Week Five - Day Five

I had plans with my colleagues to go out for drinks, pool, and dinner (yes, in that order) after work, so I decided to drive instead of bike to work on Friday. This was a decision I went back and forth on for a while, but ultimately decided that I didn't feel comfortable biking home from my city's club district (aka Knifey McStabsville) at night by myself. It would be a long haul, and it was a long day, and I had a babysitter to get home to, and I didn't know or trust the area I'd be biking through - especially at that time of night. So I opted for the car.

Last time I drove, I parked off-campus and walked to work so I wouldn't have to pay for parking. This time, I didn't bother - I just paid for parking and walked the half-block to my building. While last time I spent more time driving than I usually do biking, parking on campus and not having to walk a great distance was a huge time-saver this time around.

Here's the break-down in numbers:
Time to Drive to Work and Find Parking: 20 min.
Time to Bike to Work and Lock up the Bike: 30 min.
Cost of Parking for the Day: $12
Cost of Biking: $0
Time Required to Get Ready Between Commute and Starting Work:
- Driving: 2 min. (take off my coat & change my shoes)
- Biking: 10-15 min. (change clothes, stretch, apply makeup, fix hair)

In terms of time comparison, it's Advantage Chrystler indeed (hmm, that play on words doesn't work so well since I drive a Ford - ALAS!). Obviously, the cost of parking and gas consumption would add up substantially over time, so the bike would win out significantly on cost comparison. There's also how I feel, though, and that's trickier. While it was a bit of a relief to get into the car and drive to work, listening to my favourite radio station and singing along, I got to work feeling less invigorated than I do when I bike. I also felt bad about missing out on my workout. This feeling bad was compounded by the fact that next week is a shortened week because I'll be away at a conference in Vancouver for Thursday and Friday, then it's a long weekend, so I'm facing FIVE DAYS in a row of no biking next week!! This is a very bad set-up for weight loss this month, as I won't actually be bike-commuting a full week until the middle of the month! How is that going to affect my fitness level? My weight loss? My overall well-being? This is a serious concern for me! October might be a pretty weak month for weight loss, which would be so discouraging after such a great September.

But, as usual, I digress. The point is, I drove to work, and I discovered that it takes a lot less time than biking, but is also much more expensive and doesn't feel as good.