Many of us bike commuters often maintain that we actually make it to our daily destinations faster and more conveniently than our gas-pedal-pushing counterparts. This claim has been on the table long enough as simply a bold assertion, and well, we’ve all received some form of schooling for long enough to have become fully trained to demand proof. Empirical proof! With this in mind, I figured it was time for a little test. An experiment. A race.
To conduct this experiment, a cyclist and an automobilist were selected. Each was to leave from the exact same location at the exact same time and head for the exact same destination, in this case a specific classroom on the CU-Boulder campus, 2.6 miles away from the starting point. They were both directed to travel at the “usual pace” and to stick to their “usual route.” Admittedly the “usual pace” thing is a tough variable to really truly control, but that’s all right, in the real world, some sunrises inspire us to pedal faster than others anyway. And with that, BANG! the gun sounds, and they’re off!
Here’s what happened:
- the automobilist made it to the vicinity of campus five minutes before the cyclist
- the automobilist then had to find somewhere to park
- meanwhile, the cyclist, singing and whistling, pedaled to the chosen building
- the cyclist then locked the bike, and walked to the designated classroom
- the cyclist waited . . .
- because they spent all their money on gas and oil changes, the automobilist couldn’t afford to park ($136/semester on campus, $1.75/hr. parking garage, $0.25/10 minutes on campus meters, $1.25/hr. city of Boulder meters)
To conduct this experiment, a cyclist and an automobilist were selected. Each was to leave from the exact same location at the exact same time and head for the exact same destination, in this case a specific classroom on the CU-Boulder campus, 2.6 miles away from the starting point. They were both directed to travel at the “usual pace” and to stick to their “usual route.” Admittedly the “usual pace” thing is a tough variable to really truly control, but that’s all right, in the real world, some sunrises inspire us to pedal faster than others anyway. And with that, BANG! the gun sounds, and they’re off!
Here’s what happened:
- the automobilist made it to the vicinity of campus five minutes before the cyclist
- the automobilist then had to find somewhere to park
- meanwhile, the cyclist, singing and whistling, pedaled to the chosen building
- the cyclist then locked the bike, and walked to the designated classroom
- the cyclist waited . . .
- because they spent all their money on gas and oil changes, the automobilist couldn’t afford to park ($136/semester on campus, $1.75/hr. parking garage, $0.25/10 minutes on campus meters, $1.25/hr. city of Boulder meters)
- consequently, the automobilist drove around in circles looking for free parking
- the automobilist finally parked
- the automobilist walked a few blocks to the building
- the automobilist made it to the designated classroom ten minutes after the cyclist
The final conclusion:
- although the automobilist initially beat the cyclist to the destination, all the real-life inconveniences and nonsensical sillinesses of driving a car around town (in this case primarily parking and the costs of paying to park, but we also have to consider traffic jams, accidents, gas fill-ups, the price of these fill-ups, noxious emissions, breakdowns, the cost of fixing these breakdowns, and overall unwieldiness) set the automobilist forever, and irreversibly, behind the cyclist.
Three cheers for bicycles!
- the automobilist finally parked
- the automobilist walked a few blocks to the building
- the automobilist made it to the designated classroom ten minutes after the cyclist
The final conclusion:
- although the automobilist initially beat the cyclist to the destination, all the real-life inconveniences and nonsensical sillinesses of driving a car around town (in this case primarily parking and the costs of paying to park, but we also have to consider traffic jams, accidents, gas fill-ups, the price of these fill-ups, noxious emissions, breakdowns, the cost of fixing these breakdowns, and overall unwieldiness) set the automobilist forever, and irreversibly, behind the cyclist.
Three cheers for bicycles!
Hip-Hip-Hooray! Hip-Hip-Hooray! Hip-Hip-Hooray!
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