Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Living Car Free
Reload this Page >

Wasting energy in an energy challenged world

Search
Notices
Living Car Free Do you live car free or car light? Do you prefer to use alternative transportation (bicycles, walking, other human-powered or public transportation) for everyday activities whenever possible? Discuss your lifestyle here.

Wasting energy in an energy challenged world

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 06-27-08, 10:08 AM
  #1  
Vanned.
Thread Starter
 
worker4youth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,244

Bikes: 2006 Motobecane Le Champ SL, 2006 Mercier Kilo TT, 2004 Gary Fisher Tassajara

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Wasting energy in an energy challenged world

Thought you guys would enjoy this article: https://www.velonews.com/article/7893...allenged-world
worker4youth is offline  
Old 06-27-08, 10:30 AM
  #2  
gwd
Biker
 
gwd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: DC
Posts: 1,917

Bikes: one Recumbent and one Utility Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by worker4youth
Thought you guys would enjoy this article: https://www.velonews.com/article/7893...allenged-world
Years ago a racing friend went car free to add miles to her training. As I recall she didn't think it helped because the commuting and errand running didn't add much to her total weekly mileage. I'm glad to see the article in velo news admitting that you can use a bike for transportation.
gwd is offline  
Old 06-27-08, 10:58 AM
  #3  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 959
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
It depends on your philosophy: It is possible that any energy not expended in getting a branch of the human tree permanently off of earth is wasted. But probably a waste even for that purpose.
bike2math is offline  
Old 06-27-08, 09:05 PM
  #4  
In the right lane
 
gerv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Des Moines
Posts: 9,557

Bikes: 1974 Huffy 3 speed

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 44 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Transporting myself with the bike has been an amazing experience. I guess I like sticking it to the man. I’m not pumping emissions into the atmosphere, other than the occasional fart now and then. I’m not feeding the demand frenzy for gasoline, and the politics that go with it. I even get the bonus of knowing that I don’t have to pay over four bucks for gas. And of course there are the fitness dividends. I’m going to invest in a trailer for the bike soon so I can haul groceries, which will be no small feat since my rural home is 22 miles from Durango. I would have never thought that I’d be one of those guys, but here I am, and I’m loving it.
Roadies 0 Utility Cyclists 1
gerv is offline  
Old 06-28-08, 11:05 AM
  #5  
Crankenstein
 
bmclaughlin807's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Spokane
Posts: 4,037

Bikes: Novara Randonee (TankerBelle)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Originally Posted by gwd
Years ago a racing friend went car free to add miles to her training. As I recall she didn't think it helped because the commuting and errand running didn't add much to her total weekly mileage. I'm glad to see the article in velo news admitting that you can use a bike for transportation.
I get 100 miles a week minimum from commuting and errands... all my recreational and/or training rides are on top of that. Guess it depends where you live, work, and shop.
__________________
"There is no greater wonder than the way the face and character of a woman fit so perfectly in a man's mind, and stay there, and he could never tell you why. It just seems it was the thing he most wanted." Robert Louis Stevenson
bmclaughlin807 is offline  
Old 07-01-08, 11:11 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eugene, OR
Posts: 697
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 9 Post(s)
Liked 10 Times in 7 Posts
Originally Posted by worker4youth
Thought you guys would enjoy this article: https://www.velonews.com/article/7893...allenged-world
Thank you for posting this! While I will never underestimate the value of recreation, I find it ludicrous that road cyclists will drive to a bike ride. 90% of my riding is for transportation and utility but that doesn't mean I can't go fast, try hard, and enjoy myself while I'm doing it.
Enthusiast is offline  
Old 07-01-08, 01:24 PM
  #7  
Crankenstein
 
bmclaughlin807's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Spokane
Posts: 4,037

Bikes: Novara Randonee (TankerBelle)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Originally Posted by Enthusiast
Thank you for posting this! While I will never underestimate the value of recreation, I find it ludicrous that road cyclists will drive to a bike ride. 90% of my riding is for transportation and utility but that doesn't mean I can't go fast, try hard, and enjoy myself while I'm doing it.
Depends where the ride start is... a lot of mine start 30 or more miles away... being carfree REALLY puts a limit on how many of these I can make.

The last group ride I went on I had to be up at 3 am and out the door within minutes to catch the light rail and then had a 10 mile ride to the ride start... I ended up doing 120 miles that day when the other riders I rode with did 80.
__________________
"There is no greater wonder than the way the face and character of a woman fit so perfectly in a man's mind, and stay there, and he could never tell you why. It just seems it was the thing he most wanted." Robert Louis Stevenson
bmclaughlin807 is offline  
Old 07-01-08, 02:14 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 7,274
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by bmclaughlin807
Depends where the ride start is... a lot of mine start 30 or more miles away... being carfree REALLY puts a limit on how many of these I can make.

The last group ride I went on I had to be up at 3 am and out the door within minutes to catch the light rail and then had a 10 mile ride to the ride start... I ended up doing 120 miles that day when the other riders I rode with did 80.
Why not just carpool with another rider? Unless you want to or don't mind getting the extra miles in?
Blue Order is offline  
Old 07-03-08, 12:23 AM
  #9  
Senior Member
 
mike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Snowy midwest
Posts: 5,391
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I organize rides and they all start at central locations where riders bicyle to the start of the ride and then back home. Still, many people car-tote their bike to the start.

Last week, I met a friend to go for a casual bike-path ride. She picked the spot. She car-toted her bike 60 miles round-trip and bicycled 26 miles!

I bicycled 30 miles to meet her at the location, rode the 26 miles of path with her, and bicycled 30 miles back to my house = 86 miles total for a friendly jaunt.
mike is offline  
Old 07-03-08, 12:37 AM
  #10  
Senior Member
 
cyclezealot's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Fallbrook,Calif./Palau del Vidre, France
Posts: 13,230

Bikes: Klein QP, Fuji touring, Surly Cross Check, BCH City bike

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1485 Post(s)
Liked 73 Times in 64 Posts
I save at least 3 gallons of gas a week by using my bike. that is almost 15 dollars a week and how much CO2. Oil should be saved for more important stuff like oil based products, medicines, airplanes. Instead of gridlock. thanks for posting.
__________________
Pray for the Dead and Fight like Hell for the Living










^ Since January 1, 2012
cyclezealot is offline  
Old 07-03-08, 06:20 AM
  #11  
Senior Member
 
MrCjolsen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Davis CA
Posts: 3,959

Bikes: Surly Cross-Check, '85 Giant road bike (unrecogizable fixed-gear conversion

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times in 3 Posts
Often, roadies will say that commuting and errand miles are "junk miles" because they don't involve the structure of hills, intervals, warmups and cooldowns that are typical of most "training rides."

I ride about 6000 miles a year. Probably about 5000 of that is going back and forth to work. Another few hundred might be errands around town.

All I can say is that as time goes by, I get passed less and less.
MrCjolsen is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.