08-31-11: Is that a poster in your stroller, or are you just happy to see me?

Hello, friends!

Today was a momentous occasion!  It was the first time that I got to use my baby jogger along with my bike!

Most of y'all know about my day job, but for those who don't, I do campus ministry at the University of Missouri.  Today was our first Large Group of the year, which means I had a ton of stuff to schlep from my house to campus and back.

When I first moved to Columbia, I bought cheap bike on craigslist for $40 and for another $40, I found a baby jogger, one of those things you hitch up to a bike so your kid can ride with you but not have to peddle.  Over the years that bad boy has definitely paid for itself.  I even once used it for a tailgate:

I hate looking for parking, especially on Wednesdays, when I'm usually running late and need to make sure that everything gets started on time.  So, this baby jogger can be quite a lifesaver.

Of course, I get the funny looks when I'm riding down the street, but I don't mind.  An interesting thing I've noticed is that cars usually slow down because they think that I have a baby in there, but once they see that the baby jogger is full of boxes, they speed past me with a pretty pissed look on their faces.  Not that I mind.  =0).

Today's stats:
Places traveled: To and from campus, twice
Distance traveled: 8 miles ($.79)
Meter: 3.5 hours on campus ($3.50)

Grand Total for the day: $4.29
Grand Total so far: $42.93
Left to save: $539.09

Happy Biking!

~Adam

My face is numb... and that's a good thing!

Hello, friends!

First, a citation.  Papa has reminded me that the quip I used about cow tipping is not actually my own.  I took it from a Steve Nash commercial I saw a while back.  There are quite a few funny ones in there.  Thanks to Papa for keeping me honest.

So, why is my face numb?  I went to the dentist today!  I had a filling that needed to be taken care of, so this morning I went down to my dentist and had that bad boy filled.  Good times.  For the record, I had an 8am appointment after a meeting that ended @ 7:30am about 8 miles away, so I drove to both places.  Bummer, I know.

I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about dentists.  I've had some good experiences and some bad experiences.  My dentist as a child was pretty solid.  He was funny and my parents were actually friends with him outside of dentistry.  He helped get Phuzz and me into the basketball league we played in back in the day.  On the other hand, my first adult dentist was a little dirty.  I think he was just trying to connect with me as a young person, but I felt a little uncomfortable talking about "all the hot college girls" I must see on campus all the time.  Oh!  And, he always insisted on asking me questions while he was poking around in my mouth.  Bro, I can't talk right now!  You should know this!

My dentist out here seems like a pretty solid guy.  He has a shaved head, which I appreciate.  I'm not sure why I appreciate it, I just do.  He's always very happy, which is a good thing.  Even if the Dentist suicide thing is a myth, you want folk to love what they do.

Anyway, here are today's stats:
Places traveled:  Which Wich for lunch, campus for a few hours, HyVee for groceries, then back home.
Distance traveled: According to Google Maps, it was 7.0 miles ($.68)
Meter: 1.5 hours downtown ($.90) + 3 hours on campus ($3)

Grand total for the day: $4.58
Grand total so far: $38.64
Left to save: $538.80

Happy Biking!

~Adam

08-29-11 Cow Tipping? Only if the service is excellent!

Hello, friends!

Today I went to lunch at one of the new-ish Korean restaurants in town, Kui.  I actually wouldn't even have known about it except that my friend (also former student, also current tenant) Jay is a server there.  He said that the lunch specials are pretty solid, so I figured I would give it a shot.

I will say that the food was actually quite good.  The radish kimchi was excellent and the pork bowl was very flavorful.  For $7 I got my fill and then some, including miso soup and a salad.  Jay was my server and he did a great job, especially in making recommendations from the menu and bringing out my food.  I had no problem tipping $2+ for a great meal and a great server.

But, that did get me thinking about tipping.  Everyone tips differently.  Apparently Tiger Woods and LeBron James have their thoughts on tipping.  Mine is really simple: double the tax and round up to the next dollar.  Sometimes it's 16%.  Other times it is closer to 30%.  Either way, it's way easier for me to have a hard and fast rule than worry about precise calculations and consider the service and such.  Unless I see a server actually spit in my food or be obviously rude to me, that's how they are probably going to be tipped.

Today's stats:
Places traveled: Kui, Campus, Ace Hardware
Distance traveled: 5.2 miles ($.51)
Meter: .5 hours downtown ($.30) + 2 hours on campus ($2.00)

Grand Total for the day: $2.81
Grand Total so far: $34.06
Left to save: $540.47

Happy Biking!

~Adam

08-28-11 Just Call Me Usain Bolt...

Hello, friends!

What do the world's fastest man and I have in common?  We were both very disappointed today by false starts.

