Hello, friends!
Sorry for not posting in a while. Keeping this blog has given me a whole new respect for professional bloggers. How they manage to make every deadline while still writing about things that are at least semi-relevant is a mystery to me. Anyway, I have a story to tell you.
Last week, on my way to Columbia, The Rolla starting making noises... and shaking... and sputtering. Thankfully, I was near a major-ish town so I was able to pull over and call AAA for a tow. With Premium Membership, or whatever it's called, I get a tow of 100 miles without charge, which is great since I was about 65 miles from Columbia.
First, I have to tell you about my tow truck driver. Ronnie is a really nice and really personable guy. Apparently we don't agree on anything but that's ok. It was still nice to have some conversation while on my way to CoMO, which is not usually the case.
I make it to my mechanic's place and I tell them what is happening. I'm told that they'll check it out and they should know in a few hours. When I get the call, It's not bad but it's not good.
Apparently, I need a tune-up pretty badly. There are a bunch of different things that go into a tune-up, including the spark plugs, some wiring, a cap of some sort, and a few other things that sound expensive. Also, I had been putting off a repair for a while and it had gotten worse to the point that it was a safety hazard. The total damage, if I got everything fixed, was going to run about $800, or, 75% of the value of the car.
This is whare I call Meg and we have a decision to make. We have been considering going to 1 car when we move but it's too early to do that now. At the same time, the car probably isn't worth $800 worth of repairs. What do we do?
Here's what we decided: Let's not get the full tune-up but get everything done that absolutely has to be done ($500). Then, we'll wait it out, hope the Rolla lasts a few more months, and get a new car at some point when we are in Columbia.
Now, this is where things get interesting. Right now the Rolla has 285,000 miles on it. My goal from the beginning has been to get it to 300k and then let it ride off into the sunset. Right now that goal is in jeopardy because we may buy a new car before I can drive 15,000 miles.
Oh, but you know I'm going to try.
But, the purpose of this blog has been to talk about all the miles that I've SAVED by biking instead of driving. I still believe in biking as often as possible. I have two competing goals in hand. Goal #1 is to finish this blog. Goal #2 is to get the Rolla to 300k. I'm really not sure yet of how to reconcile the two but I'm sure going to try!
So, that's the dilemma. Imma keep riding but know that driving is way on my priority list too, at least for the next 15,000 miles. =0).
Stats:
Distance traveled: 5 miles ($.47)
Meters: 7 hours on campus ($7)
Total: $7.47
Grand Total: $330.23
Left to Save: $252.80
Happy Biking!
~Adam
The story of a guy trying to rationalize the money he spent on his bike and other random thoughts.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
A Wacky Weather Story...
Hello, friends!
It's been a long time since I've posted, hasn't it? Well, the past week and a half or so I have been in California at a conference. It was a great time, besides getting sick but I am happy to be back in the great state of Missouri and happy to have the chance to be biking again!
This week there wasn't much biking but I thought I would share with you a story that reminded me of something that I hear a lot in around here, "If you don't like the weather in Missouri, wait 10 minutes, it'll change." =0).
Meg and I left California on Monday morning. Our flight was @ 6:50am. LAX, the airport is about 40 minutes away from my house without traffic (if you're lucky), and there is usually a good number of people flying out of LAX, especially on a Monday morning when all the business folk are travelling. So, we decided that the absolute latest we could leave the house would be 5am, meaning we had to be awake by 4:30 to get ready to go. Early, right?
Wanting to get through the airport as quickly as possible, I did 2 things Sunday night. I printed our boarding passes (which ended up not mattering because we had to check a bag anyway). And I checked the weather so I knew what I needed to wear to the airport. Taking off and putting on shoes can be a hassle in the airport, especially since all my shoes have laces, so if I can, I will wear sandals to airport in order to get through the line quicker. I looked at my phone and it said: Saint Louis: 74 degrees tomorrow. Sandals, here I come!
