"What makes you happy when commuting?"

...the endorphins!

But seriously, the endorphins and the stress relief and not having to take major roads and dealing with so much traffic.

Every ride is an adventure.

Of course, this is in beautiful Colorado Springs.

Here's one to get you started:

You can see my commute highlights here:

What makes me happy: Seeing a pair of egrets flying over me. Tulips planted on the edge of Cherry Creek path in downtown Denver. Seeing my compatriots out on the Sand Creek trail as dawn is coming on. The feeling in my legs after riding all the way in, that great "getting stronger" tiredness/slight soreness.

Good roads, tailwind and down hills...

Fresh pavement

I love it when I hit a stretch of blacktop that has been freshly paved. And it's super smooth and flat and you feel like you're on a professional race track.

Just having a mini adventure to look forward to before and after work each day!

Rolling downhill after a long slog climbing up.

Motorists that actually wait their turns at 4-way stops.

IKR?

One city street two blocks up got fresh pavement before the municipal election last year. I've been going out of my way to ride that five blocks most of my commutes ever since. Some of the other streets around it still have pavement around the potholes...

I enjoy the environmental intimacy and sense of connection that cycle commuting can provide:

• The rail-trail part of my ride is populated with greenery, bunnies, stray cats, and various peeps enjoying the path.
• Further on, the city streets are living rooms, with smells, sounds and every kind of encounter on display. There is a barbecue kitchen mid-route that in the morning wafts the smell of brisket a mile down the road, which is delightfully maddening. In the evenings there is every kind of ethnic restaurant smell along the way (mixed with the pungent odor of weed) - I sure am hungry by the time I return home!

By car it takes me 20 to 25 min door to door when there is no traffic, normally 30 min. By bike, I am around 50 min to 1 hr including shower getting to work.
Going back home at rush hour will take me at least 5 min only to get out of the garage building by car and on a bad traffic day it could take up to 1 hr to get home depending on the time you are leaving.
Once took me like 15 min to get to the road from the underground garage....
My route is 80% trail, 15% road with bike lane and only close to the office I mix with vehicles on the traffic for 4 blocks, so pretty safe all along.
Not a rainy day rider, but I got used to cold (lower I went is 24 F) and having a good second year commuting experience.
For me, it is a good way to get some exercise and 'free' time, enjoy the nice views along the ride and of course avoid being inside car in the traffic.

Great thread!

I love the wildlife I see--like an owl hooting as I roll through the darkness, with just moonlight and my front light. Magical.

I love the peace and quiet, the alone time as others have said. I have time to think, and to meditate.

The buzz of endorphins, of arriving to work feeling like a million bucks. And the wonderful early morning outdoor smells.

Wide curb lanes with no parking and no bicycle lane full of beer bottles and used car parts.

The wildlife I see every day and the energy I have when my workday starts....especially when I see my coworkers dragging their butts in.

What makes me happy while commuting:

Riding pass stopped cars stuck in traffic. The only one I ever felt bad for is a bike rider in full black leather gear stuck in traffic on a 30C sunny day. This guy must have been sweating bullets.

None windy days or even better, a day with winds on my back.

A cool ride (17C-22C) in a light drizzle, also with no wind.

When the headwind I suffered in on the way in actually turns into a tailwind on the way home.

Cars overtaking you (usually too close) then coming across the same cars sat in a massive rush hour queue, that and a tailwind.

For me its tailwind and dry weather. Doesn't happen very much though.

That moment when you go from cycling into a headwind, to a tailwind, match the wind speed and suddenly everything is eerily calm.

Saying hi to fellow cyclists and joggers.

Being able to use any one of the half dozen routes to work, depending on how much time I've got.

Being able to 'take the long way' home, to get extra miles in.

The steady reduction in my commute times as I get fitter.

Knowing my commute by bike is quicker than my old bus & train commute.

I take a lot of trips along the river path which is out of the thick of city traffic. There are few places which require me to stop there, so it's fast and efficient. The scenery is amazing in many ways. There is urban scenery, there is the mile-and-a-quarter-wide river, and I see New Jersey on the other side. There are people cycling and jogging in the park the path runs through, and they are beautiful. There is wildlife. There are big ships in the water. There is the ever changing riverscape as the seasons go by.

Riding in the city, I see and hear thousands of people a day. Huge numbers of people travel on foot for at least parts of their trips. It's invigorating to see hundreds of people a day. Some of them are tourists, gawking at my city.

Fighting the weather and triumphing by getting where I'm going is pretty satisfying. We have a "temperate" climate, which around here means it's too hot or cold or wet most of the time. But it's OK, because when I feel the earth, I feel alive.

The 600 foot descent in 4 miles in the morning. 13-14 minutes in traffic from door to light rail.

The 600 foot ascent over those same four miles on the way home. 24 minutes would be a very good pace up the hill on my commuter hybrid with one or two panniers, in my (causal) office attire.

The descent is invigorating in the morning, and doesn't produce a sweat. The ascent after work is a satisfying challenge. I'll tackle better hills on my road bike fitness rides but it's still rewarding to do it on the hybrid with panniers. The ascent is also the thing I hate during that commute; arriving home all sweaty.

What else do I love during my commute? It's cycling. Even with rush hour traffic it's still a pleasure.

On my ride to work I go behind a bakery. (You know...in the back of the strip mall where the delivery trucks go but cars never do)

So I get this huge whiff of freshly baked breads and muffins and stuff as I pass through. It wakes me up and I swear even makes me warmer on a cold morning.

On the ride home I pass a Chik Fil A.....that just smells like wonderfulness.

You don't smell either one from the car and miss out on that whole experience.

Wildlife, a tail wind, and smooth shifting.

For me, I usually get to work faster, or as fast as transit. When I arrive, I'm usually more awake and alert than when I zone out staring out at Lake Michigan from the bus (not a bad thing).

On my ride home, I might see the camels at the zoo. I can go by any number of breweries to get the evening's replenishment. And it is replenishment because I installed a widget on my Garmin that tallies beers earned.

I get paid to commute in beers guys.

Arriving at my destination intact makes me very happy!
GM