A Footnote on Vehicle Efficiency

I do recall some word problem from my Algebra II class regarding the maximum efficiency of a car. It clearly did not sink in, though; as soon as I started driving myself to school I was perpetually barely-on-time, arriving breathless and wet-haired nearly every day. I definitely did not consider efficiency in my highway travel to and from school. This habit lasted well into my adult years, and, though I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket, I have certainly deserved several.

Something must have stuck with me, though, because during the last few long car trips I’ve taken I've decided to set cruise control to the speed limit and settle into the right lane. After the initial battle with my impatient nature and leadfoot genes (mostly paternal side), I realized it is actually kind of relaxing in the right lane. You can get your excitement from a gripping book on tape rather than trying to pass people, which you will pretty much never do if you drive the speed limit.

The best part, though, is our sacrifice of a little time at our destination translated to an average of 37 miles per gallon on our last 400-mile trip. This is about 7mph better than our in-town rate, and a solid 15% improvement on our usual highway mileage. Woohoo!

The Open Road

Day 1 of the experiment involved the choice to bike to work about 5 miles away. We live on top of a really big hill, probably the biggest one in town, and to get nearly anywhere you have to go down this hill and then back up it. My plan was to chuck my bike in the back of my husband’s trusty wagon and hitch a ride both down and back up this hill, then hop out at his office and ride the rest of the way.

I am not much of a morning person, though, and on this particular morning when my husband kissed me good-bye I was still in my bathrobe mumbling incoherently. Though I tend to take a casual attitude towards my babysitting attire, I felt that showing up in my peignoir might be a bit of a liberty, so I changed my plans.

I decided to coast down the hill (whee!) and walk my bike back up. Yes, I am that person. I also wear a helmet, and I don’t take it off to walk my bike up the hill. You wanna make something of it? I’m never going to be one of those ladies who glides along on her bike in a sundress, hair flowing. I have not figured out how to be decent on a bike in a skirt. I give up trying to look cool, because

a)I’m already married, and my husband married me despite (perhaps because of) my dorkiness, and
b)I’m biking around in a helmet on my mother’s old bike, which was my brother’s before her, and
c)I’m about to go back to school for five years.

It would be pointless to act like I’m anything other than a geek at this point in life. (I tried similar arguments, to no avail, in convincing my brother that he’s a dork, his wife knows it and married him anyway, and he will destroy his back if he doesn’t suck it up and buy a rolling bookbag for the many 25-pound law books he carries around, but he was not persuaded)

Here’s what I learned on Day 1:

~I am not that fast on my bike. It is still a lot of fun for me. Probably equally fun for spectators.

~Drivers in this town are pretty happy to share the road, or at least the 25-mile-per-hour street.

~If you go into the bike shop with a flat tire, they don’t refuse you service on the basis that your weekly mileage isn’t high enough, your bike it too old, you’re a little wobbly at slow speeds. They are actually quite friendly.

~Going downhill is awesome.

~In spin class we imagine an outdoor setting for challenging portions of the program. The reverse works well for the final uphill leg of my trip home.

~In the past week, my husband and I have used, according to my calculations, exactly 7 car-days. Hurrah for us!

The Car-Day

I apologize for being a slacker. But I have plenty of excuses. My favorite one is that I’ve been saving electricity by not working on my computer. This is the same template I use for why I never wash my car: saving water.

How many of our proclaimed sustainable behaviors are really self-serving? How many of us are only really, really starting to reconsider our driving habits since driving across town became a splurge?

Over the course of 5 days last month I drove 150 miles in town. This distance may be well under par for 5 days in L.A., but in our medium-sized city, most things are not too far away. The gym, the grocery store, work, and most of our friends and relatives are all within about 8 miles. I took what felt like 12 trips back and forth across the river that goes through the middle of town and got really, really sick of driving.


As the driver of a Honda Civic, I’m used to feeling smug at the pump, but the combination of driving recklessly close to the bottom of the tank, until the warning light came on, and recent price hikes wiped the self-satisfied smirk off my face the other day.

So the combination of being a cheapskate, feeling like a rat in a maze last month and and an affinity for new units led to the creation of the car-day.

So here’s the idea: there are 7 days in a week, and we have two cars, making for a potential maximum of 14 car-days in a week. I’d say that, on average, my husband walks or takes the bus to work once or twice a week, and I don’t use my car once or twice a week. So let’s just say that out of 14 potential car days, we usually use 10My initial goal is to get to 7 car-days in one week by carpooling, walking and biking.

I know this is a bit of a blunt instrument, and we should really chart our weekly mileage and try to reduce that, but I don’t think that would be as much fun. But I don’t have “fun” out of selfish enjoyment. Remember that I am always thinking of you, dear readers, and your enjoyment of my blog. Oh, the sacrifices I make for your sakes!