I mentioned Bike to Work Week last week, because that is when I Biked to Work.
Even though my youngest child did not support me (“What if you don’t make it?” she said) I did it. According to the GPS it was a 7.6 mile ride, and took about 43 minutes. My average speed was around 10 MPH. Going uphill it was around 6 and going downhill it was more like 20. In fact, 24.9 was the fastest I could go.
It was fun, but not something I could do every day, or even once a week. There are so many days when I just need a car. Obviously I can’t bike to work on the days I need to pick up the kids, or have to meet someone in Brookfield or Milwaukee, or whatever. And since I sometimes work long days, I wouldn’t look forward to riding home in the dark after working 12+ hours. Of course, I’m just an excuse-maker.
But it got me thinking… What if I got a scooter? I mean, sure I wouldn’t exactly be getting the exercise, but think of the money I’d save in gas and wear and tear on the old CR-V! This line of thinking lasted about a day, and included looking for used scooters on Craig’s List, and chatting with a friend who knows more than I do. I even tried to do some rough math and figured if I got a used scooter cheap it would pay for itself in car/gas savings after 3 years of riding it to work. I’m insane like that.
I’d like to try biking to work again this year, and the crazy scooter idea is on the back-burner for now, unless you know someone who wants to trade one for some freelance web development and hosting.