Well, I have a meeting tonight afterdark in an area where I didn't want to park my commuter bike, so I ended up driving in this morning. The more I ride my bike to work, the more driving pisses me off. People seemed to be cutting me off every 10 seconds in a vain attempt to GET TO WORK a few seconds earlier!?!?! What the hell is wrong with people? If I had ridden this morning, I'd be feeling great, now I just feel wound-up. How do people drive everyday without going postal?

Ironically, I never seemed to have anger management issues with driving until I quit driving. :rolleyes:

Tomorrow's commute won't get here soon enough...

I agree....I feel like a total slob when I can't bike into work.

I was worried it was just me. Yesterday was my first half commute. I racked the bike to a public park halfway to work, then rode from there. After riding back to the park after work, I had to drive home. Stoplights seem to drag on forever when you've just gotten off the bike.

Same feeling here. I drove last Thursday and hated it. I had a meeting yesterday afternoon (and a broken spoke) so bummed a ride home from a co-worker and hated it.

Today it was windy as heck on the ride down (conditions that, when i was unfit, I used to refuse to ride in) and I still loved it. :D

I’m with you guys. Yesterday I drove both ways for the 1st time since October. It still sucks, but after a 200 mile weekend my butt needed a break.

Back in the saddle tonight!

I just moved to a town of 41,000 and yep rush-hour is choked with traffic here too. (especially around the schools - WTF, since when did parents all start driving their chillins to school?) Hope to find a place I can walk/bike EVERYWHERE from - I got a real "are you for real?" look from people when I started saying that. The town would be much nicer if more people were out on the street biking and walking. You'd think that would be a no-brainer here in the "slow-paced" tropics. :)

For safe travel I'll take Midtown at 2:10am over any elementary school zone at 7:45am. Sheesh. When I go to the Big Peleton In The Sky, it'll probably be from Suzie Soccermom.

School zone was crawling along at 10MPH, so I didn't feel too endangered. However, all that traffic has got to be more dangerous for the kiddo's...

Yup. I think this topic has been extensively discussed in other threads, but if you ask the parents I'm sure they'd say that they're driving their spawn to school because it's too dangerous to let them walk or ride. What with traffic and all... Sigh.

There once was a thing called a school bus, and if you missed it you used your feet and didn't whine about walking a few miles. People have gone totally bonkers - dude, where's my country?

Yeap, I share in this syndrome..Today, I was off work..Foolishly drove my bike to the starting point, which I usually bike the whole distance....People pull out on two lane roads, just to have to stop ahead of you...I had our bikes on the rear rack..Happened twice, afraid the might pull back in and smash my bikes. They are nuts. Feel much safter on the bike-I think..
Other day, did some errands on the coast...Took bus/bike rack back to save time... From the bus stop I needed to go to the post office.. It was time for parents to pick up the kiddies.
The traffic was backed up all the way to the post office..About half a mile.Since there were no traffic lights, it was impossible to cross the street..
I beat the backed up traffic by half way walking the bike on the sidewalk.. Driving stinks...
I ride to work I am content...Drive to work..Angry.

Being on a bike with a sidewalk next to the street is great when you're at a really looooong light with "NO Turn On Red". Ride up to the light, pick up the bike to the sidewalk, walk around the corner, put it back in the street, ride off.

I don't know that I can say I hate driving, but I do feel like I have missed a very important part of my day. It is now more of a hassle to unpack the panniers than it ever was to pack the panniers. Hmmm, perhaps its all mental.. :)

N7CZ. I do notice a little more frustration planning for Winter commutes..Even here in So Cal. Have to plan on more kinds of items, for the morning ride home,as opposed to the late afternoon ride to work, when you need minimal stuff. Even in Winter.
So in winter the panniers are full getting ready for the commute. Minimal stuff in the other months.. Do not like the fog going home either that we get in the winterish months.Maybe a surprise sprinkle comes up, you did not plan for..Sometimes, think we can trust the weather forcaster.
Summer need not take a thing. My clothes are already at work.
As to the drive...There in Montana? Traffic.?.People drive courteously? Not here...

Interesting. I find prepairing to commute in sub-freezing temperatures of winter less of a hassle than those of spring. An example of this is my morning commute is often below freezing and 70F or above for the trip home. Then this week, snow. The ever changing dynamic of spring/fall makes the preperation more frustrating than when you know its not going to warm above freezing.

As for the drivers up here. I have been right-hooked back in March. The driver was an elderly gentleman who it appears has had a stroke some time ago. The worst to deal with up here is the "teeny-boppers" in daddys 4x4 or mommy's SUV. The bulk of my commute is rural. Once I'm in the city, I try to stay on side streets so don't have major problems.

There are several reasons to live in Montana. I rank the quality of life the most important.

People are spoiled rotten.

Ok, I feel better know. I rode into work this morning, 70 degrees, perfect. Much better than yesterdays drive in the traffic. For lunch I am going to ride to the park and play a couple rounds of frisbee golf... Ahhhhh.... Now I feel better.

MT CZ... Just like not having to plan for two seperate kinds of weather conditions and take appropriate gear...Warm afternoons and chilly mornings...Anything below 45 degreees here is unacceptable. We freeze. The hands gets cold..Lite wind jackets are just not enough...
Rather fill my panniers with things like books etc.