Why I Ride to Work, By Janet Muller

True story, taken from the web:

Doubts about riding to work in the City? Yes, that was me. For many years, I would ride the oilhead to Brooklyn from Queens to catch the subway into Manhattan because the drivers and roads were so bad.

After moving to Joisey, I figured traffic would be real hell across the GW Bridge, and I had plenty of transportation alternatives within walking distance of my home, including both train and bus. I even argued the point with Andy after meeting him at Tapaco Lodge near Deals Gap one rainy night two years ago, telling him that motorcycles were treated worse than scooters in NYC.

Well, that all changed for me one afternoon a year ago in August when we had a blackout that just about shut down all transportation out of the City. With subway and rail services down and the bus terminal closed, I walked - with hundreds of others - down towards the midtown ferry, hoping to get across the river . . . eventually. It was like cattle being driven to slaughter
with crowds funneling between high fences towards the piers. While standing on the corner along 12th Avenue, the West Side Highway, I watched the idling cars with traffic controls not working/major gridlock, while motorcycles filtered along, not having to stop at all. Flagging one down, a young Irish construction worker on a Honda Shadow with Cobra pipes, I was sitting pillion - sleeveless shirt and helmetless - before he could even get the buddy pegs down. Filtering slowly through traffic, we exchanged motorcycle stories, and as we headed over the GW Bridge on that bright, sunny day, with the Hudson River and Palisades surrounding us, he swept his arm out and said to me "How could you take the train or bus instead of riding?" That was it . . . a life-changing moment.

I have since traveled each and every day, barring snow and ice, into the City, saving 90 minutes on my daily commute, enabling me to make the morning yoga class instead of sitting on the train, saving hundreds of dollars in rail and bus fees and enjoying every minute, even the bitter cold and the breakdowns. Perhaps the Joisey commuters are more considerate, or maybe Andy's license plate holder "One Less Car" helps a bit.

-Janet from Joisey