It's ride your bike to work month....or someting to that affect...

…and much to my family's (and my own) dismay, I am officially a biker (though it’s likely a limited duration classification - i.e. only in the summer months)...Actually, I am not a ‘biker’ as defined by Seattle standards, instead I happen to use a bike to commute to work...there is a distinction - a very important one (or three that I can think of off hand)…to me…and my self-respect:

1. I am aware that there are rules (some like to call them laws, ordinances, in Washington "RCWs", or other such legal terms) of the road. Furthermore, I follow those rules!!!!!!!!!!! (i.e. a red light means STOP, or pedestrians in a cross walk are not in fact required to yield to me!)

2. I do not have sponsors, as apparently so many others on the bike trail do; therefore, I try to refrain from wearing my Nike, Powerbar, and Livestrong emblazoned spandex set - unless of course everything else is dirty. You see I like to save those for special commutes – like the one to the Arc de Triomphe, via the Champs-Élysées!

3. Finally, while I do have very specific reasons to ride, those reasons do NOT include the self-righteous/I-think-I’m-better-than-everyone-else (see dictionary definition for Leonardo DiCaprio and/or Al Gore) belief that I am somehow a better person b/c commuting by bike happens to lower my Carbon foot print a bit! (at least until I get on a really large private plane - to tour the world - while pontificating about the virtues of riding my bike to work….but come on, who’s counting, and why get hung up on details when it’s the big picture message that’s key).

Yes, I do have my reasons, very specific reasons, but for the sake of keeping this already-too-long-post-considering-I'm-just-announcing-the-commencement-of-Bike-Month from becoming even longer, I'll just give the gist. My reasons are:

Part political. Let’s face it, it’s a green world out there these days my friends, and I’m no dummy.
1. My current employer is committed to being the Greenest of its kind in the entire US (actually it might be “in the entire world,” but it’s late and I can’t quite remember the slogan at the moment), and as I’ve heard over and over during the last 2 years from various sources at work: “if you’re not in the tent…..you’re out of it????” (no, that can’t be right….hmmm, yet again it’s late and I can’t quite remember how it goes – but the point is I’m gonna be in that tent until I’m good and ready to move on, of my own volition, to those greener pastures I keep hearing about).
2. I am not above making friends in high places - well “high” relative to my world – and while on the trail (so I hear) there is ample opportunity to make such friends (some call this type of friend-making “networking” but I call it butt-kissing err..being political); and of course,
3. I do live in Seattle (that really should be a stand-alone/no-explanation-necessary reason).

Part vanity. Everyone is overly busy these days, it seems, and I don't know about you, but when I get too busy to fit-it-all-in the first thing I give up is EXERCISE - boo! (I loathe the fact that that's true almost as much as I loathe my resulting body - alas, vanity)! Admittedly it isn't much, but a nice 20 minute ride every a.m. and then another 20 minutes in the p.m. does wonders (both physically and mentally). I also enjoy the added bonus of living on a ridiculously steep hill, so by the time I get up the blasted thing my legs are jelly, and it almost feels like I've managed to fit in a proper workout after all!

Part pure enjoyment. Have you seen Elliott Bay recently? It's stunning:

And who wouldn't want a daily dose of breathtaking scenery to start their day?

Regardless of my reasons, and my only somewhat convincing attempts to distinguish myself from the (dare I say) ‘typical’ Seattle biker*, I still feel like I’ve gone Benedict on my nearest and dearest. I know they will tease or guilt me about it, and reject all my attempts to justify it, so instead of offering further explanations/justifications, or other attempts to save face, I’ve decided to own it. Yes I am going to embrace it (the “happens to use a bike to commute to work” not the “biker” – oops, there I go again), write about it (perhaps), and then spew it into the virtual world…to do my best to live up to the "annoying" biker stereotype.

(*I am in no way referring to any bikers I am personally acquainted with, b/c I know for an absolute surety that all of you uphold the rules of the road, there is no need to mock your biking attire,and there couldn't possibly be one self-righteous bone found among you).