Weekly Bicycle Wrap 12.8.06

This week’s total mileage: 71 miles

This week’s mileage on e-bike: 0

This week’s mileage on a regular bike: 71

Total mileage since July 10, 2006: 1,004.5

Total e-bike mileage since July 10, 2006: 529.5

Total regular bike mileage since July 10, 2006: 475

Gas savings this week: 3 gallons

Gallons saved since July 10, 2006: 48.70

Price of gas today: $2.60

Gas savings since July 10, 2006: $170.21

Flat tires since July 10, 2006: 4

Found items on the roadway: One nice pair of tin snips (11/8/06)

Notes:

I’ve bicycled more than 1,000 miles since starting this experiment in July.

Along the way I’ve learned a few things and faced some challenges.

For example, how do you transport a hot cuppa joe or a double latte home on a bicycle? This may seem like a trivial matter, but I take my morning caffeine ritual seriously.

My criteria are simple: The container should be bicycle friendly and the coffee it contains should be nearly as hot when I get home as it is when it’s served at Sutters Mudd.

I’ve tried different methods and different containers, but they all had their drawbacks. Most lacked proper insulation. A thermos worked well, but it didn’t hold enough coffee. I considered getting a larger thermos, but those are too bulky. Space is limited, obviously.

Early this week I found what I consider the perfect “bicycle coffee canteen.” Here’s a picture of it.



It (the canteen, not the cat) cost $4 at a thrift store. Almost as important as the fancy, insulated metal container is the insulated bag that it slips into.

The cooling effect on a bicycle is enough that without the extra insulation of the bag, the coffee would still cool down a bit. Some people might find that acceptable, but I like my coffee blazing hot.

This container fits snugly in the bicycle water bottle cage. Today’s double non-fat latte and yesterday’s black coffee were both piping hot when I got home. Problem solved. Muy bueno.

Now, if they could just make a decent bicycle tire that never goes flat.