To Bike or Not to Bike

Last weekend I drove my car back to Salt Lake from San Francisco. I only got pulled over once, when I stopped in a small Nevada town to get gas. The officer was nice enough when he realized I was just trying to get gas and use the restroom. He let me off with a warning. Otherwise the drive was mostly uneventful.

I drove my car back because it is time for the annual smog and emissions check. I could license the car in California, but I don't have a mailing address there nor do I want to pay the massively larger licensing fee. My plan was to drive the car back to California this weekend once the licensing is taken care of.

Now the question is if I want to bring the car back at all. I ride my bike to and from work so I really only need the car for two reasons: trips to the airport and trips to Scout meetings on Mondays. The airport problem can be solved with public transportation. It really cuts into my days, but it works. The only remaining issue is getting to Scouts.

In an effort to promote a "greener way of thinking", Google maps now has the additional options of getting directions using public transportation, walking, or riding your bike. I did a quick search to see how difficult it is to get from my office to the Elks Lodge in Redwood City, where we have our Scout meetings and it is only 10 miles. Amazingly, taking public transportation takes the same amount of time as riding my bike. I might as well ride my bike.

Several years ago I used to ride my bike 18 miles each way to work. That amounted to 36 miles of cycling every day. I loved it because I could eat as much food as I wanted. I never had to worry about being on a diet because I was constantly burning more calories than I could take in. The only problem was when we moved offices, I continued to eat as much as I wanted. In an effort to drop a few pounds, I'm thinking it is time to leave the car in Salt Lake and use the bike as my sole means of transportation in California. Maybe it is my starving stomach talking, but I think I could get used to eating more than I am right now.