In case you hadn't heard, Usain Bolt was disqualified from the World Championships in South Korea because of the new "zero tolerance" policy in place.  It used to be, you were given one false start before you were disqualified.  Not so now, and Bolt was unable to defend his world title.  You can read more about it here.

So, what does that have to do with me?  Well, this afternoon my plan was to bike to church for the quarterly leadership meeting.  I was actually super excited about the trip, not only because it was a beautiful afternoon to bike, but because it's almost 5 miles to church and I was going to be saving some good cashage!  Honestly, this was also a dry run for me to see how hard the trip is.  Because, if it's not to bad of a trip, I may be making it on Sunday mornings instead of driving to church.

Google Maps said it was going to take 28 minutes to get from my place to church, so I figured that if I left 35 minutes early, I should make it in plenty of time.  I take Sulu/Jordy out of the garage, start to peddle, get about 7 minutes out, and then I realize... I FORGOT MY HELMET!

Now, if we were talking about a quick trip to campus I may have considered biking the rest of the way and praying for the best.  But, I was going to be going 5 miles on some heavily trafficked areas, so there was no way I was going to risk it.  So, I biked back to the house, hopped into my car, and got to church with 3 minutes to spare.

All that is to say, I didn't save any cash today.  We'll try again tomorrow.  =0).

Happy Biking!

~Adam

Biking for the joy of it...

Hello, friends!

Here's one of the joys of a new, well functioning bike... I actually enjoy riding it!  With my old bike, I rode it around from point A to point B because I didn't want to drive, but that was pretty much it.  I didn't get much joy from the frame that was too tall for me, the tires that were too fat for the road, and the constant clicking that came from the gears setting and resetting. 

But yesterday, yesterday was a joy.  I had a little bit of time before my date so I went to a park in Saint Louis and just starting peddling.  I brought my journal, my bible, and my water; everything I could possibly need to spend some time enjoying nature and God's creation.  I didn't ride too hard or too far, only about 30 minutes worth, but it was still so much fun! 

I was in Saint Louis, so I didn't get a chance to bike anywhere that I would have driven.  Thus, monetarily, the stats don't change.  But boy, from a "good for my soul" standpoint, yesterday was a total winner! 

Grand Total for the day: $0
Grand Total so far: $31.25
Left to save: $543.38

Happy Biking!

~Adam

If I drive my bike somewhere, does that count as irony?

Hi, friends!

Greetings from Saint Louis!  Tomorrow is my Sabbath so I figured it'd be great for me to visit my girlfriend.  She's working until the afternoon, so in the morning I'm going to be taking my cousins to the driving range for the first time.  I'm looking forward to a restful day hanging out with family, the gal I love, and Jesus.

I'm going to have some spare time between hanging out with the cousins and hanging out with Meg, so I thought I'd go down to Forest Park and ride around for a bit.  Doesn't that sound like fun?  Of course, in order for me to do that, it meant that I had to get my bike from Columbia to Saint Louis.  I don't have a bike rack, so I had two options:  Either leave Sulu/Jordy at home or find a way to cram my bike into my 1996 Toyota Corolla.  Guess which one I did?  =0). 

Apparently, both the front and back wheels have a quick release for easy access.  But, I put a rack on the back and it blocks the quick release from turning properly so I could only take the front wheel off.  Contrary to popular belief, 96 Corollas are not the most roomy of vehicles.  Even with the front wheel off, I still had to do some fancy cramming to get it in there.  But, it fit and now it's in Saint Louis with me.  I'm looking forward to the ride tomorrow.

Today's stats:
Places Traveled: Plasma and Campus
Distance Traveled: 4.1 miles ($.40)
Meter: 2.5 hours downtown ($1.50) + 1.5 hours on campus ($1.50)
Ticket Avoidance: $10 (I actually saw the meter lady walk by as I left the Plasma donation place.  There's no way I wouldn't have gotten a ticket.) 

Grand Total for the day: $13.40
Grand Total so far: $31.25
Left to save: $543.38

Happy Biking!

~Adam

08-25-11: My legs are sore, but it isn't from biking!

Hello, friends!

Why are my legs sore?  I played soccer today.  I'm actually not much of a soccer player.  I never learned how.  Growing up, we played little league so I'm more of a baseball/softball kind of guy.

It's only recently that I've started to appreciate the beauty of soccer.  There have been a couple of factors contributing to that.

- I joined an English Premier League Fantasy League.  My friend E thought it would be fun if we all picked a team in the EPL and picked up points based on how they fared in the EPL as well as the Champions League.  My team was Tottenham (Go Spurs!).  Now that I had a vested interested...
- I started watching more international soccer.  Man, those guys can play!  Between that and the World Cup (both Men's and Women's) I can see why the sport is so popular.  It's really much more than a bunch of folk running around the ball in a cloud of dust.  It is quite a beautiful game.

