| 1 | #title Bicycles Are Our Friends |
| 2 | |
| 3 | * [[Bicycle Routes]] |
| 4 | |
| 5 | * [[My Bicycle]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | * [[http://journal.unknownlamer.org/tag/bicycle][Bicycling Journal Entries]] |
| 8 | |
| 9 | I write about various bicycle related things in my journal. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | * Why I Do Not, and Shall Never Again, Own a Car |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Do you find asphalt attractive? Do you enjoy the smell of gasoline? Is |
| 15 | going to the pump a pleasant experience for your wallet? What of our |
| 16 | wonderful insurance system? |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Asphalt is ugly. Gasoline smells terrible. Gasoline is expensive. Auto |
| 19 | insurance costs more than I spend on food every month (twice as much |
| 20 | even). |
| 21 | |
| 22 | I am free of these things and refuse to be enslaved by them again. I |
| 23 | have no need for useless status symbols and vehicles which can take me |
| 24 | places five times faster than I have the desire to get there. It is |
| 25 | much more enjoyable to put fuel into myself rather than a gas tank (my |
| 26 | tongue and stomach do quite enjoy it as well). |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Every mile travelled in a car eats money, pollutes the air just a |
| 29 | little bit more, causes some damage to the roads, and is (I think) |
| 30 | quite stressful when there is heavy traffic. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Every mile travelled on a bicycle is another 100 Calories of food I |
| 33 | get to eat at the end of the ride (mmm carbohydrates). I suppose my |
| 34 | lungs are releasing CO_2 into the air, but perhaps this is made up by |
| 35 | my bicycle causing no stress to the asphalt beneath me. Most of the |
| 36 | time I find bicycling to quite relaxing; even on the 30F |
| 37 | mornings. There is, naturally, some stress; usually when cars pass me |
| 38 | on the left as I am signalling with my arm that I am preparing to make |
| 39 | a left turn, or forcing me off of the road because I am in the center |
| 40 | of the lane as we drift to a red light, or passing me when I am |
| 41 | exceeding the speed limit (hills are friendly when you're going down |
| 42 | them). |