I don't think a 40 minute bike ride is the kind of commute we're talking about. Most commuters are not doing so by biking through a nice woodland trail. I would love to ride to work, but it would take over twice as long as your commute in a climate that is inhospitably cold for biking for about 6 months of the year and often rains for the rest.

> it is my "me time" that I cherish

You have kids don't you? That seems to be a consistent feature of people I meet who espouse the virtues of going to work.

> You have kids don't you? That seems to be a consistent feature of people I meet who espouse the virtues of going to work.

Yes. But my liking of bike commuting is maybe more related to the fact that it is a positive change from using public transportation, where I felt really miserable (had to take two crowded buses with an indeterminate waiting time in-between).

But you are right that having kids changes one's view to work... often, after an intense weekend, I go back to the lab and say "finally! I can relax and get some work done".

If you were given back those 40 mins, you could spend them on a 40 min bike ride in the woods.

If that's the absolute best way you can imagine spending those 40 mins, you don't lose the option to do that.

I also spend about 30 min per day cooking for the kids. Would you say that I could "get back" these 30 minutes by hiring a personal cook? Well, maybe, but I really don't live like that. It's a mildly pleasurable activity, even if I'm able to imagine "better ways to spend my time".

Reread that comment. He’s saying you would have the option of doing that 40m bike ride, which you don’t have today. For the majority of people that commute will not be a nice ride through the woods, and they can’t opt out.

Fewer than 1% of Americans commute by bike.[1] For the vast majority of people the end of WFH will not be a relaxing meander of me time through the forest.

[1] https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/05/younger-worke...

That sounds wonderful. Why would you need a commute to do it? Couldn’t you just take a bike ride for the pleasure and let me skip the hour long sardine can frequently delayed train ride often in the snow, sleet, or rain in the process at the end of the day?

Could but probably won't. At least I found that even though I like the bike portion of my commute and had kept it up for the first few months it eventually dwindled away in favor of sleeping in and working longer. Something to be said for the motivation of being required to get somewhere.

You should post a video of it on YouTube (or somewhere else you prefer). A lot of people might enjoy it... a bit like Norweigan "slow TV".