Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!

In article >,
says...
> On Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:06:38 -0400, David Kerber
> > wrote:
>
> > In article om>,
> > says...
> >> An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
> >> commuting by bike.
> >
> > Inaccurate, too. See below...
> >
> >>
> >> Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
> >> 8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
> >> riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
> >> same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
> >> to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
> >> stoplights.
> >
> > 3 hours for 20 miles? Even at a "no sweating allowed" speed, that would
> > only take me 2 hours. More typical speeds would be 90 - 100 minutes.
>
> It takes me 1.5 hours to ride 17 miles, with tons of sweating and really
> large hills. I only ride one way (17 miles) to work or from work, but I

I don't have much in the way of hills on my route; only 3 worthy of the
name.

> don't ride in and then home -- I don't think I could do it right now. In
> AZ, however, I could ride much faster because it was flat. 17 miles would
> take me around an hour, depending on how many traffic lights I had to sit
> through.
>
>
> The rest of this was too funny to respond.

Yeah, he started off with some reasonable arguments (though with serious
exaggerations), but then got off into a fantasy world.


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"Pat" > wrote in message
oups.com...

>
> One last example for you to think about. What if you went hunting and
> got a deer. How would you bring it back to your house on a bike?

He would cut it up into 132 pieces, eat 10, and bring the rest home 3 at
a time.

"John S." > wrote in message
ps.com...
> An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
> commuting by bike.
>
> Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
> 8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
> riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
> same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
> to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
> stoplights.
>
> Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000; Medical
> expenses from road injuries $2,000
>
> When it snows, or rains the commuter is either off work and not paid
> because he cant make it in, or he is forced to get a hotel room close
> to work because he can't ride home in inclement weather.
>
> Incremental cost: Lost wages $5,000; Hotel rooms $1,000
>
> Tiring of those exceedingly long riding days and days missed with no
> pay the commuter decides to shorten his commute by moving closer.
> After some research he determines that to reduce his commuting distance
> by half he will have to pay twice as much for the same house because he
> is much closer to the big city now.
>
> Incremental Cost: $200,000
>
> The commuter works in sales and he is asked to make a presentation to
> two potential clients, one located 90 miles south on the coast and the
> other 45 miles west in the mountains. The commuter presents his boss
> with the proposed 6 day ride to cover both potential customers and is
> promptly fired.
>
> Incremental cost: Annual salary $100,000
>
> Before the commuter has a chance to shorten his ride, his wife sues for
> divorce because he is gone so long from home that she became lonely and
> had an affair with the cable tv repairman.
>
> Incremental cost: Alimony and child support for the next 20 years.

Nah, just make your wife ride with you for her health!!!!

In article .com>, Pat wrote:

> Oh, did I mention snow storms. I can't imaging a bike on 6" of
> unplowed snow on a packed snow base when it's -20F and windy. Those
> car heaters sure come in handy then.

In an urban environment, if there is 6 inches of snow on the ground you
have a better chance of getting where you are going with the bicycle or
with snow shoes for that matter..... Not because there aren't motor
vehicles that could handle those conditions, but because the roads would
be stop and stop gridlock with the drivers who cannot.

John S. wrote:
> An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
> commuting by bike.
>
> Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
> 8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
> riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00.

Are you saying you can only average 6 to 7 mph on a bike? I'm not very
fast, but I can average 15 mph on a bike. That means I can make the
commute in about 80 minutes give or take.

> Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000

Properly maintaining a good quality bike will cost far less than $2000
per year. The bike will last quite a bit longer than a year as well.

On 17 Jul 2006 15:14:50 -0700, "Arif Khokar" >
wrote:

>John S. wrote:
>> An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
>> commuting by bike.
>>
>> Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
>> 8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
>> riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00.
>
>Are you saying you can only average 6 to 7 mph on a bike? I'm not very
>fast, but I can average 15 mph on a bike. That means I can make the
>commute in about 80 minutes give or take.

Try 20 miles each way in Virginia today. 100 degrees out there.
>
>> Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000
>
>Properly maintaining a good quality bike will cost far less than $2000
>per year. The bike will last quite a bit longer than a year as well.

And maybe an expensive ride to the emergency room for heat exhaustion.

