I had to go pick up my car from my mechanic today. Nobody was able to give me a lift, so I decided to ride my bike the 20 miles to the garage, and throw the bike on the roof rack for the ride home.

Along the way, I stopped by Cornerstone to rest and refuel myself with caffeine and an enormous oatmeal cookie. Cornerstone is the only coffee shop in the area with a bike rack, (as far as I’m aware) and I enjoy gawking at the faux-punk-rock barista girls.

Anyhow, I made it to my mechanic’s, and after coughing up nearly 2 week’s pay to get my car inspected, I am plotting ways to see that it stays in the driveway as much as possible.

The price of gas has recently passed the point where, for me, bicycle commuting is no longer just about making a political statement, or being a weirdo, or thumbing my nose at the Saudis. It can actually have a non-trivial impact to my financial bottom line.

I have dug through my records, and it looks like I have ridden 172 “utility miles” this year. I’m going to start tracking these miles separately from goofing-around recreational miles and see if that will motivate me to do more utility riding.

Larger Map of Today’s Adventure

Today: 22 miles
May: 94 miles
2008 Utility Miles: 172
2008 Total Miles: 243 miles