Okay, I get it. By the end of the summer, we spoiled Americans will be shelling out $6 for a gallon of gasoline. The Europeans must be giggling themselves silly, and they probably have the right. After all, even I (arguably an American) am appalled (chagrined. disgusted.) when I see all my fellow road hogs out there guzzling a couple dinosaurs a day, just so that they can drive their Expeditions, Yukons, and [*hack*] Hummers. And why? Because a whole bunch of us – none of my readers, I'm sure – are selfish jerks who would rather drive by intimidation than cooperation. Face it: when you can drive over top of a Yaris, why bother to use your turn signals or wait until it's safe to merge?
Uh… where was I? Oh yeah. Gas prices.
Everything's getting more expensive, and the evening news says it's all because of the rising fuel prices. At the same time, I'm working longer and harder, and my skinflint employer has recently rewarded those efforts by giving me half the usual less-than-inflation-rate increase that I've been accustomed to for the past 17 years. So, even though my little Dorian gets 29 mph to the gallon on the highway; even though the relocation of my company's offices knocked about 20 miles a day off my commute; and even though I can (in theory) work part of the time from home – I've been trying to think of how I can cut back on the amount of money leaking from my tailpipe every day.
You'd think that the answer to the problem would be pretty obvious for a bike geek like me: ride the bike. And I thought about it. The problem is that the neighborhoods between my Point A and my workplace's Point B are of that new design that creates a labyrinthine tangle of loops and cul de sacs best described by the quaint rural expression “you can't get there from here.” At least, not without leaving the side streets. It's great for reducing cut-through traffic in the 'hood, because it forces through traffic to use the main roads; but that's not so great for bicycle commuting. Taking the main roads on a bicycle during rush hours? No thanks. I have a wife and two kittens who need me.
The air-powered car is still some time away, and I don't really think I'll see the Jetson-esque flying cars we were promised back in the '60s. So what's left? A recent Google search pretty much tells you everything you need to know about why you (and my wife and, God bless her, my mother) should Be Afraid. Desperate times may require desperate measures.
Ironic, isn't it? Anne just got a bicycle, and now I'm considering a motorcycle.
2 comments:
I've started to drive closer to the speed limit on my ~20 mile commute (no ride-share or public transportation option in my area) to help with my gas efficiency. And I'm amazed at how many people driving big SUV's and pickup trucks still blow by me on the interstate.
For some reason when the gas went up after one of the hurricanes, it seemed like more people took the price increase seriously. Now, not so much.
@mrs. h: If there's any good news for me in all this, it's that I have the ability to work from home at least part of the time. I generally feel like I get more done if I'm at the office, where five minutes spent with the right coworker can accomplish more than a whole day of e-mail exchanges; however, several of the key, senior members of my team are either in other offices or themselves work from home, so I end up doing things by e-mail and IM a lot of the time anyway. Might as well do it in my comfy clothes, in my own office, with my cat on my lap.
And not burning $4/gallon gas.
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