I came across this thread I began nearly 15 years ago! After many years commuting in the Bay Area I moved back to the Boulder, Colorado area. I’m 60 now and still a commuting addict!

I get lazy or demotivated at times. A few months ago, I noticed how my health and happiness improve with increased bike commuting. It made me see that it's not just a fun indulgence, it's a necessity. I'm glad I'm able to do it. I'm sorry for those who can't.

I could take fitness or recreational rides, and I do, but I couldn't put as many miles on doing that. Combining exercise and commuting is more time efficient and more motivating. I get a huge sense of satisfaction from doing something useful with my body. No one (except for me) needs me to have fun. But there are people who need me to get to work and home, so it feels more useful. I can't schedule enough rides to get in the same number of miles if I were not commuting to work by bike some of the time.

Thank you for reviving your thread, [MENTION=77266]Thigh Master[/MENTION]. I also joined BF in 2009.

I saw this thread was from '09 and was glad when I jumped to the end to see you're still around and still commuting. Now, I'm about the same age you were when you started this thread and I'm really into using my bike as a car replacement whenever possible. My commute is only 4 miles/day, so not much, but I still feel more energetic on those bike commuting days. I end up getting a lot more miles by running errands and shopping on the bikes.

By the way, I'll be visiting Boulder in mid-June this year. Taking a road trip with my 12 year old daughter and I read that Boulder is one of the top bike-friendly cities in the country, so we're spending a day or two there just to check it out. We'll pack our two folding eBikes. I'm a little afraid of all the climbing there might be, as I'm from the flatlands. Can you give me some good routes to look into? Maybe recommend a map or share some GPX or FIT files with me?