Why I don't Own a Car - Cost

http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_economy/vehicle_running_costs_2013

There is one big reason why I have never owned a Car even though I can drive, COST!

Now don't get me wrong, cars are great but for most trips I just don't get it. I just don't get why you would want to move a 1 1/2 ton of metal just to transport yourself surely that must cost a fortune and according to the RACQ it does! Even the smallest car cost on average 40c per km to run going up to 80c plus for the desire of many Australians the Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore. All I could think was that is way to much, but begs the question what does my bike cost per km to run.

 

First off one off costs

Bike = $1000

Mudguards = $50

Chainguard = $30

Pannier Rack = $40

Total = $ 1120

divided by a min life of 5 years

yearly Cost $224

 

Yearly Costs

Heavy Service = $180

Tire = $60

Brake pads  = $30

lights = $60

Total = $330

 

Now on average in my commutes alone I cover around 5000kms so I will use that as the Base line!

($224 + $330) / 5000kms

= 11c per km.

Now that is a big difference in cost and this is not including the extra ks that I cover doing short little trips. I would also like to point out this figure does not include locks and a few other small items as these were written off on the cost of bikes I had before.

Now comparing cost per km is not really fair you also need to compare cost per week and this is where there is truly some big differences. This one knocks me for six! It ranges for those two previous car examples from $117 to $220 a week. My weekly cost of my bike is $10.65 and that is it.

 

Now naturally this can range a little depending on the bike and the kms you do but unless you are changing you bike yearly and doing very low mileage traveling by bike is extremely cost efficient.

 

No wonder I don't own a Car it costs a fortune and I leave you with the picture that I had at the top as it says everything. Ouch

 



Breaking stereotypes, cycle chic

Just a quick one today. I found this video from Vancouver Cycle chic. I just love it because it breaks so many stereotypes regarding who rides a bike. I really don't need to explain it, just watch it, it's great!

P.S I lover her pannier bag not even looking like a pannier bag!

Riding a bike is "NEAT"

I will have to start this Post with a with a somewhat strange statement. I hate exercise, there is nothing more pointless in my mind then to run, jog or ride for not other reason then to get the "exercise" from it. I just don't get it! Don't get me wrong being fit and active I value highly but doing an exercise that could be otherwise incorporated into ones everyday activities just seams so pointless. Exercising for exercises own sake is just plain stupid to me!

On Monday SBS aired a very interesting doco titled "The Truth about Exercise". I have to say it said a lot of things that as an individual I already knew, never the less it was good. One of the things discussed but I had never heard named before was "NEAT". "NEAT" stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis which basically means using everyday movements to stay healthy, such as walking to a college to discuss some project instead of phoning, or riding and walking to do tasks. I have to say I was surprised that this had finally been studied, what it showed was little changes throughout the day made a big difference.

I have to say I have been banging on about this basic concept for years with people I know & work with. People never quite understand me when I say I'm lazy. The common reaction is but you ride to work and are fit. People don't quite understand that because riding to work is "exercise" I am being lazy because I am doing two things at once or as I now know "NEAT". This just seams so much common sense it is ridiculous.

A couple of years ago a workmate told me how he was doing "bootcamp" each morning before coming to work. Now to do this he was getting up at 4.30 in the morning, doing the bootcamp where he was getting yelled at to exercise going home to shower and coming to work by train. Me being the practical one asked
how are you getting to the station?
Car
why not walk?
it's 2 kms.
then why not ride you already have a mountain bike?
Oh I will get all hot an sweaty!
Now this bloke was already getting all hot and sweaty because due to his size (morbidly obese) he was getting hot and sweaty just getting from the train station to work. He was getting sweaty anyway! I knew I was banging my head against a brick wall that he had constructed. While being a nice bloke he could not see through the wall to the common sense or "NEAT" of incorporating small amounts of activity into everyday life.
There is no doubt in my mind that making this small change would have had a far more long term benefit then just doing "Bootcamp" for 2 months or so. Don't get me wrong doing group exercise gets things done in the short term but lets look at the long term eg years. Doing a short ten minute ride twice a day, five days a week to and from a train station adds up to an hour & 40 mins a week etc and is far cheaper. I am talking about behaviour change the thing that keeps you healthy!

Gyms & group training is all good but riding a Bike for utilitarian reasons of going to work, shops etc is "NEAT"

PS. I do attend a gym for weights training but never for cardio, that I get by doing everyday activities!

Women scared Riding, We Know That!

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/women-too-scared-to-cycle-survey-20130403-2h73g.html

Image sourced from www.brisbanetimes.com.au

The Brisbane Times this morning ran an article that to many stated the bleeding obvious, Women are scared from riding a bike because of the fear (real/perceived) of being injured. This has been a thorn in the side of making cycling an everyday activity again for so long that it is getting ridiculous.
We all know that corridors have to be not only safe but also perceived as safe yet facilities continue to be built that do not meet this simple requirement.

