Real People Power -- Get on Your Bike and Ride!

As gas prices charge toward $4 a gallon here in South Dakota ($3.45 in Madison yesterday), I direct you toward two blogs that deserve much more attention... and company on the road!

Biking Brady of Vermillion continues his regular bike commuting: today will be the 287th consecutive day that he has ridden his bike to work. Cold, rain, wind, whatever -- he takes two wheels to work. As Biking Brady says, "The less I pay in gas, the better I feel both mentally and physically." Ride a quiet machine that requires no fuel but your breakfast -- definitely good for the soul... and the pocketbook... and your legs!

Michael Christensen of MinusCar in Sioux Falls notes that thanks to his bicycle, he purchased just seven tanks of gas in 2007. This year, he has bought gas twice -- tough winter, he says. In a Tuesday post, he makes the point that fewer stops at the gas station mean fewer impulse buys: fewer donuts, Cheetos, convenience store hot dogs, etc. (No cup holders on the bike for that latte... maybe that's a good thing!)

In that post, Christensen also lambastes this KSFY article on saving money at the pumps. The featured "financial expert" Aaron Maguire talks about saving a whopping 17 cents per gallon with gas station credit cards, using synthetic oil to make the engine run more efficiently, buying hybrid SUVs. The most telling comment from newsreader Valerie Gutierrez: "I guess it beats riding around on a bicycle."

Let's suppose Valerie fills up her tank 30 times a year. Valerie, dear, please explain how saving 5% on gas 30 times a year beats saving 100% on gas 23 times a year?

More galling than KSFY's inability to do math is the blatant anti-bicycle sentiment. News reporters are trained not to say anything controversial in their broadcast banter. That Valerie (who says she likes to exercise!) would let slip that comment about bicycles (and that Aaron would chime in by saying he had considered riding his bicycle... "unfortunately") indicates that the sentiment is a perfectly mainstream, mundane position: there's something wrong with bicycles. There's something wrong with using your own power to get around town. There's something wrong with sweating a little bit to save money. There's soemthing wrong with integrating exercise into your daily routine rather than restricting it to a status-symbol activity at a spendy health club. There's something wrong with cruising around with a vehicle that costs less than a thousand dollars and weighs less than you do.

KSFY's approach to gas prices reflects a society-wide myopia that even Bill O'Reilly recognizes (hat tip to MinusCar!):

The most important problem facing the USA right now is oil prices, and none of the candidates can do a thing about them. They say they can, but that's complete bull. The oil cartel is going to charge as much as it can. The Arabs, Chavez and the others are going to gouge the world and we can't stop them. The American oil companies are not going to build more refineries and the candidates can't make them. Big oil sees the inevitable shift to alternative energy as going for the big dollars right now.

...So the next time you hear politicians say he or she will bring down oil prices, understand it's complete BS. If Americans want lower gas prices, cut back. Sell those SUVs, ride a bike when you can. If every one of us bought 10 percent less gasoline, prices would fall fast. [Bill O'My-Goodness-I-Can't-Believe-I'm-Citing-Him-Reilly, "Talking Points: Showdown in Pennsylvania," Fox News, 2008.04.22].

A simple solution to gas prices is sitting right in front of us... or hanging from the rafters in our garages. You don't have to follow Biking Brady on the Gut Check 212 Bicycle Race Across South Dakota (412 miles in 48 hours -- wow!). You just have to follow his and MinusCar's daily example:

1. Ride your bike to work.
2. Ride your bike to the grocery store, get groceries in your backpack (you'll learn to buy just the essentials!).
3. Ride your bike to visit friends across town.
4. Ride, ride, ride!