Q & A at TED:

Now, you have apparently become one of the biggest champions of cycling …

First, I’m not a sports cyclist. I’m no Lance Armstrong, but I do use a bike to get from place to place in Manhattan, a little bit of Brooklyn. I use it to get to work, that kind of thing. And I’ve done so for two, almost three decades now. I never proselytized it or told my friends, “Hey, you should do this.” But, lately, in the last few years, it seems it’s become more acceptable. It’s not quite as uncool as it used to be, especially in New York and some other cities. They’re adding bike lanes, making it easier and safer for us to get to work on bicycles, and it feels like a moment where we can say. “Hey, I’ve done this and it works for me. You might want to try it.”

Although, the book I wrote is really about different cities from the point of view of a bicycle. It’s not primarily a proselytizing book about bicycles or transportation, but that does come into it eventually. I just find riding really pleasurable. This morning I went to see the telescope that’s in Battery Park, which was a wonderful thing to do in the morning. It didn’t take long, I think the whole trip there and back on the bike path took maybe 20 or 25 minutes. It was beautiful.

It seems like it really is catching on. It has a momentum of its own, which is a good thing for lots of reasons — for our health, or to be green and all that kind of stuff. But, I don’t think people make changes in their life because it’s good for them, they do it because it feels good. So, that’s my argument for the bicycle: It feels good. It has other benefits as well, but I’m not going to tell you to do it because it’s good for your carbon footprint or anything like that.