Do the math

While it’s readily assumed that cycluting saves money, it’s nice to reflect, now and then, on exactly how much money we’re talking about when commuting to work by bike rather than by car. For starters, I used the MASSrides commuting calculator at http://www.commute.com/commuters/calculator to find out how much my typical commute would cost in a car. If I work an average of 20 days per month – and I do – it would cost me $4,417.80 per year to drive to work in my 2003 Honda Civic EX. So, that’s about how much I save by biking to work every day, year-round. Add to that, however, the fact that I save $70/year on my car insurance because of a low-mileage discount of 12 percent. And who knows what I save in medical expenses by staying in shape on my bike on a regular basis? Anyway, it’s safe to say I save at least $4,500 a year by cycluting, instead of taking my car. Multiply that by the five years I’ve been doing the same 14-mile round trip to work and I’ve saved more than $20,000 since I started that job. What could I do with that kind of money? Get this: I could buy a brand new 2011 Honda Civic EX. Honestly, that would be just about the last thing I’d do. Instead, I’m going to use my 2011 year’s worth of savings to take a nine-day, guided expedition to Ecuador next February. Cost: $4,500. That includes air fare, lodging, meals, days trips, guide … the whole shebang. That may not sound like a big deal to some of my cycluting sidekicks who make six figures in the technology sector, but I make $45,000 a year (gross pay) at a Senior Center. Simple math: I give myself a 10 percent raise by cycluting. OK, that’s enough calculating to remind me what my response could be when someone challenges me by saying, “Give me one good reason why you’d bike to work every day of the year.”

Color me not surprised

News item: Boston ranks No. 8 on the list of top 10 traffic-congested cities in the country. “The average commute during worst driving hours is 33 percent longer on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Boston is at its worst on I-93 between Exit 5 and Exit 15. This 10.4-mile stretch of road usually takes 10 minutes to complete with no traffic, but can take 29 minutes during rush hour and even up to 38 minutes Wednesday mornings. Another study finding: Rush hour is no longer rush hour. It's nearly 24/7. Those are among the conclusions of a study by INRIX, a Seattle-based provider of traffic and navigation services.” – boston.com Not surprised, right? On the other hand, what does surprise me is that alternative means of transportation are largely dismissed as viable, either for commuters who continue to drive cars, or for legislators who apportion tax revenue to road projects that encourage people to drive them more and more. It’s like voluntarily sticking needles in our eyes while complaining about the pain. Ever wonder what amazing projects to boost bicycling could be done with even half the money spent on road construction? I fantasize about it frequently. How elevated bikeways along highway routes and main city streets? One of my favorite dreams became real, albeit temporarily, when I participated in the Hub on Wheels bike ride for the first time, last year. On the first few miles of the ride, bikers pedaled without a care in the world along Storrow Drive, which was closed to motor vehicles. That’s right. Not a car or truck in sight. I was euphoric, cranking along on my bicycle along thousands of other proud pedal people. That’s the kind of congestion for which Boston and its suburbs should be gaining national headlines. For now, I’ll have to settle for my daily 6.5-mile Beverly-to-Salem cyclute, during which I routinely pass more cars than pass me. No surprise there, either.

Finds in the gutter

Yes, Old Man Winter has given us a sound thrashing this year, but his days are numbered ... mercifully. The deep snow that once swallowed my legs whole, during attempts to walk through the back yard, is grudgingly losing its bite. For bicycle commuters who have stubbornly pedaled their way through winter, the melting of snow and ice is widening the roadways and making our lives much safer. Depending on the daily course of the sun, I've even noticed long stretches of curbing that have become bared. Sadly, bikers will notice, curbing and pavement aren't the only things being revealed with the slow onset of warmer weather. Simply stated, the roadway gutters are littered with a continuous array of snack wrappers, paper cups, smashed glass, building materials, cardboard, plastics, clothing, footwear and used condoms. Did people think they could litter with impunity because the next anticipated snowfall would cover all their environmental sins? Did they think, perhaps, their litter would somehow disappear by the time the snow melted? Did the sheer wildness of the winter stir their deepest anarchistic inclinations, allowing them to think, "Who the hell cares?" as they chucked an empty six-pack of beer bottles out the car window and into a snow bank? I don't know the answer to those questions, but I know that until street sweepers swing into action this spring, my commute to work is going to be like biking along a long strip of landfill.