Here is what actually happened. By 74 degrees, it actually meant THIRTY-FOUR degrees. And, of course, with the windchill, it felt more like TWENTY-FOUR degrees. Wait, it gets better. I couldn't even put on socks and shoes at baggage claim because my clothes weren't completely dry from when we did laundry the night before. So, I saved a few minutes getting through security but almost froze off my toes back home. (For the record, it was 74 degrees in Garden Grove on Monday. My weather app must have mixed up my current location and where I was searching for weather).
As I was thinking about this, an interesting thought occurred to me. Neither the weather prediction or the actual weather felt like it was out of the ordinary to me. If you had told me it was going to be 74 degrees in Saint Louis in mid-March, I would have believed you. If you told me it was going to be 34 degrees instead, that would have also seemed perfectly reasonable.
I suppose that is the beauty of my great state. The only thing you can expect from the weather is something unexpected. =0).
Stats:
Places: Just one trip to campus
Distance: 4 miles ($.39)
Meter: 2.5 hours on campus ($2.50)
Total: $2.89
Grand Total: $325.65
Left to Save: $257.38
Happy Biking!
~Adam
It's been a long time since I've posted, hasn't it? Well, the past week and a half or so I have been in California at a conference. It was a great time, besides getting sick but I am happy to be back in the great state of Missouri and happy to have the chance to be biking again!
This week there wasn't much biking but I thought I would share with you a story that reminded me of something that I hear a lot in around here, "If you don't like the weather in Missouri, wait 10 minutes, it'll change." =0).
Meg and I left California on Monday morning. Our flight was @ 6:50am. LAX, the airport is about 40 minutes away from my house without traffic (if you're lucky), and there is usually a good number of people flying out of LAX, especially on a Monday morning when all the business folk are travelling. So, we decided that the absolute latest we could leave the house would be 5am, meaning we had to be awake by 4:30 to get ready to go. Early, right?
Wanting to get through the airport as quickly as possible, I did 2 things Sunday night. I printed our boarding passes (which ended up not mattering because we had to check a bag anyway). And I checked the weather so I knew what I needed to wear to the airport. Taking off and putting on shoes can be a hassle in the airport, especially since all my shoes have laces, so if I can, I will wear sandals to airport in order to get through the line quicker. I looked at my phone and it said: Saint Louis: 74 degrees tomorrow. Sandals, here I come!
Here is what actually happened. By 74 degrees, it actually meant THIRTY-FOUR degrees. And, of course, with the windchill, it felt more like TWENTY-FOUR degrees. Wait, it gets better. I couldn't even put on socks and shoes at baggage claim because my clothes weren't completely dry from when we did laundry the night before. So, I saved a few minutes getting through security but almost froze off my toes back home. (For the record, it was 74 degrees in Garden Grove on Monday. My weather app must have mixed up my current location and where I was searching for weather).
As I was thinking about this, an interesting thought occurred to me. Neither the weather prediction or the actual weather felt like it was out of the ordinary to me. If you had told me it was going to be 74 degrees in Saint Louis in mid-March, I would have believed you. If you told me it was going to be 34 degrees instead, that would have also seemed perfectly reasonable.
I suppose that is the beauty of my great state. The only thing you can expect from the weather is something unexpected. =0).
Stats:
Places: Just one trip to campus
Distance: 4 miles ($.39)
Meter: 2.5 hours on campus ($2.50)
Total: $2.89
Grand Total: $325.65
Left to Save: $257.38
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Thundersnow!!!
Hello, friends!
Two years ago, Columbia was hit with one heck of a storm, affectionately named SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011. Over the course of a few hours, 24 inches of snow fell on our fair city. Classes were cancelled for 3 days and I got a sweet case of cabin fever.
To commemorate Snowpocalypse, Mother Nature decided to give us another blast of frozen water goodness, this time accompanied by lightening. That's right, friends, we had THUNDERSNOW!!!
