How Do You Cut Costs?

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Locke

This is lunacy! Have you seen the cost of bikes lately? I could buy a decent car for that kind of money!

Get a second-hand bike. And don't feel the need to dress like Lance if you ride it to work or whatever.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Get a second-hand bike. And don't feel the need to dress like Lance if you ride it to work or whatever.

Lance only had to lose one nut to get into those shorts, I'd need to lose a lot more than that.

[CliffFletcher]

Even if a you're a fair-weather rider, a $1000 bike will pay for itself with transit and gas savings after a couple years of commuting.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Even if a you're a fair-weather rider, a $1000 bike will pay for itself with transit and gas savings after a couple years of commuting.

But what about all the extra food I'll eat?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by 4X4

But what about all the extra food I'll eat?

Eat the same amount. Complain later about why "small" and "large" sized clothes have to cost the same.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by 4X4

But what about all the extra food I'll eat?

I've actually thought about that before. It was kind of funny realizing that my car was technically cheaper to fuel for a given distance than my body was on a bike.

[Shazam]

Just steal a bike, it makes the break even point much lower.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by opendoor

I've actually thought about that before. It was kind of funny realizing that my car was technically cheaper to fuel for a given distance than my body was on a bike.

How much more would you need to eat? I think most people probably eat more than above and beyond their "at-rest" calories. So you might be able to throw in the bike commute with no additional food intake.

[Fuzz]

No, see, it lets you justify the excess food intake. "I biked 5km to work, I can totally have 3 cheeseburgers for second breakfast today".

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Wormius

How much more would you need to eat? I think most people probably eat more than above and beyond their "at-rest" calories. So you might be able to throw in the bike commute with no additional food intake.

Obviously there are a ton of factors and everyone's going to be a little different, but I was just looking at 50km in my car vs. 50 km on my bike. 50km in my car (VW TDI) is about $3 in fuel. 50km on a bike for me at ~25 km/h is about 1500 calories, so probably 1300 or so net calories. Assuming a fairly balanced diet that's going to come in at over $3. In real life, it's not a factor really worth considering for a bunch of reasons, but it was a funny realization for me.

And while people do tend to eat too much, ultimately you have to make up the calories somewhere. If you're overweight you can run a deficit and lose weight for a while, but anyone who exercises regularly will need to eat more to maintain their weight. I've had periods where I've ridden a ton and I was having to eat 1000 or so extra calories a day beyond what I normally eat just to stay the same weight.