Anyway, I had one trip to campus that was followed immediately by a trip down south, so I had to drive.  My second trip to campus though was pure peddling goodness.  Here are the stats:

Distance Traveled: 4 miles ($.40)
Meter: 1.5 hours ($1.50)

Grand Total for the day: $1.90
Grand Total so far: $17.85
Left to save: $556.78

Happy Biking!

~Adam

A bike by any other name...

Hello, friends! 

I love nicknames.  As many of you know, I love giving nicknames in an unconventional way.  I tend to have a process that is 3 or 4 different steps before getting to a good place. 

So I'm a little torn on what I should name my new bike.  I think I'm going to put up a poll or something and have people vote.  Or, you could just email me and let me know what you think.  Anyway, here is my process:

What's my name?!?!

My bike is silver 2010 Trek 7.2 FX.
Trek immediately makes me think of Star Trek.
There is one Asian dude on the original Star Trek, Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu.
So, option one for my bike name is "Sulu."

But!!!


Then I got to thinking.
This bike is actually a 7.2.
The original bike is the 7.1.
So my bike is actually Trek THE NEXT GENERATION.
Who was my favorite character on TNG?
Lieutenant Geordi La Forge, also a helmsman.
So, option two for my make name is "Jordy" (I know the spelling isn't the same, but I like it better).

What do you guys think?  Any other suggestions I should consider? 

Happy Biking!

~Adam

08-24-2011: The Journey Begins With a Bang!

Hello, friends!

Apparently I have an addictive personality. This is why I should stay away from casinos, coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, and boardgames. (Actually, except for boardgames, I actually do stay away from those other things... personal choices, y'kno?)

Why do I tell you this? Because I may be addicted to riding this bike. Today, despite the heat, I definitely rode to tons of places where I normally would have driven. Let's run it down, shall we?

Oh, before I forget. When it comes to the mileage, this is the formula I'm using:
"miles I would need to drive" x "36mpg" x "price of gas in CoMo" = cost to drive there. My car gets 40 highway and 33 city, so 36 seemed about right.

7:30am - Plasma donation. Apparently, they use this stuff to make medicine and cosmetics and such. $45 to sit there and clench and unclench my fist. That sounds like a reasonable deal, right?
Distance from home: 1.1 miles ($.11)
Meter: 2 hours @ $.60/hour ($1.20)
Ticket because the meters in downtown CoMo are 2 hour limits and I wasn't allowed to leave the building for 4.5 hours: ($10)

12:00pm - Going to campus. I have the greatest job in the world. I work for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA as a campus staff member. When people ask what I do, I usually give them one of two answers. Either, I'm a professional Christian, or I hang out with college students and tell them about Jesus. Either way, it's a pretty sweet gig.
Distance from Plasma: 0.7 miles ($.07)
Meter: 3 hours @ $1/hour ($3.00)
Let's assume I was a good citizen and didn't get a ticket for this one, shall we? =0).

3:00pm - Errands. Lots and lots of errands. I had to go to a building across campus, then the post office, then the bank, before heading home to do some more work. My T-shirt hated me a little by the time I parked for the afternoon.
Distance traveled: 2.9 miles ($.29)
Meter: 1 hour total stopping time time @ $.60/hour ($.60)

6:30pm - More errands. After doing a bunch of stuff at home, I needed to run to staples to make some copies, then back to campus for a prayer meeting before heading back home to write this blog. I lead such an exciting life, don't I?
Distance traveled: 6.8 miles ($.68)
Meter: No meters since it was after 5pm

Grand total for the day: $15.95
Grand total so far: $15.95
Left to save: $558.68

We're getting there, friends!

Happy biking

~Adam

Welcome to Penny Peddling!

Hi, friends!

First, a word of note. If you are looking for a blog about rare coins, you are very much out of luck. This blog is about the money that I'm saving by biking instead of driving this year. I apologize for any perceived false representation. =0).

I bought I bike on Monday. It's a 2010 Trek 7.2 FX. I haven't named it yet (that blog post will come) but since it's a new toy and I paid some good cash for it, I figure I may as well get some good use out of it. Plus, with gas prices being what they are, this thing will eventually pay for itself, right?

So that got me thinking. What if I actually kept a tally of how much money I was saving by not driving and see how long it took me to save up the cost of the bike? Thus, Penny Peddling was born.

I'll try to keep it as entertaining as possible. For the first few posts I'm going to try and find my style and what works best. Keep coming back. I promise it will get better.

Oh, before I forget, most of my biking will be in Columbia, MO and our target goal is $574.63.

Happy Biking!

~Adam