Gas Prices

After months of no first hand shock, I've pumped gas 3 times in the last eight days. How do people that drive more do it? It's insane. My wife drives about 40 miles round trip to work. Our 1991 Toyota Previa gets about 20 miles to the gallon. She's tried the bus but, it takes her 2 hours each way. That's no good. It looks like we're stuck for a while.

I'm sure fortunate I get to ride to work. In more ways than one. Economic, physical and spiritual benefits come from riding my bike. That means I'd be broke, fat and crazy if I had to drive a car every day.The below links show that there is a little momentum gathering in business and government for including cycling as a viable mode of personal transportation. This has been a long time coming.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/05/business/wbbike.php
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=1902061&page=1

There doesn't seem to be an end in sight for gas prices. As employers see the toll on their employees, perhaps telecommuting will become more attractive. I don't think this is an option for most people, myself included. My wife might be able to.

I've had more encounters than usual with angry drivers lately. I have no idea if it's because of frustration about gas prices , or me, or what. If it's gas prices, too bad! Suck it up! It damned sure isn't my fault. If it's me, well, I keep inviting them to get out of their cars so we can talk. So far, no takers. I'm just a skinny guy on a bike. What's their problem?

Yesterday (Friday) I went on a nice ride. The weather was perfect. I had lunch at one of my favorite places. I rode about 55 miles. We had dinner at another favorite place. We split the Burrito Grande at Gordito's for Cinco de Mayo. A really nice day.

Today I got up early, loitering around the house for most of the morning. Around noon I noticed one of our neighbors had a flat tire. I went out a little later to look at it. The car was gone by then. I turned around to go back inside and looked at the Previa. It had a flat too. I then went over to our Civic and it had a flat too! Great! Some sub-human knifed our tires. Our cars are not flashy or new. They're really kind of worn out and crappy looking. Our house doesn't look like some sort of yuppie trophy palace. We park one car in the street. No choice there. It's a one car driveway. The Civic doesn't even run. Now we have to worry about it happening again. Just a pointless act that leaves us feeling vulnerable. Freakin' animals.

Today's posting just underscores how much I hate cars. I hope it hits $5.00 a gallon. Soon.