Why Bike?

I was hit by a car last August and in the course of the investigation, I was asked for the name of my insurance company. I indicated that I didn't drive- yes I have an automobile license and actually own two cars but only my wife is insured- I'm an "incidental driver". This left the investigator flabbergasted- I had to actually sign something saying that I didn't have my own insurance or drive to work. In fact, unless I'm traveling for work or vacation I probably don't put on 50 miles a month in a car.

Here in Massachusetts biking is a very popular sport and I know several people who also commute to work by bike so it hadn't struck me that I was unusual. After all, there have been numerous studies showing it's quicker to get places by bike than car or even public transport. My own experience has confirmed this- from our home in suburban Lincoln, MA I nearly always make it into Cambridge and even downtown Boston more quickly than my wife driving. Of course, it sucks in the rain but it's not much fun scraping off windows or pumping gas in the rain either.

So give biking to work a try. You can enjoy an extra doughnut at work and drink that big, frothy cappuccino each morning on the way to work with the toll money you'll save alone. You waistline will love it too. I have to confess, after breaking my leg in a sledding accident I have been being chauffeured around by my wife for the last three months but I'm aching to get back on two wheels and rebuild those twigs that are now my legs.

Why bike? Studies comparing travel times:

Central London Travel Study

Milwaukee Commuter Race