Doohickie

djkenny

1. I think urban life should be more than "from A to B"
2. Experience more of my surroundings
3. Experience the feelings of freedom I had when I was a kid on a bike as I age
4. To look and feel 10+ years younger as I age by starting in the late 20's
5. Meet people I take the bus with and stop at lights with on my bike
6. Be able to stop and look at things I would not in a car
7. To think clearer, and look forward to arriving and leaving work, school, etc
8. To breathe better
9. Save $ on gas
10. Less emissions
11. To go against the grain a bit
12. To show respect for the strides made in my new(er) city by living the lifestyle many have worked for
13.. To convince others I work with to try bike commuting themselves
14. I try to limit my consumption and live simply...biking is an extension of Me
and I did not feel like spending $$ on repairing my car for several months

SteveCrowley

It's free and fast. My commute is short, but it takes 20 minutes walking at 6:30 am whereas when I ride my bike (Raleigh rush hour) it takes me 3 min, 30 sec, so I can leave 20 or more minutes later.

mechBgon

I think I began commuting by bike when I was in grade school, back in the '80s. Riding to school counts as commuting, right?

noriel

After getting married, I moved closer to work. My former free parking spots were now 4 miles away in the wrong direction. I've always been a cyclist, so I thought this would be a great way to save money on parking and gas. Rain or shine.

Kotts

I started commuting basically to get more ride time in without taking time away from my family. I can ride to-from work (28 mile roundtrip) in about 15 minutes longer than it takes to drive, and it gets me about 1 1/2 hours of additional ride time each day.

I've also found that traffic lights make for pretty good interval training.

tarwheel 

My motivations were many. First, I have been cycling for many years and it often occurred to me that I could get in a lot of training miles just riding to work and back. However, we don't have any bike lanes or paths along my route and it didn't seem safe. Then we had a commuter challenge in our city that my employer was involved with. Basically they were asking everyone to pledge to use some sort of alternative transportation at least one day a week. I was already carpooling but that often didn't work out for logistical reasons, so I decided to ride my bike to work on dress-down Fridays. Pretty soon I realized that I had overblown the traffic issues in my mind, and I also found a new route that avoided most of the traffic anyway.

Once I cleared that hurdle, I started thinking "Why not bike commute all the time?" I couldn't come up with a good reason not to, but came up with a whole bunch of reasons why I should:
-- Helps increase or keep up my cycling miles.
-- More free time on weekdays because I'm through cycling when I get home.
-- Helps reduce traffic congestion.
-- Helps reduce air pollution.
-- Helps conserve oil and reduce our dependence on foreign supplies.
-- It's more fun than driving.

I've now been bike commuting to work about 4 days/week for the past year-and-a-half. BTW, I actually started bike commuting back in college, when it was my primary transportation. That was when I first got bit by the cycling bug.

jpdesjar

i like this one as a motivator but also i bike to work for better health and it helps improve my running, not too mention saving some money and being outdoors more. i like that it clears my head and gives me time to problem solve and think up new ideas for paintings...oh and improved sex drive

JoeyBike

When I started high school, I was the second kid picked up by the bus, and second to last dropped off. I spent 2 hours a day on the friggin' school bus. So I tried riding my 10 speed to school. 5 miles in 20 minutes. No brainer.

My parents tried to give their old car to me a couple of years later, but I was used to cycling and the car was more expensive to use. I tried the car for a week and gave it back.

bikegeek57

Started riding in June this year after injuring knee. Physical Therapist recommended biking. Lost 20 pounds. Commute is not long at 3 miles. Plan is to get into shape enough to ride to work 11 miles and eventually ride the Silver Comet Trail end to end. I rode as a kid everywhere and loved it. I ride as much as I can now and still love it. Losing that 20 pounds was the best thing I have done for myself in years. Looking forward to more miles gained and more pounds lost. The stories of riders with silly grins on their faces driving by traffic is the truth. I know I am happier riding a bike than driving a cage.

