That's awesome for those who live close enough... I try to ride my bike to work occasionally, but it's 17 miles each way on back roads and I have no shower facility. I can go about 14mph average on cooler mornings without sweating, but summer days here in central VA are so humid it's impossible.

1:20 by bike, 25 minutes by car (20 of the 25 minutes on the highway). And there's no public transit this far outside of Richmond.

I ride about 4 days a week to work. It's about 27 miles round trip. Makes my day better when I ride. It takes me about 42 minutes now. I've been racing the clock. My goal is 30 minutes... we'll see. Whatever the case, it's way cheaper than gas and way better for you. I live in NorCal so the sweat is hardly there compared to VA! That'd be hard. I use the sink in the bathroom at work on hotter days though... I can catch public trans to work at 8, but they come back at 3. What good does that do? HUH?! Nice long summers help too... I leave home around 6am when it's cooler. The ride home is HOT and windy generally.

Here's the problem in upstate NY. Our main county roads are somewhat busy, but only have about one foot of pavement, if that, beyond the side line. Bridges have only 6 inches. The side of the road beyond the pavement can be bumpy and uneven. I would ride to work, but feel unsafe being partially in the road and not knowing what's coming up behind. So are there any funds out there to dress up the roadsides to make them bike friendly? I think this will become a necessity as cars become too expensive.

I ride about one day per week from San Marino to downtown LA. 11 miles each way. 50 minutes each way pedaling vs. 35 minutes driving. The reward is the exercise and heightened spirituality as I thank God each time that I made it home alive.

So Cal has an ideal climate for year round bike commuting. There is a serious need for public investment to bring bike paths all the way down the river to downtown.

Patricia: Get a mirror for your bike helmet. Bell makes excellent helmets with visors designed to hold fold-out mirrors. That will make it easier for you to ride in the road.

There was an episode of Top Gear where they raced across London during rush hour in a car, bike, public transit, and...private boat along the canal. They all finished pretty close, but the bike won also.

I ride at least 3 days to work all the year. My commute is around 27 miles total with big West hills from Portland Oregon. I love to ride my bike to work because it take the same time as when I take the train (named MAX)by 45-50 min. and I feel good and wake at work. I sell my car last december and buy a road bike ready for rainy days. Cycling to work should be more promoted as the best start of your day... and obesity could be part reverse !
I love Portland OR area for cycling (commuting, racing and its community)despite we have a lot of grey days in winter... not a lot rainy days !

We will be back up in just about an hour! A BRAND NEW SITE. SO PLEASE CHECK BACK IN!

We have been testing all morning to make sure it all works.

clarence
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I'm not yet a die-hard bike commuter (ie I still wimp out when it rains) but I'm riding 1-3 times per week in the summer and I love it.

My commute is 7-11 miles each way depending on the route I take from one Boston suburb to another. The longer route takes me about 15 minutes longer than driving. The shorter route about 10 minutes longer than driving but it's not all about time! I too feel great when I get to work... (just wish we had showers ~ the sponge bath thing isn't ideal)

I walk to work everyday. I work from home and built a home office on my property last winter that is exactly 87 steps from my kitchen door.

But, I feel guilty when I have to drive 800 miles round trip to do fieldwork (I am an archaeological consultant), which pretty much blows my eco-credits.

I do almost all of my reports (95% now) paperless as well.

My brother in Tucson is moving this weekend so he can ride his bike just two miles to work instead of 8 as before.

Together we can folks...together we can.

I live ~2.5 miles from my work in a downtown situation. I can catch a bus, drive and park in a parking garage, or ride my bike. They are all similiar in times, although I would say the driving is ~17 min (including parking in a garage and walking a couple blocks to work), the biking ~20 min (including changing), and the bus ~22 min (including the waiting/walking). The driving costs a lot more, since parking is $6 a day (and gas is $4.60/gallon!). The bus and bike are both free to me, since my employer gives out Transit Tickets. Also, sometimes there are events going on at a nearby convention center and the nearby parking garage fills up before I arrive- which is highly inconvenient if I have driven to work and will easily add 10 minutes.

I enjoy the bike commute by far the most since I feel relaxed and woken up when I get to work and when I get home.

I would love to bike to work or school or church, but it's just not possible for me. Besides being overweight, most places I go are at least 20 minutes away, and Seattle/Renton is pretty hilly. It's also not very safe around the house that I live. I hate just walking around my block without someone else with me.

I'm from Upstate New York also, and face many of the same issues that are mentioned above in terms of no shoulders, poor shoulders and so on. What I DO have, though, is a new greenway that is attached to a big park that is about 2.5 miles from my house, so I only have to face poor riding conditions for those 2.5 miles until I get to the park and can ride all the way to work downtown. It's great. I get a lot of 'thumbs up' at work for commuting by bike; my boss allows me to bring my bike up in the elevator(we don't have any secure facility nearby). I do, however, have the dubious distinction of riding in one day when it was 12 degrees (not snowing, just amazingly cold)and people seeing me wipe ice off my eyes in the elevator - they think I'm a bit crazy now.