A midsized car gets a little over half a mile per kilocalorie of energy. A human walking gets 10 miles per kilocalorie. Even if we exclude the cost of the car, the cost of the road, and the cost of the infrastructure we build for fueling, walking is still 20 times as efficient as driving.

There does exist a vehicle that is more efficient than a human walking: a human on a bicycle. A human on a bicycle gets 25 miles per kilocalorie, the equivalent of 750 miles per gallon. Like my fictitious Jeopardy software, the bicycle is a light-touch technology, that extends the human’s natural ability for mobility rather than replacing it.

I knew there was a reason biking feels so good. It is an efficient tool that greatly enhances my natural ability to get around.

I rarely see other bikers who look as if their commuting to work. It just isn’t common in this part of South Florida. However, my understanding is that bikes are the most used mode of transportation in the world. Riding a bike is also how I got around during most of my childhood and through high school.

For the first year after my wife and I moved to South Florida, I had a 40 minute commute to work each way (which I have been led to believe isn’t that bad). When I got a new job closer to home, I was happy to give up all the time I had been spending sitting behind a steering wheel and being part of the constant traffic congestion. Fortunately, there have always been relatively safe routes to and from work, and when I get caught in the rain or stranded with a flat tire, my wife has always been able to come and rescue me.

When I started biking to work, it wasn’t to save money on gas or wear and tear on the car. It also wasn’t for an idealistic environmental purpose. The primary reason I began biking to work, was because I knew I could not trust myself to exercise consistently without it being a prebuilt part of my day. Since I needed to get to work five days a week, it just made sense to me to combine that necessary task and my daily exercise into one activity. Bikes run on fat and save money. However, I wouldn’t have stuck with it for this long were it not for the best reason to ride: It’s fun!

For nearly all of those past five years, I have been planning on purchasing a new bike. However, the one I have works just fine and takes me where I need to go. A more modern bike would be lighter, faster, and more efficient. However, those improvements would take away from the bike’s purpose—to make sure I am getting enough exercise every day. A newer more efficient bike may not be better as a fitness device, but a faster smoother ride would certainly be more enjoyable.

I look forward to many more years of riding—either on my trusty Super Le Tour or on whatever new bike I get the future.

You can fit a lot of bikes in a single parking spot built for cars. This bike rack by Peter Murray conveys a clear message about inner city parking. (via Swissmiss)

Sitting in traffic is an expensive activity.

‘This one runs on fat & saves you money’ by Peter Drew of Adelaide (photo by carltonreid).

I previously posted this image more than three years ago, shortly after I started commuting to work by bike. It represents one of the many reasons I ride to work, which I will continue to do for the foreseeable future.

Anatomy of a bicycle – anthonyoram

Glow bike

This isn’t the right bike for my current riding habits, but it would be very cool to zip around town on one of these at night. The Pure Fix Glow Bike has a clean simple look to it during the day, but lights up with an alien-green glow in the dark.

The bike is coated with a solar-activated paint that absorbs sunlight during the day and glows at night. They say an hour of sunlight will give an hour of glow, so you’d have to park it in the sun during the day if you’re planning a night ride.

It’s probably not important to have the whole bike light up. You could probably find glow paint you could use on an existing bike frame to achieve a similar effect.

Ninja rider

As a ninja biker, I’d be invisible. However, I prefer to have cars be able to see me.

via – Threadless.com

(via Dahab Underwater Ride « Cairo Cyclists Club)