I'm a commuter, not a hardcore cyclist. That's my brother, the guy who's high school job was working in a bike shop, raced in college, has ridden from Northern California to Boston, rides not just centuries but double centuries, spends thousands of dollars on bikes (and can remember the details of every bike he's ever owned), and knows who George Hincapie is without having to think about it. You know, the guy wearing all the lycra. Anyway, that's not me (yet).
In 2003 I needed a bike to augment a commute on BART. It had been about 13 years since I'd last ridden a bike with any regularity (since the middle of high school). I went to a local shop that sells used bikes and was outfitted with an inexpensive, older mountain bike. That commute (BART then bike) lasted about 6 months before a change led me to put the bike away and rely on MUNI.
In 2005, my company remodeled our office and added a locker room and showers. I shelved MUNI and went back to the bike. At the time I lived in San Francisco and my commute was strictly on the bike.
In 2008 I moved to Burlingame and began taking my bike with me on CalTrain. The much shorter rides to and from the train station were a drawback. I started riding my bike "all the way" into the city every now and again. Eventually that led to my "new" (used) road bike, which, in turn, led to riding all the way 2-3 times per week.
The commute, the bikes, the stuff . . . that's what this is all about.