Re: Cost of bicycling: $0.54/mile, $6.94/hour

[Chuck Davis]

"Jeff Williams" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I did my costing in a completely different manner.
> I paid about $300 for a used bike, lock and lights.
> When I rode it to the university, I saved $3.70 bus fare (round trip
> cost).
> When I rode it to work, I saved $4 parking and about $2 for the gas.
>
> Once I'd saved $300 in bus fare, parking and gas, everything else was
> money saved.
>
> Jeff

In a cursory review of this thread and other threads involving costs and
savings of cycling, no one seems to mention the cost of additional food as
part of the cost of cycling. If you ride rather than drive, you're going to
need more calories and you're going to eat more. How does the cost of an
extra 1 or 2,000 calorie healthy meal compare in cost to a gallon of gas?

Chuck Davis

 

[di]

"Chuck Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Jeff Williams" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> I did my costing in a completely different manner.
>> I paid about $300 for a used bike, lock and lights.
>> When I rode it to the university, I saved $3.70 bus fare (round trip
>> cost).
>> When I rode it to work, I saved $4 parking and about $2 for the gas.
>>
>> Once I'd saved $300 in bus fare, parking and gas, everything else was
>> money saved.
>>
>> Jeff
>
> In a cursory review of this thread and other threads involving costs and
> savings of cycling, no one seems to mention the cost of additional food as
> part of the cost of cycling. If you ride rather than drive, you're going
> to need more calories and you're going to eat more. How does the cost of
> an extra 1 or 2,000 calorie healthy meal compare in cost to a gallon of
> gas?
>
> Chuck Davis
this is assuming most people only eat enough to supply their energy needs, I
doubt if you could find one person that fits that situation. I think almost
everyone has enough spare calories left to power a bike ride.

 

[Zoot Katz]

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 16:32:38 -0400,
<[email protected]>, "Chuck Davis"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> How does the cost of an
>extra 1 or 2,000 calorie healthy meal compare in cost to a gallon of gas?

As a commuter you're generally not burning that much extra on a
commute. It would of course depend on your base metabolism, terrain,
temperatures and time spent awheel. If you're only worried about
replacing those calories you could pack an extra sandwich and banana
or something. You've got to eat anyway so which would you rather try
digesting, gasoline or lunch?
--
zk

 

[Dave Vandervies]

In article <[email protected]>,
Chuck Davis <[email protected]> wrote:

> How does the cost of an
>extra 1 or 2,000 calorie healthy meal compare in cost to a gallon of gas?

Can't speak for food, but:
If I run out of gatorade on the road, a 1l bottle costs CDN$2.75-3.25.
Gas was below CDN$1/l earlier this week and last I saw it was around $1.05.
Depending on the weather and how long I've been riding I sometimes get
as little as 5km to the liter, too, though now that the worst of summer
is over it's closer to 10-15, maybe even more.

Not really a fair comparison, though; most of my riding is close enough
to home that I can buy the powder stuff and mix it up at home, for $5
for a can that says "makes 8 liters".


dave

--
Dave Vandervies [email protected]
The great thing about people is that they, also, can be adjusted
and/or moved daily. Just don't try to disassemble them.
--Arthur J. O'Dwyer in comp.programming

 

[Chuck Davis]

"di" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:0akYe.6782$P34.3738@okepread07...
>.... this is assuming most people only eat enough to supply their energy
>needs, I doubt if you could find one person that fits that situation. I
>think almost everyone has enough spare calories left to power a bike ride.
>

If your weight is stable, you ARE consuming the same amount of calories that
you burn. There are no extra. If there were, you'd continually gain
weight. If you're consuming 3,000 calories a day, for example, and burning
500 calories a day cycling - you should consider 1/6 of your food budget as
a cost of cycling. It's only fair.

