My bike commute is so short that it is barely worth getting the bike out of the basement -- it's ten blocks to work, about a three-minute ride or a fifteen-minute walk, so if the tires need air it's faster to walk. I like riding, though, because I often have to carry heavy transcripts or stop for groceries so it's nice to not have to lug everything on my shoulder. Once a week I stop to pick up vegetables we have delivered from a local farm, and I have those Nashbar townie baskets for that -- the neighbors all crack up when they see me riding down the street with carrot tops trailing out of my bicycle baskets.

I use my Specialized Crossroads for that trip but I am now wishing I'd just bought an old Raleigh with a mixte or step-through frame, because I wear skirts a lot and on those days I just wind up walking. (For a ten-block commute it is not worth changing my clothes.) But my husband makes fun of me every time I suggest it. I do have an old Schwinn with a step-through frame, but it has coaster brakes and I haven't ridden it in years -- I do occasionally have to ride in traffic and I am a little afraid that I will forget how to stop!