A number of years ago I resolved to cut back on my use of gasoline. More specifically, I decided to stop digging into my wallet and handing over fistfuls of my hard-earned cash to the oil companies.
I remember that Exxon had just announced profits of a gazillion dollars, but what particularly struck me was that their company spokesman was whining, complaining that oil is a risky business with a lot of expenses, like exploration blah blah blah, and the spokesman said that, when you think about it, gazillions in profits isn’t really that much these days.
I did think about it...and I decided to try to drive my car less and ride my bike more.
Mind you, I’ve been a cyclist for over 30 years, but my riding had been largely for exercise and fitness. I rode to keep from getting fat, though not really for transportation. But when I heard about Exxon’s profits and was galled by their corporate whining, I decided that it was the oil companies who were fat, and I, in my little way, was going to put them on a diet.
I looked at my days and determined that there were trips I made by car that I could do by bicycle. I bought a bright yellow rain jacket so I could ride comfortably (and hopefully safely) on wet and gray Seattle-area winter days. I put a rack on my bike so I could carry groceries.
I realized too that, as a photographer, there were sometimes trips I made -- to photo shoots, for example, or meetings with clients -- when I needed to carry heavy camera gear, or my portfolio. A bicycle admittedly wouldn’t always be practical for some of those trips, so we also bought a little Yamaha scooter that gets 80 MPG.
My car (which gets about 35 MPG, by the way) now resides at the bottom of my personal food chain of transportation options.
Last Sunday (it happened that it was Earth Day) I had a couple of places I needed to be, and I thought I’d do pictures and a real-world, day-in-the life blog post to chronicle my travels. In the morning Leah and attended an event in Seattle, and that trip (about 15 miles) was by car and Washington State ferry. I spent the afternoon on my bicycle. The photographic end of my day was out at Hood Canal, where I made pictures of the amazing sunset.
I’m happy to report that, when it comes to how I, personally, get around, it feels good to know I have choices.
