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The Long Ride Home

As I’m writing this, I am just getting back from a round of golf in Richmond.  We had a great time, but invariably we got stuck in traffic coming home on 95.  I hate traffic.  And getting stuck in a traffic jam at the end of a perfectly nice but tiring day is just enough to ruin the entire experience.  I’ve found that the same thing can ruin my entire workday as well.  Maybe I got stuck somewhere on my ride in.  Sometimes it’s the ride home – it doesn’t really matter, both can very easily put me in a foul mood.  And as most of you as both friends and readers can attest, I’m not a lot of fun when I’m in a foul mood.

So, I’ve been thinking that maybe I should buy a bike and ride to work.  This isn’t completely crazy – Arlington is crisscrossed with bike trails that go most everywhere I might need to go, and the work commute most days is under ten miles.  I also have access to showering facilities once I arrive.  There’s only one problem – I don’t own a bike, and I’m remiss to purchase one that might get used a dozen times and then lie dormant in my closet for the rest of eternity.  I always loved biking places when I was a kid – it was the way to get around my neighborhood growing up.  But I really haven’t done much of it at all since I started driving, and that has me worried.

So, in true bWgH (okay, that’s a lame acronym, maybe I shouldn’t use that again) style, I decided to do a financial rundown of the cost benefit to buying a bike and how many times I’d have to ride it to and from work to make it cost effective.  I’ve got a few friends who are avid cyclists, and I’ve at least asked their opinions on this stuff, so my costs shouldn’t be out in left field.

Because of my limited space, I need a folding bike.  The only one I found that didn’t look ridiculous for a reasonable price was the Dahon Jack 7-speed – I can get it with a helmet from Performance Bicycle for ~$500.  And when it’s unfolded it looks like a normal bike.  I have been told that unlike when I was a kid, riding around on busy streets without a helmet is a bad idea, drivers don’t have much respect for cyclists.  I know I’m usually frustrated when I get stuck behind one, so I figure I’m being given good advice.  Over the course of the summer, I’d probably have to spend another $50 on maintenance (tubes and the like, I promise I won’t buy a little bell for it).

So let’s assume this whole experiment would cost me $550.  Not a drop in the bucket, but also not the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought.  Assuming I save about $5/day in gas and maintenance for my car, I would pretty much have to use it as my primary commuter vehicle for the next 5 months to be net even on the entire experiment.  Granted, I would also be great exercise, so maybe it’s not fair to judge it just through a financial light, but it’d making it hard to justify.  But it does alleviate some of the traffic problems I normally have to deal with in the mornings.

I could go cheaper if I had a place to keep the thing and could avoid the whole folding thing – if I just wanted to give this a shot maybe that would be the way to go.  I can also keep my eye on craigslist for something less expensive – as long as it’s in good shape, I could care less if it’s new.  Would you buy a bike just because you want to try riding it to work?

July 13, 2009 | Filed Under Planning / Goals, Spending

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