Scott Martin

Spring has sprung, it's Bike-to-Work Week, and gas costs more than scotch. How much extra motivation do you need to start bike commuting ?

"But it's nippy in the morning," I hear you whining. "And the dog ate my patch kit."

Oh, please. You people need a Sidi in the chamois.

Why ride to work ? Here's why :

• Because you don't want to be eulogized while being buried in a piano crate. According to a recent Associated Press report, America's obesity epidemic has created a booming market for all kinds of super-sized products, including caskets measuring up to seven feet square. Remember: You burn lots of calories riding twice a day.

• Because nothing beats pedaling past a long line of cars trapped in rush-hour traffic. And, yes, this includes most, if not all, of the seven deadly sins.

• Because you can explain your absence from the boss's sunrise team-building exercise with just two words : "flat tire."

• Because you won't be stuck on the freeway listening to "Gonzo 'n Gary in the Morning" making prank phone calls to Alzheimer's patients at Shady Rest Nursing Home.

• Because nothing says good times like a 7:30 a.m. sponge bath in the janitor's mop closet.

• Because black-clad vandals on bikes won't slash your SUV's tires and spray-paint "Oil equals blood" on the doors, which really happened to six vehicles last month in my admittedly odd hometown of Santa Cruz, California. Not that I condone such lawless behavior. Now if they'd done it only to Hummers...

• Because, face it, riding to and from your soul-crushing, soon-to-be-outsourced job is the most fun you're going to have all day.

une page mise à jour le 29 octobre 2006 par SVP

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