Biofuel?

You may be wondering what the story is with the blog title. The "engine" is, of course, my legs... and they certainly don't run on gasoline when I'm biking.

I've found as I'm getting a bit older and (I think) wiser, I've been thinking more about what we do and how wasteful we can be... things like spending 40 minutes round trip in a car on a nice day to get to/from work, only to spend another 30-40 minutes round trip to go to the gym to workout an hour... burning a bunch of gas. Instead, I can hop on my bike, get an hour of exercise, enjoy the weather, and net myself over an hour of extra time during the day. I figure with current gas prices, I'm saving about $2 a day on my short commute just in fuel costs, not counting maintenance on the car or the bike.

Plus, I'm eating better, feeling better, losing weight... and you should see my calves!

I've been toying with this bicycle commuting thing for several years, and I can say that the bike rack at work is considerably more crowded this summer than it ever has. I'm seeing a lot more folks riding on the roads during rush hour as well. I realize that not everyone can do it. Some are not healthy enough, others must haul things that aren't amenable to bicycles. Still, if the current trend of folks moving towards cycling, mass transit, carpooling, and even walking or running sticks, it will be a very good thing for us all.