Friday, May 19, 2006

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike*

This week I have tryed my best to not use the car for 3 reasons:

1. The exhaust is playing up and needs to be fixed. The main exaust pipe leading from the engine has come loose from the muffler unit, and has resulted in a bit of rattling, and also a louder noise from the exhaust. I will be pushing it if I use it quite a lot before I get it fixed, and my mechanic friend is on holiday at the moment so I can't get it sorted yet.

2. Petrol is VERY expensive now at around 96.9 pence per litre. When I first started driving in 1999 petrol was around 69.9p, so in the 7 years since the price has increased by over 38%, which is a lot. The more I use the car, the more petrol I have to put in, thus the more money I spend.


3. There are other ways to get around. I have cycled to work all this week, which is a 4 mile round trip, which is good for my fitness, and also good for the environment, and even yesterday when I had a meeting in Canterbury I took the train which only cost me £3.60 [Return journey with Young Persons Railcard], and of course I walked the rest of the journey so you can add another couple of miles on top too.

I do think I could do without a car for most of the time, but in certain circumstances you can't beat having your own transport. So I won't be going down the 'Good Life' route yet but I will be trying my best. Lets see if I can keep this up.

*Title stolen from Flash.

1 comment:

Stef said...

Love the tshirt. Sweet.

4 miles is nothing, definitely worth cycling if you can, especially while the weather is good.