Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Autumning Apart


In the final days of 2006, I set an arbitrary goal of riding a total of 3650 miles this year. So here we are on day 290 of 2007, and I'm 2950 miles into it, with November and December still to come. The math here dictates an average of 300 miles per month for both, which has not happened before. I find myself awkwardly rooting for global warming.

I also promised myself I wouldn't compare my mileage total with others', but Doug is over 6K, and Tex is at just under 2K. Guess that would put me somewhere in the middle if this were a representative sample, but I think I may just go back to not comparing.

On another, far more bizarre note, I saw my first three-wheeled, plug-in electric car on my way home tonight:


In general, I think electric cars are an okay idea, but I'm still not sure quite what to make of it. I'm leaning toward Bike Snob NYC's claim that cars this size should occupy a spot exactly one notch below bikes in the vehicular pecking order:

It is small. It is inexpensive. It gets excellent gas mileage. [volt mileage, or whatever] We’re supposed to admire it for these qualities. I don’t. As cyclists we’ve been bossed around by cars for too long. And like the Yorkshire terrier at the dog run who after constantly being terrorized by Rottweilers finally gets a chance to hump a Chihuahua, here at long last is a car we can intimidate and dominate. This car has a shorter wheelbase than a recumbent, the same passenger capacity as a tandem, and a curb weight lower than most people’s Rivendells.

This one is from Zapworld, which, as far as I can tell, is a toy company. I can hardly wait.

4 comments:

Tarik Saleh said...

Sweet!

you are kicking my ass. I had a really bad sept which blew my chance at the 3650. I think I am at 2300 as of 10/1 and probably right at 2500 right now making 3000 a reasonable goal for me this year. We will see. Good job on carrying the 10 mile average this late in the year.

Tarik

Yokota Fritz said...

I need to add the odometers from 4 different bikes to get my total, but I'm guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 miles for 2007 so far.

I think electric cars are handy for people with physical mobility issues. I've been commuting by bike for over 20 years now and I'm getting to the point where I'd like a break every now and then, to be honest.

Michael Lemberger said...

Yeah, in spite of the moaning and groaning, it's gone pretty well this year 8-)

Fritz, I actually do like the idea of electic cars for a number of uses, so I think we're in agreement there. I just don't think we'll be able to swap them out with gas powered cars and continue business as usual.

I've also been at the bike commuting thing for quite a while, going on 18 years, and I agree that breaks are good. I'll be taking one in January.

LvilleTex said...

Hey Sconny, I see in the pic you're running in Keens. We have yet another similarity (aside from our bike collections). I love the Keens during the summer. I choice will be whether to continue with them now that cooler weather has arrived.

And my mileage is not nearly yours. One day, though.