week and having the whole weekend to relax.

I often have to push myself to ride my bike to work as opposed to taking the subway. But every time I do, I don't regret it. It's fun and exhilarating. The landscape is excellent. I get to see lots of attractive people jogging and cycling, so there's that scenery, too.

I like the fresh air. On days I considered driving instead of riding, the first few feet are enough to make me glad I rode. It makes me feel awake and focused. After that, I like the wildlife on the greenway when I choose that route.

I'll use any excuse to ride a bike, and riding to work is the best of them. I get two 10 mile rides in that way, work is just an interruption to my riding. And like Tom, I enjoy the scenery here in NYC. I've even made a few friends this way. My favorite part of the ride is the Manhattan Bridge, I'm out of the traffic completely on the bridge, and can watch the subway go by too, the same train I would otherwise take, although it tends to rattle my teeth.

I can do the 10 miles from my house in Brooklyn to my office on 42nd St almost entirely off street, with Prospect Park, the Manhattan Bridge, and the East Side Bikeway being about 75% of my ride. The rest of the way is on streets with bike lanes, except for the residential stretch from my house to the park.

My modest goal is to ride 100 miles per week, and if I commute twice I've hit 40. The other 60 are then easily done on the weekend.

Another nice thing about bike commuting is that I've lost 20 pounds. I've always been on the skinny side, and I honestly didn't know I had 20 pounds to lose. Seriously, about two years ago, I thought I was 10 pounds overweight, so I started eating better. I don't eat less. I just eat less junk and more good food. 20 pounds and still falling. Now I have to buy new clothes. I've started to look like a clown.

I wish that would happen to me. If I do the 100 miles each week, I do lose a little. The problem is that I can't seem to be consistent. Eating better helps too.

How much of the enjoyment about your commute is down to the joy of biking (feeling the breeze and getting a work out while getting to work, saving $$), vs the joy of not being a car (finding parking, paying for parking, getting tickets, stalled traffic, road rage, accidents, spending $$).

It started out as the joy of not being in the subway vs the grueling toll cycling takes on the body. then it became the joy of not having to make time for the gym b/c my commute which was shorter than taking the subway and also served as my workout. now it is the joy of cycling. There are more tickets to dodge as a cyclist than a subway rider tho. And there is still some rage cycling (maybe 1x a month?) but far less than taking the subway (several times a day usually if i'm unlucky, maybe 1-2x a week if i'm lucky). even if there is no rage, the subway is just pure misery during rush hour.

Second-
What is the favourite part of YOUR commute? Mine is the final hill getting to work. If all the lights align, I get a long pure uphill right up to the front door and like to see how quickly I can get to work without getting too sweaty.
EDIT: and have to stress the great downhill coast home!

the favorite part of my commute is the ride along the water before getting to the office. also it's the part right after leaving the office in the evenings. it's flat and called the "helicopter pass" on strava by the lower pier of manhattan. there are two way bike lanes and the view is fantastic. i can work out by bolting or i can enjoy the view depending on how i feel. it's also the windiest part of the commute (huge wind tunnel) so on some days it can be miserable. but we have more nice days than not so i'm a fan.

My enjoyment is simply the joy of being outside. Everyday, I know I'll be outside and the sun, wind, or rain will be on my face. I'll hear the birds, see the bunnies, birds, and squirrels. In summer, I'll see the lightening bugs when it gets close to dusk. I arrive at the end of my commute relaxed and refreshed.

When I leave work early, I get to commute through school traffic. I have tons of fun passing people stuck in cages. Yesterday, a housemate drove by me on the way home when there was only moderate traffic. I arrived while my housemate was still pulling things out of the trunk. The housemate was impressed at how quickly I covered the distance.

^Love it. Ditto. Co-workers are checking traffic on their phones at the end of the day. I'll look up at the trees to see which way the leaves and branches are blowing.


I have always liked to be outside (and in the car doesn't count). Walking, running, biking, or whatever doesn't matter. Bike commuting gives me more of that. It also allows me to be a one car family, so yes, dollars saved there. I like the freedom and flexibility of the bike. A couple of times I have come up to a road that was closed to through traffic. But I can hop off the bike, or perhaps just ride through the grass, and get through anyway.

It's also fun to get the comments and reactions from co-workers who can't believe I rode in the heat, cold, rain, whatever. Or they may ask how many miles I ride and then be like, "That's not bad." But knowing they don't have a concept of bike miles, I'll say the name of the town and they'll be shocked, "Mooresville?!" It's only 8 miles up the interstate, but it's another world to them.

I guess my favorite part of the ride itself is through a fancy neighborhood on a golf course. With ponds, nice homes, light and slower traffic, and people jogging or walking their dogs, it is the most peaceful section.

The best part of commuting for me is getting on my bike and going for a bike ride each morning. I love being outside. Riding gives me a mental alertness that I love. Though I have to say this time of year is not my favorite and it has nothing to do with the cold, it has so much more to do with being dark in the morning and not being able to see the scenery. I love all my different routes to work.

My favorite part of my commute is pick a day, I am sure it is something different. How the light hits the colorful leaves this time of year in the evening. The long downhill on a very rural part of the ride. Seeing the lake between the trees.

Though I can tell you the least favorite part of my commute is the first uphill when I leave work in the afternoon.

The best part of commuting for me is bad-weather biking. We don't get much rain in Calgary, so I do enjoy it when it does. It's probably why I like winter cycling--it's the feeling you get when no inclement weather can stop you from riding.

I have bills for that.

My reasons to commute are:

Love to ride.

Love having my bike with me at the office in case I feel like tinkering.

Love that it keeps me fit.

Love to save $; less gas, no parking, lower car insurance.

Love not having to worry about finding parking.

Love not leaving my cars in the sun.

Love that my wife has access to both cars.


Guess I just love it... :beer:

the best part of bike commuting for me is obviously the fact that i get to take 2 bike rides every workday!


on top of that, i like the fact that bike commuting:

- helps keep me in better shape than i otherwise would be.

- allows us to remain a 1 car family and thus save loads of cash by forgoing ownership of a 2nd automobile.

- helps me walk the talk of my own personal philosophy that cities should be built for people, not cars (ie. it gives me the opportunity to be the change i wish to see in the world)

I love both driving and riding. I have a fun little sports car that I've had for 14 years that I still love driving.

However I also love that I'm driving the car less and less. At one point (10 years ago) I drove it as much as 36,000 miles a year. These days I'm only driving it about 7,000 miles a year. Compared to 3 years ago before I started riding, I'm saving about $700/year just in gas alone!

Best part of commuting is knowing that I got there under my own power. My commute is long and hilly, with not a ton of traffic usually. But occasionally there might be a traffic jam in one spot, which I get through easily on the bike. That's an awesome feeling right there.

meeting all kinds of different people in the park on the MUP.

One thing I like about my commute is the hills. There aren't enough. I wish there were more hills. I like the ups and the downs.