Hello, friends!
Today, I had an experience that reminded me how much money I can save biking. Actually, it was a series of experiences. Allow me to break it down for you.
On Saturday, I went to get my oil changed. Normally, I change it myself but time is short nowadays and I was way overdue, so I figured that just this once I would have someone do it for me. A conventional oil change costs about $35. If I wanted the high mileage stuff (which I should use, now that the Rolla is coming it at over 275,000 miles) it would cost another $30. Do you know how much it costs to change the oil on a bike? That's right, $0.
Fast forward to this morning. While the nice people @ the lube shop were changing my oil, they topped off my windshield washer fluid and noticed a leak. So, this morning I dropped off my car at the mechanic to see if they could fix it. The gave me a call later in the morning saying there was a crack at the top of the tank and it would cost $250 to fix it. On top of that, it would cost another $250 to fix the pump that pumps the windshield washer fluid onto my windshield. On top of THAT, it would be another $250 to fix a minor issue with the tires because it would also require an alignment. (I didn't do any of the work). Guess how much it costs to do all that work on a bike? If you guessed $0, you'd be right!
But, wait! There's more! While waiting on the nice mechanic folk to look at my car, I went to the nice people at the insurance office to see how much it would cost for Meg and me to get put on the same auto policy. It's not worth going into how much it will cost because you can see where I'm going with this. Even if I wanted to insure Sulu, there's no way it would cost what it costs to insure a car.
What's my conclusion? Biking is awesome and WAY cheaper than driving. Oftentimes driving is a necessity, and I do love driving, but boy is it expensive...
Stats:
Places traveled: Campus, home, mechanic, insurance office, campus, lunch downtown, back to campus, and back to the mechanic
Distance: 4 miles ($.37) and 5.1 more ($.46)
Meters: 4 hours on campus ($4) + 1 hour downtown ($.60) + 5 hours on campus ($5)
Total: $10.43
Grand Total: $319.03
Left to Save: $264.00
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Left to Save:
The story of a guy trying to rationalize the money he spent on his bike and other random thoughts.
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