Here was the original plan: Right around 11pm last night, snow was supposed to fall in the mid-Missouri area, gently dusting the ground overnight, and possibly a bit into tomorrow. The early forecasts called for around 2 inches. 2 inches is certainly managable.
Right around 10pm, things changed. It looked like the storm front was actually going to wait to show up until 5am and really get heavy around 11am. The forecast changed to around 6 inches. At this point, things are getting a little dangerous but we are still all good.
Here's what really happened. At about 7:30am the snow began to fall lightly. By 9am, it was coming down as a wintery mix. By 10:30, 6 inches had already hit the ground and there weren't any signs of stopping but plenty of claps of thunder. At around 2pm, I couldn't see my car tires because of the snow. It's now about 4:30 and it looks like things have let up but the damage has already been done.
Why does all this matter? Well, yesterday Meg came to CoMO so we could teach together for ACF's Large Group. This morning we were going to look at some houses with a realtor. The question for us was whether we should head home after Large Group, thus cancelling our appointment, or gamble and hope that we could outrun the storm.
Guess who gambled... =0).
So, here we are, more or less trapped inside our house for at least the next couple of hours. There will be no biking, or really much walking outside, until we can clear the road. Meg already did a great job getting started on the driveway, so there's hope that we'll be able to get out of here this evening.
Stats:
Distance: 3 miles ($.31)
Meters: 2 hours on campus ($2)
Total: $2.31
Grand Total: $325.07
Left to Save: $257.96
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Two years ago, Columbia was hit with one heck of a storm, affectionately named SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011. Over the course of a few hours, 24 inches of snow fell on our fair city. Classes were cancelled for 3 days and I got a sweet case of cabin fever.
To commemorate Snowpocalypse, Mother Nature decided to give us another blast of frozen water goodness, this time accompanied by lightening. That's right, friends, we had THUNDERSNOW!!!
Here was the original plan: Right around 11pm last night, snow was supposed to fall in the mid-Missouri area, gently dusting the ground overnight, and possibly a bit into tomorrow. The early forecasts called for around 2 inches. 2 inches is certainly managable.
Right around 10pm, things changed. It looked like the storm front was actually going to wait to show up until 5am and really get heavy around 11am. The forecast changed to around 6 inches. At this point, things are getting a little dangerous but we are still all good.
Here's what really happened. At about 7:30am the snow began to fall lightly. By 9am, it was coming down as a wintery mix. By 10:30, 6 inches had already hit the ground and there weren't any signs of stopping but plenty of claps of thunder. At around 2pm, I couldn't see my car tires because of the snow. It's now about 4:30 and it looks like things have let up but the damage has already been done.
Why does all this matter? Well, yesterday Meg came to CoMO so we could teach together for ACF's Large Group. This morning we were going to look at some houses with a realtor. The question for us was whether we should head home after Large Group, thus cancelling our appointment, or gamble and hope that we could outrun the storm.
Guess who gambled... =0).
So, here we are, more or less trapped inside our house for at least the next couple of hours. There will be no biking, or really much walking outside, until we can clear the road. Meg already did a great job getting started on the driveway, so there's hope that we'll be able to get out of here this evening.
Stats:
Distance: 3 miles ($.31)
Meters: 2 hours on campus ($2)
Total: $2.31
Grand Total: $325.07
Left to Save: $257.96
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Ode to a Bike Mechanic...
Hello, friends!
Guess who got his bike fixed! That's right, this guy!
On Tuesday, I drove back to CoMO and stopped by Walt's, my bike shop for the past 5 years. Not only is Walt's super close to my house, but it's also where my good friend Josh works. For as long as I've been living in Columbia, Walt's is where I've gotten my bike accessories (including Sulu), and Josh is the guy who has been making sure that I am staying safe on the road.
Josh, and his wife Val, have been good friends of mine for as long as I can remember. When I first moved to CoMO, they were part of my first church small group. It's been a ton of fun playing Settlers with them, watching Val do roller derby, and eating at various cheap Columbia establishments. Val got a sweet job in the Bay Area, which means that Josh and Val will be moving in a few months. I'm going to miss their friendship, as well as Josh's great bike council. I'll probably keep going to Walt's but it'll be a little different working with the other mechanics. Thankfully, I've been going there so long, they know me by now.
