Hello, friends!
I said a few weeks ago that I knew the math I had done thus far had gone awry at some point, so I resolved to go back and count everything so that things were proper. Boy am I glad that I did!
As of yesterday's post, I had written that I have saved $93.38 to date and that I have $489.25 left to save. Apparently, I cannot add in my head as well as I thought I could. According to the auto addition feature of Microsoft Excel, here are the actual stats, not counting today:
$ Saved to date: $116.42
$ Left to save: $458.21
I was off by over TWENTY DOLLARS! Man, that certainly changes things, doesn't it? We are moving along quite nicely. We'll see if we can't get this whole debt canceled by the end of the school year, yeah?
Here are today's stats:
Places traveled: Campus
Distance traveled: 3.4 miles ($.30)
Meters: 2.5 hours on campus ($2.50)
Total: $2.80
Grand Total: $119.22
Left to Save: $455.41
Happy Biking!
~Adam
The story of a guy trying to rationalize the money he spent on his bike and other random thoughts.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Banners are not my friend...
Hello, friends!
You guys, fair readers, are my friends. Would you like to know what are not my friends? Banners. Banners are not my friends. I don't mean the banner ads that are right next to this blog post. No, those banners do not bother me and can actually be beneficial in many ways.
The banners I am talking about are the physical banners than one puts up when one wants to draw attention to something. For example, let's suppose that you were a campus staff worker who wanted to draw attention to the table he set up in the student center. What would be a great way to bring eyes to that table? A snappy banner, of course! Why yes, a banner would do just the job of telling everyone that you were there.
Here's the problem. Let's suppose that said campus staff worker wanted to bring the banner to campus by riding his bike. Ah, now we have ourselves a problem. See, because banners are not condusive to being toted via bike. The dimensions are all wrong. If our dear staff worker tries to use his bike rack and set the banner in securely, it will jut out 3 feet from the back, upsetting the balance and ensuring that it will fall onto the side of the road. To put the banner horizontally across the rack would mean that while biking, the banner would stick out from both sides, possibly hitting pedestrians or getting hit by cars.
So what does our staff worker do? He puts it vertically on the rack, but slides it forward as far as he possibly can, such that the banner is sticking between his legs. This would not be a problem if the banner was directly parallel with the crossbar, but doing that would mean that the banner would no longer be on the rack and would fall off to the side. So, the banner has to be at a slight angle, meaning our poor biking staff worker has to pedal bow-legged to campus. Friends, this is not a fun situation.
In conclusion, biking with a banner is hard work. Next time I'm using the baby jogger.
Places Traveled: Campus, Plasma, Bengals
Distance Traveled: 6.0 miles ($.51)
Meters: 3 hours on campus ($3.00) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20)
Total: $4.71
Grand Total: $93.38
Left to Save: $489.25
Happy Biking!
~Adam
You guys, fair readers, are my friends. Would you like to know what are not my friends? Banners. Banners are not my friends. I don't mean the banner ads that are right next to this blog post. No, those banners do not bother me and can actually be beneficial in many ways.
The banners I am talking about are the physical banners than one puts up when one wants to draw attention to something. For example, let's suppose that you were a campus staff worker who wanted to draw attention to the table he set up in the student center. What would be a great way to bring eyes to that table? A snappy banner, of course! Why yes, a banner would do just the job of telling everyone that you were there.
Here's the problem. Let's suppose that said campus staff worker wanted to bring the banner to campus by riding his bike. Ah, now we have ourselves a problem. See, because banners are not condusive to being toted via bike. The dimensions are all wrong. If our dear staff worker tries to use his bike rack and set the banner in securely, it will jut out 3 feet from the back, upsetting the balance and ensuring that it will fall onto the side of the road. To put the banner horizontally across the rack would mean that while biking, the banner would stick out from both sides, possibly hitting pedestrians or getting hit by cars.
