I guess we'll call this is a blog?
February 1, 2014
Whew. Two years down and still chugging along. Year two with Robin's Egg saw plenty more commuting, and also me getting familiar with some non-commute rides, including some decent elevation, and this upcoming year will see more of the same as I'm signed up to ride the Triple Bypass in July. But enough about 2014. You're here for one or two reasons: 1) you followed a link I provided you because you assumed it would be worth your time, and/or 2) you wanna know what the 2013 data looks like. And so it shall be...
• 2013 miles pedal commuted: 3,421.3 | Cumulative miles pedal commuted: 6,466.6
• 2013 miles not driven: 3,974.4 | Cumulative miles not driven: 7,534.8
• 2013 gallons not consumed: 124.5 | Cumulative gallons not consumed: 236.1
• 2013 money saved on gas: $411.83 | Cumulative money saved on gas: $792.16
• 2013 money saved on mileage at IRS rate of $0.55/mile: $2,185.97 | Cumulative money saved on IRS rate: $4,144.19
• 2013 CO2 not emitted (lbs): 2,435 | Cumulative CO2 not emitted (lbs): 4,621
• 2013 positive interactions with drivers: 2 | Cumulative positive interactions with drivers: 3
• 2013 positive interactions with drivers who were psyched I had the same bike they had: 1 | Cumulative positive interactions with drivers who were psyched I had the same bike they had: 1
• 2013 negative interactions with drivers: 1 | Cumulative negative interactions with drivers: 3
• 2013 coldest commute temperature: 19F, on 02.19.2013 | All-time coldest commute temperature: 18F, on 01.02.2013 (*note: Jan 2 was counted in "year 1" data)
• 2013 hottest commute temperature: 100F, on 08.20.2013 | All-time hottest commute temperature: 101F, on 06.18.2012 & 06.25.2012
• New this year: feet ascended! Cumulative ascent (ft): 263,928. We're just about to break out of the mesosphere!
And now to the graphs!
There is still no statistical correlation between average monthly temperature and miles pedaled. If I recorded when snow cover prevented anything more than a 5-mile bike ride, I'm certain there would be a negative correlation between that and miles pedaled, however.
Mileage extrapolated from the nearly perfectly linear past two years (r2 value of 0.997)
The jump in miles commuted in 2013 has pushed up my projected "pay off" date by three months. So now, we're looking at a celebratory party where stouts and porters will be served instead of spring ales. Or we'll just stick to what works year round: IPAs.
January 14, 2013
One year ago I bought a new bike. And by "new," I mean "new." Over the past few years I've bought and acquired a lot of bikes. But they've all been simply "new to me." I loved riding one of my four Peugeots to work when I lived three miles away. Or my old Trek 4500 mountain bike on snow days. Or my Schwinn grocery getter cruiser when I felt the need to put things in baskets. And let's not forget the day I rode my tandem bike those few miles by myself, just because I could. But when I started working at a job that was a 20.7 mile drive from home, those fixies and single speeds and fenderless and f'n heavy and just-plain-not-built-for-serious-commuting bikes weren't gonna cut it. So, I figured it was time to buck up and spend some cash. With tax and component upgrades, I dropped a cool $2000 on a brand new Surly Cross Check from Salvagetti, quite possibly Denver's best bike shop.
I had them ditch the factory wheels for hand-built Open Pros, switched the tires out to Gatorskins, added interruptor brake levers for when I wanna be super cool and comfy, replaced the seat with a super sweet army green Brooks B17 Special, upgraded to Salsa leather bar tape, and went with straight up sick SRAM Rival components. And of course I chose the "robin's egg" color over the black. Hence, the bike is known as "Robin's Egg."
Robin's Egg on the stand after arriving home and having fenders and rack added. Note old undies (bike rag) in lower right and Peugeot in lower left. Also, Go Bucks.
In addition to this being an incredibly awesome bike, I justified the price by knowing that each time I commuted on Robin's Egg, I'd be paying it off. As such, I created a google doc spreadsheet, and I've been tracking all kinds of stats since starting to commute on it. Here they are, after one year...
• Miles pedaled: 3,065.29
• Miles not driven: 3,560.40
• Gallons of gas not consumed: 111.56
• Money saved on gas: $380.33
• Money saved on mileage at IRS rate of $0.55/mile: $1,958.22
• CO2 not emitted (lbs): 2,186
• Positive interactions with drivers: 1
• Negative interactions with drivers: 2
• Negative interactions with drivers leading to 30's-style boxing matches: 0
• Coldest commute temperature: 18F, on 01.02.2013
• Hottest commute temperature: 101F, on 06.18.2012 & 06.25.2012
And now for some graphs!
There is no statistical correlation between average monthly temperature and miles pedaled. There is, however, a likely statistical correlation between reduced miles pedaled and any or all of the following factors: Weddings, Honeymoons, Snow on the ground.
Mileage extrapolated from the nearly perfectly linear past year (r2 value of 0.997)
As shown on the above graph, if all continues like the past year, I'll pay off Robin's Egg in gas savings on May 1st, 2017, one day after my 37th birthday. Once that happens, I'll have commuted a cumulative 16,120 miles, and avoided driving 18,724 miles. That's larger than the circumference of the earth, according to Ptolemy or if we're taking the circumference at about 50 degrees latitude. I'll also have avoided releasing 11,496 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere. Good times!