Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike

Your reasons and rationale for bike commuting are good and fooling your wife is OK too, but don't fool yourself about how much money you are saving. The "standard mileage compensation" of 55¢ per mile is based on fixed costs of insurance, registration, taxes, and depreciation, as well as the variable costs of gasoline and "wear and tear" maintenance. The car costs almost as much sitting in your garage as being driven to work. The only significant money you are really saving is gas and parking fees (which in some cases is a big savings.) The only way you can save the big $$'s from using a bike to commute is when you own one less automobile because of your bike use.