$ gas prices = WOW!

[Miranda]

The current situation with gas prices has really got me thinking seriously about parking my suv and pedaling for transportation anywhere possible.

I have kicked the idea around before of commuting to my gyms where I teach...

Prior to the gas going up, it was simply for the fact of keeping down my slight resentment factor that I'm stuck inside using my energy, when I'd rather be riding soley outside. But, alas I'm getting paid, and luckily there are those people who prefer inside riding only so I thus have a job (yay be happy, right?! ).

I figure if I commuted to teach class, I could get my outside fix and tag it onto my indoor exertion. It's just my routes to get there suck...

If you have ever heard the saying "you can't get there from here", well, that's my route. The road is in the county, no berm to get off on, and very busy. I wanna ride, but I don't wanna be road kill either.

Just pushin a G note to fill up with gas = yikes.

[KnottedYet]

The amusing thing to me is that the US gets the vast majority of its imported gasoline from Canada.

Yet the difficulty in Libya has raised our gas prices to $4/gal in my neighborhood.

I call "B.S." on the oil companies. But like any addict, I have nowhere else to turn but my dealer... so he can raise prices all he wants for whatever reason he wants. I'll pay, man, just gimme my fix!!!!!

Biodiesel and bikes are my options if I want to get out of their profiteering clutches.

[Miranda]

The amusing thing to me is that the US gets the vast majority of its imported gasoline from Canada.

Yet the difficulty in Libya has raised our gas prices to $4/gal in my neighborhood.

I call "B.S." on the oil companies. But like any addict, I have nowhere else to turn but my dealer... so he can raise prices all he wants for whatever reason he wants. I'll pay, man, just gimme my fix!!!!!

Biodiesel and bikes are my options if I want to get out of their profiteering clutches.

Omg, IKR?! Ugh... what to do. The first sign of trouble, boom, next thing ya know that price on the gas station sign changes.

We bought our suv when gas was very low. It gave us more towing capacity for our camper. Also, we just paid the suv off. So nice to be a car payment free household atm.

I have changed my traveling habits since the prices have gone up. I limit, combine, or simply just don't go at all, where I used to. Too much money.

[hebe]

Sympathy from here. We're paying the British equivalent of over $10/gallon here - our gallons are slightly bigger than yours but you get the picture. My bikes have gone from being purely for recreation to doing a large share of nursery transport and errands as most of my journeys are less than 5miles long round trip. I thought that the routes were too busy to cycle initially but have found some better ones.

So I'm voting with my wallet and using less fuel. Perhaps if their revenue drops the more they increase prices then they'll get the message. Our government made a big song and dance about decreasing fuel prices by shifting more of the tax burden to the oil companies when oil prices are high, but all this has done is mightily annoy the oil companies. It's the oil companies who set the prices at the pump anyway, and they are simply refusing to pass on any reduction in duty set by the government. Bah.

[Becky]

I have kicked the idea around before of commuting to my gyms where I teach...

I figure if I commuted to teach class, I could get my outside fix and tag it onto my indoor exertion. It's just my routes to get there suck...

I hear ya! I just rode my gym route last Friday, but man, it's a backbreaker! It's got a couple of super-steep climbs out of the river valley, and no alternate way around. I'm not sure that I could actually do anything once I got there, and then there's the issue of a safe place to lock up....

[Crankin]

I just plan my trips more accordingly. My car is not a gas guzzler (it's average), but I *know* I drive a lot less than my friends. True, we mostly take DH's car on the weekends, but I often think of my friends who go driving all over, to say, Costco, to buy grocery type items at a cheaper price. Costco is about 12 miles away. Why don't they just save the gas $ and shop locally?
Truthfully, I think people in the US are spoiled when it comes to gas prices. The prices in Europe have always been high, hence the use of alternative transportation and lifestyles that support it. Or, people pay when they need to drive.
I am having a hard time justifying looking for jobs that will require a long commute. There are jobs out there, but, it's a sticking point for me. I want to use my education, but....

[spokewench]

I really don't mind the gas prices, I know that a lot of people pay a lot more. We have just been spoiled in the US.

In the summer, I save a lot of money cause I ride my 125 scooter to work and to tennis, etc. when I can. It gets around 85 miles per gallon I think. My car sits alot unless I'm off to the grocery store or on a longer trip.

I also occasionally get on the bike to commute so gas prices don't phase me too much. It's much more fun to ride my scooter anyway

[Karma007]

I take the train in to work when I can, but I've had a lot of late shifts recently, and DH doesn't want me walking home from the station very late. I'm hoping here in a couple weeks things will improve and I can stop driving in. I don't worry too much about running errands- I combine them all in to one big trip.

