Originally Posted by
InTheRain
My '91 toyota pick-up has hit rock bottom. I'm not sure that it can depreciate anymore. I need the vehicle and it doesn't sit in the garage - it is well used. It's used on commutes also, I'm not a 100 percent dedicated bicycle commuter. Many of the costs of my vehicle are fixed costs whether I use it or not.
I'm a diabetic. It's not wise for me to fuel my body with low quality carbohydrates.
I can't justify my bicycle addiction, by saying that it saves me money. I'm sure that if it were necessary, I would try to save more money on my bicycle related purchases. However, I've been quite happy with what I have purchased... it's not always the cheapest stuff.
Carbohydrates are cheap. Probably the cheapest things you can buy in any grocery store. The higher quality, less refined carbohydrates like beans, rice, potatoes, legumes, flour, etc. are by far cheaper on a price per pound basis than meat, dairy and processed carbohydrates. And, as I said earlier, riding a bike doesn't bump up your caloric requirements all that much. Certainly not enough to put much of a dent in a budget. Certainly not the equivalent of what an increase in gasoline costs can do.
I have done the analysis of what it cost me to drive and how much I save by riding a bicycle to work. Riding a bike to work on a regular basis cost me between -$2 and -$3 per mile over vehicle travel. That is somewhat inflated because my vehicle isn't a fuel efficient vehicle. Most people with vehicles that get better mileage will see cost on the order of -$0.50 to -$2 per mile. Over the course of a year, that adds up to $6000 to $9000 that
doesn't go out of my pocket.