Here's to you, Josh! Without you, Penny Peddling would be a no go and biking sure would be harder. =0).
Stats:
Distance traveled: 4.5 miles ($.45)
Meters: 2 hours downtown ($1.20) + 3 hours on campus ($3)
Total: $4.65
Grand Total: $322.76
Left to Save: $260.27
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Guess who got his bike fixed! That's right, this guy!
On Tuesday, I drove back to CoMO and stopped by Walt's, my bike shop for the past 5 years. Not only is Walt's super close to my house, but it's also where my good friend Josh works. For as long as I've been living in Columbia, Walt's is where I've gotten my bike accessories (including Sulu), and Josh is the guy who has been making sure that I am staying safe on the road.
Josh, and his wife Val, have been good friends of mine for as long as I can remember. When I first moved to CoMO, they were part of my first church small group. It's been a ton of fun playing Settlers with them, watching Val do roller derby, and eating at various cheap Columbia establishments. Val got a sweet job in the Bay Area, which means that Josh and Val will be moving in a few months. I'm going to miss their friendship, as well as Josh's great bike council. I'll probably keep going to Walt's but it'll be a little different working with the other mechanics. Thankfully, I've been going there so long, they know me by now.
Here's to you, Josh! Without you, Penny Peddling would be a no go and biking sure would be harder. =0).
Stats:
Distance traveled: 4.5 miles ($.45)
Meters: 2 hours downtown ($1.20) + 3 hours on campus ($3)
Total: $4.65
Grand Total: $322.76
Left to Save: $260.27
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Busted...
Hello, friends!
Guess whose breaks are busted! That's right, mine! Isn't that exciting?
According to my friend Josh, who is also my wonderful bike mechanic, there was some moisture in the bike cable holding shaft and when I left the bike outside while on campus, the cable froze. So, now my brakes engage but they won't disengage, making for a really tough ride.
Don't worry, friends! We'll be back to riding in no time. I just need to take the bike down to Josh's and get it fixed. Then, the penny peddling will commence!
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Guess whose breaks are busted! That's right, mine! Isn't that exciting?
According to my friend Josh, who is also my wonderful bike mechanic, there was some moisture in the bike cable holding shaft and when I left the bike outside while on campus, the cable froze. So, now my brakes engage but they won't disengage, making for a really tough ride.
Don't worry, friends! We'll be back to riding in no time. I just need to take the bike down to Josh's and get it fixed. Then, the penny peddling will commence!
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Thursday, January 24, 2013
A Mighty Sad Week...
Hello, friends!
This week was a bit of a downer in terms of biking. On Friday, I crashed my bike and got skinned up pretty badly. Today, I will be biking down to a visitation for Stan Musial, who died on Saturday. I have a few thoughts on both.
Friday was my Sabbath. One of the things that I love to do while on Sabbath is to go for a ride. These aren't commuter miles, so they don't count towards Penny Peddling, but they are very life giving to me. The weather was relatively nice for this time of year (I believe it was in the 50's!), the sun was shining, and I had nothing but time on my hands, so I figured I would catch a quick ride, and commune with nature.
Going through part of Saint Louis is the Saint Vincent Greenway. Essentially, it is a trail that runs north and south from the top part of Saint Louis (where I live) down to Forest Park. The trail itself is pretty nice, with a little bit of urban riding and a little bit of more scenic riding. It actualy is a really fun ride up north because you get to go though a park with a lot of twists and turns.
