My name is Jim, I'm 55 years old, and I'm an avid cyclist and bike commuter in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I started commuting to work full-time in May of 2008. I wish I'd been doing this all of my life. There are significant societal benefits to getting more people out of their cars and onto their bikes (even for people who will never give up driving 100% of the time), but I want to focus on my own selfish reasons for riding a bike. I've bummed too many rides from friends and family over the years to ever demonize the automobile. I like cars. And I'm not going to claim any kind of moral superiority over drivers – a stance I've seen some cyclists take that bothers me immensely.

I want to encourage co-operation, not confrontation. Let's share the roads, and cut each other some slack.