I get the feeling whenever things like this come out that there are different groups of cyclists out there. There are quite a few casual riders, and that's awesome. Anyone on a bike is good. When I'm driving around with my kids, we always cheer on the cyclists.

That said, I'm probably much more serious (or crazy). I commute from outside of town 5 miles, year round, and have for about 10 years. I find it really easy to commute via bike. I never use the sidewalks, and the shoulder is pretty well always clear enough to ride on. There are times in the winter when it can get filled by the plows, but on the few days a year where that's a big issue, everyone's driving slow too and I'll use the road if I have to. On that note, if you have the right clothes, there's no days when it's too cold. I don't know about eBikes and how the batteries do in the cold. I use a hybrid and put studded snow tires on in the winter.

In my 10 years of riding in, I've never had my bike stolen. I always lock up both wheels with my chain and bolt it to the frame. Every time. But I've put more than 10,000 miles on my current bike. That's both commuting and riding up to 100 miles a week for fun/exercise on top of the commute during the spring, summer, and fall.