So what does our staff worker do? He puts it vertically on the rack, but slides it forward as far as he possibly can, such that the banner is sticking between his legs. This would not be a problem if the banner was directly parallel with the crossbar, but doing that would mean that the banner would no longer be on the rack and would fall off to the side. So, the banner has to be at a slight angle, meaning our poor biking staff worker has to pedal bow-legged to campus. Friends, this is not a fun situation.
In conclusion, biking with a banner is hard work. Next time I'm using the baby jogger.
Places Traveled: Campus, Plasma, Bengals
Distance Traveled: 6.0 miles ($.51)
Meters: 3 hours on campus ($3.00) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20)
Total: $4.71
Grand Total: $93.38
Left to Save: $489.25
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
To Fender, or Not to Fender... THAT is the question!
Hello, friends!
Sorry it has been a bit since I have posted. Apparently when I am not constantly reminded that I have been riding Sulu, I forget to post about it. I'll try to do better. (Hmm, doesn't that sound familiar...).
It's raining today. It rained yesterday. There's a chance that it will rain tomorrow. This brings up a very interesting question that I need to consider. Should I throw down the money for some fenders?
Yesterday, even though it was raining, I decided to bike to Staples to get some copies done. It was a light rain so I figured it wouldn't be too dangerous. I got to campus ok from a safety standpoint, but from a fashion standpoint, things were looking bleak. My pants and backpack were definitely splattered with rain and mud from Sulu's tires. I'm not the most fashion conscious guy in the world (Meg will tell you the same) but from a business standpoint, it seems to me like it is more likely folk will take me seriously if I don't look like I need a hot shower and some wet wipes.
So, I have 3 options. The first option is to get over myself, save the $, and just deal with the rain... and the snow when it comes... and the rain again in the Spring... The second option is for me to buy some fenders for Sulu. My friend Josh says that they'll run me about $30, which isn't terrible, just more than I'd like to spend given that the whole idea of me biking everywhere is so that I can save money... My third option is to buy one of these. It still won't solve the problem of my pants getting muddy, but I sure would look cool, wouldn't I?! =0).
Here are yesterday's stats:
Places traveled: Staples, Bengals for Monday Night Football
Distance traveled: 7.0 miles ($.64)
Meters: None
Total for the day: $.64
Grand Total: $88.67
Left to Save: $493.96
Happy biking!
~Adam
Sorry it has been a bit since I have posted. Apparently when I am not constantly reminded that I have been riding Sulu, I forget to post about it. I'll try to do better. (Hmm, doesn't that sound familiar...).
It's raining today. It rained yesterday. There's a chance that it will rain tomorrow. This brings up a very interesting question that I need to consider. Should I throw down the money for some fenders?
Yesterday, even though it was raining, I decided to bike to Staples to get some copies done. It was a light rain so I figured it wouldn't be too dangerous. I got to campus ok from a safety standpoint, but from a fashion standpoint, things were looking bleak. My pants and backpack were definitely splattered with rain and mud from Sulu's tires. I'm not the most fashion conscious guy in the world (Meg will tell you the same) but from a business standpoint, it seems to me like it is more likely folk will take me seriously if I don't look like I need a hot shower and some wet wipes.
So, I have 3 options. The first option is to get over myself, save the $, and just deal with the rain... and the snow when it comes... and the rain again in the Spring... The second option is for me to buy some fenders for Sulu. My friend Josh says that they'll run me about $30, which isn't terrible, just more than I'd like to spend given that the whole idea of me biking everywhere is so that I can save money... My third option is to buy one of these. It still won't solve the problem of my pants getting muddy, but I sure would look cool, wouldn't I?! =0).
Here are yesterday's stats:
Places traveled: Staples, Bengals for Monday Night Football
Distance traveled: 7.0 miles ($.64)
Meters: None
Total for the day: $.64
Grand Total: $88.67
Left to Save: $493.96
Happy biking!
~Adam
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