I was having myself a grand time, about 3 miles into my planned 10-12 mile ride, when tragedy struck. As I was rolling down toward a right hand bend, I caught a patch of black ice and crashed Sulu. Honestly, I spent about 2 minutes just sitting and in shock, not entirely sure of what happened. Thankfully, I didn't hit my head (although I was wearing a helmet) so the worst of the damage was a skinned knee and both my wrists. Sulu was in relatively good shape too. His handlebars are a little dinged but the gears are all in tack and his chain didn't sustain any damage. It was a huge blessing that something worse didn't happen. After I checked all my vital organs, I got back up and headed home, pretty sure that my ride was done for the day.
Yesterday was the first day that I'd riden since then. It was a quick trip to the bank but today will be a trip down to the Cathedral Bascillica to see Stan "The Man" Musial before he is finally laid to rest.
Many, if not all, of you know that I am a HUGE Cardinals fan. I was born a Cardinals fan, thanks to my wonderful father, "Papa" John Leong. I know the lore of the team, the history, and the emotion that comes along with fandom. I have experienced the highest of highs (2006 and 2011 World Series championships) and the lowest of lows (2004 World Series loss and Pujols leaving). One thing that every Cardinals fan knows is that Stan Musial is the greatest Cardinal to ever play the game, and probably will forever hold that title.
What stands out the most to me about Stan's legacy is not just that he was an AMAZING baseball player (3,630 hits, 24 all-star games, .331 lifetime batting average, etc.). What stands out to me is that every article about Stan goes beyond him as a baseball player and talks about how AMAZING of a person he was. Stan was the kind of guy who was genuinely loved by all and genuinely loved everyone in return.
So, that was this week, or at least these past 7 days. I'm not sure which hurt more. The crash definitely hurt my body but losing Stan certainly hurts my heart.
Stats:
Places traveled: The ATM and the Cathedral
Distance traveled: 2 miles round trip to the ATM, 14 miles round trip to the Cathedral ($1.36)
Meters: None
Total: $1.36
Grand Total: $318.11
Left to Save: $264.92
Happy Biking!
~Adam
This week was a bit of a downer in terms of biking. On Friday, I crashed my bike and got skinned up pretty badly. Today, I will be biking down to a visitation for Stan Musial, who died on Saturday. I have a few thoughts on both.
Friday was my Sabbath. One of the things that I love to do while on Sabbath is to go for a ride. These aren't commuter miles, so they don't count towards Penny Peddling, but they are very life giving to me. The weather was relatively nice for this time of year (I believe it was in the 50's!), the sun was shining, and I had nothing but time on my hands, so I figured I would catch a quick ride, and commune with nature.
Going through part of Saint Louis is the Saint Vincent Greenway. Essentially, it is a trail that runs north and south from the top part of Saint Louis (where I live) down to Forest Park. The trail itself is pretty nice, with a little bit of urban riding and a little bit of more scenic riding. It actualy is a really fun ride up north because you get to go though a park with a lot of twists and turns.
I was having myself a grand time, about 3 miles into my planned 10-12 mile ride, when tragedy struck. As I was rolling down toward a right hand bend, I caught a patch of black ice and crashed Sulu. Honestly, I spent about 2 minutes just sitting and in shock, not entirely sure of what happened. Thankfully, I didn't hit my head (although I was wearing a helmet) so the worst of the damage was a skinned knee and both my wrists. Sulu was in relatively good shape too. His handlebars are a little dinged but the gears are all in tack and his chain didn't sustain any damage. It was a huge blessing that something worse didn't happen. After I checked all my vital organs, I got back up and headed home, pretty sure that my ride was done for the day.
Yesterday was the first day that I'd riden since then. It was a quick trip to the bank but today will be a trip down to the Cathedral Bascillica to see Stan "The Man" Musial before he is finally laid to rest.
Many, if not all, of you know that I am a HUGE Cardinals fan. I was born a Cardinals fan, thanks to my wonderful father, "Papa" John Leong. I know the lore of the team, the history, and the emotion that comes along with fandom. I have experienced the highest of highs (2006 and 2011 World Series championships) and the lowest of lows (2004 World Series loss and Pujols leaving). One thing that every Cardinals fan knows is that Stan Musial is the greatest Cardinal to ever play the game, and probably will forever hold that title.
