Why do I commute everyday by bike?

No one has asked me that lately. But if they did, I'd have to say, simply, that it makes no sense not to ride a bike everyday. Don't worry about all the blissed-out comments any avid biker will spew, just think about it from a pragmatic point of view. Because, yeah, I enjoy riding my bike, everywhere, in all kinds of weather. That's not for everyone, I know. In fact, maybe I should back up and say that it makes no sense not to do something other than drive a car everyday. I might get the same pleasure from walking or riding the bus, and I'm sure many people do. All I know is that the car equation is horribly unbalanced and completely unsustainable. Drivers, you ought to be stopping your vehicles to embrace bicycle commuters (add walkers and bus riders, too). After all, we are helping to undo the harm that you do everyday -- traffic congestion, pollution, stress, sedentary-lifestyle health problems, depletion of dwindling resources. Hell, we're even doing our part to decrease consumer demand for your precious commodity -- oil.

So the next time you want to run a biker down because they pull in front of you or take a few extra inches of road, halt your rage and instead try thanking them. Envision hugging them. Buy them an imaginary drink at your favorite imaginary watering hole. Think about patience and tolerance.