Notice your shadows

News item:

"A 74-year-old bicyclist was killed yesterday morning in a collision with a car near the corner of Tremont and Arlington streets in Boston, according to authorities. Police did not release the man’s name yesterday nor the cause of the crash, which happened at 8:10 a.m. in busy South End traffic. But it occurred at a time when solar glare can cause problems for drivers turning east on Herald Street. The white sedan involved in the crash was facing that direction." That story recently re-inspired me to start posting to this blog again, as much as possible. Truth is, I retired from a 16-year career in journalism, several years ago, because I felt I'd used up every word in my head. After starting this blog, I realized I wasn't ready to resume writing for this, or any other reason. Thoughts still fill my mind when biking, though, so I'm going to share them here, as often as I can imagine. Even before seeing that news item, above, I'd been thinking about the dangers of "solar glare," and entertained myself, on a recent ride to work, but composing this ditty:

When biking in sun, please be reminded

Your shadow will point to the drivers most blinded.

When shadows are longer you're harder to see

The shorter your shadow the safer you'll be.

It’s a jungle out there

My knobby bicycle tires purr softly as they claw the carpet of freshly plowed snow on my way to work. I’m a pussycat with pedals in the midst of ferocious beasts that grumble ominously at my back when the narrowness of the road doesn’t allow them to pass at will. Given the opportunity to barge by, they growl loudly with their internal-combustion lungs and spew foul odors at me, clearly showing their disgust that they had to share the road with me for as much as a heartbeat and, undoubtedly, determined to intimidate me from ever impeding their progress again. That’s more than just flowery prose. It’s science. Recent research has shown that “ If a Toyota Prius just looks too friendly for your tastes, you’re not alone. People readily see faces and traits in cars, and a new study suggests that they prefer cars to appear dominant, masculine and angry.” In other words, people want to be behind the wheel of a vehicle that helps them feel like they have a chance at winning in the survival-of-the-fittest drama that plays out among herds of stampeding cars and trucks every day. People want to be in cars that say, “Watch out or I’m going to kill you and eat you.” Now that I understand that, of course, I’ll pretend to be impressed and act scared when an angry-looking car pulls up behind me. I mean really, f that’s what motorists need to feel good about themselves, I’m happy to indulge them. Poor, sweet babies.

Chilled grease

Not to be confused with grilled cheese, chilled grease is the topic of this blog entry. Feel free to anticipate a less-than-inspiring read here, but I’m presenting a semi-scientific inquiry in an attempt to explain why I find bicycle-pedaling more strenuous in cold weather than in warm weather. My hypothesis (harrumph) is that when grease, or some other lubricants used on mechanical parts, are subject to changes in temperature. I think they must stiffen up, even if ever-so-slightly, in cold conditions and become more fluid in summer-like conditions. (Gee, that’s like cheese, isn’t it?) Thus, when it stiffens up, say, in my crank, the pedaling becomes more difficult than when it’s warm. The higher the quality of the lubricant, I assume, the more resistant it would be to thickening and thinning due to the temperature. I believe that’s called “viscosity,” or whatever. The only other explanation I can come up with for the increased difficulty I find in pedaling when it’s cold outside is that my muscles, not my bike lubricants, stiffen in cold weather and loosen up when it’s warm. Maybe it’s both. In any event, as with any scientific hypothesis, I’m open for rebuttal ... which is a nice way of saying “Feel free to tell me I have no idea what the h*ll I’m talking about.” You’re even welcome to toss in a “... you, butthead,” or any other epithet of your choice. As far as grilled cheese, however, you’ll never convince me those sandwiches are not better with bacon and tomato. Now I'm getting hungry. Class dismissed.

Ghidorah revisited

You can’t believe everything you hear on the news, but a few weeks ago WBZ 1030-AM radio reported that CEOs from the “Big Three” automakers showed up in Washington, D.C., to make their plea for bailout bucks, and that they hadn’t gained much sympathy from lawmakers because they’d each used private jets to make the trip. After having been publically scolded for that extravagance by one Congressman, the trio made another trip to the nation’s capitol earlier this week. This time, it was reported, they each arrived after having made the 520-mile Detroit-to-D.C. trip in hybrid cars. I’m no Congressman, but I’m still not impressed. I’d have been mildly impressed if they’d carpooled, but here’s what my dream scenario would have been: I wish the three CEOs (who I’ve come to refer to collectively as “Ghidorah,” an allusion to the 1964 Japanese film about a three-headed monster by that name) had bicycled to Washington, D.C. And I wish their most recent restructuring plan, to justify a bailout with taxpayer dollars, included a complete retooling of their assembly lines to start making nothing but bicycles, while admitting that cars powered by internal-combustion engines are a blight on the planet. Then I’d like to see any leftover bailout bucks given to automobile owners in the form of coupons to redeem for two bicycles for every car they turn in. OK, maybe I’m getting a little carried away here ... but I still like the idea of the 520-mile bike ride. In the meantime, I wonder if Congress would bail out America’s Big Three bike-makers -- Trek, Cannondale and Specialized -- if they face bankruptcy someday.