Environmental impact of driving

I found this website online and thought I would share.

http://www.bikemetro.com/calculators/environment.asp

I figure that I travel roughly 70 miles per week between work and band practice.  This isn't accounting for any other driving I may do throughout the week.  Here is my environmental impact.

Total Hydrocarbons = 0.432 Lbs Total Carbon Monoxide = 3.222 Lbs Total Carbon Dioxide = 64.12 Lbs Total Nitrous Oxide= 0.214 Lbs Total Gas= 3.3 Gal

And my cost calculation:

Total Cost Per Day = $85.93 Total Cost Per Month = $343.73 Total Cost Per Year = $4124.80

I was actually shocked by this.  At first, I thought it seemed to steep, until I realized they took into account the cost of insurance and maintenance.  I can think of a lot of ways to spend some of that 300 bucks a month.

And my calorie calculation says I'm burning roughly 3136 calories per week.  I have to be burning more because I didn't take into account for any hills, plus there are some days that I run to/from work which is going to burn more calories.   For those of you that don't know, a pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories.  Not too shabby, although I have noticed I am eating more for dinner when I get home from my commute.

You should check out the site.  It's super easy and fast.  It's food for thought.  If you have a bike I highly recommend you give it a try.  I only have one week left, but I'm thinking about continuing biking/running to work a few times a week.

Fact: flat tires suck

In typical Shelton fashion, I decided to make sure I had everything in order for my first day of this month by doing a quick check right before I went to bed...the night before.  Turns out my bike tire was flat.  I had 2 options to ride to work that would pass a gas station.  Unfortunately I picked the one without an air pump.  50-some minutes later I arrived at work...sweaty and tired.  It also didn't help when motorists would yell at me to get my attention "hey!  did you know your tires are flat?!"

Luckily a guy at work had a tire pump, and the return trip only took half the time.

I have been alternating riding my bike and running to/from work.  Twice a week I have to work at two clinics, which means I have a 5 mile ride to the first clinic, then a 7+ mile ride from one clinic to the other during my lunch, followed by just under 5 mile bike home.  The tough part is having to make the lunch hour trip, which really cuts into me having much time to eat.

One of the perks of riding/running is that there is no excuse not to get some exercise (which slightly outweighs the fact my butt may get rubbed raw after another week or two of bike riding).  By the time I get home, the exercising is done and I can relax.  Currently I am not running barefoot on my trips home from work.  For the most part it would be a nice run, but there are spots where I have to cross 4 lanes of traffic and I have noticed spots of glass.  I have no issue running around glass, but not when I have to haul buns to avoid getting hit by a car.  I will man up sooner than later, but I will have to take a slightly longer route.  For now, I'm not trying to add any more miles to my day.