you WANT to commute by bicycle, but CAN'T because of a hell week with commitments after work that require the CAGE for transportation.

i've been missing my bike all week.

You have my sympathy. This summer our kid signed up for a cross-country ski training camp that requires getting her to and from the site, ten miles from home, three days a week. She gets a ride there usually, but I have to drive to work so I can duck out and pick her up to take her home. At that point, it really would not look too good for me to get on my bike to go back to work and arrive close to noon.

What really gets me is that I am driving her someplace for the purpose of getting exercise. If I were doing it, I would ride my bike the ten miles, do the training, and thus REALLY get some exercise.

What also is interesting is that, when I was 17, I wouldn't have considered riding a bike ten miles, or if I did, I would have considered it a great accomplishment. Now, almost 40 years later, I WOULD consider riding ten miles to and from a physical training camp and I wouldn't think too much of it.

I'm the exact same boat. Driving every day through 45 miles of bay area traffic has been sucking the life out of me. I can't wait to get back on the bike (and train....I'm not crazy after all) next week.

Wow can I echo this sentiment. When I was a kid, I lived in a really small town. My friends lived between 2 and 3 miles away, and we considered this an obscenely long bike ride. 20 years later, I'm gearing up for touring and I'm somewhat disappointed that work is ONLY 1.6 miles away -- so much so that I take a longer, uphill route home.

To the OP's point: since I started cyclo-commuting, I feel really strange when I have to use the car for errands or obligations. Except hauling lumber

Heh... when I was a teenager, I LIVED on my bike. I'd regularly go out and spend 8 hours or more on rides, or ride 10 miles from my house to my friend's in the next town to visit. The best part was flying past the mountain bikers on the trails on my beat up old road bike. They didn't have a chance... I could easily out pace them on the smooth parts, and the few rocky parts of the trails I'd just pick my bike up and carry it over, and still be moving faster than they were.

I find it quite amusing when I can do things on my bike, and accomplish them faster than my co-workers who are driving. (I don't have to try to find a parking spot! ) "You can't ride your bike down and deliver that!" "Umm... it takes me 10 minutes to get there, 10 minutes back, and I don't have to look for or pay for parking" "Oh."

Yes - it is horrible - but so nice when the schedule clears and it is just back and forth to the office on bike.

Same deal here,

I posted a thread like this a while back. this is public enemy #1 for me , too much to do afterwork

and too far to pedal and if not too far it will take too long .

I love fall the schedual quiets right down.

"John"

Back in the saddle today, and it felt great!

I remember growing up my closest friends were about 1.7 miles away on dirt roads. I rode that quite often on my BMX style bike. It wasn't a huge deal but I don't remember it being easy. We occasionally rode the 4 miles down to the local covered bridge for something to do and I considered that an occomplishment.
Now I don't think twice about a 8.5 mile commute and yesterday I rode 10 miles to get to the start of a 100 mile ride.
How things change. Maybe due to my experience my daughter can grow up with a different idea about what distances can be covered with a bike.
Craig