Today marks the 50th day that I've traveled by bike to and from work this school year! I set a goal at the beginning of the year of 100 days and I'm pleased because I'm halfway there and we have several more weeks before the halfway point of the school year. With the winter weather approaching shortly, I'm sure there will be stretches where I'm unable to ride as much as I'd like to, so I'm pleased that I'm hitting 50 prior to Thanksgiving. So, what does this mean for me? Here are a few numbers to break it down:
1140 Miles-this is the number of miles that I did not put on my car's odometer. According to Google Maps, my round trip drive amounts to 22.8 total miles. My bike commute is probably slightly longer than this due to a little less direct of a route...we'll call it 24 miles. So I've managed to put 1200 more miles on the bike!
$193.75 Saved at the pump...I estimate that my car probably uses 1.25 gallons of gas per day at $3.10 per gallon. This past summer I bought a really cool Surly Long Haul Trucker frame and had it built up as a commuter bike. Total cost on the bike was about $1400, so I'm on my way to paying off my bike!
62.5 gallons of fuel conserved!
1250 lbs of CO2 not released into the atmosphere (this is based on the www.fueleconomy.gov's calculations of 20 pounds of CO2 per burned gallon of gasoline).
3 Coyotes-I've seen all kinds of wild life for some reason this year, including coyotes in Estabrook Park! One morning I even saw one balled up sleeping about six feet off the parkway road! On bike ride #49 I saw a red-tailed hawk on the ground. I then saw the hawk take off and fly with a squirrel trapped in its talons - too cool!! Deer, more hawks and cool water birds are a few other animals that I've seen frequently along my route.
1 Car Sold-My wife and I made the decision to sell the Ford Taurus earlier this fall because I rarely drove it. We dropped down to her car and my utility van. I rarely drive the utility van, but this is what I'll take to work on the days that Mother Nature is getting nasty.
The forecast is calling for some snow in the next week, but hopefully not enough to keep me off the bike! Happy Thanksgiving!!!
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