#title Bicycles Are Our Friends

* [[Bicycle Routes]]

* [[My Bicycle]]

* [[http://journal.unknownlamer.org/tag/bicycle][Bicycling Journal Entries]]

I write about various bicycle related things in my journal.


* Why I Do Not, and Shall Never Again, Own a Car

Do you find asphalt attractive? Do you enjoy the smell of gasoline? Is
going to the pump a pleasant experience for your wallet? What of our
wonderful insurance system?

Asphalt is ugly. Gasoline smells terrible. Gasoline is expensive. Auto
insurance costs more than I spend on food every month (twice as much
even).

I am free of these things and refuse to be enslaved by them again. I
have no need for useless status symbols and vehicles which can take me
places five times faster than I have the desire to get there. It is
much more enjoyable to put fuel into myself rather than a gas tank (my
tongue and stomach do quite enjoy it as well).

Every mile travelled in a car eats money, pollutes the air just a
little bit more, causes some damage to the roads, and is (I think)
quite stressful when there is heavy traffic.

Every mile travelled on a bicycle is another 100 Calories of food I
get to eat at the end of the ride (mmm carbohydrates). I suppose my
lungs are releasing CO_2 into the air, but perhaps this is made up by
my bicycle causing no stress to the asphalt beneath me. Most of the
time I find bicycling to quite relaxing; even on the 30F
mornings. There is, naturally, some stress; usually when cars pass me
on the left as I am signalling with my arm that I am preparing to make
a left turn, or forcing me off of the road because I am in the center
of the lane as we drift to a red light, or passing me when I am
exceeding the speed limit (hills are friendly when you're going down
them).