Vipon

I'm in a much better mood to handle the early morning problems at work. The guys at work like it better now that I commute. I'm also a whole lot less crabby when I get hom

kegoguinness

I just started commuting. I have already, in a few trips, found new and better ways to get to and from the Metro. I found a little connector "trail" (really all of like 25 yards) that smartly connects what was before a moribund absence of Google map lines --an area devoid of a street!-- and is such a welcome respite from the maddening rush of the main traffic route.

I putter along at times and don't care. I don't worry about when precisely I get to the office. And when I arrive at work, bathed in the corrugated halo of cubicle light, I love that my bike looks so out-of-place, like some coelocanth dragged from the board room, spouting action items while running its Big Apple tires over the hapless Blackberry, whose muted robotic pleas for mercy are ended with one lancing jab of the kick stand!

wildergeek

I hate to post a "me too" reply but I can echo everything people are saying in previous posts. I just lacked the ability to articulate it before now.

I'm on the saddle 60 minutes a day. That hour is usually the most relaxing part of my day. In the AM, I find myself bummed that I can't get in a couple more miles before arriving at work. In the PM, all the work stress melts away as I climb out of the valley.

My life was not been very organized and bike commuting has forced me to get organized (charge batteries, prep cold-weather gear, check/maintain bike at regular intervals). That organization routine has spilled over into other areas of my life as well.

Biking also soothes my green conscience. 1,300 miles since June not in a car. Not sure how much that has reduced my carbon footprint. I do ride a CF frame bike so I guess in a strange way, my bike is made from the stuff cars spew out their tailpipe.

Biking has also made me more observant. Mostly for traffic survival, but I also see the micro view I'd never see while driving a car. Monday, I stood at the roadside for five minutes and watched a redtail hawk catch and eat a squirrel. That was cool.

AdamD

Cycling absolutely has a huge positive effect on me. I've noticed that when it's great, it's really great. The downside is when it's bad, it's really bad. When I drove I would get frustrated in traffic, never enjoyed a minute of it, but it was pretty easy to leave it behind when I got out of the car. When I'm on a bike if a cager is aggressive towards me or is just unsafe for any reason it gets me more riled up than when I was driving. I suppose it's the whole thought of potentially being killed that makes it harder to shake.

Interesting side-note... I sometimes ride with a HRM and when I've had close-calls I can literally look down at the HRM and see my heart rate go up and stay there for a while.

Roody

I love cycling, and I don't want to be a wet blanket. But 4 years ago I had a crash and broke a wrist and various other body parts. After 5 months in a cast and off work, Ireturned to cycling. In late October, the hardware that was in the broken wrist got infected. It was more surgery, 4 days in the hosspital and unbelievable pain. I'm in rehab now--will probably be off work for a while longer. I imagine I'll go back to cycling when I heal.

About this pattern of returning to an activity that gives you great pain and financial hardship. Is this a sign of emotional well-being?

x10dedl1fe

I suppose when the weather is 75F and sunny any cyclist would be beaming with joy. However, with set backs such as injury, inattentive drivers, broken glass, rain, snow and other various close calls will always bother us.

The key is just to move on, and be grateful that you made it out alive.

As for myself I have been commuting to school/work since summer. What was a short-term summer hobby has turned into a dedication to commute rain or shine. Saves myself money, stress, time, gym fees, healthcare costs*, parking fees, speeding tickets, insurance etc.

* = unless injured.

I hope you heal up quick! Godspeed.

rugerben

No problem that I see. In my mind, people do what they want to do. Sometimes you get hurt, and sometimes it costs money. but it doesn't mean you don't want to engage in that activity.

The problem comes in when it actually disrupts the regular goings on of your life. Here is an example. My father had a client at one time who was very memorable to me. the man raced motorcycles. loved them, raced them, etc... As is par for the course, he got into a few crashes. Each time, he was pretty banged up, but each time he recovered and went back to racing. One time it was really bad. His legs were crushed. the doctors knew the knees and hips would not bend properly ever again. they had to pin his legs in a stationary position that would become permanent as the legs healed. Now, most people get their legs pinned in a sitting position so that they can move in a wheelchair/scooter and use the bathroom like a normal person. This guy? nah. he convinced the doctors to pin his legs in the 'tucked-under-and-back' position of a motorcycle racer so that even if his legs couldn't move, he could still race.

I have no idea where he is today. Probably dead is my guess. But that is when it gets sick. When you sacrifice a normal and reasonable lifestyle to do something self-destructive.

You? you're fine. You just like your sport.

gholt

I find that if I don't get the exercise I need, I get really cranky quick. When I don't bike, I find it difficult to fit in swimming or any other type of exercise.

heyjaffy

Agreed, +1000

I'm on my bike every second that I can be. With two young children, a career, etc..., this is not as often as I would like it to be. I commute by bike when I can, I ride my bike with absolutely no destination in mind whenever possible. Every time I'm on my bike, wherever I am, wherever I'm going, whatever I'm doing, I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be. This pays dividends in all other areas of my life.

Jim from Boston

My best insight into the effects of cycling on my well-being came into focus when I was eating lunch with two other doctors. We started talking about the vicissitudes of life, e.g. sudden death, trivial symptoms that are harbingers of deadly diseases, etc. We came around to that mundane conclusion that you have to live life to the fullest, day by day.

As we were leaving, one colleague, a marathon runner, said "Well, any day that has a run in it is a good day for me." It sudenly clicked for me as a bicyclist that any day that had a ride in it is, for me, a good day. Though there are no guaranties in life, investment in cycling to enjoy life, even just to ward off the vagaries of disease, is a good deal.

Sometime later I confided my conclusion to a secretary that bicycling is a key to a happy life, to which she replied "That's so stupid." To each his or her own. I really like that secretary, but I do refer to her as the Joan Rivers of our Department ;-)

caloso

Good post, Jim. It reminds me of a conversation I had a few winters ago with a coworker. Earlier in the day she'd called me crazy for riding to work in "a storm" (really just run of the mill rain). In an unrelated conversation I'd asked her about dance programs for my daughter. Anyway, she mentioned how she'd really gotten back into ballet after her dad died and that it was a mental and emotional break, as well as physical.

I said, "Well the way you feel about dance is the way I feel about cycling. If you could dance your way to work, wouldn't you do it?" And that clicked for her.

recumelectric

I just loved your total post, and this quote in particular! That was beautiful.

recumelectric

I hear you. I've been in physical therpay for 2 months (I think) now to repair damage to and strengthen my knees.

...And it's still worth it. Cycling give me a sense of freedom and joy that no other activities do. ...And I'm a "stroll in the park" slowpoke. Just pedaling to the store 1/2 mile away makes me feel good. There's just something about the act of balancing, being out on the ground, feeling the weather, and that initial hit on the pedals that's soooo good.