Off Topic - Price of Gasoline

[Adventure Girl]

This is kind of off topic, but since we're all cyclist maybe it's not completly unrelated here...

How much does gasoline cost where you live? I paid $2.50 per gallon for 91 octine (premium) yesterday! Yikes!!

[trekchic]

I have paid as much as $1.85 for regular unleaded in middle TN. I can't believe it's so high. I am an avid "Bush supporter" but I don't think I'll vote for him if he doesn't do something about the fuel situation. Don't even think he can't influence them to produce more oil to drive prices back down.

I drive a suburban, too! It costs over $80 to fill up my tank and I have to fill up about every 5 days!

I NEED to commute to work! haha!

[massbikebabe]

Here in Massachusetts we are paying $2.07 a gallon for premium.
I am finding that many spots around town gas can run the gamut.
It's disgusting!!




karen

[bounceswoosh]

I drive a suburban, too! It costs over $80 to fill up my tank and I have to fill up about every 5 days!

I NEED to commute to work! haha!

At the risk of sounding callous ... wah!

Come on now. Unless your job happens to involve hauling large furniture, you don't need to drive a suburban to work. You choose to do so. Get a commute car and be done with it. You can even keep the beast around for weekend use.

Granted, I don't know you, so maybe you do have a legit purpose for driving such a beast every day ... but few do. Recognize that it's a decision you made.

I drive a performance car and pay for premium gas, but at least I recognize that it's a choice I made, not some kind of global conspiracy.

[pedalfaster]

Ok, I'm evil, but I would love to see gasoline go up to $ 4 or 5 bucks a gallon. I'd like it to get to the point where Americans would wake up and realize that we can't sustain our car-crazy suburban sprawl culture forever.

I'd love to see more people using bikes/walking/ taking public transportation. I'd love to see the obesity levels drop. I'd love to see "paper-boys" (remember those?!) out riding their bikes every evening again. I'd like to see kids riding to school and over to their friend's houses to play , instead of being shuttled from soccer game to soccer game in mom's big gas hog.

Guess I'm sort of an idealist, huh?

[grannydea]

Car-crazy subruban sprawl culture????? tisk tisk.
I happen to like living in the middle of no where where we have to be car-crazy. At least I don't have to worry about stop lights or drunk drivers running me over when I ride.
Gas here in nothern Nevada is up to $2.25. I think it will go down after the holiday. We all (and I mean all americans) could not buy gas for two days and walk or ride non combustible transportation to work or play, and they would think about bringing down the price. WE do love to b***h and whine about gas prices but do nothing to force them to lower it. Just my thought.
Dea

[Biking Chick]

In central Wisconsin regular unleaded is currently selling for $1.99

The price has gone up a nickle in as many days and I'm sure by the time Memorial Week-end arrives we'll be looking at much higher gas prices.

I drive a Ford Escape which gets good mileage but both my husband and I ride our mountain bikes for commutes around town. Hubby rides to work at least three days a week and encourages other people at work to do the same. I use my mountain bike for quick trips to the store or the library - we replaced the nobby tires with Hutchinson Rock & Road tires. It has made a huge difference in city commuting as you don't scrub off speed. The Hutchinson's are also good for riding the Rail Trails (crushed granite etc).

[spokes]

I happen to like living in the middle of no where where we have to be car-crazy.

there's a difference between living in the middle of nowhere and being car--crazy. if you go to the nearest grocery store obviously you can't take your bike, especially if it's really far away. but if you're going down the street or even a ten-minute walk or a 15-minute bike ride away, why not do something else instead of driving?

north americans have been paying far less than what europeans have been paying ffor gas for years. as a consequence, we have a huge car culture, an economy partially dependant on cars and a skyrocketing rate of obesity in both children and adults. so... to keep our economy going we pollute the environment and kill oursleves slowly with food and laziness. makes no sense!

