Yup. Freezing Rain on the way to work. (Without studded tires) did it to me. Note to self, always watch the early morning weather forecast! :cry:

heavy winds make me drive. If the forecast calls for greater than 60% chance of rain I will double check times and then decide if I will ride or not. if it says all day driving is easier.

Not in many, many months. If I opt to drive, around 45 seconds into it I'm cursing my decision to not bike. I really, really don't like how crazy/reckless/distracted/aggressive many motorists are. I absolutely cannot believe how low the barriers are for a driver's license in the U.S.

I sometimes get bored of riding the same MUP daily, but when that happens, I switch up which bike I'm riding. Also, not much free time for riding these days, so my bike commuting might be my only chance to ride.

I'm kinda gear obsessed, want to have EXACTLY the right stuff for the conditions. Thus, I have a lot of bike commute stuff. But I really don't buy/need anything else, so I don't worry about it too much. I also have the habit of having pretty much two of everything, in case something is wet/dirty/not working.

I've been bike commuting and riding a bike almost everywhere for 15 years, hard to believe it has been that long at this point! The awesome thing is that our relatively new house is in such a perfect spot that I can get just about everywhere by bike or foot. If it wasn't for my office, which is 12 kms from home, I'd often never leave spittin' distance from my house.

That's the trick; to set up your life so that home, work, shopping, etc are all within biking distance.

That's why the US is trapped in its car prison; because urban planning all across the country put residential areas far away from industrial and office-park areas, which by definition/architecture makes bike-commuting infeasible for the majority of the population.

I only skip on riding when either I am "broken" or the bike is... LOL... At least I try to. This morning we had fog, thunderstorms, heavy rain and flood warning. All at the same time at around 50F. Put on my rain pants, rain jacket and my waterproof hiking boots. Lots of visibility gear, lights and off I went. My co-workers think I am crazy.

I was at a bike advocacy meeting last week with appearances by a city planner and a city councillor's representative of the area.

I stated the street we were on has a white elephant subway under it and the street above is still busy full of cars. That's because the stations along this subway line has no free parking for commuters to take the better option. Also, some subway stations have the foresight to have bicycle storage but you have to have a monthly membership. Also note that stations outside of downtown have no bike lanes taking you there.

These kind of things inhibit the use of public transit.

Just this week the Toronto Transit Commission opened a few new stations serving the North West end of Toronto and entering into its Northern suburb of Vaughn. The Vaughn Station is hopeful because (I believe) there's free parking. This line is connected to downtown Toronto so we expect a good portion of vehicular traffic from the North West entering Toronto will be reduced. (Until new motorists discover the ease of traffic flow and clog up the streets again.)

Also unfortunate with the new line, there are no new lines in downtown Toronto so the service downtown will be severely under stress.

Oddly, the "changing of mind" that tended to overcome me from time to time was the urge to just keep going...

There were days, on the way to work, when I just wanted to say "F it" and just keep on riding... over the ridge and past the corner and just keep on keeping on... :D

I actually did that a few times... when I went from one job to another, a couple of times, I took a long break and did a tour... it was really embracing to ride up to that turn around point... and not turn around... just keep going. :D

Oh I've definitely had that urge more than once!!! Especially on a cool Spring morning where you know it's going to be just a fantastic weather day....it takes more energy to stop the bike at my office than it would to ride another 30 miles.

Only time(s) would been those mornings where I wasn't sure I could go more than a few minutes from the porcelain throne. Other days are usually planned. Next year will start driving once a week, normally Wednesday, to rest a bit. My hours let me miss traffic issues at least.

Never I would rather ride my bike any day than take my car. My first preference is riding my bike. Unfortunately for me this time of year I can not ride as much as I would like due to the road conditions and sometimes the weather.

I used to say "nope" on a fairly regular basis.

Now though, with my new job that takes me into the city rather than out into the suburbs, and is 7.5 miles each way rather than 12, with crappy parking, I started doing it much more consistently over the summer. That turned into "if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it." I've not missed a day since I started the new job in september, have ridden through a couple snows already, through rain...have a dedicated studded tire bike now. I have no intentions of missing a day anymore, taking the attitude that if I'm sick enough to not ride, I probably shouldn't even be at work.

Exactly... sort of the cyclists' version of "surfs up!"

Oh and the flip side... as mentioned by the OP... every time I decided for one reason or another to not ride to work, I regretted it... I just didn't have the energy throughout the day and otherwise felt off.

In fact one day it was a real mistake to not ride... that day was during a wide power outage... and car traffic was just plain stupid when it came to "out" traffic lights... it was as if no one knew who was supposed to go when, so they just sat there. When I finally did get home, I cruised around on my bike and saw that same "traffic paralysis" all over.... it was a real reminder that many motorists could not actually negotiate with other motorists and move, without the help of signs and lights.

Remember: 365 days (preferably less ;-) BIKE +1, OTHER –1

Lost jobs because I did not get there in the morning on time , due to bike issues ..

I was waiting for some one to say, "Biked to work; changed mind about work; skipped work; kept on biking."

Bike-to-Work Day, the end of May, Toronto.

The group would meet at 7:30 am at a major intersection in my region of northern Toronto. My work was only another 2 km away so the group would continue to city hall without me and I'd be at work all alone so early in the morning.

Ever since then, I'd make Bike-to-Work Day a vacation day so I can join the crowd and have a free pancake breakfast with the rest of them.

That's one of the amusing things about commuting by bike. When the weather is at it's worst here, especially the first time in the season, and people are afraid to drive but have to get home and businesses are closing early, then people think that I'm heroic, or crazy, to be on my bike. The truth is that I'm getting home an hour or more faster than if I drove, more safely I think, and for me much less unpleasant than wasting time in stopped traffic next to bad drivers.

Most bikes are more reliable than most cars.

Just sayin...

punctures..

5 minutes...

less than having to stop for gas...

And also, I'm not trying to be insulting, but if an employer fires you for being 5-10 minutes late as often as punctures happen...that either wasn't the real reason, or it isn't an employer worth working for.

Once in a while I change my mind... Like when the wind is strong enough to knock my bike over (from kickstand) while I'm locking the door...

I think it is important to not only commute by bike, but at least once in a while free ride (without pressure).