Eat your vegetables

Over the years I’ve noticed that a lot of bicycle / bicycle commuter advocacy sites try to encourage new bike commuters with a list of virtues, reasons that people should forego their cars in favor of their bikes – it’s “greener”, your carbon footprint is smaller, you save money, it’s “one less car”, and so forth. Here are a couple of examples: Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; Washington Area Bicyclist Association . These are all indisputably noble and true but probably about as effective in persuading people to ride to work as “it’s full of vitamins” is in getting kids to eat their peas or spinach.

Virtue may be its own reward but it’s even truer of fun. Bike to work if you enjoy it. If for some reason you need to maintain a certain level of social consciousness cred, just pretend that you don’t.