Everyone can make their own choices about why they ride to work. I personally have a lot of reasons I do it, but frankly there is one primary one that drove me to it. I'll list all of the reasons I can think of here starting with my most important ones:

• Training. I am a triathlete (some days anyway) and this is one of the best ways to get training sessions in without taking time away from family.
• Exercise and Physical Health. Okay, sounds like the first one, but frankly I'm not training for any races now so it's a good way for me to stay somewhat in shape and burn some calories.
• Mental Health. It's frankly a lot less stressful riding your bike in traffic than sitting in a car in traffic. I rarely have to slow down due to heavy traffic. In fact, what takes me 45 to 50 minutes to ride takes about 35 to drive so it's only slightly longer riding!
• Being Outdoors. I love the outdoors and while my ride is not THE prettiest scenery, there's actually a lot more to see riding my bike at 18 to 20mph than being in your car on the highway. Not to mention, being in a car with A/C and the radio, it's almost like sitting on the couch at home.
• Bike Advocacy. I want more see more people riding their bikes for all of the reasons I'm stating here and what better way to promote cycling than doing it!! I've been doing this for 18+ months and I continually see new people in my office building that ask me about it and even a few that are considering it.
• Pollution. I'm no global warming fanatic, but we all know cars create pollution and may contribute to the earth's climate change. I like the idea that riding my bike at least reduces the amount of pollution I put into the air.
• Dependence on foreign oil. Being a little bit of a political junkie and conscientious of the implications of our dependence, I am doing my little part to reduce my gas consumption.
• Save Money. The most popular comment I get from people as I lug my bike on the elevator at work is "wow, that's a great way to save money on gas." Well, truth be told, this adventure saves me zilch and may in fact cost me more. Even at $3 gallon, gas is pretty cheap. I spend at least as much as I save in gas on maintaining my bike and new bike gear and clothes - easily. But that's just me, and there is no doubt that others could save money if that was your goal.

I'm sure there's other reasons and I'd love to hear them if you have any more ideas!!

Ride On

I don't recommend it!

Well, that's not entirely true, but here are some things you should know before you start about being prepared to ride in traffic:

• If you are not already very comfortable riding your bike on a road with traffic, then this is going to push your limits. I highly recommend getting comfortable by riding on increasingly busy roads until you are completely comfortable with it.
• I recommend that when you ride to work in traffic, you ride:
• confidently - if you are not confident or unsure of what to do, you are a hazard to yourself and others. Stop. Get out of the way and figure out exactly what you mean to do.
• assertively - assertive does not mean aggressive, it means asserting your legal right to the road. If you act as if you are not sure you are supposed to be on the road, then you will confuse drivers who don't know either. Use assertive hand signals to make clear what you are going to do.
• consistently - ride the same way all the time, especially at intersections, turning lanes, stop signs, etc.
• predictably - no surprises! use common sense and logic in all decisions and consider how a driver might consider your actions.
• assume the worst - always assume that a car does not see you when making decisions. Keep speeds reasonable and be able to stop on a dime if necessary - also be ready to ditch in the worst case.Don't ever go in between stopped cars -you'll get squished.
• politely - always wave and thank drivers after hand signals and any other time they have done something good - including thanking them for slamming on the breaks and almost hitting you because they thought you were going to stop. Always smile, never get angry and just be glad you are still alive.

And speaking of polite, cyclists have a pretty bad rep in a lot of cases. Say hello to walkers, joggers, people in their yards, people driving, kids going to school and everyone else you possibly see. It's great advocacy for cycling in general and it's fun and friendly.

And with that, it's time to ride home

I've been riding to work for over 18 months. Out of all of those months, there are only a handful of weeks where I didn't ride to work at least twice. But for purposes of starting this blog, I'll start as if today is my first day.

Today's ride was pretty typical, but I was reverting back to my normal commute bike which has been out of commission for a while due to a spoke nipple pulling through my rim (Mavic MA3). My racing/training bike needed some maintenance, so I finally bought a new wheel (Mavic Cosmos) and installed it last night.

Why is that important?

Yes, that's from this morning's ride. I didn't put the wheel in tight enough and when I stood my 195 pound body on the pedals as I started up a steep incline, it popped off and I just flat fell over. Ouch! The embarrassment I mean - it didn't really hurt so much.

Anyway,  it was still a good ride. I don't have time or MPH stats because I forgot to put the sensor back on, but I can tell you that my ride is 13.1 miles each way and takes between 45 and 50 minutes. I'll provide more stats on future rides.