Commute by Bike offers a method if you need to justify the purchase of a new treadly to a sceptical partner: calculate the savings in petrol cost by commuting by bike instead of car.
My calculation is even simpler because if I wasn't on the bike I'd be going by public transport. By not buying a weekly ticket costing 6.70, over the course of a year I can save in excess of 200. In my household this saving goes to general revenue rather than the "new commuting bike" account.
Given that I'm riding the same beast I bought back in 198__ (well OK,in recent weeks I've borrowed the Retired Marathoner's hybrid), I think it's time I raised the issue of a new bike (again) with MLSP. It's funny how an endless stream of other expenses always seem to get in the way of the replacement of my aged and weary Malvern Star.
But I'm really going to do it this time! My legs have earned the savings and they should be rewarded with some newer wheels to spin. Umm, I just don't know where to start. I haven't been bike shopping for… well, since I bought the Malvern Star. I think I need some advice on what I should be looking for in a modern commuting bike.
And then I'll go out an get me a shining new machine. Right after we've paid for MLSP's new car. Oh yeah, and the garage to put it in. And then I suppose there'll be a holiday. Or some home improvements. And no doubt the Co-Pilot will need a booster seat or some other piece of apparatus…
SIGH