JugglerDave

I've been doing my 3-4 days folding bike + train commute for almost a year and a half now, and I consume a bunch of extra snacks at work. I was just playing with some numbers yesterday, thought it was interesting:

$4.00 per gallon gas.
My car gets approx. 23.5 MPG, (this is $0.17 / mile for gas).
Biking is approx. 30-40 calories per mile (I'll use 35).
That's 35 * 23.5 = 822 calories for "gallon of gas distance equivalence".

So any snack that costs $4.00 for 822 calories costs the same as gasoline.
Starchy snacks (e.g. pretzels) are 100 or 110 calories per ounce.
Potato chips are 150/oz. Nuts are in the 200 range.
Most other snacks (e.g. my trader joe's granola bars) run around 130 calories per oz.

So the "typical snack" of 130 cal/oz. can cost as much as $10 per pound before it's more expensive than gasoline. (130 * 16 = 2080 calories / 882 cals * $4.00).

My $1.00 Clif bar (230 calories) is almost as expensive as gas.
My $2.49 / 4 oz of dehydrated oranges (100 calories per 30 g) is $10 / pound for 1500 calories, so more expensive than gas.
Plain old pasta (about $1 / pound dry, 1760 calories) is about 30% the cost of gas.

genec

Eat more Pasta.

joeprim

Cool calculations. I calim my bike gets 50 mpg, but then beer is more that $4/gal

-

Joe

Scorer75

ummmm, but if you drove to work you would still have to eat, right?

The only extra food I eat on days I ride is two extra snacks, a 210 calorie single pack of trail mix for .49 an extra yogurt or fruit which is probably around .50 - .75

Since my company pays for gas, I asked if on the days I ride they would buy my lunch. This wasn't a serious request, it was something that came up as a joke when we were discussing gas prices one day.They are considering it, but I believe it's more as a novelty.

lil brown bat

It's an interesting analysis, although of course it's a bit simplistic. A snack (or other food) that costs $4.00 for 822 calories doesn't cost "the same as gasoline", it costs the same (about) as a gallon of gasoline. Whether it's more cost-effective depends on what that gallon of gasoline will get you vs. what that snack will get you, and that analysis gets pretty tricky. In addition, food doesn't simply vanish as calories expended, it goes into building a healthier body (one hopes). But the point is a good one -- food can get spendy if you don't choose it carefully.

_dhan_

I already filled up with about 20 pounds of extra fuel. It's a sunk cost.

girljen

And then there's the consideration of the enjoyment level of the food. There is no emotional or sensual benefit to putting gasoline in a car. However, food can have emotional benefits. Think of the difference between 500 calories of granola with milk (tasty but nothing special; inexpensive) vs. 500 calories of filet mignon and fresh steamed veggies (WANT!!; expensive).

JugglerDave

I was trying to compare solely the cost of "distance equivalence cost" of gasoline in my car. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

I can bike 23.5 miles on 822 extra food calories (cost varies...)
Or I can drive my car 23.5 miles on 1 gallon of gasoline, which currently costs $4.00

I wasn't playing with the obvious efficiency differences, the fact that there are 33,000 calories in a gallon of gas, etc. And of course, if one has 'spare' calories (e.g. overweight) then clearly one can lose weight and not have to buy as much replacement food.

gholt

Bring some apples, bannanas, pears, oranges, carrots, mangos, grapes. They are packed with energy. They don't cost too much and they would give your body what it needs.

DataJunkie

After some time ones body tends to need less fuel to accomplish the same task.
Cars generally go in the opposite direction. Meaning that they need more fuel as their engines age.

Andy69

I had that thought yesterday as I was biking to work. I eat like a hog anyway, so I suspect we won;t notice the extra food

JugglerDave

I've done my 8.5 mile r/t commute (300 calories) about 150 times in the past year and a half. In theory, I've burned 45000 calories, or almost 13 lbs of fat. In reality, I've enjoyed a lot of really good desserts and beers (as well as my work snacks) and I'm virtually the same weight as a year ago. I'm 100% sure I've been eating a lot of 'extra' food and sure have enjoyed it.

jaa1085

Don't forget about wear and tear on your vehicle, oil changes, tires, tire rotation, repairs, etc.

Also medical savings and the environment benefits.

Bike4More

Bananas are cheap and really good for you compared to nuts and processed foods. They have their own biodegradable packaging also.

d2create

I don't really eat any more than normal when doing my 23 mile roundtrip commute.
That kinda defeats the purpose of the exercise.

But only only commute a few times a week.

JugglerDave

I was just playing with the fuel portion for today's fun.

For my PERSONAL multi-mode commute and playing with every single number and factor I could think of (My username should be datajunkie II), except for things like medical savings, I found I save $7 per round trip commute versus driving.

jaa1085

Wow! $7 per commute. I think I would save around $4 a commute. My trip is only 14 miles.

JugglerDave

I'm replacing a 53 mile r/t car commute with an 8.5 mile r/t bike commute plus 25 minute (each way) train. Even with train tickets (as I said, I counted EVERYTHING in my calculations) the savings are substantial.

sean000

I'd gladly pay more for food than for gasoline. As far as I'm concerned, spending $50 or more to fill up the tank is just paying in advance for hours of drudgery behind the wheel. Spending the same $50 on food... even if I blow it on good food (okay...and wine or beer), rather than stretching it, is at least $50 I'll get some enjoyment out of! Even if I stretch it by buying cheaper food I'll still get more enjoyment out of it than if it goes into the tank of my car!

Besides... most of us in America consume more calories than we need to see us through our daily routine. I'm packing an extra 20 pounds to prove it! Lately I've been cutting back on my portions to lose some of that weight, which means I'm trying to burn more calories than I put in. So I guess biking to work not only saves me money right now, but it's helping me lose weight. The lighter I am, the fewer calories I'll need to pedal to work in the future!

But if you really want to know what motivates me to pedal... it's not saving money. What's going on in the back of my mind is more along the lines of, "How much farther do I need to ride today to burn the extra calories I'll consume if I stop off at the brewery or the cheese shop?"

I'm fortunate that we don't need to fill up our car very often, so the rising price of gas doesn't affect us much at the pump. Where we really feel it is at the grocery store and at the bakery. Our local bakers have raised their prices significantly since they are paying 10 times more for a sack of flour than they did a year ago. Of course it's the rising price of oil, and the demand for corn-based ethanol, that is driving up the price of basic staples like flour. By eating out less, and decreasing the size of my portions at home, I'm saving money on food and losing weight. It's just tough being disciplined about it... I really want to support our suffering bakers, beer brewers, farmers, and cheese makers! I guess the more I ride, the more of their products I'll be able to consume.



Sean

jaa1085

Very well spoken! I completely agree

Sgt Skidmark

Luckily, even if it was price parity for food and gas, the wear and tear on the car would be more than on a bike.

Paul L.

Hmmm. I commute 24 miles in and hitch a ride home with my Father in-Law so-

3 gallons of gas for my Jeep = $12
800 Calories = 2/10 of a $5 Marie Calendars Key Lime Pie = $1
Net Savings is $11 WooHoo! Guilt Free Pie and a savngs of $11 I'm in Heaven.

Az B

All you can eat buffet for lunch. Problem solved.

Next!

Az

Andy_K 

I don't know, I like the smell of gas in small portions. I guess it's a leftover from my happy days as a petroleum distribution engineer.

sauerwald

Hmm, at 35 calories per mile, that means that I get less than 3 miles per banana - I would have thought that I did better than that.
10 miles per bagel doesn't sound much better!