buzzman

been doing it so long it's just the way I travel. it takes really bad weather- and I mean really bad to not ride in to work. My neighbors think I'm odd that on these freezing windy nights that my car sits in my driveway as I roll off to the grocery store and come back with two heavy bags of groceries on the back.


like every day I ride...

pj7

Because I want to.
Every day for me brings one more reason to bike commute than not to. Wether it be the need to unwind, the desire to get out of the house, or the urge to burn off the cheese cake I had for breakfast.
No matter what the weather is like or what mood I am in, I have more of a reason to hop on the bike than to grab the car keys from my wife.

unkchunk

Cheese cake? Did someone say cheese cake again? Yes, my senors indicate a definite cheese cake reading. Where? I gotsta know. I must... find... cheese cake... now...

FidelCastrovich

like many others - there's no other way i'd like to get around. I wake up looking forward to my commute, and spend the day waiting for my ride home.
Like someone here said - "Work. The eight hours between bike rides". Not sure about the accuracy of the quote.

P.S. Just got my Brooks Champion Flyer(honey) in the mail...Can't wait to install it and try that baby on the way home!

Cyclaholic

What keeps me going? pasta, rice, rolleld oats (with honey, ofcourse), and donuts.....mmmmmmm donuts.

tspoon

The 20kg I lost when I took up cycling is one motivation. Before this I'd never been fit in my whole life, and now I never want to go back ever.
The spiritual/political mindshift I experienced from taking up cycling, and the realisations that followed, and are still following, would be the other reason. A bicycle is so much more than just a machine.

Cyclaholic

That is fantastic, I commend you for your efforts. Sounds to me like your cycling is is woven right in to the fabric of your life as it is with me.... what keeps me going isn't even a question, it's an absurdity, like asking what keeps my arms from falling off. Ironically though, we are as addicted to our bikes as cagers are to their cars.

newbojeff

I'd probably still ride anyway, but a very nice benefit is that I eat dessert after almost every meal.

Mmmmm cheese cake.

kemmer

I don't think about it too much. If I don't feel like riding, I don't ride. If I don't ride for more than a day or two, I feel like riding again. If I didn't like riding I wouldn't do it since I have some pretty good transportation options that don't involve a personal automobile. In the end though, there are too many things I like about biking to even consider not doing it; it's heathy, environmentally responsible, economical and fun. Plus, I don't feel guilty eating a donut or drinking a beer, I know I've earned it.

ECDkeys

Yeah, but our addictions typically don't push us to buy more than we can afford, or incur more expense we didn't anticipate (car insurance, maintenance, and friggin' gas). So it's an addiction I'll actually wear on my sleeve. Every time I see a BMW/Lexus/etc., I wonder what better use the owners of these cars could have made of their monthly payments. Like even putting it into retirement. Instead, they're basically flushing it all down the toilet. How I loathe our car culture.

Cyclaholic

Amen brother

Brian Sorrell

I third that emotion. I sold my Jeep and bought a little old pickup truck for utility purposes. This netted me $6700, which went into retirement savings, plus I save about $50 a month on insurance About commuting to work, I --

Feel physically and mentally better when I ride in the mornings.
Feel strange when my bike is not nearby.
Feel safer on the bicycle than in a car (my wife doesn't understand this, but my perceptions have shifted this way.)
Get $2 / day from the county RideShare program.

The downside is that my thighs have turned to pure muscle and I had to buy new pants. There is a corresponding upside, but I won't get into what the wife has to say about my new-found fitness.... (Talk about motivation!)

caloso

Hah. I spent a shocking amount at the tailor's to get my suits to fit properly after a year or so of daily riding. It might have been more cost-effective to buy a new suit or two, but it's good motivation to stay fit to keep my new-old clothes.

chephy

*ahem* Well, that Schmidt hub sure looks interesting... *ahem* *blush* *blush*

crtreedude 

What keeps me going is that I absolutely HATE riding the rock roads that we have out here in a care. I swear, I can feel my kidneys wanting to give it up. But, take a really nice hardtail and you have fun - there is usually a good line through the rock that dirt bikes have made, you just have to find it.

Food keeps me going too - refueling is fun when it is food.

Being in great shape is a plus - and of course, my wife approves.