My fuel-efficient bike

By BRETT RUSKIN

 

Nepean This Week Community columnist

 

Since its invention almost 150 years ago, its design has stood the test of time as the most efficient human-powered machine ever created. And with modern gas prices balancing on the “if a butterfly flaps its wings” theory, we need a method of transportation that has proven itself to be enduring – through wars, depression, and disaster – now, more than ever. What we need is laying in everyone’s garage … a bicycle.

 

With an introduction such as that, leading to the somewhat anticlimactic unveiling of the “wonder vehicle,” some of you may consider yourselves as conned as a late-night TV watcher convinced into purchasing knives able to cut through cement, or ovens that will cook food in half the time. But, please don’t be upset. Because what I have presented to you may be the answer to your transportation woes.

 

In many ways, the bicycle is a “miracle product.” It combines the body-altering affects of home gyms, the mood-enhancements of medicinal products, with the time-saving features advertised in every infomercial.

 

Being a new driver, I’ve quickly come to realize how understandable and just the complaints are surrounding gas prices. Many people opt to take the bus instead of paying for gas. Yeah, great idea. I think that we should compare the blood pressure of people in their cars on the way home from work, to the people riding the 95 Bus during rush hour. The former burns up fossil fuels and your hard-earned paycheck, while the latter gets you up close and all-too personal with the friendly people on public transit; neither one of these options holds a solution to the transportation problem.

 

Fossil fuel engines were a bad idea to begin with, and people have forgotten the true meaning of “power” because of them. No machine is 100 per cent efficient – go ahead, try and make one … you’ll win the Nobel Prize if you do. The fact that people don’t realize is that, no matter how fuel efficient their vehicle may be, their vehicle isn’t mechanically efficient. Recently, a professional bicycle drivetrain was tested for its mechanical efficiency: 98.6 per cent. This means that if you put in 100 watts of leg power into your bicycle, you’ll get 98.6 watts of movement out of it. Most people will admit that that’s pretty good because they have nothing to compare it to. A car is the ideal comparison required. To begin with, a car’s engine is less than 50 per cent efficient and to transfer that energy to the road takes 50 per cent of what’s left. Overall, the most efficient cars on the roads today only use about 25 per cent of the fuel they guzzle to move from point A to point B; the rest is wasted.

 

I love poking fun at home-gym commercials. The people on television work out, then hop in their pool to frolic with their supermodel wife. Swimming may be the healthiest activity your body can perform: it’s low-impact, works every muscle in your body and improves your fitness. And yet, these people need to spend thousands on a piece of equipment that looks ugly in a dark corner of their living room when they have a beautiful pool sitting outside. Or take the treadmill commercials that are filmed at someone’s Arizona ranch. Hello! You have a ranch. Go for a hike or jump on your bike instead!

 

The point is to plan your exercise time around needs and opportunities that already exist. Instead of working out, then going to work, combine the two. Biking to work or school helps clear your mind, shed those pounds, and tone your legs.

 

“But I don’t feel confident biking on the streets,” is a common excuse the anti-bike-commuter uses. Not only does Ottawa have one of the best networks of bicycle paths in Canada, but we also have one of the nicest cities to do it in! Visit www.canadascapital.gc.ca/biking and see how many bike paths lead right out of your backyard. 

 

If a butterfly flaps its wings in Beijing, will a person in Ottawa choose to put down the car keys and pick up a bike helmet? In the chaos of the world we all live in, maybe the solution to the growing cost of transportation is as simple and enduring as two wheels and some pedals.