What stands out the most to me about Stan's legacy is not just that he was an AMAZING baseball player (3,630 hits, 24 all-star games, .331 lifetime batting average, etc.). What stands out to me is that every article about Stan goes beyond him as a baseball player and talks about how AMAZING of a person he was. Stan was the kind of guy who was genuinely loved by all and genuinely loved everyone in return.
So, that was this week, or at least these past 7 days. I'm not sure which hurt more. The crash definitely hurt my body but losing Stan certainly hurts my heart.
Stats:
Places traveled: The ATM and the Cathedral
Distance traveled: 2 miles round trip to the ATM, 14 miles round trip to the Cathedral ($1.36)
Meters: None
Total: $1.36
Grand Total: $318.11
Left to Save: $264.92
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Accuracy, thy Name is Smartphone
Hello, friends!
First of all, happy new year to you all! May 2013 be a year full of inflated tires and downhill rides. =0). I promise that I will try to be more diligent about my posting. There are many miles to be biked!
Where have I biked in the past 4 weeks? The truth is that there have been a few rides but not a ton of them. Many of my rides have been hybrid rides. To be honest, I had actually forgotten a number of my rides, including where I went and how far I biked. BUT, then I remembered that I had already logged all that information!
One of the beautiful things about owning a smartphone is that you have access to all sorts of apps. There are the games, news apps, video apps, and stupid apps that make you shake your head. My favorite apps are the ones that make me more productive. Honestly, I don't quite know what I would do without my to-do list.
The newest app that I've enjoyed is my new cycling app. It's a pretty simple GPS based app, probably not any different than many other apps that claim to do the same thing, but I like this one pretty well. I hit "record," start my ride, "hit finish," and then I'm told exactly how far I biked, how long it took me, and my miles per hour. It even shows me a map! The one thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to show y'all my ride info.
Anyway, this is my new toy and I'm pretty stoked about it. Here's hoping it inspires me to ride more in 2013. =0).
Stats:
Trips: Clayton to the Loop, Starbucks to the Thai restaurant, and home to FloValley.
Miles: 2.2 + 6.2 + 10.1 = 18.5 ($1.61)
Meters: Alas, I needed no meters here in StL.
Total: $1.61
Grand Total: $316.75
Left to Save: $266.28
Ok, so a month of biking saved me less than $2... at least it was fun!
Happy biking!
~Adam
First of all, happy new year to you all! May 2013 be a year full of inflated tires and downhill rides. =0). I promise that I will try to be more diligent about my posting. There are many miles to be biked!
Where have I biked in the past 4 weeks? The truth is that there have been a few rides but not a ton of them. Many of my rides have been hybrid rides. To be honest, I had actually forgotten a number of my rides, including where I went and how far I biked. BUT, then I remembered that I had already logged all that information!
One of the beautiful things about owning a smartphone is that you have access to all sorts of apps. There are the games, news apps, video apps, and stupid apps that make you shake your head. My favorite apps are the ones that make me more productive. Honestly, I don't quite know what I would do without my to-do list.
The newest app that I've enjoyed is my new cycling app. It's a pretty simple GPS based app, probably not any different than many other apps that claim to do the same thing, but I like this one pretty well. I hit "record," start my ride, "hit finish," and then I'm told exactly how far I biked, how long it took me, and my miles per hour. It even shows me a map! The one thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to show y'all my ride info.
Anyway, this is my new toy and I'm pretty stoked about it. Here's hoping it inspires me to ride more in 2013. =0).
Stats:
Trips: Clayton to the Loop, Starbucks to the Thai restaurant, and home to FloValley.
Miles: 2.2 + 6.2 + 10.1 = 18.5 ($1.61)
Meters: Alas, I needed no meters here in StL.
Total: $1.61
Grand Total: $316.75
Left to Save: $266.28
Ok, so a month of biking saved me less than $2... at least it was fun!
Happy biking!
~Adam
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