Chuck Davis

 

[Chuck Davis]

"Zoot Katz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Wed, 21 Sep 2005 16:32:38 -0400,
> <[email protected]>, "Chuck Davis"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> How does the cost of an
>>extra 1 or 2,000 calorie healthy meal compare in cost to a gallon of gas?
>
> As a commuter you're generally not burning that much extra on a
> commute. It would of course depend on your base metabolism, terrain,
> temperatures and time spent awheel. If you're only worried about
> replacing those calories you could pack an extra sandwich and banana
> or something. You've got to eat anyway so which would you rather try
> digesting, gasoline or lunch?
> --
> zk

I'd rather have the sandwich and banana. But the sandwich and banana cost
money. One of the posters considered gas and parking as costs of driving,
but ignored the increased cost of food in the comparison. That's all I'm
trying to point out.

Chuck Davis

 

[Zoot Katz]

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 18:25:32 -0400,
<[email protected]>, "Chuck Davis"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>"Zoot Katz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Wed, 21 Sep 2005 16:32:38 -0400,
>> <[email protected]>, "Chuck Davis"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> How does the cost of an
>>>extra 1 or 2,000 calorie healthy meal compare in cost to a gallon of gas?
>>
>> As a commuter you're generally not burning that much extra on a
>> commute. It would of course depend on your base metabolism, terrain,
>> temperatures and time spent awheel. If you're only worried about
>> replacing those calories you could pack an extra sandwich and banana
>> or something. You've got to eat anyway so which would you rather try
>> digesting, gasoline or lunch?
>> --
>> zk
>
>I'd rather have the sandwich and banana. But the sandwich and banana cost
>money. One of the posters considered gas and parking as costs of driving,
>but ignored the increased cost of food in the comparison. That's all I'm
>trying to point out.
>
Then what are all these people doing eating in their cars while
driving? Is that their actual meal or just a comforting snack to help
alleviate the boredom in their cages.?
--
zk

 

[Chuck Davis]

"Zoot Katz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >I'd rather have the sandwich and banana. But the sandwich and banana
> >cost
>>money. One of the posters considered gas and parking as costs of driving,
>>but ignored the increased cost of food in the comparison. That's all I'm
>>trying to point out.
>>
> Then what are all these people doing eating in their cars while
> driving? Is that their actual meal or just a comforting snack to help
> alleviate the boredom in their cages.?
> --
> zk

I'm apparently not doing a good job of explaining myself. Whatever a driver
eats while driving or otherwise doesn't go towards propelling the vehicle.
What a cyclist eats does. When comparing the cost of the two forms of
transportation, if you don't include the cost of fuel for both, you're not
making a valid comparison.

Chuck Davis

 

[Zoot Katz]

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 20:37:51 -0400,
<[email protected]>, "Chuck Davis"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>"Zoot Katz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> >I'd rather have the sandwich and banana. But the sandwich and banana
>> >cost
>>>money. One of the posters considered gas and parking as costs of driving,
>>>but ignored the increased cost of food in the comparison. That's all I'm
>>>trying to point out.
>>>
>> Then what are all these people doing eating in their cars while
>> driving? Is that their actual meal or just a comforting snack to help
>> alleviate the boredom in their cages.?
>> --
>> zk
>
>I'm apparently not doing a good job of explaining myself. Whatever a driver
>eats while driving or otherwise doesn't go towards propelling the vehicle.
>What a cyclist eats does. When comparing the cost of the two forms of
>transportation, if you don't include the cost of fuel for both, you're not
>making a valid comparison.

You did fine and I understand your point. I'm saying that if a driver
feels that they've got to have a snack en route, that they'd not
otherwise have consumed in the course of their day, then that too
should figure into the cost of the trip. Often times the snacking will
become a habit for a few months until they adopt a new diversion.

Have you never heard anyone say, "I've got to get some new tapes for
the car, I'm tired of hearing all these."? They then go out and buy
new tapes or CDs that never leave the car and never get figured into
its operating costs.
--
zk