We all (and I mean all americans) could not buy gas for two days ..., and they would think about bringing down the price.

we could all also think about our options and really decide if we need a Hummer for commuting, or a pick-up with a cap that's never been removed. and realize that we're being wasteful, unhealthy, and polluting as a society.

obviuosly it's much easier for people in cities. (except the commuting to work thing. if i still lived where i went to high school, my commute by bike would be 10 minutes, tops!) unfortunately, people living in cities are much more guilty than those living in small towns, because we have many more options and so many still choose a car!

so to this...

I'd like it to get to the point where Americans would wake up and realize that we can't sustain our car-crazy suburban sprawl culture forever.

... i say, amen! i'm an idealist too.

[sno4rent]

Without getting into any debate, I'll just answer the question that was asked:

91 Octane = $2.19/gallon in Boise, Idaho - at the cheapest place that I've seen around town...

~ Wendi

[emily_in_nc]

It's a tough trade-off. I'm an environmentalist, but I choose to live in the country because I like living in a quiet, clean wooded setting with deer, songbirds, and other wildlife rather than near the roar of traffic or lawnmowers. And I like living where I can ride my bike for many miles, straight out from my house, with very little traffic. However, the trade-off of living so far out is that I have to commute 30 miles to work each day and fill my tank with gas at least once a week. I feel bad about that.

Since I'm too far from work to bike-commute (on back roads it would be more like 40+ miles each way), I try to make up for my driving during the week by not driving anywhere at all on weekends whenever possible. For instance, this past Saturday, hubby and I rode our bikes to the nearby farmer's market for veggies, the post office to pick up our mail, and then to another food market for more non-perishable groceries. He had panniers on his bike so could carry everything. We rode our bikes 43 miles on this trip so saved a couple of gallons of gas. And Sunday we rode over and back to a bike club ride, so didn't drive at all either. That's my kind of weekend!

I find myself agreeing with those who have posted that they wish gas would go even higher so that Americans would be forced to change their lifestyles; otoh, for my own selfish reasons, such as liking to take road trips now and then, I hate to see it go too high. No easy answers here....

Emily

[Biking Kitsune]

To think: at one time, I was unhappy with my choice of a geo metro for my 1st car!

We still fill it up every week or week and a half, and in Eugene, the gas prices look like $2.10 for regular unleaded. Still, for the 6 gals it takes to fill 'er up, we spend $12, and that's not half bad...

[kpc]

Here in MD, 2 hrs from DC, gas is hovering around $2/gal. I fill my Honda civc about every ten days. The last time I paid $19 to fill it, used to do that for $14.
I would like to commute to work, but I agree, our car culture makes that difficult. I would have to leave very early to get into work on time. I don't mind getting up early, but riding twisty country roads in the dark (with occasional dogs chasing) is dangerous. Our road is a short cut into the local car assembly plant and people FLY by in their cars. I would LOVE to see less driving. I may start now that the days are getting longer/more sun.
Have you tried walking anywhere? The traffic makes that difficult too.
Anyway, gas prices are outrageous, but it seems incredible that a gallon of gas can make mobility so easy compared to 100 years ago!

[RdDezert]

To answer the topic Q too...in Dallas area, Premium seems to range $1.89-1.90, I buy low grade so it's running $1.79-ish.
Alternative communting and cars, always a hot topic.

[JanT]

I just paid $2.18 a gallon here in Phoenix. I'll probably ride to work at least one day this week. It's pretty hot on the way home, but sure is beautiful on the way in.

[doctorfrau]

$1.89 for regular (87) here in WV yesterday.

I traded in My Durango-boat when I divorced and started med school, cause I couldn't afford to keep up the payments, and I was getting only 11mpg (3 years ago).

Still needed AWD, so I got a used Honda CRV that gets more than twice the gas mileage. I figure by the time I graduate and start earning money again, they will have worked the bugs out of the hybrid engines, so then I get can get one of them instead.

I could theoretically commute via the rail-trail, but it would be a round-about route with several hills, and I would still have to drive to the trailhead. Also, riding in the dark at 5:30 AM isn't really appealling....... Yet