What was a disappointing fact out of the article was that women are lagging further behind men in Brisbane compared with the other state capitals. In Brisbane women only make up 18% of bike riders for commuting trips compared with 23% with the other capitals. While 5% does not sound like much when you change it to a ratio it is a big difference. It basically means in Brisbane only 1in5 are women compared with 1 in 4 down south. Now that is a big drop.

While some of this can be put down to climatic conditions of Brisbane a lot has to be levelled at the poor infrastructure. We need better bicycle infrastructure that on arterial corridors is separated so everyone is safe but is also wide enough to allow one to overtake or be overtaken in complete safety. It is has to be considered a complete joke that the elected Council members such as Peter Matic claim that council is doing all they can. The fact is the Council is not. Council currently does not have the Political "testicles" to even extend the George St Separated Bikelanes a few blocks up to Anne St, or to have provided Separated bikelanes along Sylvan Rd even though the cost would of been minor and the safety increase would of been high.

We know what needs to be done to encourage more women to ride a bike we just need the politicians to have the Political Testicles.

Magpies - black & white terrors from the sky

The Australian Magpie is one of the most loved animals in Australia and one of the most hated by people that ride bikes. While the Magpie does have a beautiful song it does have the nasty habit of being overprotective of it's young and it's attacks are viscous.

I have to admit when I was a kid I liked Magpies. They were just a bird that I saw out in the country side and it is not hard to see why I liked them. They are intelligent carnivorous birds that hang around picnic grounds where the hope to be and are feed by us humans. This connection of us feeding them makes us think they are our friends and we like that. They are also a very attractive medium sized bird with glossy black and white plumage. All this endears them to most people, but then again most people do not walk or ride a bike. The fact is while the magpie can feel like a friend, to many people that walk or ride a bike they are the black and white terrors from the sky.

According to the Queensland Department of Environment only a small amount of magpies swoop. I have to say this does not make the threat any less terrifying. You may think the word terrifying is an exaggeration but when you are riding along at 25kmph plus and you have a bird trying to take out your eye it is exactly that "TERRIFYING". Why does this happen well during the latter part of the year magpies begin to breed and like any animal there hormones start to race. This means in most cases the male will become aggressive however sometimes the female will also join in (myself "Enjoying" one of these male female tag team attacks and figuratively sh**ting myself in the process). Some people say there not that bad but I would love to question those said individuals "do you drive most of the time?" The fact is Magpies can be extremely dangerous with cases where people have lost there eye sight.

While I am a great lover of nature, when Human Safety is put at risk I will go straight to human safety. This is generally the same stance that Governments will take, which made it astonding when I went to the Department of Environment to report a dangerous Magpie that targetted my otherhalf's eyes and drew blood, the form was gone. I know there was form to fill out but it seams that the government has pulled it from the website which is highly disappointing. It seams that the government may be trying to aviod litigation under the "if we don't know we can't be held responsible"!

What can be done is the main point here. Well personally if this behaviour is hormonal and only a small amount of bird swoop maybe the removal of these birds is required. Artifical selection has worked on other spieces why not on the magpie. It is just a shame that the govenrment would rather let us get swooped and have blood drawn. Then there is the fact that the Magpie is a open woodland bird. The planting of more trees would reduce the occurance of swooping. I am yet to be swooped in an area with heavey tree cover and reasonably low foliage. It is just not a place where a magpie can get a run up which is part of there attack.

As far as I am concerned problem birds need to be removed and paths need to be protected from attacks. Magpie attack scare thousands of people each year and must surely contribute to people not riding.

Oh and here is you tube clip showing all the ways people try to get around these horrible black & white terriors.

Carbon Pollution Tax finally here

Yesterday was a very important day in Australia. Yesterday was the first day that the Carbon Pollution Tax came into affect. Now I will admit it I believe in human induced climate change and I have for a very long time. As one that has been trained in horticulture it is a no brainier to me. Even if it did not affect the climate I still would support the Carbon Pollution Tax as increased carbon allows plants to produce more defencive mechanisms. This can be seen here on the ABC's award winning science show. That all said if your point of view is different that is fine, your view is your view and my view is my view.

The main problem I see with the Carbon Pollution Tax is that it does not include petrol. Now this is not to say all people should stop using there vehicles as it is true some people do need to drive but many don't. There is nothing that changes the way one behaves like a little cost incentive.

So what has this got to do with riding a bike. Well one of the reasons why people say they will not ride a bike is because of air pollution. While Brisbane has very little smog compared with Sydney and Melbourne smog can still be seen some morning and it is a depressing thing to see. The main cause of this smog is people in cars. It has long been held as common fact that when riding a bike you will breath in more pollutants then if you were in a car. While it may be held as common fact it is not true as had been said in numerous studies such as here and commented on here . No matter people will believe what they see so cleaner & less cars are the only real answer to air pollution.

I know this blog does not truly make sense but I just wanted to point out a milestone occurred yesterday and even though it is floured it is still important and welcomed.

PS spellcheck is currently not working

A simple explanation

If I ride

I have recently found this on Youtube.

I have to say I always love simple messages that can be said to children. There is something about it that makes everyone understand if not agree. Now all we need is for more people to ride to truely understand the message