Riding a bike to save gas is impractical

With gas prices at record highs and the president urging Americans to cut down on fuel consumption (it’s a supply and demand economy afterall), riding a bike to work might seem like a great way to save cash and help the economy. But really, how practical is it? A Boston Globe reporter did it, making the 20-mile roundtrip commute on a bike for a week. He found it liberating and even ended up buying the bike he rented for the occasion.

Sure. Until recently, it’s been great weather here in New England. Last week was perfect for riding. But let’s see if he tried commuting on the bike this week when we had torrential rains (2.74 inches at the Network World HQ). And, when January rolls around, how’s that ride going to feel when it’s 3 degrees outside? How about those of us with 100+ mile daily commutes. We’d have to leave the house at 3am to get to work on time. If you live in Southern California where rain is an event and have short commute, the bike is perfect. But here in the northeast – where the saying is “if you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes” – we’re sticking to the car.