Target Commute

[Emett]

I think people should think about unpolluting a Target Commute. This focus will make things easier for most. But if you're ready, then sell your car and Unpollute everything! Otherwise: to be most effective, try to unpollute your commute to work.

Schools (2nd target commute) are usually local and so taking the kids by bike is a great goal. I think re-gifting and re-charging the gift cards will be a boon for family transport, moms and dads could combine money to get an electric power hub or other electric kit for an extra capacity bike or a one with a follow behind kid carrier.

But your commute to work is the ideal 1st target commute due to: it is probably farther, you probably travel alone, sometimes you drive around for lunch or break, and it repeats throughout the week with set times. Generally it is this commute that you should target to Unpollute. You have to plan for it anyway. That just makes it easy to add up your savings. Another target commute (3rd) would be shopping trips. Entertainment and vacations would be last. Specific gear and vehicle choices would influence your success for these different types of commutes. Good luck.

I want this to be a discussion, so let me ask: which commute would you like to green up and how do think you might like to do it?

[Emett]

I bike to work and to the grocery store. I bike/bus with the kids to school and for entertainment type trips too.
I wish I had a kid carrier/trailer for my little one, she's 6, and we could get a few years use in... it would pay for itself in savings pretty quickly, too (bus fair = $2 in the morning and $2 in the afternoon: that sucks!)!

[Emett]

An example of An 10,000 Plus Mile Commuter Baby Carrier rear rack (extra strong), but the carrier is too old (12 years) and lost in the basement... Great for getting to work, using with mass transit, and going shopping, too. I entered this into
Joe-Bike's "Basement Bike Contest" and here's what I wrote: Old clunker. Quite the story, quite the life...10,000 plus miles! When I got it, the shop had an offer of free sevice and maintenance for life! But the shop keeper retired 3 months later and the shop closed. Arrggg. So whenever it needed work, I didn't want to pay anybody anything. Broke the rear fender through long life and lots of hanging on the max the fender just misses the ground when hanging, messed with it trying to attach reflectors and lights too... I fixed spokes, trued wheels, replaced the crank hub which was cracked by a silly too-long screw holding a cable guide to the bottom bracket (multiple months out of commission). The CityBikes tools and a few hints got me back... And I went through far too many tires with this bike, even armoured ones! Finally, I found out one of the rack attachments had been forcing the rear brake to bend the rim and brake with way more pressure on one side and rub the sidewalls of the tires just a little, no matter the how good the adjustment looked, no wonder so many tires died! And so I suspect that now one side of the rear rim is just about worn down to the limit.... Finally, just over a year ago, after a nice few months with a new chain and rear cassette, things were going well. I had a nice Back-Up bike for the Mistress and for crummy weather, but that rear tire was bad, and the pedals, too, and then the the free hub gave. No power... I gave up. But it'd be nice to have, or fix and sell. I took the seat, leak proofed it with Shoe Goo, and I plan to put it on the Mistress soon.

[Emett]

Lately, I've been hearing about bikers with unique ride solutions for every situation!  Cargo bikes and Extra-Cycles and trailers for kid transport, sport bikes for training, even tandems for Date Night!  Portland really rocks.  You could actually ditch your car here.  Walking and busing and Max to the Airport are some other appealing transportation features of our city. 

 

Personally, I've got that hybrid commuter bike, pictured here above (it's 15,000+ miles old by now after getting fixed up and relatively adequately maintained by your's truly...), that works pretty well for multiple purposes.   For example, yesterday, I got the post-vacation shopping home, no problem, with two bags on the handle bars, one on my arm, the heavy stuff strapped to the rack, plus a backpack.  That bike is now named The Rain Monster and has a tag-along attachment for biking with my youngest daughter.   (The poor, poor, Mistress is the "basement bike" now.)

 

While my daughter and I have done 12 mile round trips to go swimming, the 3 miles to and back from school today didn't seem worth it.   Maiya and I felt too sick to do it, potentially in the rain; but of course --and like usual when we don't bike--  we wish we had!!!  So it's time to go catch a bus!

 

C-ya

[Emett]

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/

Great blog.  UnCommon sense.  Common sense is often insane, especially in the USA.