gdhillard

Retired, so no longer commuting. Still riding every day, and its the best part of every day. Makes me fit, happy, and positive.

joeyduck

One downside to biking: It is such a cheap hobby that once I need to spend money I have a difficult time rationalizing the expenditure.

linnefaulk

+1

rara avis

- fitness and the hope to add ten more years of good life in this place
- fresh, crisp morning air. I cannot have enough of it. There is no industry around so the place is pretty much pristine. Very little traffic, mostly in the evening.
- the smell of wild flowers during my evening ride.
- the morning ride prepares me for the day at work. The evening ride prepares me for the evening at home.... Kids...
- I feel free. And have that inexplicable sense of happiness.

that's about it, off the top of my head...

Eric S.

Being able to get where I'm going on streets with little or no traffic allows me to daydream while I get where I need to be.

Can't do that in a car.

Sometimes I feel lazy and drive but I regret it. Cycling has me perked up and alert when I arrive; not so much in a car.

baron von trail 

Cycling is more fun than driving. /thread

Sullalto

At this point, I don't need motivation to ride. I need motivation for that pesky 'job' thing in between my daily bike rides.

I've just gotten into cycling this year, after not being active for a decade. Exercises(I primarily cycle) manages my mental health better than any medication regimen I've ever had. How stable I am is pretty proportional to how active I am.

I didn't like being fat either, but pounds melting away has more to do with a change in diet than exercise. Exercise makes it much easier to maintain a calorie deficit though.

I also don't have a car, and I can get to work faster by pedaling than the bus manages. Shower included.

I like the feeling of using my body, I like an honest sweat and well earned soreness.

Sullalto

I dunno, that kinda depends on the car and the road. Cycling vs Sitting in traffic while commuting, definitely. But a good empty road and a well-tuned vehicle is a universal pleasure. Be it 2 wheels(powered or unpowered) or 4.

Bug Shield

Are we talking riding in general or just commuting?

• It's easy to ride to work. Cool, low traffic, down hill, light wind. Then I'm stuck at work and if I want to get home...
• It keeps me fit (mentally too).
• It lets me eat what I want (and as much as I want).
• It allows me to divert commuting cost to toys.
• It makes me part of the solution.
• Camaraderie.

alan s 

I get to show off my quads to the ladies 2x per day.

Mark Stone

NOT FAIR posting pictures of two different guys and claiming it's you!!

Kidding aside, WOW!! Great transformation!

Mark Stone

When I was in my 20s and 30s, the experts said "Ride your Bike! You will be healthy, happy, and live to be a healthy, mobile, fit old man!" And now that I'm in my 60s I realize that they were right and it worked! So I'll keep riding . .

mustridebikes

+1

baron von trail 

Years ago I moved to a part of the country where commuting either by bike or car keeps me out of snarling traffic jams and smelly cities. Nonetheless on the days I drive, I still lament not having chosen to ride.

TrekCommuter

What motivates me to ride to work? Sitting at a desk for 8 hours, 5 days a week. Also, this desk happens to be in the basement of the building where I work. No natural light, no fresh air.

GriddleCakes

Cycling the funnest way that I know to navigate around my city. Traffic isn't much of an issue here (although locals who've never driven in larger cities will disagree), but driving in the city is still a tedious endeavor, vacillating between stress and boredom. The local bus system is wildly inconvenient (missed your bus? Next one comes in an hour. Need to be somewhere early on the weekend? Sorry, buses don't start running until 10:00 on most routes), embarrassingly so for a city of our size. Plus, buses are all, like, ew.

But riding a bike, now that's just fun, now matter how or why you're doing it. I'd rather ride a bike than drive or walk. My commute is almost completely stress (and car) free, but even back when it was all sidewalks along busy arterial streets and survival parking lot hopping, I would still have rather been on a bike than in my car.

There are loads of other benefits: some folks do it to save money (I spend enough money and time on my bikes that I'm pretty sure it's a wash for me), it keeps you physically fit, you're less of a burden on the taxpayer funded public infrastructure, your carbon footprint is reduced (this is originally why I started riding again, after my obligatory infatuation with the motor vehicle), blah blah blah. These are all great benefits that you can derive from cycling. But it's the fun, I think, that keeps most of us at it.

If I didn't find the simple act of riding a bicycle to be the deeply, intrinsically enjoyable experience that it is, I seriously doubt that I would've kept at through these past 13 years. Or be able to confidently state that I will continue to ride bikes, whenever and wherever I can, until I'm no longer able to do so.

GriddleCakes

Lady GriddleCakes here:

Saving money is sure not an excuse in our household given how much GriddleCakes spends on bicycle parts, but bike wrenching is his hobby, and it seems like a thoroughly worthwhile one. We get by with one car in a winter city, so I guess we do save a bit that way.

I've biked to work most of the last 5 years primarily for mental health; I need exercise to feel ok, and I am not a morning person, so bike commuting is the only way I will get my blood pumping and endorphins running before I sit down to work. If I drive, I feel like a slug all day. If I bike, I show up energized (or possibly flipping out on adrenaline about the last jackass in a truck that almost squished me).

On really icy days, I actually feel much safer (better control than a car) on my studded-tire mountain bike than in my car on the road with every idiot who thinks 4WD = immortality. I admit to getting a kick out of my co-workers' shocked stares when I show up on a bike during an ice storm or 20 below zero cold snap.

and +1 to all the lower carbon footprint/environmental/it's just more fun than driving

kenwer

When I bike to work I usually have to get my gear together the night before. I like the preparation, it's a kind of meditation for me. In the morning I feel ready to go which is a feeling that lasts into the workday. The ride in gives me a chance to think about some of the things that might happen right when I walk through the door, to sort of decide in advance how I'm going to handle the day emotionally. The last couple of months have been really great at work, but before that it was rough, a phenomenally bad boss, lot's of unprofessional behavior, etc., etc.. It also makes it easy to get on the bike with my 2 year old son because getting on the bike is such a regular thing.

mgw4jc

Apologies if this has already been posted somewhere recently. It's a short commercial encouraging people - of all types - to ride. It's pretty funny.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=283794421808937

linnefaulk

All rides should end with ice cream

spare_wheel

Hmmmm...when the other choices are motoring in a low occupancy vehicle or using a less than 3rd word public transport system no positive motivation is required.

scroca

I can't really remember what motivated me to start bicycle commuting. Now I do it because it is what I do.

boattail71

I recently rode in a Tour de Fat bike parade; now that's fun! But no, I don't otherwise ride just for the fun or enjoyment. On a workout, I'm on the bike for that alone. If it somehow becomes "fun" then great! (legs felt great on Sunday and I actually enjoyed that ride) (a ride with my buddies on Monday - that was enjoyable too) Usually though, not necessarily fun - usually I can't wait to get back home for chores, dinner, or enjoyable avocations.

I run errands or commute by bike because it offers the least hassle and inconvenience. I suppose you could argue semantically that that is more "fun" than driving.

-- D. Downer, whah whahhhhhh

joeyduck

My wife told me if I get my six pack back we get more baby making practice.

HydroG33r 

If you bring home a 6-pack of this will she take the hint?