There are lots of extraneous reasons for my bike commuting habit- for idealistic reasons (staying car free and keeping a small carbon footprint); for a vain desire to look better in my jeans and the related guilt of not doing any workout other than the commute; and because bussing/ walking just takes too damn long and requires me to get out of bed at an ungodly hour if I hope to make it to work on time. Yet, I think the real core reason I ride to work is because it creates space every day for me to experience and interact with my world. I find I'm a much better observer of details of city life from atop two wheels than from behind one, and I tend to have more lucid thoughts when I'm grinding out pedal strokes than while grinding through traffic in a metal box.
