I Ride My Bike to Save Money. Or Not.
Last weekend, I put gas in my car for the first time since late May. This, of course, made me feel pretty smug about how much I ride my bike and how much money I’m saving by doing so. Like, probably $120 / month.
Of course, there’s been this annoying creak coming from the handlebar region of my bike whenever I put a lot of pressure on it (ie, wrenching it around as I struggle up hills). That could be a problem with the fork, the headset, the stem, the handlebar, or a combination.
And yesterday, the left pedal started making the most awful grinding sound ever. I’m pretty sure a bearing is busted.
And it’s been more than a year since I put new tires on the bike. Those Armadillos are tough, but they won’t last forever.
I need to get all these things taken care of before the RAMROD next week. Who wants to bet that the cost comes to more than the $240 I saved in gas? Anti-smug karma would dictate that this must be so.
Meanwhile, I continue to make car payments ($170/month). And insurance payments ($75/month). On a car I rarely use.
Grrr.
Today’s Weight: 167.0
Comment by Robert | 07.20.2005 | 7:06 pm
We sold our extra car. That forces me to ride to work. I’m down to 185.
Comment by Unknown | 07.20.2005 | 8:17 pm
I have a car that I hardly use. I drive it about 1000 miles a year. Fortunately, it’s paid for, so I don’t have the monthly payment. Of course I’m still paying something like $800 dollars a year for insurance, which works out to be something exorbitant per mile. Have you seen http://www.bikemetro.com and their cost calculator? Their routing service is California-only, but whenever you look up a route, it tells you how much money you will save by riding the route instead of driving. They say that by riding my bike 4 miles to work, I’m saving $3.67 each way. Sadly, the car insurance doesn’t go down if you don’t drive.
Comment by Luís | 08.23.2005 | 8:38 pm
http://spaces.msn.com/members/BeneAlbum/I like BTT and i’m fat too, but its not bad