My car had just blew a head gasket so we were relying on the wife's van for transpo to both jobs...Several weeks into that the van started leaking water and needed a new water pump so to limit drive time on the van I started biking to work.. That was June 1st of this year, the van was fixed, my car remains parked and Ive not taken a car to work since..Certainly not saved me any $$ as Ive spent more on gear than id ever spent on gas but the real reward was my lowered my stress levels which has made for a happier home life, The other is the health benefit, Ive gone from 220lbs to 186lbs and from a size 42 to a 36..My reducible hernia has also been kept in check by my improved fitness...I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.....

As a kid it was the most efficient way to get from A to B, and look good doing it - especially on my sissy-barred, banana-seated, ape-hanger handlebarred, Lightning Blue Sears FreeSpirit 3-speed. Then came the BMX craze in the 80s (I think for me it was that cool chase scene from the movie ET.) I bought a decent mountain bike after I started working for a living but it was stolen within the first year. Now, after an almost 20-year hiatus from cycling, I'm back in school after a workplace injury and I needed a form of exercise that would work for me. Bicycling just made sense. After riding all summer I decided to start commuting to school to avoid the parking headaches and fees. Now I have studded tires and fenders and am ready to tackle my first winter commutes. I'm loving my new (old) obsession.

I voted for #4 and #5 but there's one more reason:

Driving twenty something miles every day is boring and stresses me, riding a bike through the same road is fun and gives me a great kick on the early morning and a perfect relax after an office day.

Coque.

I thought it might be fun. Turned out it was.

An important factor for me, not mentioned in your poll, is energy conservation. Although related to the answer on environmental reasons, it goes beyond that. We waste so much gasoline, diesel and other fuels in the US and supplies are ultimately limited. One day we will run out, or gasoline will be too expensive for most people to buy. Our addiction to petroleum also drives much of our foreign policy, causing us to get involved in stupid wars and conflicts that would otherwise be unnecessary.

This.

1) Because I can
2) Save money on public transport
3) Improve my health/fitness

Self-sufficiency. Also fitness and sanity. But mostly I ride for the same reason I don't have credit cards: if I can't do it myself, do I really need to do it?

Because I wasn't old enough to drive at the time.

There's just something special about leaving work and seeing your coworkers jump in their cars while you mount your bike to begin that nice long ride home; there's a peacefulness about that trip which clears my thoughts after a long hard day. And in the morning especially when it's a bit cool outside and the air is crisp, it cycling opens up my lungs, speeds up my metabolism and prepares me mentally for my day.

I'm sure you guys can relate, but when I talk to my car hoping coworkers, they just can't relate.

And after turning 50, it just makes the old bones feel so much better in the morning........

I ride simply to upset car drivers: because I am a malcontented communist luddite who is hostile to technology. If I can add 30 seconds to their trip or irritate them by my mere presence, then my job is done.

(To hear SOME people telll it.)

Started by cycling to college because it was quicker than the bus and $1 cheaper. I now do it because I still have two legs and can. More in part for fitness and an ever growing dislike of having to drive. I just do not fancy the very low temperatures.

Oh shucks!

When I was 14-15, I was riding all over the place, reveling in the pure joy and freedom cycling gave me; it was a release that I'd never experienced in my younger years. After stupidly turning to cars, I tried repeatedly to recapture that feeling over the years that followed.

After I turned 40, a job circumstance put me in a position to pick up commuting and utility cycling again. I WAS able to get the passion back this time, and I've never looked back! I even sold my car!

(BTW, I voted the last reason on the poll list. The poll listed other good reasons, but they were all a distant 2nd.)

After I began bicycle commuting, I realized that driving a car to a spin class is the definition of insanity.

I like to ride my bike more than I like to drive my car.

My Jeep gets really crappy mileage, so I save a ton of money by only driving it 1500 - 2000 miles per year instead of 7500 - 8000 miles (which is what it would be if it were my daily commuter).

I got a job that was too far to walk to from my house. It was simple as that.

I was getting lazy and fat and it seemed like a pretty good way to get some exercise. Running is out due to a frigged up leg, ironically received while driving home from work.

Once I started, I discovered that my stress levels went waaaayyyy down.

Eventually it became fun.

I now take pride in the fact that I get to work and back with a pretty small environmental footprint.

And I enjoy when people see my bike at work when it's 28 degrees with flurries, or dumping rain, or 100 degrees and saying, "You rode TODAY?!!" with an incredulous look on their faces.

I keep doing it because I fell in love with riding.

I always rode a bike as a kid but stopped doing that in college. Being a poor college student and later a poor college graduate, I always had crappy cars and most of the time my car was either out of order or out of license plates (for a variety of reasons) and I relied on public transport and a pair of good shoes. Then one day, this fantastic blonde started began working at the same place I was working and she always rode a bike to work so I bought myself a cheap Trek to impress her. Now, 15 years later, I have 5 bicycles, ride almost every day to work and even better, the fantastic blonde hasn't kicked me out of the house yet...

+1 Great story!

+1

I can't say, really, what made me start. I guess it was simply because I liked to ride.

In more recent years I have definitely come to dislike driving.

Been cycling since I was 5 and 40 years later it's still a joy to get on the bike. Commuting simply allowed me to ride more.

I commute to get time in riding my bikes. My wife was complaining about the time I was riding alone but wouldn't join me.