Dave Head

David Kerber wrote:
> In article om>,
> says...
> > An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
> > commuting by bike.
>
> Inaccurate, too. See below...
>
> >
> > Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
> > 8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
> > riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
> > same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
> > to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
> > stoplights.
>
> 3 hours for 20 miles? Even at a "no sweating allowed" speed, that would
> only take me 2 hours. More typical speeds would be 90 - 100 minutes.
>
> >
> > Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000; Medical
> > expenses from road injuries $2,000
>
> Why a new bike every year? I've put more miles that on my bike every
> year for the last 3 years, and it still runs like new. Only needed 1
> set of new tires, chain and cassette, for a total of about $200 over
> that time. And medical expenses would likely go down, not up: I haven't
> had a cold since I started riding all year around 3 years ago (I'm not
> claiming it's cause-and-effect, but it's still true), and it didn't cost
> much to buy band-aids for the 1 case of road-rash I got last year (and
> that was in my one race I entered last year, not commuting or riding for
> recreation).
>
>
> > When it snows, or rains the commuter is either off work and not paid
> > because he cant make it in, or he is forced to get a hotel room close
> > to work because he can't ride home in inclement weather.
>
> How about just working from home? It's an option for many IT people.
> Or keep a car around for just such emergencies. It doesn't cost much to
> run, repair and insure a car which is only driven 3000 miles per year.
>
> >
> > Incremental cost: Lost wages $5,000; Hotel rooms $1,000
> >
> > Tiring of those exceedingly long riding days and days missed with no
> > pay the commuter decides to shorten his commute by moving closer.
> > After some research he determines that to reduce his commuting distance
> > by half he will have to pay twice as much for the same house because he
> > is much closer to the big city now.
>
> What big city? The one I live in is bigger than the one I work in.
>
> >
> > Incremental Cost: $200,000
> >
> > The commuter works in sales and he is asked to make a presentation to
> > two potential clients, one located 90 miles south on the coast and the
> > other 45 miles west in the mountains. The commuter presents his boss
> > with the proposed 6 day ride to cover both potential customers and is
> > promptly fired.
>
Another good reason for an emergency car. Or rent one if the beater
you
drive in bad weather isn't appropriate for going to a sales
presentation

.... but the premise was "divorce your car", sort of like divorce your
wife. The problem with the comparision is that in most states, you
have an "emergency wife" or rent one if you need one. And while it's
always good to rent your car using a credit card, it's probably a bad
idea if you are renting a "wife" for the evening.

>
> >
> > Incremental cost: Annual salary $100,000
> >
> > Before the commuter has a chance to shorten his ride, his wife sues for
> > divorce because he is gone so long from home that she became lonely and
> > had an affair with the cable tv repairman.
> >
> > Incremental cost: Alimony and child support for the next 20 years.
>
> If it's the wife who has the affair, then the husband won't be paying
> alimony.
>
> ...
>
> --
> Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
> newsgroups if possible).

In article . com>,
" > writes:
>
> John S. wrote:
>> An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
>> commuting by bike.
>>
>> Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
>> 8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
>> riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
>> same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
>> to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
>> stoplights.
>
> 3 hours to go 20 miles??

When I ride to work (10 downhill & flat miles,) I like to give
myself an extra hour or so in case of flats or mechanicals
(haven't had anything like that happen yet, though,) and some
dilly-dally time for a pit stop at McD's if I feel like it.
I'm also that eager to ride. So I just get to work an hour early.
That gives me a chance for an extra cup of coffee, and to chum
around with my co-workers.


cheers,
Tom

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Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

In article om>, John S. wrote:

> Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
> 8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
> riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
> same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
> to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
> stoplights.

You're nuts. My last job was 6 miles away. Time by car or bicycle was
about equal. 17-20minutes by bicycle. 15-20 minutes by car. New job is 9
miles away, have to take a different route by bicycle. It takes
35minutes by bicycle, 25 minutes by car. About 5 minutes less for each
coming back. Even if I had to go 20miles, I would still make it there in
an hour if I faced stop lights every 1/2-3/4 of mile or so on average.
Fewer lights and stop signs means reduced travel time.

> Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000; Medical
> expenses from road injuries $2,000

I have been riding since I was about 5 years old. I've been riding for 30
years. I can count injuries that needed banages on one hand. I think I've
spent $5 on them if that. Since 1982 I have had 3 bicycles. They cost
$150, $380, and $1200 in that order. I have yet to spend $2000 in
repairs. In fact, if you added everything I've ever spent on bicycles
together in the last 24 years, it probably wouldn't make $2000. Hell, my
second bicycle, when it was worn out I ordered the one I ride now.
However I needed to make a repair to keep riding the old one. The new
parts cost me the huge sum of SIX dollars.

> When it snows, or rains the commuter is either off work and not paid
> because he cant make it in, or he is forced to get a hotel room close
> to work because he can't ride home in inclement weather.

Who said one has to use a bicycle _every_ day?

The rest just goes off the deep end....

In article >, Dave Head wrote:

> Try 20 miles each way in Virginia today. 100 degrees out there.

I just did 10 in chicago's similiar heat. I could probably do more. I
remember going out for a ride one hot afternoon and noticed nobody was
out. Nobody on the roads or on the bike trails... it was nice. I forget
how many miles I rode, probably 20 or so.... came back home, turned on
the TV and heard about people in the town droping over from the heat at a
little league game... The heat doesn't really bother me that much when I
ride. Now if I am sitting in a lot of traffic, then it gets irritating.