is biking to work making you a happier person, or an angrier one?

So - I love riding my bike to work (which happens to be in downtown chicago).

However, I often arrive at work angry and/or sad and/or shaken by the behavior of clueless, distracted, thoughtless, reckless, etc. drivers…and sometimes pedestrians…and sometimes other bikers.

My assumption has always been that riding to work wakes me up, and energizes me, and makes me happier, but this morning I was thinking: Am I confusing “angry” with “awake”?

Does starting the day off in fighter mode change our days (and how we behave ourselves) for the worse?

anyone else have these thoughts on their way to work? 

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Permalink Reply by Mike Bullis 5.5-6.5 miles on September 28, 2012 at 1:02pm

I've been commuting by bike for almost eight years and it used to put me in a pretty good mood when I got to the shop. 95% of my ride is Fox River Trail/Tyler Creek Spur, so other than the occasional deer stepping out in front of me or a suicidal chipmunk, the ride is pretty mellow. This year, however, the commute has bored me to the point of hanging up the commuter bike for awhile.

And that is what I'm doing until next spring. I'm commuting now via a 33 year old, 500cc thrill ride until the snow flies, then I'm in my Jeep.

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 28, 2012 at 3:43pm

I'm always happier, even if I have a moment or two of rage at drivers/pedestrians/rude cyclists.  The energy of riding (I plan my route to be peaceful, mostly side streets) and the caffeinated destination, with the stop to buy the morning's papers; I'm always in a good mood when I get to work.  Gotta train oneself, perhaps, to put the negative stuff in a little box and put it away, which perhaps comes naturally to me, but which I believe can be cultivated.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on September 28, 2012 at 3:59pm

addendum:  Thursday was a stress-filled day at work, and I was really wound tight when I left.  By the time I got home, after my slightly less than 7 mile ride, I was "unwound", pedestrians, geese, and mad cyclists notwithstanding.

Permalink Reply by Rick on September 28, 2012 at 4:01pm
I will say that riding too work makes me happy. In fact, I am very happy when I arrive at work. The ride home, not so much. Because of the time it takes me to change into my cycling gear, jam my work clothes into my back pack, and getting stuck behind a bus on Armitage Ave, I have decided to take Metra and go for a ride after I get home.
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 29, 2012 at 12:57am
Although some days I get very flustered and want to disble everyones car horn ( I think this happens more when I don't get enough sleep), I also usually shake it off.

Even if I'm in a near miss and very shaken up, by the time I get to my destination I've relaxed again.
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on September 29, 2012 at 2:18am

If anyone needs to have their horns disconnected it would be the cabs and city buses.  I don't know why they don't automatically disconnect the horns of the buses while they are already in there disconnecting their turn signals. 

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on September 29, 2012 at 5:26am

LOL really hard!

James BlackHeron said:

If anyone needs to have their horns disconnected it would be the cabs and city buses.  I don't know why they don't automatically disconnect the horns of the buses while they are already in there disconnecting their turn signals. 

Permalink Reply by MagMileMarauder on November 9, 2012 at 2:52am
So this got me pissed off last night. I was riding south on California, when I got randomly honked by sports Mercedes car (License Plate: FRITZY, yes, F$#*@g FRITZY). I'm like "whatever", typical asshole in a luxury high performance car.
So, the car gets stopped due to traffic, I pass him, and the idiot honks again, prompting me to look in his direction. I had no idea what he was honking about. Perhaps a rolling stop sign? Red light? Who knows. I didn't do anything reckless to prompt any honking.
This is when it gets interesting, once he was clear from the backed up traffic, he speeds up a LOT and his engine was clearly revving very high, I took this as a sign that he was gonna try to run me off the road, and my instincts didn't fail me, so I hopped on the sidewalk. He even stopped at the corner after he caught up (didn't get out of his car) and threatened me even further. I pulled out my phone to call 911, and then he took off. I'm pretty sure this guy had some kind of vendetta or was just straight psycho.
I didn't really bother calling the cops, didn't want the hassle, and it would just be my word against his if I reported him. Maybe I should've have. But if you're ever around California, just north of Foster..keep an eye out for Fritzy.
Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on November 9, 2012 at 3:06am

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/fritzys-city/Content?oid=901602

Fritzy, Fritzy, Fritzy...
 
MagMileMarauder said:

So this got me pissed off last night. I was riding south on California, when I got randomly honked by sports Mercedes car (License Plate: FRITZY, yes, F$#*@g FRITZY).
 
Permalink Reply by MagMileMarauder on November 9, 2012 at 3:13am
Nice! Yep, that was him! Thanks for the link. Yeah, he looked quite mafioso a la Joe Pesci in Goodfellas.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 9, 2012 at 4:27am

Could this asshole be a little more full of himself?  Sheesh!  Definitely sounds like one to stay away from.

Thunder Snow said:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/fritzys-city/Content?oid=901602

Fritzy, Fritzy, Fritzy...
 
MagMileMarauder said:

So this got me pissed off last night. I was riding south on California, when I got randomly honked by sports Mercedes car (License Plate: FRITZY, yes, F$#*@g FRITZY).
 
Permalink Reply by April on November 9, 2012 at 5:05am

+1  Well said Chi! I love the scientific evidence you used to support your assertion!

Chi Lowe said:

If you're physically healthy and your commute involves riding that keeps your heart rate elevated for an extended period of time, it's a near-certainty that you're enjoying an all day long emotional boost (mood improvement/stabilization) from the neurochemicals that are released during and after your exertion.  That holds true even on days when you arrive temporarily agitated by folks in your path. 

My advice: be kind, ride hard, drink a lot of water, and let go as fast as you can when people do what people do :).

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