We were there through the bitter season--the mud, the rain, the cold, the mid-afternoon sunsets. With dripping, grime-streaked rain gear covering our heels and neckties, we rode our rusting, filthy commuter bikes to the Caltrain station all through the winter, a sweaty, soggy bunch, smelling of mildew and Tri-Flow.

And now, with the arrival of the easy, sunny days of spring, you’ve joined us. And we’re happy to see you, really. It’s Bike to Work Month, after all, and the more the merrier, right? The more the safer, that’s for sure: in spite of what the Chronicle says with their silly “database,” the studies show that the more cyclists mean fewer accidents and fewer injuries. (Attorney Bob Mionske debunks the Chron's piece here and public health consultant Peter Lyndon Jacobsen's peer-reviewed article "Safety in Numbers" can be found here).

So we’re glad to see you, thanks for joining us. Your shiny new bike and broad smile are welcome among the worn faces and thousand-yard-stares of the Caltrain bike car. But it’s three times this week that our morning train has left San Francisco without us--“we’re full on bikes!” was the apologetic cry of the conductor.

It would be easy to hate you, to wish that you would go back to your car so that we could board the Caltrain at the last minute, just as we did all winter. You’re right there, taking our spot. The ones who really decide our fate, faceless bureaucrats of Caltrain, are invisible to us (I bet they drive to work at the “Caltrain Brain” in San Carlos).

But it’s Bike to Work Month. So join us. But buy a folding bike--the current rules say that folding bikes can board even if the bike car is full.

Image: Shell-shocked commute veterans watch in disbelief as the 8:44 a.m. train leaves them behind; "Rainy Day Bicycle Commute" by richardmasoner, used by permission.