[Update: On Oct. 1 2013, I broke-even on my initial investment :-))]
I have started occasionally riding my bicycle to work. The commute is about 6miles, one way, and almost entirely on a bike trail through park land. It is really an ideal bicycle commute.
One concern is that I would use it as an excuse to spend big $$ on bike equipment, but never recover the cost. To keep expenditure in check, I decided to keep track. Costs are self explanatory. I have set the $ benefit of a bike commute at $5. About $3 is direct gas savings, and the rest is just a fudge factor to give me a fighting chance of "earning" more than I spent. (In my defense, using the tax code's standard mileage deduction, the car commute is worth $6).
Here's where I'm at right now:
I have started occasionally riding my bicycle to work. The commute is about 6miles, one way, and almost entirely on a bike trail through park land. It is really an ideal bicycle commute.
One concern is that I would use it as an excuse to spend big $$ on bike equipment, but never recover the cost. To keep expenditure in check, I decided to keep track. Costs are self explanatory. I have set the $ benefit of a bike commute at $5. About $3 is direct gas savings, and the rest is just a fudge factor to give me a fighting chance of "earning" more than I spent. (In my defense, using the tax code's standard mileage deduction, the car commute is worth $6).
Here's where I'm at right now:
