Quote for the Day
April 19, 2011
Cycling to work is a choice for me, not an ideological act. I like bicycling, it is free, it is reasonable exercise, it does not rain as often as you would think, I know how long the journey will take and the Tube is horrid. – Bagehot’s Notebook, The Economist.
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Brooklyn Spoke 
The predictability of commute afforded by riding a bike is a benefit that I think hasn’t been played up enough (and it’s especially relevant here as the woefully underfunded MTA suffers death by a thousand cuts). The exercise point seems to be overemphasized, which is not a bad thing, I guess, unless the perception of cycling as a workout (especially one that’ll leave you sweaty by the time you arrive to work) will keep the masses from trying it because it seems impractical.
I think that’s a great point. Not including the walking to and from subway stations, taking the train to work is completely unpredictable. Sometimes it’s 20 minutes, sometimes it’s almost twice that due to delays, service interruptions, or the time of day. It’s all the more amazing because my commute takes me only one stop from Brooklyn into Manhattan.
My bike ride is almost always 25 minutes door to door and unless the weather is completely uncooperative or other circumstances prevent it, I bike. I ride slowly and don’t have to worry about arriving sweaty to work.
I save at least $22.50 a week based on round trip subway rides alone, and I can usually get that up to about $40 a week when I factor in running errands, going to appointments and meeting friends. Even if I only rode six months out of the year I’d still save between $800 and $1000.