It Removes Stress and Uncertainty from Urban Travel

In New York, if you’re taking a car or the subway, you’re always slightly nervous that something will screw up and you’ll be late. I mean, maybe you’ll be lucky? But then when you least expect it, wham: You run into a thick knot of traffic or an implacably mysterious subway delay — and now you’re a ball of stress, sitting in your car fuming.

With cycling, there is no traffic that can slow you down.

Part of what makes cycling so appealing is that it is highly meritocratic. Effort = distance, in a completely linear fashion. This feeds the soul.