Bob CollinsWhen I made this haphazard video four years ago this week, the price of gasoline had shot up and I had every intention of spending the summer riding to the World Headquarters from Casa NewsCut.
Sadly, the notion joined a long list of good intentions unfilled.
So there’s really no reason to pay any attention to my intentions now, other than the fact I come from yankee stock and the the numbers 4 -1- 9 can make us do miraculous things. Also, at MPR, there’s a lot of peer pressure to stay trendy and I may be one of the last employees not riding a bike to work and I’m already shut out of all conversations that includes the phrase “when I was traveling Europe by rail.” Granted, “when I was biking through Pig’s Eye” doesn’t get you much admiration, either.
Most of us have these intentions to do something about energy prices, under the proven economic theory that “the solution to high gas prices is high gas prices.” Some of us slow down, some of us buy cheaper cars, some of us move closer to work, some of us hop on the bike.
So, I stopped at the bike shop on the way home from work last night and bought $157 of additional gear — bike rack, saddlebags etc — in order to carry the laptop and clothes and lunch. And the bike experts on Twitter did a marvelous job guiding me through the installation mistakes.
The money invested would fill up the car four times. That’s about 1,300 miles. To break even, I’d have to ride the bike to work (and back) 54 times.
My 12-mile ride probably saves me less than a half gallon of gas — an amount saved that ends up in the pockets of Big Gatorade. The parking space I rent still has to be paid for in case it rains.
These are the questions and calculations one can ponder on a lengthy bike ride. Also, why don’t bicyclists riding in the other direction ever say “hello” in return? Am I violating the unspoken rule of trendy?
The ride took about an hour; not bad for an old man. I could’ve done it faster, but I stopped to watch a deer.
Sorry, big oil. This might stick.