DCvision

great thread! When I was a wild 20yo, I lived on South Beach, and the best mode of transportation was a bike. I had a lime green MTB with florescent decals, and man, I rode that thing everywhere. Fast forward 20 years, and here I am, another overweight, middle aged guy with the 3 M's- marriage, morgage, and miserable....

So I decided in February of this year to make a change, and got a craigslist MTB, added a rack and tried to ride at least 3 days a week...along the way, lost some weight, got to hear the birds chirp in the morning and enjoyed myself immensely... Got right hooked in April, and broke my elbow, 8 weeks before I got back on my bike, and in September bought myself an upgrade. (Giant FCR2) Now, commute time is around 30 minutes, equal if not faster than driving, I have lost 20 lbs, and feel great...

just have to do something about the grey hair....

Chop61

I live next to a popular restaurant in Atlanta, and I work nights. I would come home on "Martini Night" and there would be no parking. So I started riding on Monday nights. Then I found out that the Atlanta Clean Air Campaign would pay me $3 for every day I did an alternative commute over 90 days. Sweet! So I bought a commuter bike and now I ride at least 4 days a week.

SouthFLpix

Rising gas prices and very limited parking at my building. I had someone call a tow truck on me once, and have been ticketed twice for parking in 'non-authorized' parking areas because there simply was no where else to park. I now have an assigned parking spot, but I still prefer to bring the bike and leave it for someone else or a client.

rugerben

When guys are in good shape, they can pull off the grey hair thing. It actually works. It's only when guys are fat and grey that it looks lousy.

You may be better off than you think.

DCvision

WIN!.. thanks!

Ka_Jun

1) Health benefits, get cardio, cut weight.
2) Seemed like fun.
3) Was a way to blow off steam and the endorphins I get from doing it make me easier to be around.
4) Riding public transportation was getting old & costly.

Hines073

I drive to school using a back roads and it didn't look like too bad of a route....so recently I have been conditioning my self for the 20 mile route. Hopefully I'll be ready to do it on a constantly starting next semester. Also it is a lot cheaper for me to take a train to my mothers house for the holidays and ride my bike from the station to her house. Other reasons for the commute include the health benefits, and that I just enjoy riding bikes.

777arty

LMAO

i started seeking alternate transportation. i'm guaranteed to drive 400 miles a month (family commitment), without the commute. add another 400 for the commute, 800 miles (down from 2,000+) in the cage, every month, and i hate it. i recently moved form somewhat off the grid to on the grid. concrete jungle motor city style, and it sux. people drive red-line to red-light.

i live in a big city and should be able to commute without a car. so, i hopped on the bus for my commute. all the while thinking about putting the cost savings toward a bike. 'did my research (thanks to you - at bikeforums.net), bought a kona smoke 2-9, and i'll never look back.

the first 2/3 weeks were tough, especially the first twenty minutes... breathe! breathe! ... but now i can crank like no tomorrow. there's no looking back.

the benefits: when i leave work, i leave work. no worries. lower blood pressure, and i've lost twenty pounds. ... oh, and the fall leaves... the smells... life. there's so much to take in, it's awesome.

lil brown bat

aka Boston's wonderful public transit system.

Doohickie

Brian T

I started by riding to grade school. 20 years later, riding is still fun. It's the only way I can enjoy going to work.

stevage

My job was boring. Riding there and back meant at least two interesting things happened each day.

stevage

Why is that a good thing?

Steve

Tourfan

I went for a ride one Sunday. 20 minutes later, found myself at work and wondering why I didn't just do this every day. This was five years ago.

Now:

(a) love the thought of getting into bike clothes rather than work clothes when I wake up in the morning. This lycra-love is a bit of a worry, I know;

(b) feel guilty if I miss a commute; and in any case,

(c) hate the thought of getting into the Tube (subway) - hot, crowded, guaranteed to catch some unspeakable disease;

(d) excuse to buy ever-increasing amounts of bike kit as "need it for work".

Bob N.

I wasn't getting enough cycling in, I needed more. Commuting gets me to work, I get to bike more, and I get in a nice workout (usually more than a longer, laid-back weekend ride.