Doing the math

So I ride 70 miles a week riding to and from work alone. Never mind going grocery shopping, going to friend's places, shows, riding for fun, etc. I'm curious how much money I am saving by biking instead of other using other modes of transportation. Join me as I do the math.

The car option
Disclaimer: I am just going to guess on what an average car costs. My Jeep that I used to drive cost me 3,000 when I bought it and only gets 14/mpg on average, but whatever. Let's just assume I want a car on the cheap. The gas price is also a generous underestimation. It fluctuates too much for me to confidently say $3/gallon. As for the insurance number, I asked my roommate how much he pays for insurance for his Jetta, which is registered and insured in Brighton, MA. Now onto the math ...

Car: $2,000
Car insurance/month: $150
Cost to fill 20 gallon tank: $2.90 x 20 = $58
Avg mpg for a car: 17 miles
20 gallons x 17 mpg = 340 miles per tank

Assuming I only drive to and from work makes the car usage 70 miles a week, meaning one full tank would last 4.8 weeks.

So monthly, I would be spending $208 dollars on my car, not including other random stuff like paying for parking meters, repairs, windshield wiper fluid, oil and whatever else comes with having a car.

So if I bought a car in January 2008 and drove it only 70ish miles a week, I would spend, at the very least, $4,400 dollars on having a car. Assuming I already had a car, that's still $2,400 a year.

The public transportation option

The MBTA's monthly pass for unlimited bus and subway use is $59. Yearly, that would cost me $708. Not to mention taking the T (the Green line specifically) is an exercise in futility and that I beat the T down Beacon Street on my bike, twice a day.

The bike option
For this one, I am going to give the actual amount of money I have spent on my bike. I got this frame for free, but I did convert it from a road bike into a single speed and made some upgrades. I haven't had to do any major repairs since then, other than fixing flats.

Bike frame: Free
Converting to single speed/upgrading parts: $250
Messenger bag: $150 (yeah, I know)
Tubes/patch kit: $40
Lights (batteries included): $50
Boston bike map: $12

So, for the year, that would bring me to $502. Assuming I already owned everything, the bike only costs what I need to get fixed or upgrade, which so far, is $0. All that stuff in the list are one-time purchases. I don't need to pay to put air in my tires every month or something.

I think it's important to add that it doesn't seem like too much of a difference between the T and the bike money-wise, remember this: I can take my bike anywhere anytime that I want and definitely get there faster. I also can take direct routes and make multiple stops without having to wait 15 minutes each time for a train to appear. Another thing is that I'm not spending a certain amount of money a month to ride my bike like I would be with the T. The money that I have spent so was just start-up. I'm not going to have to pay that much again unless I upgrade things or get a new bike.

I suppose here I could say how awesome biking is and bore you with that tired lecture, but I won't. Instead I will say this:

Ride on and save $$$!

this is unacceptable

Looking at this weather forecast makes me want to curl into a ball. This is not cool, Weather. I don't mind a rainy/snowy day here or there (bike or not) but this is a little silly. I should know better; I live in New England.

I rode my bike in the rain this morning, which was lots of fun! I rode in some spandex shorts, an Underarmor shirt and a waterproof windbreaker. It was only semi-raining so it was pleasant. I did not see any of my usual suspects today, though, I did see a potential new one. Unless Orange Bag Guy and Blue Flag Spandex Guy are one and the same. I doubt that. Blue Flag Spandex Guy is very speedy. It's pretty infrequent that someone cruises right by me, but this guy nearly knocks me over with the wind he creates every time he goes past me on Beacon. Oh! I did see Lumberjack Guy this morning. He is my favorite regular bike commuter. I think it's the flannel. Or maybe it's the beard. Anyway ...

The ride home was slightly less fun, to be honest. I felt terrible ("like a pile of steaming trash" to quote myself). I am afraid that I am coming down with something. I was riding in my sick misery and in the middle of intersection where Commonwealth and Beacon do a little switcheroo at Kenmore, my chain decided it would be fun to hop off the hub while I was moving in traffic at considerable speed. I love when my chain plays this game with me. Thankfully, I was prepared for battle. I had the immediate reaction of taking my feet off the pedals and coasting to safety while looking like a damn fool. (If you keep pedaling, it will just wrap the chain around the hub even worse and quite possibly make you flip over if the rear wheel gets stopped.) I hopped off my bike and put that chain right back on and desperately tried to rejoin traffic from my sad little sidewalk island.

A mile or so after the chain interlude, I noticed my air in my front tire was a bit low. I decided to stop at a gas station to fill 'er up. Yeah, I know, I should carry my pump with me at all times, but I didn't today by accident. Of course, after tearing apart the contents of my bag, I only had two quarters. I did have an impressive amount of dimes floating around in that thing, though. I contemplated just going home and giving up, but I decided I would test the kindness of strangers. Dear BC girl at the gas station, thank you for your kindness and your quarter.

After coming home, I decided that I most likely have a slooooooow leak in my tube somewhere. I am convinced, but it is difficult to prove since the tire is still pretty inflated. I also consulted my roommate Matt, but the data was inconclusive. Will post disastrous results later.


Ride on!



And yes, I use Celsius.