[Jolt]

I am having a hard time justifying looking for jobs that will require a long commute. There are jobs out there, but, it's a sticking point for me. I want to use my education, but....

I hear you on that--not only the gas, but having a long commute is the pits anyway. Who wants to spend a half hour each way stuck in the car and fighting traffic? I've been having to drive up to 45-50 minutes for work (filling in at various nursing homes, few of which are close by) and am really looking forward to the end of that ridiculousness when I start the new job in a month or so. In fact, I just got back from an apartment-hunting trip to the new town and the place I am going to try to get is just under a mile from the hospital so I would be able to walk to work (even better than bike commuting since I can also do it in the winter--biking on slippery roads narrowed by snowbanks just wouldn't work well). The town also has all the everyday stuff (grocery store, bank etc.) within easy biking distance, so I will be using a lot less gas there than I am now.

[Crankin]

That sounds wonderful, Jolt. I have one option for bike commuting; the clinic by Emerson Hospital. I have a contact there, but we've been playing phone tag for weeks. I just need to find out the name of the hiring person; another reason I want to work there is that it's a fee for service job, can do flexible hours, which is important at this stage in my life. Most new grads can't do this (no benefits), but I prefer it. A lot of the things I see would require a 45 minute drive or an hour on public transportation and are 40 hours a week, which = no time for riding. Right now, my internship in Lowell is between 25 and 40 minutes, no real traffic. That's OK. That's about my limit.

[tulip]

I will have to fill up my car today, but it will be the first time this month so that's okay. It's a fairly efficient little car, which makes a huge difference. I also work from home, so I don't commute. I've re-started my efforts to do all trips under five miles by bicycle. Luckily, I live near everything I need, so that's easy.

I worked in the DC area for six years. Even though I lived 14 miles from my work, I was able to commute by bicycle three times a week year round. Most of the other days I took the Metro, but that took longer than the bike.

If I ever have to get a job that requires a commute again, you can be sure that it will be with an organization that is bicycle friendly and within a decent bicycle commuting route. Otherwise, I simply won't take the job. I've said "no thanks" to a job offer before because it was not bike-friendly. Not everyone is willing to make that choice, though.

Best of luck on figuring out how to make your commute better, Miranda. I've found that there usually are other routes that are more bike friendly, but it just might take some time to work them out. I hope you can do that where you live.

[jobob]

Sympathy from here. We're paying the British equivalent of over $10/gallon here - our gallons are slightly bigger than yours but you get the picture.

I really don't mind the gas prices, I know that a lot of people pay a lot more. We have just been spoiled in the US.

ITA, spokewench. I used to go to Denmark pretty regularly for work and I was astonished at what they paid. People, gas in the US is still extremely cheap compared to what people pay in Europe and probably the rest of the world. Of course, the cost of fuel in the US is very heavily subsidized. Our tax dollars at work.

(Not that I don't sympathize, it's still a big shock to the pocketbook, subsidized or not!)

So US folks, next time some lardazz yahoo in a 10mpg monster SUV rolls up next to you and starts screaming about getting off his road (as if, just because you happen to be on a bike you're not paying your "fair share" of taxes, wtf?), just remember your tax dollars are helping to foot the bill for that jerkoff's gasoline. Awesome, eh?

[badger]

The amusing thing to me is that the US gets the vast majority of its imported gasoline from Canada.

Yet the difficulty in Libya has raised our gas prices to $4/gal in my neighborhood.

I call "B.S." on the oil companies. But like any addict, I have nowhere else to turn but my dealer... so he can raise prices all he wants for whatever reason he wants. I'll pay, man, just gimme my fix!!!!!

Biodiesel and bikes are my options if I want to get out of their profiteering clutches.

Well, I've often wondered why we have to pay so much (currently $1.37/L, which is approx. $5.48/gal) when we have our own oil. From what I hear, our oil isn't as refined as the ones in Libya, etc. But that could just be more ka-ka we're fed to believe something.

[Atlas]

We have a split reaction to the rising gas prices in our house. I have to commute 30 miles for one of my jobs (though only two days a week) so I feel the price, but on the other hand my partner works in a bike shop and when gas goes up, so does business (and overtime). So in the end we're ok with either.

[jobob]

Well, I've often wondered why we have to pay so much (currently $1.37/L, which is approx. $5.48/gal) when we have our own oil. From what I hear, our oil isn't as refined as the ones in Libya, etc. But that could just be more ka-ka we're fed to believe something.

I didn't realize prices were that much higher in Canada than the US. But if you take into account the fact that US gas is heavily subsidized, then I suppose it does make sense. In the US, we pony up the difference on April 15.