Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Anti-Automobile April

Happy Anti-Automobile April everyone. Mr. Money Mustache didn't punch me in the face for my lack of bike riding, but he may as well have.

The goal of this Anti-Automobile April is merely "to make yourself AWARE of when you are using your car, and when you are not." I'm going to be as public about it as is feasible, since public shaming is a great thing.

Here's my chart so far:
Day Car Walk Comments
1 6.6 1.4 commute, walk to grocery
2 6.6 0 commute
3 6.6 0 commute
4 6.6 0 commute
5 6.6 0 commute
6 0 0
7 0 0
8 6.6 0 commute
9 12.8 1.4 commute + errands, walk to grocery
10 11.6 0 commute + library

The first thing to notice is the lack of a "Bike" column. I don't need one yet because I haven't biked this month yet, or even this year. Yes, this is a problem. Yes, I plan on addressing this problem in April.

My place of business is 6.6 miles from my house. Caveats for the above list include: I take the dogs for walks but I'm not counting that because it's not really a place I'm going or errand I'm running; and I'm only counting traveling in my car and not my girlfriend's car, just because.

That's 64 miles of driving in only ten days. This could be a lot worse if I worked farther away from where I live. It still feels like a lot of driving.

Here's looking forward to kickstarting my biking habit and adding another column to my list.

3 comments:

  1. That must be 6.6 miles round-trip, right? Which means 3.3 miles one way? That would take you no time on a bicycle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. My ride is 3.5 miles each way, and I usually take the long way home (~6 miles) over some very hilly terrain just to get a little extra exercise.

      Want to know the best way to force yourself to ride? Get rid of your car. :)

      Delete
    2. Haha good advice. I thought about getting rid of my car but I decided I'm not awesome enough yet. My commute is a very enjoyable ~20 minutes by bike. Just a matter of getting back into the habit. Soon!

      Delete