I thought about analyzing or rationalizing my bike commuting but figured it's beneficial for my health and overall it's enjoyable. I'd rather grumble about the stuff that annoys me while riding than go to a gym and workout or suffer the ill effects of not exercising, that's a priceless tradeoff to me.

cpl days ago boss-man suggested I take Friday off cuz it's slow. But today (Friday) was the day I was planning to bike to work, so I took yesterday (Thursday) off instead. Wifey had a procedure I wanted to accompany her to. But, in a sense ... "I opted to ride a bike through the suburbs in a bike lane next to heavy traffic for fun on my day off" :D

I drive 30+ miles, bike 7 - 8 (depending on route).

It takes about 15 minutes more to bike the last few miles than drive, including the time to swap. My total commute and my schedule gets me home too late to consider riding after work, plus the reduced wear and tear on my car (and me!) is worth it.

There's a website dedicated to the concept in the greater boston area, parkandpedal.org. Not updated very often, alas.

Ahem!

It's funny how you and I live in the same city, and yet seem to have very different experiences (and I mean that in a positive and friendly way, not confrontational at all). That said, you live in the City, and I live in Queens, so it's actually like apples and oranges. I have a car, park it on the street, and only drive it on weekends. But I totally agree that driving here is hellish.

My wife owns a car and parks it on the street. I have occasionally taken responsibility for keeping the car in a legal spot, and it's quite tricky.

Some people park their cars as far away as practical just to do some walking. In this case, it's a way of getting cycling into part of their day or else there would be no other opportunity to do so.

I do like throwing the bike on the car & then after work, driving to a favorite trail, part way home, to ride. then, when done, drive the rest of the way home. so many ways to ride a bike

In this episode of the War On Cars podcast, they talk to a woman who owns a 1987 Cadillac DeVille in Greenwich Village, just because. She basically never drives it anywhere, but actually enjoys that the ritual of moving the car weekly because of parking/street cleaning/etc, she is forced to take an hour to just sit in the comfortable car, and read a book, or draw, or just fart around on her phone.

With real estate prices as exorbitant as they are in Manhattan, it's like her mobile living room. Free curbside parking is the cheapest (most subsidized) real estate you can get in New York.

They don't clean the streets in my neighborhood, so there are some spots with no restrictions at all. You could, conceivably, leave you car there indefinitely, so long as it is legal. I have a neighbor that is retired and has had his car parked in the same spot since 2014 (when I moved into the building, so it was probably there well before that).

I have no problem with some idle, old-school New Yorkers just doing their thing. The problem is the idle, super-wealthy transplants that come to the city from every corner of the country and the world to just be rich and contribute absolutely nothing. They are literally a waste of space.