BobbyG

There are a few factors that combine to motivate me to bike to work year-round, in all weather including snow.

I guess my main motivation is "smugness". Seriously. I may not be the fastest, the most stylish, or have the best and newest equipment, but I am riding when many others don't. I was missing too many days due to snow and ice in the winter, so five years ago I bought studded snow tires and I gained back all those "lost" winter days. I started to push my cold weather threshold down and I reclaimed even more days of riding. (I'm good down to 5F now).

Three years ago I experimented with DIY rain capes, fashioned one, that works, then another and now I ride on more rainy days, or days where it is likely to rain. ( I have always had adequate fenders on my commuter bikes.)

Then there's the "health" angle. I'm 58 and my daily 18 mile-round-trip ride keeps me healthy enough to enjoy life with better cardio, stamina and blood chemistry (like lower cholesterol). Riding also helps with my seasonal allergies...especially in winter. Sure, riding outdoors exposes me to grass, pollen and whatever (including smoke from fires), but after 15-20 minutes of riding my sinuses open up and drain, and it makes a positive difference.

Then there's the "endorphin factor". Riding just feels good! Okay, it's more than just endorphins, there's norepinephrine secretion, dopamine, and serotonin. All combine to give a pleasurable sensation, or "runner's high".

And I sleep better when I am cycling regularly.

And that ties into better mental health. Less depression, quiet time alone (alone with spoken word podcasts for me (one ear only). Freedom from stressful car-traffic (for the most part). And when there is stress and frustration in my life...mashing a bicycle pedal relieves it better than mashing a gas pedal.

Then there's the adventure and beauty factor. Fall colors, crisp cool air, pristine snow, not only traveling under my own power, but putting out enough heat to stay comfortable on my own. Riding home at night in the dark, during winter months I feel safer as I'm lit up from head to to and side to side. And on dark, quiet side streets I feel like a kid under the blankets with a flashlight.

Meeting the challenges of season and weather is just another hill to master.

Another big motivation for me was "The Year I Didn't Ride". In 2010 at 48 I suffered a bulging disk in my neck. I wasn't sure if I was going to ride again or not. Excruciating, unrelenting pain aside, the total physical inactivity brought all the things I enjoyed about cycling into focus through their absence. I gained weight, lost stamina, experienced sinus problems, became depressed, stressed and slept poorly. Getting back on the bike and getting in shape enough to ride to work took a few months, and reconquering the hills here in Colorado Springs took even longer, but I got back to where I was.

I guess that "fight" to get back has really been my main motivation over the last ten years. No one and nothing is going to keep me off the bike if I can help it...And as I approach my 60s I feel as if I am at least "cheating death" and old age, if not actually fighting back against them.

The motivational secret of biking to work is that you only have to have enough motivation to get dressed and ride 5 minutes. After that, if you don't feel like riding, it is more of a hassle to return home, change into your street clothes and drive, or take whatever transit you take to work. Not to mention the lost time. The same with returning home.

So those are my motivations for riding year-round in all weather...or perhaps the reasons to have me committed to an institution.

Everybody is different and you will have to find your motivation or motivating factors.

And if you don't ride in all seasons and weather conditions, that's okay, too. Most people don't.

Just ride your ride, and enjoy what you do.