It’s All In Your Head

Once you have a notion stuck in your head, it can be nearly impossible to change it - even when you prove it wrong every day. I've timed my seven mile commute in a car: 25 minutes on a light traffic day, 45 minutes on a bad day. Most days are bad days. I've timed it many many times. It is impossible to get across town, by any route, any faster than that. I've tried at least 5 different routes including freeways, arterials, backroads, and shortcuts - not including the many variations of each. My primary route on a bicycle takes exactly 33 minutes, regardless of traffic conditions. That means that powering myself, at a steady 18mph, gets me there faster at least 80% of the time. But everyone knows cars are faster than bikes! You know it. I know it. We've known it all our lives. It's obvious and logical. I believe this is one of the biggest reasons 98% of our population remains planted firmly in their automobiles for most of their travels, even trips of 2 miles and less.