Why do you race and commute by bike?

Wow, why do I commute to work by bike? Strangely enough, that seemed like an odd question to me. I'm really abouth the opposite of what you'd envision when someone says they ride their bike to work. You either think tree-huggin' planet activist or someone who does it because they can't afford to commute by car. I'm neither of those, but after having done it awhile, I have to admit both stereotypes deserve more credit than people give them.

Upon crossing the bridge into Louisville from Southern Indiana, I get on Main Street in downtown and mix it up with the heavy traffic of rush hour. However, being able to cruise at 25mph and the carefully timed traffic lights make for a pretty safe lane of traffic. I immediately took to riding as fast or faster than the traffic around me, taking the whole lane and watching out for people parked on the side who don't look before opening their car doors. I really only compete with motorists for about 5 blocks, then most traffic turns off and when I make a left on 15th street, I have a bike lane for 20 blocks. Wearing my Indiana Master's bright orange uniform sure helps with visibility too. My job is only 9mi each way and most of it is pretty tame surface streets with moderate traffic and since my training calls for 150 to 200mi of training each week in race season, this is actually my easy ride. Coming home is probably more risky, but again I make sure people see me and ride predictably. On the upside, I get fresh air, save about $60 a month when riding to work 3x per week and sav the wear and tear on my car. Yes, I'll also list that I'm doing something to lower my carbon footprint and feel good about that too.

Now, the question about why I race is harder to explain and impossible to express. No one riding a bike with someone, anyone else, ever rides without some form of competition between them. I enjoy racing because it is a reward to training so hard and the excitement of winning a high profile race and getting the pics to prove it are so over the top that I can't tell you what it compares to in its own place. However, I will tell you that it is nowhere nearly as great as the love of my wife and two daughters. Fortunately, when they come to my races it is so cool to hear them creaming go daddy go!