Car vs. Bike, The West to East Race
Tomorrow morning, 9/29/2008, I will be racing my girlfriend into work. We live near the intersection of Salem and Tyler. She works on Museum Rd. between Oak and Seibenmorgan. She will be driving her car and I will be riding my bike. We will leave the house at the same time and taking a similar route. She needs to be at work for 8am so we will go through the grade school and college traffic.
The rules; Obey all traffic laws, no riding on the sidewalk.
The prize; Loser buys dinner Saturday night.
Expected outcome; I expect to pull into her work's parking lot no more than five minutes after her. I know I could win if I was willing to ride recklessly and turf some lawns, but that wouldn't be setting a good example. I will be using the big chain ring as much as possible though!
Anyone have any coupons to Michelangelo’s?
Bike - 1, Car - 0
I won! I beat her by around 3.5 minutes. The winning move came early. Pulling off our street and onto Tyler, there was a pickup truck trying to turn left. My girlfriend and I got there at the same time. I was able to pull alongside and turn right when there was an opening. She waited there for about two minutes before the truck gave up and turned right. I made it through the intersection of Donaghey and Tyler with almost no wait. She got caught by the train!
For the record, the distance was 3.5 miles and I averaged 17.4. Very fast for someone going to work. Had I been riding at a normal commuting pace, she would have had a much better chance of winning. Traffic also played a major role in this victory. It very easily could have gone her way.
I think I put more miles on my bikes than both of my cars.
That's Awesome!!
It just goes to show you how the size and convenience of cars sometimes make them less suitable. So now you get to pick the dinner, huh?
Greg Reddin
Sounds Like Fun
Let us know the outcome. I have often found that a car ride is never more than a minutes faster for most trips around town. In some cases it is actually faster on a bicycle; especially when you are in a place to make use of the Tucker Creek Trail.
Chad Files - http://www.chadfiles.com