By the numbers
Finally! I found my running legs today! I don’t know where they’ve been, but for some reason the little buggers decided to show back up today. A little cooler this morning, but I felt great. Perhaps that was because this is officially the first day of spring! The ride to work was pretty nice with a temperature of 38 degrees, but in spite of the OK temperatures at time to go home there was a strong southeast wind that made getting home just a matter of slogging through it.
Reflection from Hammons Tower this morning.
The week in numbers:
- 4 days commuting by bike
- 70 miles commuting by bike
- 4 hours spent commuting by bike
- 5.5 hours spent riding a bike
- 94 total bicycle miles
- 9.3 miles run
- 5.2 gallons of gasoline saved
- $9.28 worth of gasoline saved
Here’s the interesting thing that comes to mind. When you look at the actual amount of money I save by riding my bike to work, it’s pretty minimal. Heck, I spend more than that a week on Dr. Pepper. You might be able to factor in additional savings based on reduced wear and tear on the vehicle and maintenance, but you would also have to factor in the additional costs of riding like the $22 worth of batteries I bought last night. Granted, that was a supply three of the four types I use on the bike that should last me a while but my point is that there isn’t a lot of real hard dollar savings from riding my bike to work as long as I need to keep the car around anyway (which I do).
The benefits to me, however, are in things that are hard to measure. Satisfaction, fitness, enjoyment, health. I ride because I like to. I ride because I’m addicted to exercise. I ride because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I ride because it’s fun. I ride simply because I choose to do so and I am capable of doing so.
How about you? What’s your reason? Or your excuse?
God bless….
TW
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March 22, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I’m with you, sometimes the cost savings seems minimal even though I know it’s not. I ride to improve my quality of life, mentally and physically!