Ever since I shelled out 50 dollars of hard currency for my used mountain bicycle, I had wanted to use the vehicle to circumscribe the isle of Manhattan. The bicycle is an incredibly energy efficient transportation device. For every mile traversed, the rider uses only about 25 calories of food energy. Riding the bicycle is literally a hundred times as fuel efficient as driving a car, mile for mile. In light of recent spikes in Gasoline prices, I believe that we need to entertain the possibility of a long term reduction in gas and diesel fuel supply. Thus cities should really make an attempt to drive it's citizens towards incorporating petroleum independent transport technologies such as bicycles. In any case, I rode my little Trek Omega used bike 34 miles today, I circumscribed the entire island of Manhattan. Transporting yourself on muscle power alone is certainly tiring, but the efficiency of this machine was astounding. I was able to travel at roughly 15 mph. Going by bicycle in NYC is 5 times faster than walking, and nearly comparable in speed to auto transport. The Metro subway will be a bit faster, but no more than 2 or 3 times faster than the bike. My vehicle was essentially running on a bottle of water and my lunch(and giving the performance of a car!). Both of these resources(food and water) are renewable and can be locally produced. Instead of relying on imported oil from oppressive regimes half a world away, we can(and should) travel by the strength of our own legs. Besides, it was a hell of a fun ride! :D
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