vtjim- nice fall pic. The colors this time of year are spectacular in New England. The light is also terrific because of the angle of the sun. Funny that it should be so colorful as we have less and less light each day this time of year.

I had a little shorter commute (8 mile each way) and I must say I was thankful for a less than 1/2 hour commute. I'm still a little sluggish these days so I appreciated the more moderate ride. Don't know why I'm so sluggish. Probably just need a day or two away from the bike but it's my main means of transport- I suppose I could use the car once in a while but certainly not for my commute. A colleague from work drives in from about a 1/4 mile from my house and goes the way I would go in were I to drive. I asked him:

• How long it takes him- 30 mins - 1 hour+ By bike it takes me from 28 minutes to 45 minutes door to door.
  
• Where he parks and what it costs per month?: Our parking is subsidized by our employer- (I wish my bike ride was!) but it still costs him $175/month- our employer pays another $175.!
  
• He takes the Mass pike, a toll road, it is $2/each way.

Parking and tolls alone equals almost $2500 for the year and my employer is out another $2100 on top of that! That's $4600 not including gas, wear and tear on the car, insurance etc., for one person to drive their car. Wow. It never quite hit home until I asked him. I should video us leaving the same building, intercut with him in his car and me on the bike. I'd probably get home before him and I could have a running tally, like the national debt clock, clicking away under each of us. It's amazing.

All that and I get the beautiful fall colors and peace and quiet of the Charles River and he gets stuck in traffic on the Mass Pike.