The economics of bike commuting - a week's experience

Well I managed to ride to work and back every day this week.  I would have tallied over 300 k on the odometer for the week, but the poor old computer didn't like the rain tonight and gave up the ghost.  

One thing people say about commuting by bicycle is that it saves you money.  I suppose it might if you keep at it, though I tend to find that either I buy bicycle stuff which cancels out any theoretical savings, or things break.  This week I saved on the usual weekly ticket - round $27.00 - but I bought one of those dinky helmet mirrors for - you guessed it - $27.00.  So I was breaking even till the bike computer went west.   

Week went like this:  Monday full of resolve - no worries.  Tuesday - bit tired and stiff, but steely determination stiffled the persuasive voices that whispered "catch the train ... its really not so bad being crushed ".  Wednesday feeling rather sorry for myself, but ok once I got going.  Coming home a low point, tired, hungry, late, cold.  Thursday a real struggle to get going but again, once out the door, that early dawn world is so beautiful that the transition till the muscles and the body warms up passes almost without noticing.  Friday, actually not too bad at all.  Maybe crashed through a pain barrier or two there.  Got rained on for most of the way home but arrived home a bit damp but feeling pretty good all in all.

Tally for the week Monday to Friday:  
Distance:  305 kilometres
Rained on: twice
Near miss with car: one - not my fault -   see "I'm big you're little" post
Near miss with another bicycle: one - probably my fault - just didn't see the guy on the pavement along King street as I crossed the road at the lights, and I wasn't expecting him to be there.  Dammed hard to see, those cyclists.