I commuted today and I have to get up earlier than normal. The first day was hard for me to get up, but this morning, the thought of biking got me out of bed on time. Although my girlfriend was still in our warm bed peacefully sleeping, which was hard for me as it is still kind of cold in the mornings here.

Coffee did help as I fired the Mr. Coffee up as soon as I stepped out of my room and I feel better and more alert in the morning.

Thats great!! Hey, can you justify any of my other chemical addictions, like beer maybe?

The only biking I did in NY was as a teen, mostly to the park or friends' apartments on my ten speed. My five-foot-nothing sister was a bike messenger for awhile, though, and by all reports, was pretty aggressive. That's my memory of it, staying with cars and the flow, being aggressive if you had to be. But I stayed out of super-heavy traffic, like on the West Side, and even <gasp!> used the sidewalks a lot. Like I said, I was teen on a ten-speed, and not particularly adventurous.

I'd say the main difference is that traffic in NY always seemed so interactive: a look, an engine rev, a lurch in a direction, tons of subtle and not so subtle cues that you need to read and give in order to successfully navigate the cars. In Phx, people seem to be either polite to the point of being scared, or just completely amoral/willfully unaware and lacking any regard for how bicycles fit into the traffic scheme. Those are exagerrated descriptions, but they fit pretty well with my experience.

I've done weekend cycling in NYC between the 60-90th streets on the east side of and into CP. But it was recreational riding on borrowed bikes, not commuting to downtown in rush hour. But I found it quite manageable, even enjoyable fitting in the flow.

I agree that phx-metro drivers are either overly cautious or overly unaware/uncaring. But it is the high speeds I find most difficult, one moment you see a gap, then a second later its gone. The speed makes it hard to tell if a car is slowing or not to let you in a gap.

Al

Besides arriving at work on a nice day, the worst part of my commute is pulling into traffic during rush hour. Although I work such odd hours this occurrance is rare, when I do have to take that left into heavy traffic, it is disturbing.

Exactly! How about the mornings I've weakened and driven to work because I stalled around til it was to late to ride...first thing I see is some other rider out there doing it right.

You are damn right. 1 hour and 7 minutes by bike. 1 hours and 20 minutes by subway if the train is on time arriving and leaving each station.