First ride EVER, or why I continue to do it?
Gosh, the first time I ever rode a bike to work was so long ago I can't remember what it was like. I've been commuting to work on a bike since my first job, which was before I had a drivers license.
Why I continue to do it is because I love seeing the world from the saddle of a bike. Fresh air, scenery, watching the seasons change, exercise, all of it. And, some places I've lived & worked have been very interesting rides. I would not have known this unless I biked. I've been commuting by bike regularly for the past 5 years.
In my late teens/early 20s, when I lived in the mountains of AZ, is when I started seriously biking to and from work. It was back then I got into the habit of biking instead of driving. My boyfriend likes to argue with my motivation, but it started with trying to keep the costs of maintaining a car & gasoline prices manageable.
Living in AZ is what got me started. I was far from home and needed to keep my car running, so I biked to put as little wear and tear on my car as possible. Where I lived was over a mile above sea level and that ALONE made riding difficult. But, biking helped tremendously in getting aclimated to the altitude, and in the process I ended up getting into great physical shape. In the winter when it snowed, I didn't trust my snow-driving skills, and couldn't even get my car over the icy passes, so instead I biked. Actually even rode through a snowstorm once. I also rode through plenty of monsoon rainstorms as well. After awhile, it occurred to me that I put more miles on my bike than I did on my car in the 14 months I lived there.
Most of the jobs I've had since then have been close enough to commute by bicycle. It's not like it was planned or anything, just lucky. I have had a couple jobs that I *could* have biked to, but due to the hours or the route of the commute itself, I had to drive. If given a choice, I would rather ride 20 miles than drive 20 miles in a commute.