Gas Prices -- Help at last?

Jay Honeck wrote:
Your route sounds like an even better candidate for a bicycle
commute.

Yeah, that would be a sight in January... :-/

And what "sight" would that be? Some warmer clothes?

Do they make snow tires for bicycles?

"Bikes on Ice? You're Kidding, Right?"

.... as found on http://www.icebike.org/

I would bet it'd be safer / more reliable to ride a bike in snow or ice for
4 miles than a car.

But even if you were completely adverse to riding in bad weather (not *cold*
mind you), what does that really reduce your # of cycling days by? A couple
weeks a year?

Bob Noel wrote:
Do people really bike on snow and ice?

I used to! :-) there was a mountain pass near how that I
would climb with my bicycle, carrying my cross-country skis so I
could start a nice ski trek from there -- being already warmed
up and ready to go. I never quite figured out though how to carry
the bike on my back when skiing, twould have allowed me
to connect to another road on the other side of the mountain
and push the thing a bit further. I did however find a way to
wrap the tires with some strings to get some more grip on snow
(another technique consisted in putting larger tires on top
of the regular ones); but then, that wasn't commuting, just
having fun.

--Sylvain

"JohnH" wrote

But even if you were completely adverse to riding in bad weather (not
*cold*
mind you), what does that really reduce your # of cycling days by? A
couple
weeks a year?

OOOOhhhh. You haven't spent much time in Iowa, have you?

There is also a factor of arriving to work so sweaty in the summer, that
nobody can stand getting near you for the rest of the day. Also, it does
get really hot there, and you can't take enough off to stay cool, unlike
rutting more on for the cold. Cold is also a real excuse, when you talk
about getting frostbite from a half hour outside, in the wind. Oh, did we
mention that it gets windy there?
--
Jim in NC

"Eduardo K." wrote

new engines are mostly highpressure Diesels of FSI engines (gas engines
but with gas inyected inside the combusion chamber in a way simmilar
to Diesel engines).

Name some of these new engines, so we can compare what we are talking
about. If you are talking about the ones I am thinking about, the
sequential injection takes place at the intake valve, on the manifold side.
--
Jim in NC

In article , Martin Hotze
wrote:

But being stopped in rush hour traffic alone in their car isn't? Many
commutes in So Cal are 45 minutes or more. Riding
the train or bus allows active work to be done...

I suspect that Martin hasn't visited So Cal all that much.

what has this to do with me?

Earlier you stated that you had not seem suits waiting for a bus
or subway:

begin quote:
"Ot might be different in the big metros like NY/DC or LA (IIRC there is a
train connecting cities along the cost) - I've never been to the really big
metros; but the areas where I've been I never saw business-like dressed
people waiting or boarding a bus."
end quote

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule

In article , Martin Hotze
wrote:

Now Jay, this is a 100,000 people town including the surrounding villages.
How does this compare to Iowa City?

100,000 people on how much land?

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule

Recently, Martin Hotze posted:

given the fact that there is no oil or gas available (timewarp
yourself to the future): what kind of energy and energy storage would
you use for powering small units like cars?

Well, there appear to be more options than gets typically discussed.
Recently, a local company has gotten a bit of media attention for their
non-poluting engine that could reduce dependence on fossil fuel
consumption, though I think at this point it makes more sense as an
alternative source of electrical energy for home use than for autos.
Still, the inventors think that use in autos is possible.

http://www.cleveland.com/search/inde...l?bttec&coll=2

Regards,

Neil

My wife walks 15 minutes each direction every day to the bus and to work.
We could afford an additional car, but there is no parking downtown where
she works, so we would be forced to rent a spot in a parking garage.
Busses
go every 5 to 10 minutes during the day (6am to 8pm) each direction and it
is almost the same time with a bus as with a car.


Now Jay, this is a 100,000 people town including the surrounding villages.
How does this compare to Iowa City?

About the same. Iowa City's "metro area" (made up of three other small
towns) is about 110,000 people.

The one block walk wouldn't bother me. The wasted MONTH (actually 4.8
work-weeks) of time each year (yes, that's what 45 minutes per day adds up
to each year) would.

Eliminate your wife's wasted time, and your country's productivity would
soar!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

While I tend to agree with you, I suspect there are millions of un- and
under-employed blue-collar workers in America who would beg to differ.

That's the third time you've claimed that saving jobs is justification for
destroying the environment.

It's a silly claim. The whole point of environmental protection is to
protect our future. What's worse? Losing 1000 jobs now? Or losing
millions of lives in the future, never mind all the non-human life
affected?

As I said, I tend to agree with you. I have no desire to see America
re-industrialize -- I happen to *like* the service economy. :-)

But then, I also won't dare complain about how there are no decent jobs for
unskilled workers, as so many do. Too many environmental activists refuse
to see any connection between their actions in the '60s and '70s, and the
long-term consequences.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In article UCs2f.471120$xm3.174829@attbi_s21,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:

Too many environmental activists refuse
to see any connection between their actions in the '60s and '70s, and the
long-term consequences.

to be more accurate: too many activists fail to see the negative consequences
of their actions, only seeing little successes.

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule